Chance Encounters

by Kathi S. Barton

  “I’m afraid of dying in the water. I don’t know how to swim. It never came up before.” He told her he was working on something to get her out. “I hate to fly. Did you know that? I’m not sure why I do, but I’m not going to fly again if I live through this. My boss will have to figure out another way for me to get around the country.”

  Her boss. She could see his face now. He was an older gentleman that had a gray beard, as well as snowy white sideburns. And he said things that made her laugh all the time. Things like he was going to get a brewsky, as well as a wiener on bread.

  “Flying is safer than driving, you know. I mean, it’s hard to imagine that now, but it’s true.” She looked around where she was and had to disagree with that statement. “More people are killed in cars daily than in planes yearly. You should—”

  “No more.” He shut up, for which she was grateful. The image of the man came to mind again, and she let him comfort her while the pain seemed to build and build. Her arm was throbbing, and her head felt as if she was going to have to remove it so that she could breathe. When she felt something wet touch her lip, she wiped her fingers over it to see blood on her hand, and was sure this wasn’t a good sign. Her nose was bleeding, and blood had dripped to her neck from her ears earlier.

  “I’m hurt.” He said he knew that, he could see her. “I’m going to die in here, and I don’t even know what you’re going to put on my tombstone.”

  “I promise you that we’re doing everything we can to get you out of here. They’re working hard to steady this up so that you aren’t hurt more when we come in to get you.” She nodded, knowing that they were trying. She could see them as they moved beneath her. “Miss. Can you tell me anything about your life? Something that I can use?”

  “I’m alone.” Again she had no idea why she knew that to be true, but it was. “I don’t even have a cat. I don’t think…I don’t know where I live, but I don’t think I have a cat or dog. I want one someday—a dog, not a cat—but I don’t think I’ll get one.”

  She wasn’t feeling sorry for herself, but she was nothing if not a realist. She was going to die in this tomb…if not by water, then from her wounds. Touching her fingers to her face to see if that helped her, she winced when she felt the large cut on her head, and wondered if that was why she couldn’t remember.

  “It more than likely is. You need stitches when we get you out. And your arm will need to be set. I can see from here that it might be broken.” She must have spoken aloud, and turned to look at him again when the plane shifted. This time she couldn’t hold on, and let the darkness take her away. She heard him screaming at her to hang on. But there wasn’t anything to hold onto as she was shifted once again.

  ~~~

  Trevor moved slowly. He wasn’t sure what had happened to him, but he could see the ambulances as well as all the firetrucks surrounding what was left of the plane he and the others had been on. Standing up brought him to his knees again, and he had to sit that way for ten minutes before he thought he could move again. The pain in his body was the worst he’d ever had, and he wasn’t even going to think about how bad it had been when he’d first landed here. Standing up slower this time, he could see that he’d not been the only one that had been thrown from the wreckage.

  The stewardess was lying near him. Her body was broken and her neck had suffered badly for the fall. Trevor reached down to put his fingers to her pulse, and wasn’t surprised to find there wasn’t one. He checked the man next to her, to find that he had died as well. Making his way to the plane, all he could think about was Andrea and whether she was alive or not.

  The closer he got to the plane the more worried he became. The thing looked as if it had been broken in half, then the parts that had fallen off were tossed all over the landing strip. A wing was sticking straight up out of the ground, looking like it had been put there as a monument to something. The other wing was on fire, and the trucks were working hard to put it out. Gasoline was everywhere, the smell of it making his wolf antsy. To be honest, he was as well.

  He knew that the only reason he’d not been killed was the fact the he was a shifter. His body could take a great deal more than a human, and once he was assured that Andrea was alive and all right, he’d shift and be healed completely. But doing so now would make people wonder how he’d made it out completely uninjured. He didn’t want to risk being blamed for what had happened. Not that he had any idea what had brought them down, but there was no way he was taking the fall for it.

  There were several crews working under the plane’s body. Cranes at each end were holding it up, but even as he watched it moved, shifting precariously enough that he was sure it was going to fall into the water beneath it. If she was still on the plane, which he was sure that she was, then she would surely drown. Moving quicker now, he reached out to her.

  Are you all right? Where are you hurt? There wasn’t an answer, but he knew from the gentle touch of her mind that she was in a great deal of pain. Andrea, honey, answer me.

  “You know me? Is that my name? Where are you?” He paused in talking to her when he heard the panic in her voice. He knew that she was speaking aloud, but for now, he thought she might need to do that. “All the people are dead, I told the other man; where are you so he can get you help?”

  Who is with you? She told him it was someone at the door, then she giggled. Is he in the plane or one of the men working on it?

  “He’s by the door, not here with me. He can’t get to me. Every time someone tries, the plane moves and I end up with more dead bodies. All that are in here are dead people. One of them lost their head.” Her giggling again frightened him, and he picked up the pace of getting to her. “You called me Andrea. Do you know me? Or do I…are you the handsome man that I can see when I close my eyes?”

  You don’t remember me? She said she didn’t know who she was either, and he nearly fell over in his worry. Your name is Andrea Marshall Dean. You’re a marketing engineer that has a long client list. And you’re my wife.

  If she didn’t remember him, he wasn’t going to be kept away from her because she wasn’t really his wife. Having her think that, even temporarily, he thought he could get her better care than she might otherwise receive should she not have very good medical.

  “You and I are married? I don’t…there’s not a ring on my hand. And I don’t feel married. Are you sure you have…where are you?” He could hear the fear in her voice now, and he worried about that. Fear could make her shut him out again, and he didn’t want that. “Where are you and what’s your name?”

  My name is Trevor Dean. I’m coming. We have a special connection, you and me. She told him she couldn’t see him. I’m coming to you. Just be brave for a bit longer.

  He knew that she was still conscious but not speaking. As he made his way to her and the plane, he could see that some of the bodies that had been tossed from the wreckage were being put into body bags. It would take a long time to identify them, he thought. Without having seats to confirm where they’d been when the plane went down, they would have to rely on families to identify them. That was a job that he had no desire to do.

  The plane moved again, this time shifting itself off the crane closest to him and plummeting to the edge of the fast moving water. As if they knew that time was coming to an end, several men and women moved as one to the body of the plane and began crawling inside of it as the other crane was lowered to the ground. He ran now, needing to see that Andrea was all right when he hit a wall again.

  “You can’t go in there.” He nearly knocked the man to the ground when he stopped him. When he growled low, the man didn’t even back off from him but held him there. “Don’t make me have to hurt you, sir. You’ll only get in their way, and there is one woman on there that at last count was the only survivor.”

  “Me too; I was on that plane as well. I was….” Trevor turned back to the direction he’d come from and saw that an ambulance was there now. He looked at the man, an officer, in front o
f him. “I was tossed out with the rest of those people. My wife is on that plane. I need to see her.”

  “If you go in there, you might hurt someone that could use the help of the people who know what they’re doing. They have to hurry and…the plane is going down, sir, and we need to remove as many of the dead as we can. Your wife…if she’s alive, then wouldn’t you like to know that the people in there can help her?”

  “She’s alive.” The man nodded but didn’t look convinced. “She’s alive. I know it. She’s…I need her.”

  “I understand, sir. I do. If that were my wife, I just don’t know what I’d do. But there…it’s horrible. I was the first one here and…and I had to…they set me over here when I couldn’t…it’s too much for a man like me.” Trevor held the man when he dropped his head on his chest. He could feel his pain like it was his own. “The pilot is dead…his body was cut in half by the wing when it…the entire front of the plane was severed off, and I saw it. Saw those bodies being tossed out of it like they were a big child’s toy; just tossed them out and they hit the ground. I just stepped outside for a smoke and there it was, coming down. I’m never going to smoke again. Not ever.”

  Trevor held him to his chest, knowing that as soon as this man could, he’d stop working. The nightmare of this day would haunt him for years, if not for the rest of his life. Trevor felt sorry for him and wished that he could do something for him, when he heard a shout that made his wolf stir along his skin.

