You look out the windshield at the vast jungle below, "this is odd" your co-pilot says from his seat, "what is?" you ask, "this jungle doesn't show up on these maps" he says pointing to the paper map in his hand. That was the downside to flying an older helicopter like the Huey, no GPS built in, you had to use paper maps to navigate, but it was better than nothing. "What do you mean its not on the map?" you ask, "I mean the jungle was supposed to end 30 miles back" he says, suddenly you feel a large vibration in the pedals at your feet followed by a small electrical spark on the instrument panel, "whoa! What was that?" you say, "I don't know but its gone" says the co-pilot. Just then without warning the whole helicopter lurched like a large foot just dropkicked the tail, putting the Huey in an out of control spin. Klaxons and light blew up all over the instrument panels, "collective's not responding, hydraulics are out!" you shout over the alarms, the Huey did a belly flop in the one open clearing in the whole jungle, the force of the impact sent a pain through your lower back.
The helicopter hit so hard that it bounced back into the air and rolled over to the left, the rotor blade snapped as the came into contact with the hard pack jungle ground. The Huey continued its roll and came to a rest on its roof, leaving you upside down in your chair., You look over at your co-pilot who had already freed himself and was making his way over to you, suddenly the smell of fuel assaults your nose. You free yourself and tumble out of your seat, but you can't open your door, "get me outta here!" you yell, the co-pilot starts yanking on your door while you start pushing from the other side. "Try kicking it" he says, "I can't move my legs" you tell him, he swears before grabbing a piece of rotor and starts using it like a pry bar and manages to pry the door open, grab you by the scruff of your vest and drag you away from the wreck before the fuel catches on fire, causing the helicopter to explode.
"too close" you say quietly, "you can say that again" says the co-pilot, "let's check out your legs" he says. He examines your back and legs, "well I've got good news and bad news" he says, "just give it to me" you say, "well the good news is that your inability to use your legs appears temporary, but thats were the bad news come in, I don't know how long temporary is" he says. "Great" you say, "well I'm going to get started on building a shelter while there is still light out and we just sit tight and wait I guess" says your co-pilot. For about five hours you are forced to sit against a tree and watch while the co-pilot build a small camp for the two of you to stay in, every so often you would check behind you to make sure no wildlife was stalking up behind you, despite the felling of being watched you found nothing. By the time your new home was built the sun was dipping behind the hills to the west, the co-pilot had a good fire going and a fairly large shelter built from anything he could get his hands on, even some pieces from the wreck. He picks you up and carries you to the fire pit and sets you down against another tree where the two of you have some of your emergence rations, "you get some sleep, I'll take first watch" you say to the co-pilot, he gives you a tired smile and nods, an hour later he was asleep in the lean to and you were alert for any animals that might try to attack during the night and to keep an eye out for any rescue planes overhead......
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