Page 84 of Stranded

A million emotions go through me at once. I’m angry they would sacrifice themselves, but proud that they would even consider doing it, and for a man who wasn’t their family. Unable to contain myself any longer, I lurch forward, wrapping an arm around both of their necks and pulling them into a three-way hug.

“You two are so brave, I can’t believe you did that.” Their bodies relax against me as they hug me back. The sound of Weston clearing his throat has me releasing them to sit back beside him.

“Why are you mad at them for trying to save your life?” I ask him in confusion.

“It’s a pilot's duty to go down with his plane.”

“Well, I think that’s dumb. If you ever have to make the decision to go down with a plane again, please make the choice that’ll have you survive to come home to me, okay?” I ask in frustration, not wanting to lose him over his perceived duty.

His eyes soften, and he hugs me, stroking my back as he whispers, “I promise to always do my best to come back to you. Besides, when we get out of here, I might have to take a break from flying for a while.”

“That’s right, you didn’t finish your story,” I say, pulling back from him. “You were explaining about the first crash and why your parents don’t talk to you.”

“Right.” He takes a deep breath, grabbing my hand and holding it in his lap. “I crashed into the wilderness and it took me a few hours to reach civilization. By the time I got in contact with my superiors, local news channels had already played footage of me emerging from the jungle, looking like a complete wreck. Some locals took the footage on their phones and sold it to the media.”

He takes a second to gather his thoughts before he continues. “My superiors were furious with me for crashing and I was dishonorably discharged.”

“What the fuck? The EMP wasn’t your fault,” Bower says angrily. “They can’t do that.”

“They can, and they did. I didn’t even get to make a statement. The entire thing was suspicious and strange. I had a feeling someone in our own government wanted that plane to go down, and I was just a loose end. I decided not to fight it and be thankful that they didn't seem to be sending anyone to finish off the job.” He glances at me before looking at the other two again. “Well, until now.”

“What do you mean?” Kingsley asks in confusion.

“The way our plane went down, that was no accident.” My eyes widen in shock, but from the looks on Bower and Kingsley’s faces, this isn’t news to them.

But I can’t help the way my heart starts beating rapidly in my chest. That can’t be a coincidence, can it? What are the chances that two planes go down in the exact same spot, both having departed from Perth?

“Anyway, after that, my parents said I was a disgrace and refused to hear my side of the story. Even my older brother, Brian, who’s a captain in the army, refused to talk to me, and we used to be really close.”

“Well, you don’t need them, you have us now,” I tell him with a squeeze of his hand. He gives me a thankful smile as I turn to the other two.

“Bower, I know you lost your parents, do you have any siblings?”

“Yeah, Kingsley's family took me in. I was twelve at the time. He has a younger sister, Hazel, she’s become a little sister to me, too. And his mom became a second mom to me.” He speaks of Kingsley’s family with such affection, it’s clear to see he cares for them.

“That’s amazing that they took you in like that. Kingsley, your mom must be amazing?” I ask, turning my gaze to him.

He smiles warmly in memory of her. “Yeah, her and Hazel are great.” He sighs, his smile disappearing quickly. “I hate to think about how worried they are right now.”

“Don’t worry, King. Reece will find us soon,” Bower says, giving his shoulder a firm squeeze in comfort.

“So… do you two want to know what our girl here was actually up to when she ran off?” Weston suddenly asks, changing the subject. My head whips to him as my eyes widen in fear.

“You wouldn’t!” He smirks at me and turns back to them, waiting for an answer. “Weston!”

“If you’re going to do reckless things, I think all three of us deserve to know, so we know how to properlyhandle you.”

“Handle me? I’m not your pet!” I grumble in disapproval.

“No, but you’re our girl, and you’re a little… shall we say… wild? It’s our job to take care of you, and part of that is making sure you don’t get yourself into trouble.”

“I—” He raises an eyebrow at me, as if begging me to try to argue his point. My shoulders slump in defeat.

“Oh, this must be good, what’d she do?” Bower asks, rubbing his hands together like he’s about to hear some juicy gossip.

Weston glances at me before he answers. “She was climbing up that giant 200 foot rock wall. When I told her to get down, she fell from about twenty feet up, luckily I caught her.”

Bower and Kingsley look at me with a mix of surprise, fear and frustration.

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