Climbing Trail

The Andes tragedy Part 7

Before friends continue it would be nice to help each other. Don't forget to like 👍, comment 📝, and make your favorite stories friends.

Check stories. Enjoyable!!!

-------------------------------------------

One night, in the darkness of the plane, I decided to talk to Carlitos Paez who was lying next to me.

"Carlitos," I whispered, "Are you not asleep yet?"

"Yes," he replied with a sour face, "Who can sleep in a freezer like this?"

"Are you hungry?" I asked to open the direction of the chat.

"Puta carajo," he said. "you reckon? I haven't eaten in days."

"We're starving here" I said, "I don't think helpers will find us."

"You don't know that." Carlitos answered.

"I know, and you know it, too, "I reply, "But I'm not going to die here. I'm going home."

"Are you still thinking about climbing there? " he asked, "Nando, you're too weak."

"I'm weak because I haven't eaten."

"But what can you do?" He said, "There's no food."

"There's." My answer. "You know what I mean. "

Carlitos shifted his sleeping position in the darkness, without saying anything.

"I'll slice the flesh of our pilot, "I said softly, "He's the one who brought us to this place, maybe he'll help us get out of here."

"Fuck Nando, " Carlitos whispered.

"There's a lot of food here, "I said, "But you have to think of it as just meat. Our friends don't need their bodies anymore."

For a moment Carlitos sat without a sound before he spoke.

"I thought the same thing. " Said lirih.

The next day Carlitos discussed our conversation with some of the others. Some people claim to have the same idea. Especially Roberto, Gustavo da Fito who believes that's our only chance of survival. For a few days we discussed this among ourselves. Then we held a meeting and discussed the matter openly. We all gathered on the plane. It was almost dusk and the light began to dim. Robert began to speak.

"We are starving." he was serious with his words, "Our body is gnawing at itself. If we don't eat protein soon, we're dead."

Silent mood.

Roberto continued. "And the only protein here is in our friends' bodies."

Suddenly someone shouted. "What did you say?! We ate a corpse!? "

The faces of the people looked astonished and horrified at Roberto's words. Then Liliana said quietly. "I can't do it."

"You will not do it for yourself, " said Gustavo, "But you must do it for your children. You have to survive and go home for them. "

Someone asked, "Will God forgive such a deed.. "

"If you don't eat, you choose to die. " Breare answered. "I'm sure God wants us to do everything we can to survive."

"And if we have to fight our way out of here ourselves, we need strength or we'll die on those slopes." Fito added.

"Fito is right" I said, "And if the bodies of our friends can help us to survive, they will not die in vain. "

The discussion continued throughout the afternoon. Many of those people like Liliana, Javier, Numa Turcatti, and Coce Inciarte among them, refused to eat human flesh, but no one tried to express their ideas.

In silence, we realized that we had reached a decision. Now a terrible food supply must be faced.

"How do I do it?" someone asked. "Who dares to slice the flesh of his own friend?" The room on the plane was now dark, I could only see a shadow of a gloomy light, but after a long silence, someone spoke. I know that voice is Roberto's.

"I will do it" he said.

Gustavo stood up and said softly, "I'll help."

"But who will be cut first?" ask Fito.

"How do we choose it?"We all looked at Roberto.

Gustavo and I will take care of it, he replied.

Fito stand. "I'm coming, '" he said.

"I'll help too" said Daniel Maspons, a wing forward at Old Christians and a friend of Coco's.

For a while, no one moved, and then we all came closer together, put our hands together, and promised that if one of us died here, one of us would die, others can use their bodies to eat.

After the promise, Roberto got up and searched the plane until he found some broken glass, then he led three of his assistants out to the grave. I heard them talking quietly while they were working, but I didn't

interested to see them. When they returned, they grasped the not-so-big pieces of meat. Gustavo offered me a piece and I accepted it.

It is grayish white, hard as wood and very cold. I reminded myself that this was no longer a part of the human body; this person's soul had left his body. Still, I slowly raised the meat to my lips. I shy away from people's gazes, but every angle I see is people surrounding me. Some people sit like me with meat in their hands, gathering the courage to eat it. The others moved their jaws in horror.

Finally, I found courage and put the meat in my mouth. The meat has no taste. I chewed it, once or twice, then forced myself to swallow it. I don't feel guilty or ashamed. I did what I had to do to survive. I understand the magnitude of the abstinence we have violated, but if I feel any strong emotion, it is a sense of anger that destiny has forced us to choose between this horror or the horror of death.

Eating meat did not satisfy my hunger, but it calmed my mind. I knew that my body would utilize protein to strengthen itself and slow down the process of dying from hunger. That night, for the first time since we had an accident, I felt a speck of hope. We must endure the grimness of this reality, and discover that we have the strength to face unimaginable horrors.

Our courage has given us the strength to control this situation, and given us precious time. Now there is no more delusion. We all knew our fight for survival was going to get worse and more horrific than we ever imagined, but I felt, that as a group, as a group, we have made a statement to the mountain that we will not give up.

(Connected)