"Colonel, how do we get out of here?" Thomas coughed and looked up at me, while his arms were still fighting the water.
The plane crashed while attempting to land. It had failed to reach the airport runway. It had broken into three parts. A large hole had formed in the fuselage behind the cockpit. It had not fully caught fire - the tail of the aircraft struck the high trees, scraped the branches and the aircraft had come down. We had arrived too late. The pilot had brought the plane down between the edge of the forest and the river. The weight of the aircraft caused a breakdown of the riparian land and the fuselage was inclined 30° towards the river. Every second that passed risked the drowning of the survivors.
I began to roar: "Victor— "
"Yes, Sir?"
"Contact the General Manager for the National Airport in Kouru; if you do not find him, try the Colonel! He can help! I want a complete list of passengers and crew! We need to know the exact number of people on board. We must find them all! Dorien! Where are the rescue teams?"
"About two hours from here, Sir. The Rescue Coordination Centre, despite monitoring the frequency, did not hear the plane's Mayday call! We told them about it! The telephone lines, which of course are connected with various and specialized units of air traffic control and adjacent agencies, have begun tracking the air traffic and they are waiting to act if needed. Currently, all land and air resources are being deployed. You know Colonel Harcourt! His staff is trying, in a race against time, to locate the crash site! Basically, they were not ready for such a huge intervention, sir! And they are waiting on our report. It is up to us to find the plane first!"
"Yes, they have always complained that nothing important happens in Cayenne... They said that if there was something they could show that..."
"745 passengers and 15 crew members, sir! Colonel Harcourt responded before the General Director from National Airport!" Victor interrupted me and forced his voice to be heard.
"Colonel! We found it! Look!" Axel stood fifteen feet away from me and pointed at a piece of metal jutting out of the river.
I heard a low moan far away and I turned to the soldier behind me.
"Axel! On your right! 20 yard away! Hurry! A woman! She can not move! Thomas, go with him! Everyone! Deploy! Victor! Come with me! Let's see what happened closer to the river!"
Victor followed me in silence. We climbed the half crushed tree trunks, and we approached the edge of the river. I pointed out three people desperately clinging to a tree trunk floating on water. He jumped in quickly and helped them reach the land and reassured them. Then, I saw another group. In the middle, an injured person was lying on a piece of the fuselage. I reached him before he slid into the water.
"I'll get you to the beach. Try to remain still. Do not struggle. It will be easier for me to help you."
"Mr. ..." said a plaintive voice that came from the trees along the river. I turned carefully, so as not capsize the survivor I was guiding to the edge. "Sir... There... Further in the swamp." The woman held out her red and bleeding arm and pointed to a far away place. "My husband is over there. Can you go and..." She stopped, choking on her tears, and, overcome with emotion, she took her face in her hands.
"I'll get him, don't worry. Victor—"
"Yes, sir! I'm here! I rescued three people so far! The guys have set up a survival area and so far we checked and we found that most have only minor scratches! How is it going with yours?"
"He fainted!"
I turned around, watching those who were still in the river. Some of them were able to swim and find their way to Victor.
I tried to reassure them. "Go forward, slowly, to the edge of the river; if necessary, the Corporal Victor will help you to reach the rescue area. The rescue team is almost here." I turned to Victor who gave a slight nod at my statement. Hmmm... We would have to act quickly because the end of the day was near and the survivors could not remain overnight in the jungle. "I'll keep going, Victor. Hurry up! We must finish this before sunset—"
"Where are you going, sir?" he asked, troubled. His eyes scrutinized me while he moved his hands in his pockets.
"To the swamps there." I pointed to the middle of the wide river, near the island. "Carry on, Victor! We must act quickly—"
"Colonel—" he said anxiously. "You know, the current is very strong there. There is also quicksand."
"Enough, Victor—"
"Yes, I know. If anyone can do it alone, it's... you."
"Yes, I can handle it, I think."
My voice seemed slightly arrogant. I looked at him one last time and swam to the place known as Devil's Corner due to a series of accidents and senseless deaths that occurred during the training simulations in the equatorial forest. I knew that if someone had fallen here, the chances of survival were zero unless they were born under a lucky star or had a guardian angel - which I did not believe.
The intertwining vines formed an impenetrable grid around the island. The trees, twenty feet high, were devoid of branches for at least two yards from the ground. It was impossible to climb and to hide or to use to them to get out of this swamp, if you did not measure more than eighty yards. The roots beyond the earth were intermingled with vines and covered the river in several places.
I swam ten more yards and I stopped to listen to the silence. I listened for particular sounds - a human heart sounds different than an animal heart. I heard no heartbeat anywhere. I tried to catch a scent, but the mixture of dead algae, wet wood and decomposing animal bodies filled my nostrils instead. I inspected the area again and I decided to leave. I swam a few strokes and stopped...
Aaahh— I yelled.
A kind of pain gripped me...
But what was it?
A mixed feeling...
I turned around and went back to the place that drew me like a magnet. I had the feeling that a harpoon had been launched right in my heart, well anchored, pulling me with force. Stunned by the pain, I looked at the extended water, but I saw nothing except the dead algae. The more I advanced, the more I was hurt. The fire that I felt was not hot but cold. This was strange, a fire without heat ... How could it burn me? It was so bad that I immersed myself completely to calm my torment with open eyes, until I started to sink to the bottom...
And there, more than one yard under water, I saw something clear, almost transparent, that moved with uncontrolled movements. I approached cautiously. There were two legs in the middle of a core full of algae and tree roots. Advancing quickly, I realized that a canoe had overturned and that someone was stuck underneath. I felt a wave of merry warmth fill my heart and I smiled.