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Jade’s hands rub my forehead, and it’s her lap my head rests on while she looks down on me in concern, although it was Nigel who jolted me awake. Instant relief hits me, knowing that she and Nigel seem unscathed from the crash. Based on the moans of despair around us, we are the lucky ones.

The fire flickering through the window is my only source of light. Outside—outside is nothing but trees and darkness. We landed somewhere… some distant, far-off place between New Ocean and Alaska. Unchartered islands, vast oceans, and the northern wilderness surround us.

My mouth is dry as I open it. “Where’s Maison?” I choke out the words. Saying his name and the thought of him dying after sheltering me—

“He’s alive, London,” Jade says, her voice trembling. “He’s helping Micah and Thomas get the others off this plane. Micah thinks it might either blow up or crumble, so we have to move. Can you walk?”

Micah’s alive, too. Maison, Thomas, Nigel, Jade—who else?

I rub the severe bump on my head. “How… how long was I out?”

“Only a few minutes. Maison had to leave to help others with more severe injuries. Nigel and I told him we would stay with you.”

I feel sick thinking about the screams, blood, and panic in the dark. A moment of pure terror my body is still recovering from.

“Come on, get up and walk now,” Nigel says, grabbing me by the arms.

Gathering my strength, I push myself up, but my knees are weak and my mind is muddy as I fall back again. Nigel and Jade catch me.

“London, we can’t carry you. Push yourself,” Nigel says, his voice anything but soft.

Hints of orange and red glow outside, on what’s left of the wing.

Burning… The plane is burning.

I reach over and grab my bag, still lying under my seat, and I lean into both of them to prop myself up. We step toward the emergency exit that’s already propped open. I try not to look at the cause of the agonizing moans around me as we step over loose luggage and debris.

“Wait.” I push off them as a hand grabs at my ankle from the floor in front of me. It’s number two, I realize, and through the flames burning outside, I can make out a piece of glass sticking out of his leg. His bloodshot eyes are a stark contrast to the chirping boy he was in class. As his body convulses, the metallic smell of blood fills the air, staining his once pristine Armani suit. My heart breaks for him, but I have no strength to do anything.

“We have to help him, too,” I beg Nigel and Jade.

Nigel nudges me forward. “You two need to leave the plane first,” he says, staring down at the fallen hockey player. “I’ll come back for him.” By the way Nigel’s looking at him, I don’t believe him.

When we stumble off the plane, I fall to my knees, my muscles still in shock. My body sinks into the wet ground, but I welcome the feeling of damp earth after being on that plane. The fresh air and hard elements are a welcome change to the toxic poison and stench of burning flesh, metal, and chemicals. I wrap my arms around my knees and try to compose myself, try to calm my beating heart while I wipe the splattered blood off my bare skin.

A small group is already gathered outside. Two girls in their bright blue outfits are huddled together in an embrace, watching as the twins haul a few bodies off the plane, lying them on the ground as they whither in pain. Those are classmates who are worth saving I guess, and didn’t die in the crash. Tormented screams still reverberate from inside, clawing through the air.

Nigel places Jade next to me. I’ve been too absorbed with my own injuries, so I hadn’t realized how shaken up she is, too. “I have to go help,” Nigel says, his brows narrowing as he watches her. “I want to go back and get my stuff. Are you two going to be okay for a minute?”

Jade closes her eyes and leans into me.

My eyes find Nigel’s, and I shake my head, marveling at the fact he’s standing before me, unscathed. “How did we survive this?” I ask him in a broken voice.

A shadow flickers within his eyes, and to my surprise, he laughs. “It’s because we were shoved in the back. It seems everyone that’s walking right now was either in the very back or the very front. When the engine exploded, it killed the ones in the middle instantly. It seems our social standing saved our lives.”

He gives me no chance to respond before he rushes over to the other survivors and disappears inside the plane. I hope he’s helping others who are hanging on for their lives, instead of grabbing… his stuff.

Micah, Naomi, Serena, Ezra, Thomas.

They took the front row—the plush seats and nearby exit probably saved their lives.

Maison stayed with me, so he missed the worst of the impact. I scan the carnage to find him, but don’t see him anywhere.

Smoke trickles in the air as brush burns somewhere nearby. Rain patters down around us, making the ground wet and slippery. I’m glad I opted for pants, and I immediately grab my sweater I had tucked away in my pack as Jade stands shivering in her sundress. I give her my sweater, and grab Maison’s, the one I had intended on giving back to him.

I kept it with me, and I didn’t pack it. A split decision I made earlier and now these items are potentially my last possessions I’ll ever own. I slip on his sweater just as two other survivors come and sit next to us.

Naomi and Serena—their pretty faces are tear-stained over thick layers of ash. Rain drips off their eyelashes and soaks their skintight outfits. Despite the heat radiating from the plane, they shiver down to the bone. Broken, battered, and only wanting encouraging arms around them. I recall their bullying and threats at the beach and hallway, and quickly decide I can’t be that for them right now.