Forever and a Day (36 page)

Teuila turned to Sarah, “You’re next! Go, go!”

Xander watched Sarah look to Joel whose face was busy looking out of the window. She unbuckled then made her way out and headed off to the raft.

Joel turned to them and squealed, “We are going down! Get me out now! It’s my fucking turn!”

The Captain yelled as best he could through his pain, “Sit down Joel, women first! We’ve got some time, sit down!”

Xander turned his attention to Sarah just as she slipped on the wet wing and fell down hard on her bum; Doug reached down and got her back up. Seeing she was ok, Xander stepped over to Halo.

“SHARK!” Joel screamed his face was plastered to the jet’s window, “I saw a fin! FUCK! Why are there sharks here? There is another one!” He jabbed his finger at the window. With a screech, he jumped out of his seat, pushed the Captain aside, and bolted to the open door, knocking Teuila down onto the seat.

Xander spun and attempted to grab him but he missed as Joel bailed out of the door. As Joel’s feet hit the wing, he slipped, fell on his ass and slid feet first towards a dumbfounded Doug.

He slid hard into Doug and knocked him off balance. Doug wobbled like a bowling pin as he windmilled his arms trying to keep his balance. Suddenly he slipped and fell backwards hitting the wing hard with the back of his head. He lay motionless as Joel got up completely ignoring Doug and jumped towards the bobbing life raft as JJ screamed in panic.

Xander watched in horror as Joel leaped towards the raft. His momentum into the raft was stopped cold by Sarah’s body. He slammed into her full force, which in turn sent her crashing headlong into JJ, striking her head hard against hers with an excruciating thunking sound. Xander jumped out of the door but held on to the bottom of the frame as his feet hit, Pete came after him. As Xander got up to run to Doug the plane pitched up from an angry wave and Doug’s unconscious body slid off the back of the wing into the roiling water.

Xander reached the back of the wing with Pete on his heels, he swiftly slid down on his belly and tried to reach out for Doug and found he was floating out of his reach. He turned to Joel and screamed at him, “GET THE PADDLE! Get to DOUG!” Xander stood up and pointed at Doug.

Joel looked at Doug then found the paddle and tried to paddle over but the line was caught in-between the flap and the wing, making it impossible to move the raft. Xander whipped out his pocketknife and in a smooth motion cut the line, and had the knife folded and back in his pocket.

“PADDLE GOD DAMMIT!” Xander screamed out to Joel.

Joel began paddling and was making headway when he suddenly stopped and screamed then pointed in the water, “SHARK!” Joel began reversing course and began rapidly started paddling away from Doug.

“Oh shit!” Xander cried out and reached back behind himself and pulled out a gun, chambered a round and aimed next to Doug. The .45 roared out and a blip of water shot up between Doug and a fin. He fired off another round and the fin disappeared under the surface of the water. Xander turned to Pete, then to Halo who was watching in wide-eyed horror.

Their eyes met and Halo knew what he was going to do, “NO! Xander, NO!” She screamed as Doug suddenly screamed out in pain.

Xander jammed the gun down the front of his pants and dove into the dark choppy waters towards a screaming Doug.

Everything seemed to slow down for Xander as he dived into the warm water. Did Halo scream ‘no’ to him? The water fully engulfed him in his dive, he hit something hard and his arms slid painfully over a grating surface. Shark skin! His mind screamed out. Time sped up now as he swam a few rapid strokes to a groaning Doug. Xander grabbed Doug’s life vest and began swimming back as fast as he could the short distance to the safety of the wing. With a heave, he launched Doug up to Pete and David and with a collective grunt, they dragged Doug up on the wing. Xander used all his strength and with a final kick, he managed to roll himself up on the wing heaving in great gasps of air.

He turned his head and saw Teuila looking down at Doug’s thigh. He watched as streaks of Doug’s red blood washed down the wing and into the water. She began cutting away Doug’s pants with a pair of scissors from a first aid kit in David’s hands.
 

Xander looked up to the door and saw Halo look from Doug to him. She shook her head at him with tightly pressed lips. He discerned she was not happy with him, but there was no other choice. He rolled to his feet on the bobbing wing and stepped over to where Teuila had cut away Doug’s pant leg.

There on his thigh were several puncture wounds. Fortunately, it was an investigating bite from the shark. Nonetheless, blood was seeping from the wounds, “Teuila get it wrapped! Hurry! We can treat him in another raft!” Xander turned to David, “Get another raft ready! Can you do it?”

David nodded and handed Pete the first aid kit and ran up an accepted Halo’s hand as she helped pull him back into the plane.

David managed the second raft and with Xander’s help, they got it into the water. David yanked the line and with a pop, the raft burst open and began filling with pressurized air.

Teuila spun a bandage quickly around Doug’s leg then moved away as Xander and Pete got the groaning Doug into the raft. With sudden realization, Xander realized that this raft was smaller than the first—they all were not going to fit, “Teuila! Stay with Doug, you David, get in with her and try and keep the raft close until we secure it.” Xander turned to Pete, “You help me with the Captain then you ride with Halo and me.”

Pete began to protest and Xander shot him a hard look that quieted him, “I’ll hand the Captain down, you walk him over to the raft, I’ll pop the other one open and we’ll get the hell out of Dodge.”

Xander did not wait for an answer as he thought the nose of the plane was now a little lower than the rest of the plane. The Captain had told him that under the nose were holes from multiple lightning strikes and she would more than likely be going down nose first.

