14. Chapter Fourteen #2
She coughs the moment we reach cleaner air.
Her eyes focus on the wreckage behind me.
“The pilot.”
She swallows.
“Is he alive?”
“I didn’t find him inside.”
“Then where is he?”
I glance toward the footprints disappearing into the forest.
“He walked away.”
Her expression changes.
“Without us?”
“Yes.”
“Why would he do that?”
I don’t answer immediately.
Simone follows my gaze toward the trees.
The realization reaches her without my help.
“You think he did this.”
“I think we treat him as a threat until we know otherwise.”
She looks around.
A narrow beach curves along clear blue water. Dense trees cover most of the land beyond it.
No buildings.
No dock.
No roads.
Only forest, rock, and ocean.
“Where are we?”
“I don’t know yet.”
“That’s comforting.”
“We were over southern Europe when the failure started. We may be on one of the smaller islands off the coast.”
“May be?”
“The navigation system was destroyed.”
I set her carefully on the sand and check the wound at her temple.
She winces.
“That hurt.”
“You may have a mild concussion.”
“Wonderful.”
Her brown eyes, circled with gold, search the landscape.
“Are we alone?”
“The pilot is somewhere inland.”
“That isn’t what I meant.”
“I know.”
I look toward the tree line.
There could be residents on the far side of the island.
There could also be no one.
Until I know which, I won’t make promises.
“We need to assess the area before dark.”
I lift the emergency radio and attempt to activate it.
Nothing.
I turn the crank several times.
Static crackles, then dies.
The emergency locator on the aircraft should already be transmitting.
Except someone willing to sabotage the plane would know how to disable it.
I set the radio aside.
“I need to inspect the supplies and see whether I can salvage anything else.”
Simone gets unsteadily to her feet.
“Then I’m coming with you.”
“No.”
She looks toward the wreck.
“I’m not sitting here while you disappear into a smoking airplane.”
“I’m not disappearing.”
I turn toward the aircraft.
A faint hiss reaches me.
Fuel vapor.
“Move back.”
“What?”
“Simone, move!”
I grab her and pull her down behind a rise in the sand.
The explosion tears through the quiet island.
Heat rolls over us.
Metal fragments whistle through the air and strike the trees. Flames consume the remaining fuselage, sending a column of black smoke into the sky.
I cover Simone with my body until the debris stops falling.
“Are you hurt?”
She coughs beneath me.
“I don’t think so.”
I lift enough to examine her face.
Soot marks one cheek. Tears caused by the smoke gather in her eyes.
She stares at the burning wreckage.
“I’ve never seen anything like that.”
“Hopefully you never will again.”
“It’s terrifying.”
Her gaze remains fixed on the flames.
“And strangely beautiful.”
I touch her chin and turn her face toward me.
“Follow my finger.”
Her eyes track the movement.
“Are you testing me?”
“Yes.”
“I’m not brain-damaged.”
“The jury is still out.”
She scowls.
I help her to her feet and guide her farther along the beach, away from the smoke.
The explosion destroyed whatever remained of the communications equipment.
It also announced our position to anyone on the island.
Including the pilot.
We cannot stay exposed.
“Listen carefully.”
I place the survival case on the sand.
“We need shelter before dark. Then fresh water.”
She points toward the ocean.
“There’s water everywhere.”
“Water that will kill us if we drink it.”
Her mouth closes.
“Food comes after that. The emergency supplies will buy us some time, but not much.”
I look toward the forest.
“We also need to assume the pilot may be armed.”
The color drains from her face.
“I need to check the immediate area and find somewhere defensible.”
She folds her arms around herself.
“You’re leaving me here?”
“Only long enough to inspect the edge of the trees.”
Her breathing begins to quicken.
“Don’t tell me not to panic. Every time someone says that, something terrible happens.”
I step closer.
“I need you to stay where I can see you.”
“And what if you don’t come back?”
“I will.”
“You don’t know that.”
Her words echo mine from the plane.
I hold her gaze.
“I could never leave you, Simone.”
She stills.
The fear in her eyes shifts into something softer.
Something I don’t have time to examine.
I pick up the flashlight and my weapon.
“I’ll remain within sight. If I tell you to run, head down the beach away from the wreckage. Do not go into the trees.”
She nods.
“Okay.”
I walk toward the forest but stop at the first line of vegetation.
The pilot’s footprints are visible in the damp soil.
They lead inland.
Fresh.
Purposeful.
He didn’t stumble away searching for help.
He knew exactly where he was going.
I crouch beside the tracks.
A second mark runs parallel to them.
Something narrow dragged through the dirt.
A bag.
Or a rifle case.
The threat that began at the gala has followed us across an ocean and dropped us onto an island with no working communication.
This was never only about hiding Simone.
Someone wanted her isolated.
Vulnerable.
Dead.
I look back toward the beach.
She stands beside the emergency case with the burning aircraft behind her, watching me as though I’m the only stable thing left in her world.
I failed to prevent the crash.
But we survived it.
Now the pilot believes the explosion finished the job.
I intend to let him keep believing that.
I return to Simone and lift the survival case.
“We’re moving.”
“Where?”
“Away from the wreckage.”
She looks toward the forest.
“Did you find something?”
“Yes.”
I scan the trees once more.
“We aren’t alone.”