by Jenna Chase
Finally, I was able to grab a hold of a table leg and I held onto it with one hand while I held firmly onto Erica with the other arm wrapped around her. We stayed like that for a few moments until everything shook violently and I felt the jarring crash of the plane hitting the water then rising up into the air again.
The plane seemed to hit the water a number of times but because we were being thrown around so violently it was impossible to know what was happening.
Then, with a final jarring impact, there was a deafening sound as the plane split into two halves just in front of us and I don’t remember if it was Erica’s scream I heard first or if it was the vision of her being pulled out of my arm. But the last thing I remember was her being sucked away into the gaping black hole in front of me.
Chapter 5
Erica
I tried to open my eyes as I felt the tickle of water covering my feet and splashing up against my thighs. My entire body was wet and incredibly sore and felt like it was covered in sand. When I reached down at my sides and opened my hands, that’s all I felt. Wet sand.
I finally forced my eyes open, squinting in the sunlight, and looked to my left at the sandy beach I was laying on.
I'm on a beach. How did I wind up on a beach? I thought as I pushed myself up and looked around. It was a tropical beach that was lined for as far as I could see with what appeared to be a thick jungle of palm trees and other tropical plants.
When I looked in one direction, the beach and palm trees seemed to go on forever, but to my right stood a large bank of rocks. They jutted up out of the jungle and extended into the water creating a lagoon. The waves were calm in the crystal clear blue alcove of water in front of me, but further out I could see large waves crashing down onto the Rocky outcroppings.
I looked down at my legs and was surprised to see that my skirt was bunched up around my waist and that I had somehow lost my panties. My shoes were missing and my shirt was unbuttoned, exposing my breasts that were not even covered by my bra. It had been pulled down past my breasts somehow.
Oh my God, Malcolm … the couch … the plane …what happened to the plane?
I sat there for a moment in shock. I remembered the turbulence and I remembered what happened on the couch, but everything after that was a complete blank.
How did I get here? I thought as I stood up and tried to dust the sand off me. But it was so fine and sticky that no matter how much I wiped it still seemed to cling everywhere. I decided the best thing to do would be to get back into the water and rinse it off. So I waded out into the clear water and watched as schools of fish darted away from me with every step I took.
When I bent over to splash water across my thighs my back and legs screamed out in pain. I had no idea what had happened to me but whatever it was my body wasn’t too happy about it. I was just thankful that I didn’t seem to be hurt too seriously. I didn't see any blood or feel like anything had broken.
I tried to think back and remember what happened but not much was clear after the plane started to drop.
I remembered that we went into a nosedive. And I remembered being thrown to the floor, rolling around uncontrollably. I remembered Malcolm holding me in his arm while he held onto a table leg with his other hand and tried to keep me safe. Then it seemed like the plane hit the water but after that, it’s all a blur.
As crazy as it seemed I must have fallen out of the plane and landed in the water. Then the tide must have brought be to the shore. It almost didn't seem possible.
Maybe I'm asleep and this is a dream, I thought as I splashed water over my arms and legs. Or maybe I'm dead.
But if I fell out of the plane before it got to this island what happened to everyone else? Where was Malcolm … and Brad … and Lainey? Did any of them make it to this island? Or did the whole plane sink into the ocean? Tears filled my eyes as the gravity of the situation started to wash over me.
I might be alone here on this island. Everyone else might be dead.
I was startled out of my panicked thoughts by all of the activity that was going on under the water. There were hundreds of small, colorful fish that darted back and forth in groups and they all seemed to be taking their instructions from some unseen force. I became hypnotized by the swirling and flashing of colors as well as by the slow gliding of the swimming turtles. I had been to tropical beaches before but had never stood in water that was this beautiful, or this stunning of a shade of blue.
After I rinsed as much sand off of me as possible I pulled my skirt down then took off my shirt and rinsed it off in the water. The sun was already high in the sky, warming my skin and drying my wet clothes almost immediately.
I buttoned up a few buttons and then tied the bottom of the shirt at my waist like I had seen many women do on TV shows. I had always figured it was just to make them look sexier for the show but it really was more comfortable than having my shirt tucked into my skirt. And I figured I should be as comfortable as possible if I was going to have to find my way back to civilization. I just prayed another passenger from the plane was here with me … somewhere.
I hoped that everyone was safe but the person I really wanted to see was Malcolm.
I kept looking up and down the beach hoping to see a sign of life or any evidence of the plane. Even parts of the plane would tell me the direction it had flown over the island, or if it even made it this far.
But no matter where I looked I couldn't see a thing but trees and sand and ocean that stretched out to infinity, and I quickly became terrified again that I was all alone. That I was the only one that had survived the crash.
I emerged from the water and decided to climb onto the rocks that made up part of the lagoon. I figured if I could get up higher maybe I could see more of the beach or over some of the trees. It wasn’t easy climbing over the sharp rocks in a straight skirt and bare feet, but I persevered because I needed to get as high as I could.
