English 30-2

Nov 24, 2018

The Outback

Its been three weeks since I was rescued from the outback, I was stranded for three

days, with no food, water, or any sense of hope. This is my story.

November 21, 2018, I was on my way to New York for a business trip, nothing out of

the ordinary. I had Done this countless times. Land at JFK, take a taxi to the Goliath National

Bank (GNB) Building, sit in meetings for three days straight, and finally go back home.

But it was different this time. On my way to the GNB Building I decided to stop for lunch,

my plane arrived early, and I was feeling a little hungry. So, I asked my taxi driver, Ranjit, what is

the fastest, most delicious, American made Australian Food I could find in New York City,

naturally he drove me straight to The Outback Steakhouse on West 23rd Street. Little did I know

what I would be getting myself into.

I walk in, take in a deep breath of that fresh Outback Steakhouse smell and take a seat.

A server comes over and greets me, asks what I would like to drink, I reply, “Just water, nothing

too fancy”. She walks away as I sit their catching up on some work I should have done on the

plane, when the loudest explosion I have every heard came from outside the window next to

me.

I didn’t know this at the time but all-around New York there was a series of terrorist

attacks taking place, hundreds of bombs were placed all around the city set to explode at the
exact same time. At exactly 12:32 PM 279 bombs went off all over the city of New York, causing

a frenzy of emergency responders and fear driven civilians. I was one of the unlucky 1588

Casualties, of which 512 died.

All I remember from the moment the bombs went off is a flash of white and then

darkness. 6 hours later I woke up, trapped under what felt like 17 feet worth of rubble on my

chest. Thankfully my phone was still in my pocket, but when I tried to call for help, nothing

happened. It seems that the cell towers were some of the targets that were hit.

Because there was such a wide ground zero the search effort to find survivors and

bodies would take weeks, Emergency Response crews from all around the United States would

fly in to help, but even with the extensive search parties it would still be 3 days before I would

be found.

After I got my bearings I knew I had one goal, to survive. I had to conserve as much

energy as I could, the first step was to calm down, slow my heart rate. This proves challenging

when you are buried in 6 feet of rubble. The human body can survive about three days without

water, a little more if not in direct sunlight and cold. Thankfully I was in pitch black, so I had that

going for me.

The first day was probably the hardest, most of my time was just spent trying to ignore

the hunger and feeling for any vibrations or voices from up above. Not much really happened

outside of that. The rest of the day was just me, the darkness, and some heavy rubble.

Day two is when things started to get interesting, the search up above was getting

kicked into overdrive as all the help from across the Country, and in some cases across the
world, arrived. Day one only the most populated areas were being searched, compared to the

effected area, the NYC Fire Dept. was very small. I’m not sure what time it was but I was doing

my normal thing, laying there in pain, when I heard, and felt, what seemed like a vehicle driving

past. I tried to make the loudest sound I could, but they just drove by.

Day three was mostly the same, A few vehicles fly past, but that’s it. It wasn’t until later

in the day when I turned on my phone that I realised that I might not be doomed to died in

these rocks. While I was under the rock I was periodically turning on my phone to check if I

could get any new signals. Up until that point there was no change, until there was.

My phone clock said it was about 9:28 PM November 24, 2018, and my phone exploded

with messages. It seems that at some point between the last time I checked my phone and now

a cell tower barely in range was fixed. Extatically I called 911 and explained to the officer on the

other end my situation and where to find me, I was told they would have a team out at soon as

possible. About thirty minutes later I start to hear sirens, and after that I hear voices, getting

closer and closer. Until finally they reach me.

I was one of 1076 survivors of the second biggest terrorist attacks in US history, or as I

like to call it, the time I was stranded in the Outback for three days. Some say that the attacks

were done by ISIS, some say it was a Right- or Left-wing rxtremist group. The people behind the

attacks were never caught, so we will never know. But one thing is for sure, that day changed

America, and the world as a whole.