Page 11

Adrian

I woke to cold air slicing through my lungs, my muscles stiff and aching from the crash. Everything hurt. But it wasn’t the pain that made my chest tighten—it was Elena.

She still hadn’t woken up. I knew that could mean some really bad things. That knowledge made my guts twist with worry. If we lost her…

I swallowed down those fears and looked at her. I felt her between us.

Her breaths were shallow, her body still, her skin too pale.

Troy was already awake beside me, his arms around her waist as gently as possible to keep warm just like I was doing, his face a mask of unreadable emotion.

But I knew better. I’d grown up with my older brother to know when his goofy, party-loving self wasn’t in his usual state of mind.

He was scared.

We both were.

“She should have woken up by now,” Troy murmured, his voice hoarse.

I swallowed hard. “She will. Right?” I was uncertain, the fear ebbing through my body.

He shot me a look, but I didn’t back down, desperate to hear him tell me once more that everything would be OK. Like when we were kids, and I was little. I couldn’t count the number of times I’d fallen off my bike, and Troy would rescue me and bring me into the house, all while telling me I’d be OK, even if the tears were flowing and blood was dripping down my leg from the latest crash.

“She will,” he repeated, more forcefully this time.

I exhaled sharply but didn’t argue, my ribs still aching and my body stiff and tender. I was sure I had at least broken ribs. My wrist was killing me. My head hurt. Other things were probably broken, but I could only focus on so much at a time.

Troy reached out, fingers ghosting over Elena’s bruised face.

He wouldn’t acknowledge it, but I saw it.

I saw the way he held her hand last night. The way he wept for her. Cared for her. Held her. I’d heard him several times in the night whispering to her to hold on. He made the same promises to her that he made to me. It’ll be OK. Just hang on. I promise…

I saw the way his gaze lingered on her face longer than necessary. It made something tighten in my chest that I didn’t recognize because it was unfamiliar.

I shook the thought away and pushed myself upright, wincing as pain shot through my ribs.

“We need to figure out where we are,” I said. “Try to radio for help. See if anyone’s looking for us.”

Troy nodded, rubbing a hand over his face. “You think we have a signal out here?”

I reached for my pocket, pulling out my phone.

No service. Same as before.

I already knew he would say the same.

“Shit,” I grumbled, wincing as the cold bit at me. I’d only been here for two days, and I was already over this. Going home for the weekend didn’t seem so bad compared to the mess we were in now.

I scoffed at the thought.

Troy ran a hand through his hair, looking over at Elena.

“I’ll check the radios,” I muttered. “You stay with her.”

He nodded without hesitation .

I turned and made my way toward the shattered exit, stepping out into the blinding morning light.

The air outside was brutal, far worse than inside the cabin.

Sharp, freezing, unforgiving. It was as if God decided to stuff our asses in a deep freezer and walk out of the room.

I swallowed hard as I took in the wreckage. The plane was in worse shape than I had thought. It was a miracle anyone had survived.

One of the wings was gone entirely. We had cut through trees, leaving a long, ugly scar in the dense forest before coming to a stop nestled against the side of a mountain.

I clenched my fists.

We were in the middle of nowhere, easily miles from civilization. With the end of winter here, it may be weeks before the snow melted, if it even did, so we could try to make it to safety. And I didn’t even know which direction safety was.

A bottomless pit settled in my stomach.

If no one found us soon, we’d be on our own for a long time. It was way too long to be able to survive. The grim thought left me sick. I was sure Troy had already figured all of this out.

Shivering, I turned back toward the plane and climbed inside.

Troy was still at Elena’s side, his fingers brushing over her cheek absentmindedly.

“We have to move Dean,” I said quietly. I loved Dean. He was a good man. Losing him cut a hole in my heart that wouldn’t soon mend. His wife would be devastated. His kids. Our dad. I pushed the sad thoughts out of my head, forcing myself to focus on the now.

Troy grimaced but nodded. “Yeah. Before she wakes up.”

We worked in silence, our bodies screaming in protest as we dragged Dean’s body out into the snow. We didn’t say much as we dug a shallow grave with our hands in the white powder—it was more of a hole. The ground was too frozen to do more.

Once we lowered him into it, we both stood there, staring down at our friend. The man who had looked out for us. The man who didn’t survive but had tried everything to make sure we had.

Troy clenched his jaw. “This wasn’t supposed to happen.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat .

“Rest easy, Dean,” I whispered. “We’ll miss you. You were the best.”

Troy exhaled sharply, his eyes wet as he murmured, “Thank you… for always taking care of us.”

We covered him with snow as best we could.

And when we were done, we turned and walked away in silence.

Back inside, I tried the plane’s radio.

Nothing. No signal. No static. No hope. Only silence.

Frustrated, I slammed my fist against the console, the pain barely registering.

Troy looked up from where he sat beside Elena as I returned to the cabin.

“Well?”

“Dead,” I mumbled, feeling so lost and desperate.

He exhaled, his shoulders dropping slightly. “Then we need to focus on staying alive.”