They sure as hell never gave out girl scout badges for this, I thought as I searched around to find holes in the rock where I could dig my toes in, but were also close enough together to accommodate the small steps that my pencil-straight skirt allowed.
I was hoping to see something, anything that would tell me what direction to walk in or if there was anyone else near me. I knew that there were small, uninhabited islands in the Pacific, but I was having a hard time believing that there was no one else here.
When I finally made it to the top of the huge rock, I could see a little further down the beach but I couldn’t see above the trees at all. I was still far below any of the towering palms that swayed in the tropical breeze. And there was nothing for as far as I could see that might be a part of the plane or a boat or anything man made. Just trees and sand and rocks and ocean.
As I scanned the tree line down the vast expanse of the beach, I noticed some movement. It was far away, but it looked like someone had walked out onto the sand. I realized as I stared with my hand shielding my eyes that it was a man in dark pants and a white shirt. I was so relieved I almost started to cry.
I knew it had to be either Malcolm or Brad, but suddenly I didn’t care which. I just wanted to know that I wasn’t alone and that someone else on the plane besides me had survived the crash.
I climbed part way, then jumped down off of the rocks and ran in the direction of where I saw the man. As I got closer to the figure, I realized it was Brad.
“Erica! Oh my God, you’re okay!” Brad yelled as he ran toward me. About halfway there I started to realize that running in the sand wasn't quite as sexy or elegant as it looked in the movies, with the sand being kicked up and the sweat starting to flow. But it really was one of those running toward each other kind of moments.
I wrapped my hands around his neck and hugged him then pulled back and looked into his eyes.
“Brad! What happened? Oh my God, you're bleeding!”
"Am I?" he asked, not bothering to check. He immediately wrapped his arms around me tightly and left them there.
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"Yes, your head and your arm," I said, touching the frayed material of his bloodstained shirt. "Where's the plane?"
“Well, half of it is back there in the jungle. I’ve been walking for, God, I don’t even know, a half hour at least. It was still pitch black outside when we hit some kind of crazy electrical storm. The turbulence was insane—”
“Yeah, I felt it. I was thrown completely off the couch,” I said, not wanting to allude to what I was doing on the couch, and that Malcolm's face had been between my legs at the time.
“The plane lost all power. The engines cut out and the instruments went crazy, then we started to fall out of the sky. At the last second, before we hit the water, the plane somehow leveled out a little and it skidded for miles. It bounced off the water and back up into the air multiple times before breaking in half. I don’t know for sure, but it seems like maybe the plane landed on one of these giant rock formations and that’s what caused it to split.”
Brad was still holding me and looking down at me, then he touched my face and smiled.
“I'm so glad you're okay, Erica. How did you get over here?”
“I don't know. I woke up on the beach.”
"You don't remember anything before waking up?"
“Well, I remember the turbulence and the nosedive and being thrown around the cabin and the next thing I remember is waking up on the beach. I can only guess that when the plane split in half I fell out and into the water. To be honest I’m glad I don’t remember that part. I can’t believe I’m still alive,” I said, shivering and hugging Brad closer to me
My arms were still wrapped around his neck as I laid my head on his chest. It felt so good to have his arms around me after everything I just been through. In fact, if I could have had things my way at that moment, I would have stayed exactly like that with him for the rest of my life.
“You're shaking," he said as he moved one hand up to my jaw and kissed the top of my head. “I can't tell you how glad I am that I found you.”
We stood there like that for a long time and as I felt the comfort of his arms around me I started to think about Malcolm. He was on the same part of the plane that I was. The part that most likely sank into the ocean.
“Where did you come from? I saw you walk out of the jungle. Where’s the rest of the plane?”
“It’s … I don’t even know. I think I walked for about a half hour maybe 45 minutes,” he said as he looked back into the thick green foliage that bordered the beach.
“So, is the front half of the plane in one piece?”
“Yeah, we skidded through the jungle for quite a distance and then when we came to a stop Jason, the copilot, was gone.”
“What you mean gone?”
“I don’t know when it happened but one of the sections of the windshield was knocked out, probably from a tree during impact. His body must have flown out. I don't have any idea what happened, though. It was pandemonium in there for what felt like eternity. The crashing and careening through the trees seemed to keep going on and on.
"I didn’t notice until the plane stopped moving. It took me a while to regain my bearings and when I looked over at his chair he wasn’t there. I walked back through what was left of the plane and realized that it had been cut in two right at the entrance to the main cabin, just behind the wings.
"I jumped out and looked around for him but I didn’t see him anywhere. So I decided to start walking in the direction the plane had come in from to see if I could find anything.
"The back half of the plane … Lainey … you. I can’t tell you how glad I am that I found you, Erica.”
I was spellbound for a moment. I looked back up at him as he stared into my eyes and brushed strands of my hair off my face. I was so overwhelmed by what had happened and felt so lost, and his eyes were like an anchor for me.
“What are we going to do, Brad?”