Going up into the plane he grabbed Halo’s outstretched hand and he pulled himself in. He looked to her, “Halo, better get your phone there it its bag.” He pointed at it bulging out in her pocket, and then continued, “Please listen. If you can grab one of the bags up front from the galley, I’ll come up for the heavier one.” She nodded.

“Captain, time to go sir!” Xander said as he hurriedly hauled him up to his feet.

Charlie groaned in pain, “You have five, maybe ten minutes at the very most. You need to move.” He managed to grunt out.

“Got it. I’m handing you down to Pete. He will take you to the raft. I’ll get another one going and get Halo in it.” The Captain nodded.

Xander watched as Pete got the Captain in the raft then he ran back towards Halo, she was pointing at the defibrillator strapped to the seat next to Jorgen, “It’s red… I didn’t know if I should push the button.”

Xander checked the big man’s pulse and shook his head at Halo, “It’s better this way.”

Halo tore her eyes from Jorgen and looked to Xander, “I got another bag filled courtesy of Joel. I’ll take this bag, you get the others… Oh hell!” She yelled, and looked at Xander, “I remember!”

Xander stopped cold as he hefted the bags and stared at her expecting the worst, “Yes?”

“My Satellite phone is in my suitcase!”

Xander sighed with relief, “Drop the bag, I got them. Go get it and hurry!” He hurried behind her, his hands full.

Xander maneuvered the other raft out of the plane and saw that Pete was in the second raft sitting next to David and holding his hand. He shot Xander a sorry look and shrugged. Xander stood there for a second and gave both men a nod, “You better get clear!” He yelled out and David and Pete began paddling away as Xander cut the line free.

He looked up to see where Joel went to and saw him already far off in the distance, “Coward…” he muttered.

Xander got the raft out into the water behind the wing and it popped open with a tug from the line. He jumped up into the plane and secured the raft’s line. Grabbing the bag, he noticed his own carryon as well as Halo’s and grabbed those too then walked out carefully onto the wet wing and wobbled his way over and deposited the bags in the bobbing raft.

Running back into the plane he noted that the front of the plane was definitely at a decline, “HALO! Let’s move it!” He yelled back to her and took the last of the bags to the raft.

“Here, I saw your name on it! I figured you might need a change… you are all wet! Hurry the plane is tilting down!”

Xander ran out to the raft and tossed his suitcase in and took Halo’s then helped her down from the exit, “It’s really slippery! Don’t fall in!”

“You can count on that!” She panted as they made their across the wing towards the raft.

“OH SHIT!” Xander cried out as they heard a cracking sound then a deep burp erupted from under the plane.

The plane suddenly pitched forward knocking them off balance, Halo screamed in panic and he reached out for her in desperation. Before he could grab a hold of her she fell flat on her tummy then began sliding rapidly backwards down towards the sea. Xander heaved her suitcase towards the raft and watched in horror as she tried to stop her slide into the sea with her hands scrabbling at the slick aluminum skin of the wing, all the while screaming for him.

Without another thought, he launched himself out towards her, belly flopping hard and driving the gun hard into his privates, causing a loud anguished yelp. He ignored the excruciating pain and slid headlong towards her on the downward pitching wing. As she slipped into the water, he caught her upper arm and gripped it with all his might. He halted her descent into the water as the waves crested under her breasts. She groped for purchase on the wet aluminum wing with her free hand, and then shouted in a panic, “I felt something!”

How he managed to stop his own slide he did not know. Using all his strength and in one complete motion, pulled her up and out of the water so hard and fast she flew up and over his head and landed with a thump and a squeak on the wing. He swung himself around, jumped up to his feet, and began running up the ever-inclining wing. He quickly grabbed her forearm and yanked her up to her feet, she let out a yelp of pain. He saw she reached for her back, but he ignored it as the plane would soon be flying down to the bottom of the sea.

At the back edge of the rising wing, he picked her up and unceremoniously tossed her into the waiting raft with her letting out a shriek as she hit. He immediately jumped in after her, almost slamming into her as Joel did with Sarah. The raft bounced at his impact and he fought to steady himself. In one slick smooth move, his knife came flicking open, he severed the line and back into his pocket the black bladed knife went.

“HERE!” Halo cried out and handed him a paddle, he began paddling away and noticed her suitcase nearby bobbing in the choppy water. He swiftly leaned out, fished down and struggled for the handle in the water. He found it, strained hard making the tendons in his neck stand out and hauled her suitcase into the raft with a huge grunt.

Together they both paddled like gold medalists trying to get distance between them and the sinking jet. Halo quickly began to tire and he gauged that they were far enough away not to be sucked down along with the jet. He turned to her and motioned for her to stop. They both were panting like crazy, as they sat silently together and watched their plane sink from sight.

Suddenly Xander fell back into the center of the webbing in the raft with a huge grunt.

Halo scooted over to him and yelped, “Are you ok?”

Xander grimaced in pain as he quickly reached down, ripped open his pants and reached down deep inside his underwear. He caught Halo’s upward shift of her eyebrow as he pulled out the gun and he let out a loud relieved sigh.

Halo smiled broadly, “Oh my, Xander! Such a big gun you have there…”

Xander smiled though the pain, “Ha! I’m just happy it didn’t go off prematurely… hate that when that happens.” He chuckled as Halo began laughing in her adorable laugh. He then gently reached over and gave her leg a little push, “Please! No more scaring the crap out of Xander, at least for today?”

“Hey, you didn’t seem to have much going on! I wanted to keep you busy.” She smiled gratefully at him.