Page 23 of Wreckage

Troy

Igasped as I came to, every inch of me throbbing, my chest tight, my head spinning. My ribs felt cracked, and my face was swollen and stiff with dried blood. My left leg twisted at an angle that wasn’t entirely natural, pain stabbing up my thigh every time I shifted. It didn’t feel broken, but it was definitely damaged. It had to be my knee.

I sucked in a slow, shaky breath, wincing at the sharp sting in my ribs. The air was frigid, biting through my clothes and making me shudder violently.

It’s so fucking cold.

I exhaled, my breath visible in the dim moonlight filtering through the shattered window.

The entire cabin was an eerie wreckage—twisted metal, shredded seats, and debris scattered across the frozen ground outside my window.

The smell of oil, fire, and smoke filled my nostrils, thick and suffocating.

Where are we?

I swallowed hard, my mind sluggish, trying to piece everything together.

The flight. The turbulence. The crash. The mountain.

Goddamnit.

I gasped and tried to sit up, pain lancing through me so sharply that I nearly blacked out again. My heart pounded erratically, frantic and terrified.

Adrian. Elena.

I turned sharply to my side, expecting to see Adrian beside me, but his seat was empty.

“Adrian!” My voice cracked, raw with fear. I could have sworn he’d spoken to me earlier.

Silence.

My stomach lurched. I fought against the pain, forcing myself to move. Every breath burned, my limbs stiff and aching as I struggled out of my seat. Pain shot through my leg. My feet stumbled over debris, my body screaming in protest, but I kept moving.

My heart slammed against my ribs, panic clawing at my throat.

Please, please, let them be alive.

Then I saw them.

Adrian was slumped in a seat next to Elena’s, his back against the mangled back part, his face covered in blood and dirt. Unmoving.

And next to him?—

Elena.

Her body was so still. Her face was swollen, bruised, and covered in dried blood.

No. No, no, no.

I fell to my knees beside them in the aisle, reaching out with trembling hands.

I pressed my fingers against Adrian’s pulse first.

A slow, even beat greeted me. I let out a choked breath of relief.

“Adrian. Wake up, man.”

I shook his shoulder gently, ignoring the sharp pain that shot through my ribs.

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