I Think We Have A Writer On Our Hands.

I apologize for the long post, but I thought you would enjoy Jackson's survival story as much as I did.

Knife Bound- by Jackson M.

Mark looked out the window. There was a rustling in the leaves. He was relaxed. He would not let anything disturb his trip to see his family. It said 12:28 on the dashboard of the fancy plane he was in, and he was starting to get bored.
We exploded at 12:30 in the afternoon with a huge explosion. The engine turned into a huge fireball; the windshield broke and the plane tilted at a steady downward rate in a wide circle. Mark looked around in panic. It was hard to see through the smoke coming in through the windshield but he could make out the limp figure of the pilot. Mark was sobbing in frustration as the flames licked the windshield, then he remembered something about this plane. It was a diving plane rented by his father. Mark searched the plane frantically, and then he found it. First, it was a red fabric. Then, as he looked under the seat he found what he was looking for, a red parachute. Quickly, he strapped it to his back and jumped right before another explosion. He felt like James Bond soaring in the endless sky. He had never gone parachuting before but it seemed simple enough. He pulled a cord at random and it seemed to work as it opened like an umbrella.
That's when everything bad happened.
Mark looked down in horror as the trees rushed up to meet him. The parachute snagged on a tree brach. He hung a good 50 feet in the air. SNAP. The straps broke free and Mark barely had time to grab the tree tunk before the survival pack fell. He quickly found it. When he opened it, to his surprise it was empty except for a gun. There were no bullets but he realized it was a dart gun. He stuffed the gun in his pocket and spent the rest of the day wandering the forest. It became dark and he was fast asleep.
He awoke with a start. He thought he had heard something. There it was again. Mark got up and walked to where he thought the sound was coming from. Sure enough. There was someone just getting into an army- like truck that had a huge gun mantled in the back. He realized the horrible truth. It wasn't engine trouble, they were shot down! He couldn't just sit there, he had to do something, his mind screamed. Quickly, he shot the driver with his dart gun who quickly fell asleep. The guard was asleep on the forest floor so he had no trouble getting into the front seat.The keys were left in the truck. Mark jammed his empty gun on the pedal. The truck sped off at an alarming rate then crashed into a huge tree. He ran away with all his might until he dropped. He knew that the driver would not be shooting any more American planes down.
The next day he saw something he didn't see the night before. He was back where he started and his parachute was hanging in the tree. This surprised Mark. He had thought it was all torn up, but it was intact and spread out like a canopy over the tree. Then he had an idea. Mark scaled the tree with ease. He was at the top and he looked up. The parachute was like a big roof. Perfect. Then he remembered that he had his pocket knife. He could not believe it got past the airport security when they got on their private plane. He gently set it in a safe spot then he cleared all the dead bracnches away until he had a shelter in the tree. Then it started raining. Mark couldn't go out or he would get soaked, so he kept himelf busy by using his pocket knife to cut the bark off and make a point at the end of a stick so that he would have a small spear. He soon became very thirsty. He cut off some of the parachute and tied it between two branches using his shoe laces. His new invention caught a lot of water. He drank it eagerly. Then he lay down and closed his eyes. He thought of his family. He missed them so much he could hardly bear it. Then he sat up. there was something touching him! As he turned around he saw who else lived in this tree. He must have disturbed him because sitting right in front of him was a huge black snake staring up at him. Mark didn't know what to do, but before he knew it he had his knif e in his hand. The snake hissed in disgust as he threw the knife. The knife saved and killed a life at the same time. The snake lay at his feet. Dead. Mark gently pulled his knife out of the snakes back. Thick black slime oozed out. It had stopped raining and he soon became aware of rushing water. But he decided to explore it in the morning. He would need the rest. All he could think about was all the possibilities that the river could lead to in the morning until he fell asleep.
When he awoke, he heard the sounds of thousands of bird calls. He got to his feet, yawned and then climbed down the tree. As he got to the ground a bird erupted out of the bushes in fright only to land on a branch. Mark was scared to death but he kept going. He was holding his make-shift spear, hefting it in his hands when another bird jumped out. But this time it landed on a bush as if it was playing a sick game for which he didn't have the rules. "That's it." Mark said in his head. Mark threw his spear in frustration only to be rewarded with a lost spear. Mark was mad that he lost it ,but found the river. At least that was good. The rain must have filled it up. Mark followed it until the bank ended. The river lead to a local farm. Maybe he could get to his mom and dad after all. He was so excited he jumped into the river not knowing they were raging rapids. He lost control, flipping up and down until he was bruised all over. But that was not the worst part. The river ended at a waterfall that fell into a canal that veered left. He skipped the canal soaring in the air and landed in a pile of fresh hay. The hay felt soothing against his bruised skin. All he saw was a farmer with a worried face and cold hands. Then he was gone, shut out of the real world like a closed door.
Mark awoke to a surprise. He was alive! That was a good surprise, but the best surprise was that he was in a bed with white sheets. The walls were painted blue and there was apicture of one of his favorite basketball player, and standing right next to him were his mother and father. He was home.

EPILOGUE

Daily News
Breaking News!!

Mark (12) has just been rescued from a Venezuelan forest by a farmer with the name of Hank. His mother and father were worried sick about him. Apparently, he had come from New Yok on the family's private plane. He had been missing for 5 days. The mother flew all the way over here to this little town. The family hired ($) a search party to look for the young boy. Apparently, if I'm correct, they found the plane (the pilot dead) and a military truck with an illegal gun on the back. This could mean a lot of things, folks, but if you ask me, I think it's good he is safe at home.