Chapter 2
April 14, 1978
I felt this sensation of being lifted from the floor but there was so much pain I couldn't open my eyes. I didn't know where I was. It was silent but the smell was awful. Something was burning. There was a smoke that was burning my lungs. Then there was this voice.
"Sir, are you ok? Can you hear me?" It said. I couldn't find words. All I could do was make a grunting sound. I was hoisted up and we were moving. I could feel that whoever was carrying me was very strong. There was no struggle in him holding me.
I fought hard to open my eyes. When I did, I didn't believe what I as seeing. The most beautiful blue eyes were staring at me. This chiseled face, cleanly shaven with a brown or black curl in the middle of his forehead.
I blinked several times, trying to adjust my vision but every time the same image was staring back at me. I looked down past his face and saw the blue fabric around his shoulders and half of the yellow and red "S" emblem on his chest.
Realization hit me hard. The Superman that I had heard so much about was holding me and carrying me off the plane that had just crashed. I had to pinch myself to make sure that I wasn't dreaming.
Within moments, we were outside the plane. The sun was bright and I had to shield my eyes until they adjusted. That's when I looked back at Superman and looked into his eyes. There was something there that I had not seen in someone before. They were the clearest blue eyes I had ever seen and yet there was so much hidden in them. It took me back for a moment. Then he smiled at me and something inside me melted there on the spot.
Superman carried me to an ambulance with a waiting stretcher and laid me on it. I tried to protest but he put his hand on my cheek and all the fight that I had was gone. I looked again into his eyes and saw confusion and conflict behind them. Then with a smile, he turned away. He looked around at the other passengers that were being treated by other paramedics and then looked at the wreckage that was being soaked in water to put out the flames.
Then with a glance at me and another smile, he flew straight into the air, slowly at first and was soon out of sight. I looked at the paramedic who was busy checking over me and closed my eyes. Darkness took over once again.
THE NEXT TIME I woke up, I was in a hospital bed. My throat was dry and scratched. I could see a variety of bandages on my both my arms. I was in a hospital gown and apparently I had been bathed at some point.
"Good morning Mr. Martinez." A voice said from the door to my room. I looked to see a woman in a dark blue dress and white lab coat with a clipboard walk into the room.
"I'm Doctor Moore, how are you feeling?" She asked.
"Ok." I said but it was a struggle to say the words. "Water." I managed to say. She put her clipboard down and went to a table beside the bed that I could not see. She handed me a small cup of water a few seconds later. I graciously took a few sips, feeling the coldness hit the back of my throat, causing pain and comfort at the same time.
"I am glad to see you're awake." She said. "We've treated you for several scrapes and bruises but nothing was broken but I'm afraid you suffered a small concussion during the crash. We want to keep you here for a day or two just for observations." She said. I just nodded.
Concussion. That explained the fantasy I had that Superman saved me from the plane crash.
"Do you have any family that we can contact?" She asked. I shook my head and her smile faltered briefly and said "That's okay, we'll get you taken care of and that sorted out later." She made some small talk about which nurse was in charge but my mind had drifted back to the accident and to the delusion that Superman had rescued me from the crashed plane. I heard her say something about television and I nodded.
She walked over to a television that was on a stand and turned it on. It was set on a news channel.
She asked if I needed anything else and then left the room. I stared at the ceiling while listening to the news anchor talk until something she said caught my attention.
"Superman once again saved the day when he stopped a plane from falling the sky after an engine failed and detached from the plane." She continued to tell details but I wasn't listening. My eyes were focused on the image of Superman carrying me from the plane.
Not the result of a concussion.
It had really happened. My brain kept re-running the entire accident over and over from the part Superman picked me off the floor of the plane to when he laid me down on the stretcher and placed his hand on my cheek. The look in his eyes hiding something I just couldn't put my fingers on.
I must have drifted off because the sound of a commotion coming from the hallway woke me up. Voices of excitement and awe. I couldn't make out what was being said.
After a moment I could see the crowd approaching my viewpoint from the door. Looked like reporters holding microphones and flash bulbs were going off. And then I saw his face. That chiseled face with stunning blue eyes and dark curl on his forehead. He was all smiles as he slowly tried to make his way down the hall.
Then he was standing at the door to my room and looked at me with that smile. He politely excused himself from the reporters and knocked on my already-opened door. I motioned for him to come in, too speechless to speak. He walked in and shut the door behind him.
"I hope I'm not bothering you." He said as he came closer to my bed.
"No." I managed to croak out.
"Good. I just wanted to come by and see how the crash survivors were doing." He pulled a chair beside the bed and sat down.
"That's...nice of you..." I croaked out, suddenly embarrassed at how I sounded.
"Thanks. Would you like some water?" He asked, motioning towards the empty cup in my hand. I nodded and he got up from the chair, took the cup from my hands and went to the table beside my bed. I sat up further in my bed as he handed me the cup of water.
"Thank you." I said as I took a sip. "I can never thank you enough for saving me...us on that plane today."
"It was nothing. You're very welcome." He said as he sat back down in the chair.
"How did you know we were in trouble?" I asked.
"I have my ways." He said with a smile.
"I am glad you were there. The results...would have been different..." Suddenly the realization that I could have died along with everyone else on the plane hit and the wave of emotions was overbearing. I quickly fought back the tears and turned my head away from him. I couldn't have Superman see me cry.
I looked back at him when I felt him grab my hand. I looked down to see Superman holding my hand to assure me that it was going to be ok. A smile crept across my face as I looked up to his face.
Suddenly, he seems nervous. The Man of Steel was sitting in my hospital room holding my hand and he was the one that was nervous.
"What's wrong?" I asked as he took his hand back.
"Nothing." He responded but I could feel him drawing back into himself. "I shouldn't have done that." He said as he stood up to leave.
"No! Please stay." I heard myself say. He stopped and looked at me. "I didn't mind that at all." I said.
His face softened and he sat back down. Suddenly at ease, we talked for the next twenty minutes about everything. We mainly talked about his first few times saving the planet as Superman and that the "S" on his chest was his family crest and didn't stand for Superman, as most people thought.
"Hey, how would you like a picture with me?" He asked. Of course I couldn't turn down the offer and said yes. He got up and opened the door to my room where the reporters and photographers were still standing. He called out for someone named Jimmy and this young guy in a suit and bow tie walked in with camera in hand.
"Jimmy, this is Joseph Martinez, Joseph, this is Jimmy, one of the best photographers that works for the Daily Planet." Jimmy extended his hand and I took it.
"Nice to meet you." I responded.
"Would you take our picture?" Superman asked. When Jimmy nodded, Superman posed beside me. I had no idea how I looked but I did my best to smile when the flash bulb went off. "Thank you Jimmy. Now you see that Lois gets that printed in tomorrow's paper." He said with a smile. Jimmy nodded with a smile and quickly left the room.
Superman looked at me and smiled and announced that he had to leave. I thanked him for stopping by and for saving our lives again. He smiled and instead of going towards the door, he went to the window and opened it.
"Until we meet again." He said and quickly disappeared.