Page 28 of Wreckage

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 energywe 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.

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