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The body of the plane was all right. The wings were undamaged. I was pretty sure the landing gear was fine. Really, the only thing that should be wrong with it was the engine, and while there was a solid chance that it was unfixable, it was worth a try.
If I could even turn the thingon, I’d probably be able to radio for help. That was a lot more reliable than our cell phones.
I got to my feet and was about to start down the beach toward the plane—Olivia’d gone the same way, so she would see where I was on her way back—when a huge column of flame erupted in front of me, right where the plane had been sitting.
My mind froze for a moment, but my body didn’t. Years of training had killed that instinct in me, and as soon as I saw the threat, I ran toward it.
Olivia had gone that way.
Could the plane have exploded after all? It shouldn’t have been possible, not after all this time, but I couldn’t deny the evidence of my senses. It was burning right in front of me.
And then I heard a scream.
Olivia!
I ran faster, cursing the fact that my feet were sinking into the sand. I would have been there by now if I’d been on level ground.
I had to give the plane a wide berth, running around to the far side of it. The heat from the blaze was so intense that I could feel it from yards away. “Olivia!” I yelled.That scream means she’s alive. At least I know she’s alive.
But my heart was racing, and the certainty that she hadn’t been killed wasn’t making me feel as much better as I’d thought it would.
Then I saw her. She was kneeling in the water a few yards down the beach, and even from a distance, I could see that she was in pain. She was doubled over on herself, and I saw that she was cradling her arm.
I sprinted over to her and splashed into the water.
She howled and jerked with pain. “Don’t!”
I froze. My movements were obviously disturbing her. “What happened?”
“Burned my arm,” she gasped. “I’ll be all right.”
“Let me look at it.”
She was holding it under the water. I sank to my knees slowly, trying to make sure the water didn’t move too much. “I won’t touch it,” I promised.
Cautiously, she held her arm out to me for inspection.
The burn was bad; I could see that right away—but it wasn’t as bad as it might have been. Still, she was going to need to be seen by a doctor. This was exactly the kind of thing we’d been afraid of—that an injury might happen, giving us something we wouldn’t be able to deal with on our own on the island.
I could have given first aid for a burn if I’d had any supplies. But, of course, I had nothing.
We didn’t even have the plane anymore.
For the first time, I felt a sharp twinge of despair.
“I didn’t think it would catch sofast,” Olivia breathed.
It took me a moment to register what she had said.
Then I whipped my head around to stare at her. “What do you mean,you didn’t think it would catch so fast?”
“I thought it would ignite more slowly.”
“Olivia, did you do this?”
“I was trying to make a signal,” she said.
“A signal for what? Do you see any planes? Any boats?”