  ~~~

  It took him an hour to get close enough to the bodies to see where his wife was. Andrea had not contacted him again, and he could no longer reach her. The officer that he’d held as his heart broke told him to walk up and down the lines of bodies to see if he could find her. Any help he could give them would make the rest go faster. They told him there were no survivors but himself.

  There were so many of them, all lying in neat rows, some of them covered so that he didn’t have to look at the wounds or whatever had killed them. When he’d been boarding, Trevor had heard one of the stewardess say that they were nearly full at one hundred and sixty five. With the crew, he’d been told there were one hundred and seventy-one aboard. When he got to the last line of people, he looked around the wreckage. The plane had gone down into the water twenty minutes ago, still having some of the passengers buckled in their seats. His Andrea, it seemed, had not made it out at all. Trevor fell to the ground, his legs no longer able to support him.

  Sitting on the cold ground he stared out at the water. He’d been over this body of water so many times in his life that he knew each and every curve of it, even how deep it was. The plane’s body would be pulled up eventually, but he was sure that there would be no one left to be identified by then. The water had taken his love as it had a great many others. Of the over one hundred and seventy people, they had only been able to reach just under one hundred of them.

  Boss? He told Sara that he was all right, not really in the mood to talk to her, or anyone for that matter. I just saw it on the news and couldn’t believe it. They say…did you find her? Andrea, did you find her? Did she get out? I heard that there was a survivor; please tell me your mate made it out alive too.

  No. She didn’t make it. They didn’t get all the…she was still aboard the plane when it crashed in the.... They didn’t have time to get her out before it fell into the water. She told him how sorry he was. I’m not coming in for a while. I’m not sure…I don’t know what to do now, Sara. I only knew her for a short time, but I feel as if my heart has been ripped out of my body.

  You take your time, boss. Nothing here that I can’t take care of. He knew that. What do you want me to tell people when they ask where you are? I’d gladly tell them to fuck off for you, but then I’m not known for my tact.