I nodded. “We need to winter-proof the plane. We won’t survive forever here the way it is—too many drafts. We might be able to gather some wood and make a fire in here. Somehow.” I winced, not even knowing how we’d accomplish that. I was only a second-year engineering student, even though Dad wanted me to join the company he’d built from the ground up when he’d graduated from college. That wasn’t for me, though. Engineering wasn’t my first choice either, but nothing else seemed to spark my interest, so it was as good as anything. Troy was the one who felt the weight of the decision the hardest, though. I knew he was going to end up a damn attorney or taking over for Dad someday and running a multi-million dollar merger and acquisitions corporation he had no interest in.

I pushed those thoughts out of my head. I wasn’t even sure we’d return to worry about them. The wild could very well claim us. It wasn’t like any of us were survival experts.

We worked tirelessly to patch what we could with the bit of energy we had left. We used wreckage to cover the shattered windows, blocking out as much wind as possible. We removed some seats and cleared space near the back for a sleeping area.

Luckily, we found blankets, pillows, and an inflatable emergency raft, which we let open for a makeshift bed. Dean had always been a survival buff, and I thanked God for that.

The raft wasn’t ideal, but it would keep us off the freezing floor.

I found an emergency kit and cracked open a hot pack before I shoved it under the blankets to warm them up.

Troy was already watching me when I turned back toward Elena. We held a silent conversation, and without a word, he moved to her and lifted her into his arms.

She was light, too light. I could tell that immediately as he moved her through the cabin to the bed we’d made. Her head fell limply against his chest, her body ice cold. I didn’t need to be the one holding her to know that. The way she was stiff told me as much. That and the memory of her cool skin from when I’d last touched her.

My throat tightened as Troy carried her to the makeshift bed, gently laying her down.

I knelt beside him as we checked her injuries, bandaging what we could with the first aid kit. Something about seeing her this way broke me inside. I swallowed down that new pain, my throat tight. I couldn’t be weak now. She needed me. Troy needed me. All we had was each other.

Carefully, we tucked her in, piling every blanket over her, knowing Troy was sending up as many silent prayers as I was.

By the time evening rolled in, we had done everything we could. We had secured the plane as best as possible and had gathered all the food and water we could find, setting it in a pile near our sleeping area. It was surprisingly a fair amount. That offered some relief .

Troy and I sat side by side, each of us slowly chewing on a granola bar, neither speaking.

Finally, I exhaled. “We should try waking her again.”

Troy nodded, shifting closer to her.

I reached for her cold hand, rubbing small circles into the back of it.

“Elena,” I murmured. “You need to wake up now, OK?”

Troy brushed strands of hair from her forehead, his fingers lingering. The way he touched her sent shocks through my body. His touch was what I wanted mine to be when I was near her. I didn’t dwell on any of it, though. Maybe the fear of impending doom had me feeling the way I was.

“Elena,” he whispered. “Come on.”

She didn’t stir.

Troy let out a shaky breath, pressing his forehead gently against her temple. The move made my heart jolt. We never touched her. Cared about her. Suddenly, everything had shifted, and she became the most important thing in the damn room. I didn’t want to explore those reasons, nor did I want to speak up and question them.

“We should get in,” I said quietly. “She’s still cold.”

Troy hesitated before nodding. We both crawled under the blankets, one of us on each side of her. The heating pack had done its job—it was warm enough beneath the covers.

I watched Troy shift beside her, his body tense.

Neither of us acknowledged how naturally we had fallen into this. Neither of us commented on the way we hovered over her, the way we kept checking her breathing.

Finally, after a long silence, Troy spoke.

“This wasn’t supposed to happen.”

I sighed. “No. It wasn’t. Some weekend, huh?”

He let out a soft scoff. “I didn’t even want to come on this trip. I tried to get out of it.”

“Same,” I admitted softly. “Wish I’d have missed the flight. Been late for the first time in my damn life. Go figure.”

Troy chuckled softly before going quiet.

“Amanda?” I asked after a brief silence.

Troy scoffed. “What about her? ”

I raised an eyebrow as I looked over Elena’s body at him. I knew they had to be fighting. I’d seen his frustration and had caught a glimpse of her text yelling at him.

Troy exhaled sharply. “She doesn’t matter. Right now is what matters.”

I didn’t argue. He wasn’t wrong. Dwelling on the worries of the free world seemed insignificant at that moment. I just nodded and stared up at the dark ceiling.

Silence stretched between us before Troy broke it again.

“I don’t think she’s going to make it.”

I clenched my jaw, closing my eyes. “She will. You promised.”

“I know, but she’s too weak,” he whispered, his voice choked. “If she doesn’t wake soon…"

“No,” I said firmly. “She’s strong. She always has been. You said it yourself.”

Troy didn’t respond to me. Instead, he reached for her hand.

I reached for the other on instinct.

Neither of us spoke as we both whispered soft prayers, our voices barely above a breath.

Eventually, exhaustion took us under. We slept, the three of us tangled in the same blankets, hoping she’d be with us when we woke up.