by: Marty Chrisman

Bo shoved open the cockpit door and, with one final look back at his cousin, he stepped outside. The snow had stopped but the air was cold and frigid. There were large drifts almost four feet deep in some places. Bo had no idea where they were but they seemed to have crashed in a heavily wooded area. Bo knew he had to find a highway so he could get help. Even though Bo was hurt himself, he knew that Luke’s injuries were a lot worse. He was terrified that even if he did find help, it might be too late for Luke by the time they got back.

Taking a deep breath, Bo started walking towards the north for no particular reason other than that was the direction they had been coming from when they crashed. As he struggled his way through the snow, Bo marked his trail so he could find his way back to the crash site. He took care to leave his markings high enough on the trees that they wouldn’t get covered by the snow if it drifted any more or if it started snowing again. Bo didn’t make as good a time as he would have liked, wading through the drifts was slowing him down.

Bo stopped to blow on his hands. He already felt half frozen and he’d only been outside for a couple of hours. He began to wish that he’d brought along the sleeping bag instead of leaving it behind. Being from the south, he wasn’t used to the northern weather. He was ill prepared to be tramping around in a blizzard. Even though he knew they were somewhere in Kentucky, the weather was still cold and unpredictable. Bo blinked, shading his eyes against the glare of the sun on the snow. It might be pretty but it sure as hell was cold. The surface of the snow crunched underneath his boots as he kept walking.

His stomach growled reminding him that he was hungry. He pulled some crackers out of the bag he was carrying and starting eating them. Suddenly, he stopped and listened. Somewhere in the distance he could hear the sound of traffic. He must be close to a road. His heart beat with excitement as he picked up his pace. It would get dark soon and he didn’t know if Luke could survive a night alone in the crashed plane especially since the temperature was bound to drop even further once the sun went down.

It took another half hour of steady walking before he came out of the woods and found himself standing alongside a highway. He started waving his arms when he saw a blue sedan coming towards him. He grinned happily as the car pulled to a stop beside him. Bo jerked open the door and said anxiously, “Mister, I need help. My cousin and I were in plane crash and he’s still stuck in there….”

“Well, git in….git in.” the driver said “I’ll take you to the sheriff’s office.”

“Thank you, sir.” Bo said crawling into the front seat and closing the door. The car heater had never felt so good. “I really appreciate this. My name’s Bo Duke.”

“Willie Mikesell.” The driver told him with a grin “With that accent you sure ain’t from around here.”

“No, sir.” Bo told him “I’m from Georgia.”

“You’re a long way from home.”

“Yes, sir. We were on our way home for Christmas when the plane crashed.”

“I assume you were on a private plane and not a commercial flight.”

“Yeah. A little four seater.” Bo winced as he shifted positions in the seat.

“You okay, son?’

“Yes, sir. I think I might have broke a couple of ribs is all.” Bo told him

“Well, then I should get you to a doctor.”

“There’s no time for that!” Bo said “We gotta get help for my cousin. He was hurt real bad.”

“Alright, don’t worry. We’ll get ya to the Sheriff first.”

Ten minutes later, Willie pulled up in front of the sheriff’s station. The car had barely come to a stop before Bo was out the door and running inside for help. Bo grabbed the first officer he saw and told him what had happened.

“Where’s the plane at, son?”

“I’m not sure.” Bo said “It was woods. I could show if you can get me back to where I was picked up at. I marked the trail.”

“Where was that?” the officer asked

“On Route 19 near Miller’s Road.” Willie volunteered.

“Let’s go, son.” The officer told Bo “I’ll radio for a search and rescue team to meet us there.”

“Thank you, Willie.” Bo said “For the ride and all your help”

“Any time. I just hope your cousin is okay.” Willie told him with a firm handshake goodbye.

Bo hurried outside with the Sheriff and climbed into the front seat beside him. It felt strange to be sitting in the front seat of a patrol car for a change instead of the back.

Twenty minutes later they pulled up in front of the woods Bo had come out of when he discovered the road. A search and rescue team and an ambulance arrived within minutes of the sheriff’s arrival. The search team consisted of the sheriff, 2 search and rescue members and two ambulance attendants. It was starting to get dark which would make finding the way back to the crash site more difficult.

While the sheriff and the search and rescue team discussed the best way to conduct the search and to get Luke back to the ambulance, one of the paramedics insisted on checking Bo over. He confirmed what Bo already suspected. He had some broken ribs, along with some bruises, scraps and cuts. The paramedic taped his ribs tightly so he’d be more comfortable. Although the paramedic advised him to take it easy, Bo knew that he couldn’t rest until Luke was rescued.

Finally, the search party started into the woods with Bo leading the way. Using his natural instincts and his tracker skills, Bo retraced his steps to the site of the crash using the carefully marked trail he’d left earlier. With the darkness hampering them, it took them almost 4 hours to make their way back to the downed plane. Bo felt a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach when they finally reached the crash site. The plane was almost completely buried under a drift of snow. Bo and the other rescuers began digging with their hands to clear the doorway to the cockpit. When they finally got to the door

Bo jerked it open and climbed inside.

Luke was slumped sideways in his seat with his eyes closed. One of the paramedics climbed into the plane and immediately started checking Luke’s vital signs. “Is he okay?” Bo demanded anxiously trying to keep his voice steady “Is he still alive?”

“Barely,” the paramedic told him, still attending to Luke. “But he won’t be if we don’t get him to the hospital immediately.”  He yelled at his partner for assistance. Bo was forced to step back outside as the two paramedics prepared to remove Luke from the plane. Bo watched anxiously as the two paramedics finally carried Luke’s body out of the plane. He was so pale and so still, not moving or responding in any way as they lay him on the portable stretcher the paramedics had brought with them. Bo kept remembering what Luke had told him about not falling asleep because of the cold. He prayed fervently that Luke would wake up from this sleep.