  Tell them…tell them that I’m recovering and you don’t know where I am. Sara told him that was a good idea, and he felt his heart break more for what he needed her to do. I don’t know if she had any family. If she did, tell them…tell them that we’d been married only a short time and that I want her buried…I want her buried near my home. See about getting the paperwork done up to make it look like we married a few days ago. I want to make sure that things are taken care of for her.

  There isn’t anyone left for her. No sisters or brothers, her parents are both gone. Even grandparents are all gone as well. You were all she had. He heard her sobbing and he stood up to move out of the way of the men moving toward the bodies. I’m sorry, Trevor. I surely am. Is there anything I can do for you right now? Anything at all?

  It was the first time she’d called him by his first name. He smiled a little, thinking it had taken something as tragic as this to get her to use it. But almost as soon as the joy of it was there, it was gone again. He’d lost his mate. His only love, his other half. As he made his way to the cruisers that were plentiful around the crime scene, he felt his wolf curl around him. Trevor wondered if either of them would ever be the same again, and doubted it very much. Life, he knew, was never going to be the same.

  No. I have to do this on my own. I have to…I don’t know, really, but I want to be alone. I’m going to…they’ve put me up in a hotel nearby until things are…until they can figure out what happened. I’m not sure what happened myself, but the plane was going down even as I tried to save her. Sara cried again for him. I can’t talk right now. The medics, they’re coming now. I have to go and see what they want. I’ll talk to you sometime.

  He was checked out twice, his body nearly healed now that he was able to get around a little more. Trevor told them three times that he had no knowledge of what had happened other than the plane had bounced a couple of times before he’d been thrown back, and he thought he’d hit his head. No, he’d not heard an explosion of any kind, and he’d not seen anyone with a gun. It had started and was over with before he could have thought they were in trouble.

  After several hours he was released but asked not to leave just yet, and was put into a very nice hotel where a police officer was set out front of his room. They assured him it was for his own protection and not that he was in trouble. Families would want him to come and talk to them, beg him for information that he didn’t seem to have. Trevor didn’t want to talk to anyone anyway, so was glad for the extra precaution. As soon as he got in his room, he stripped down and let his wolf take him. In seconds his wolf gave him back, his body healed, but Trevor knew that a part of him had died today as well. Both of them had lost their mate, not just Trevor. After taking a shower, Trevor laid on the bed and let exhaustion take him under.

  Where are you? Trevor sat up in the bed. Hello? Mr. Dean? Where are you? I’m afraid. Can you come and get me?

  Her voice rang in his head like she was right beside him. The room, dark now that it was night, gave her voice in his head an eerie, almost terrifying sound. Trevor laid back down just as she spoke again.

  I’m hurting and I need someone to help me. You said you were my husband, now be husband like and come to get me. He thought about ignoring it for the pain in his heart, but the next time she spoke, he was pulling on his clothing even as he knew it was her. I feel so cold. The water is coming up to my toes now, and I’m afraid. My arm is throbbing and my head feels like a spike is in it. Even my eyes hurt. Please, you have to help me. You said you were my husband…you have to help me.

  I’m coming. He heard her cry and told her he was coming again. Where are you, love? They said that you went down with the plane.

  No. I don’t know what...what do you mean, went down with…? Is that why it’s gone? He asked her again where she was. It’s dark and cold. There are trees everywhere. And a fence. I can see a fence. Hurry.

  I am. I’m coming. He hurried out of the room and nearly plowed over the cop standing there. “She’s alive. I just heard from her and she’s alive.”

  “Sir, I don’t think you understand. The plane went down and—” Not wanting to be delayed any more, he hit the man with all his strength and left him on the floor. He
was running out of the hotel when Andrea told him again to hurry. Trevor ran like his life depended on it… which, he supposed, it really did.

  Chapter 3

  There wasn’t much in the way of fencing around the airport, but Trevor had walked it at least a dozen times now, finding no sign of Andrea. Nothing to offer up evidence that she’d spoken to him at all. Trevor moved to sit in front of the camper that he’d purchased three days ago and was living in until he had some kind of word.

  The plane had gone down eight days ago, and in that long week he’d been able to find some luggage that had been tossed out of the wreckage, two more bodies, as well as a few personal items of the pilot and co-pilot. These things, all of them, he had turned into the police. They were…well, ungrateful was the only word he could think to use for his help.

  Finding things, he’d been told, was only making the others suffer more…the ones that were dealing with the loss of their loved ones in a healthy way. He knew they thought he was insane. Hell, so did he most of the time. But his mate was alive and the sooner he found her, the better he’d feel. Today had been a bust, other than finding a cell phone that had belonged to one of the passengers.

  When it became apparent that he wasn’t welcome on the sight, he’d purchased the tract of land nearby and parked his camper. Then when the police started coming around asking him questions about how he was living, he’d had his attorney call them and tell them to back off. It had worked so far. But there had been no sign of Andrea.

  Trevor had spoken to her on the second, then third day of his searching for her. Then the last five days, nothing. He knew that she was alive—their connection was that deep—but she no was longer speaking to him, and she was getting better and better at blocking him out of her mind. His wolf was going crazy wanting to find her.