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Oz gives her a wicked grin, making her blush again.
I nudge him, warning him to cool it. “I’m not sure we can fit it inside, but we can have a look. If not, we’ll need to work on some kind of shelter.”
“The small table is broken. I tried to unfasten the bolt so I could move it, but it wouldn’t give. If we could move that out, it would give us some more space.”
I nod. “Oz, want to see what you can do?”
“On it. Why don’t you two head back to the tail and grab the bags? The sun is starting to set, and I want us back in the plane before it’s dark.”
“Alright. If we get into any kind of trouble, I’ll fire a warning shot,” I tell him quietly.
“And I’ll come running and save the day.”
I roll my eyes and tug Salem—who looks at the trees nervously—along with me.
“We’ve already scoped out the area, remember? The tail isn’t far, and I promise not to leave your side.”
“Okay. Sorry, I’m being a baby.”
I stop and look down at her with a frown. “How on earth are you being a baby?”
Her mouth snaps shut while she thinks about it. “You’re right. Most normal people would be scared, wouldn’t they? I see you and Oz acting as if it’s a regular, everyday walk in the park, and I feel like I’m letting you both down somehow because it’s taking me longer to adjust. The whole we’re-all-probably-going-to-die thing is messing with my head.”
“See, jokes are good.” I wink as I lead her back the way Oz and I plotted earlier. “And we’re not going to die. We’ve already survived the worst part. Once we source some food and water, we’ll be good for a while. You’d be surprised what you’re capable of, Salem, when survival is your only choice.”
She doesn’t say anything else until about ten minutes later, when the tip of the tail comes into view. “Okay, I’m going to suck it up and worry about tomorrow’s problems tomorrow. Could I just ask for one teeny tiny favor?”
“What is it?”
“If I die, can you promise not to eat me? I know that makes no sense because I’ll already be dead and won’t know, and it’s also mean because eating me could be the difference between you guys living and dying, but I just really don’t want to go out like that.”
I turn slowly, the action cutting off her nervous babbling.
“I heard nothing after you said the wordseat me,” I admit.
Her eyes widen a fraction before she bursts out laughing. She throws her head back, and it’s such a carefree sound that it’s almost easy to forget where we are and why.
That is, until I see the snake moving along the branch behind her head. I pull her out of the way and walk us quickly to the tail. Oz is right. I want to get Salem back in the plane where it’s safe. Or at least safer than it is out here.
“Wow. I mean, I knew the tail was gone, obviously. But looking at it like this, it’s scary to think how close we all almost came to dying.” She looks up at the wrecked metal in awe.
I grab the torn shirt I left hanging over the edge of the metal and wrap the pieces around my hands once more before I pull myself up and slide down into the tail as it creaks. That was a lot easier to do with Oz.
I grab the things we piled together earlier and begin tossing them out. “Stay out of the way until I’m done, okay?”
“Yeah, no worries about that. I didn’t survive the plane crash just to be taken out by a rogue backpack.”
I chuckle, but don’t slow down. Once I’ve tossed out the last of the items we might need, I drop down, ready to leave, when the material around my hand slips, allowing the sharp metal to slice a jagged cut into my palm.
“Motherfucker,” I curse as I jump down and press the T-shirt to the wound.
“What is it? What did you do?”
“I just cut my hand. That’s all. I’m fine.”
She reaches for me, but I pull away. The hurt on her face makes me feel like an asshole. She quickly masks it and moves to pick up a pack off the ground.
“Hey, it’s not that I don’t want you touching me. I think we both know that couldn’t be further from the truth. I just don’t want you to pass out again.”