Without warning, the sky turned almost black and a deluge of water came down on us. It was as if a dam had opened up in the sky and was dumping gallons of water directly onto us. We were instantly soaked and were being beaten down by the massive amounts of rain that didn't seem anywhere near stopping.
Brad grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the rock formation that I had just climbed. Only he headed inland where the rocks turned into the beginning of a mountain and disappeared into the jungle. We ran along the sand for quite a ways but soon ducked into the relative shelter of the large palm trees that created a canopy overhead.
“Did you see any kind of shelter over here?” Brad yelled through the deafening sound of the storm that surrounded us.
“No, I didn't come inland at all! But there has to be some sort of cave or place we can get out of the downpour in the rocks!”
We ran a little further and found exactly what we had been looking for. It was a cave, an alcove really, in the side of the rocks that went back about 30 feet. It was almost shaped like a patio with two pillars of rock that held up a roof-like section of rock that was covered in ferns. There was still water pouring into some parts of the cave through holes in the ceiling, but we found a dry area toward the back and huddled together, waiting for the rain to subside.
“Are you okay?” Brad asked.
“Well, aside from feeling like a drowned rat, yeah, I’m fine.”
“When the sun comes back out, it should dry our clothes pretty quickly. It looks like it might even be letting up now.”
Brad’s arms were still around my waist and when he turned to look at me our lips were only a few inches apart.
“We need to look for the others,” I said as his gaze held mine, the clear blue of his eyes and the strong line of his jaw drawing me in. "And find the plane."
“We will, as soon as the rain stops completely. It shouldn't be too hard to find the way back to the plane. I set the emergency beacon before I left so someone should already be looking for us.”
I didn’t understand why I was feeling so drawn to Brad. I knew it must have had to do with the plane crash and being scared, but I just wanted his arms around me. I looked into his eyes and remembered the night we broke up. I told him that I needed time and he was so understanding. He really was a good guy.
I didn't understand why I couldn't just love Brad. Or why everything had to be so complicated.
I was pulled in by his eyes and the warmth and comfort of his arms around me. Something about this moment in time made me feel that I really could be with him. It wasn't the same feeling I had with Malcolm at all. I didn't feel the passion or the need, but I felt safe.
In Brad's arms, I felt like I didn't have to worry about what was going on out in the jungle or how we were going to get home. I felt like I could trust in him and that was what I needed right then.
Chapter 6
Malcolm
I swam out of the gaping hole in the plane just as it started to sink down in the ocean. The light from the rising sun was just coming over the horizon and I could see an island a few miles in front of me. I couldn’t see much else though. Not the other half of the plane or Erica, or any of the other passengers. I couldn’t even see into the black water that surrounded me.
I had no interest in finding out if this was a shark-infested section of the Pacific Ocean, so I swam as hard and fast as I could to get to the island. By the time I staggered through the surf and collapsed onto the sand I was completely exhausted. But I was so thankful to be on the island instead of in that cold, black water.
I didn’t know how long I had stayed there on my back on the sand with my eyes closed, but the sun was in the sky by the time I opened my eyes. Even though I was sore and exhausted, I forced myself to get up and look around. I needed to find out if anyone was still alive. I had to find Erica.
As I stood up and tried to get my bearings, I heard a woman call my name. My heart jumped as I turned toward the line of ferns and palm trees that bordered the beach, but then sank a little as I watched as the blonde stewardess came running toward me.
“Malcolm! Oh my God! You're alive!”
She grabbed both of my forearms when she reached me and looked up at me with panic in her eyes.
“I’m glad to see you too. I was hoping I wasn’t the only one that survived that crash. What the hell happened?” I asked as I put my hands on the waist of the shaking woman, who I wished more than anything was Erica. “Have you seen Erica?”
“No! You’re the first person I've seen … I mean … the first person I’ve seen alive.”
She immediately started shaking and sobbing and I pulled her to my chest and wrapped my arms around her.
“What do you mean? What did you see?”
She looked up at me, her eyes filled with fear and black lines of mascara trickling down her face.
“The copilot. He’s dead,” she said as she looked back toward the jungle. “I saw him, he’s all bloody and … oh God, I can’t even think about it!” she said as she covered her face and continued to sob.
“It’s okay. Just try to calm down a little. Where did you come from? Were you at the front of the plane?”
I saw the plane break in half in front of me just before Erica was sucked out. I had to find Erica but I also needed to get to the part of the airplane with the radio and emergency signaling equipment.
“Yes, I was asleep in my cabin when the plane crashed. I woke up as I was being thrown around the room, but it was a small space, just big enough for the bed and a little room to move. So when the plane finally came to a stop I found myself wedged in between the wall and the bed. And by the time I got myself un-wedged, everyone was gone.
"I looked in the cockpit but neither the pilot or the copilot were there and when I checked in the main cabin I saw that the entire back half of the plane was gone. Erica, your party, everyone … gone.
"I jumped down out of the plane but it was still dark where I was in the jungle, and even though I didn't want to leave, I didn’t feel like I had much choice. I walked in the direction that the plane flew in hoping that I would come across someone.
