The Rock Jockeys Read Online Free Page A

He flipped through a few pages. “It’s a diary.” Rick sat down on a nearby boulder. “This is incredible.”
    “What?” The other two boys crowded around him.
    “One of those guys survived the crash. Listen to this.…”
    August 25, 1945
    It is now the third day since the crash. I have decided to keep this journal as a
way of passing the time until help arrives
.
    My name is Lieutenant James Dowling. I am—was—the navigator of the ship
Death Angel
and am the only surviving member of the crew. Miraculously I have come through with only a flesh wound to my forehead
.
    Rick turned the page and continued.
    I have explored my surroundings and have found them hostile. There is no immediate food source and as yet I have not been able to find water
.
    August 28, 1945
    Today I buried the crew. It was hard work in such rocky ground, but it needed doing. I have been using the plane for shelter and it is adequate although it is growing colder each day. But that is not my main concern. If help does not come soon I will surely starve to death
.
    The following page was blank except for one word.
    Food
.
    The next entry wasn’t dated.
    I have found water and it has given me a little hope but on my second trip to the stream I nearly fell into what looks like a bottomless pit
.
    “He must be talking about the same hole I fell in.” Spud looked over Rick’s shoulder. “Does he say how those bones got in there?”
    Rick flipped though the pages. “It’s hard to tell. From here on he sort of rambles.”
    Dan Thorton was a great pilot. He made it through the entire war without a scratch. We were on our last flight together. It was Dan’s idea to stop off at the club for a couple of farewell drinks
.
    We had great plans for civilian life. Dan was going into business for himself. He invited us all to come in with him and
run a small airfield near his home in Memphis
.
    The next paragraph was smeared. Rick could barely make it out.
    I set the course and then relaxed. The next thing I knew the captain was on the radio. Something had gone wrong with the plane. It was going down and he didn’t have a clue where we were. I tried desperately to get us back on course, but by that time it was too late. Too late
.
    My fault, all of it. As navigator I am responsible
.
    J.D. let out a low whistle. “Poor guy,” he said. “Up here starving to death with all that guilt on his shoulders. Does he say anything else?”
    “There’s one more entry. It’s dated much later, in September. That’s odd.…” Rick scanned it quickly.
    “Well?” Spud asked. “What does it say?”
    Rick snapped the book shut. “Nothing.” He moved to the spot where they had built thefire earlier, kicked some of the dirt off the coals, and threw the little book on it.
    Spud watched the flames lick at the yellowed pages. Within seconds the book had turned to ash. “Why’d you do that? That’s a historical document.”
    “Not anymore.” Rick picked up his gear and headed down the hill.
    “I don’t get it.” Spud scratched his head. “What’s wrong with him?”
    J.D. frowned. “I’m not sure. But I’m starting to piece it together.”
    “Are you gonna let me in on it?”
    “You remember earlier when we found the plane and we were wondering why the government didn’t tell anybody anything about the crash or finding the bodies?”
    “Yeah? So?”
    “I think they put it together too when they found the lieutenant’s body in the plane and didn’t find all of the crew in their graves.”
    “What are you talking about?”
    “You remember those bones we found in the bottom of that hole?”
    Spud nodded.
    “How do you think the lieutenant managed to stay alive as long as he did?”
    Spud shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe he—wait a minute. You’re not saying … I mean, you don’t think he dug up one of those guys for food, do you?”
    J.D. picked up the rest of the gear. “We may never know. The bones are at the bottom of a pit and Rick