My back slammed against the seat as the plane righted, my gaze fixing on the portion of cockpit I could see through the wide gap in the blue privacy curtain. The pilot’s hand gripped a lever or a gear or whatever it was. He was holding it so tightly his knuckles were white. For several minutes, the plane soared and dove, the small plunges seeming somewhat controlled as though the pilot was lowering the altitude the only way he was able. I dared a glance out the window, the ground much closer than it’d been before. “We’re going to crash,” I sobbed. Brace for impact. Brace for impact.

“No,” Tuck said, not turning his head but raising his voice. “We’re going to land. It’s going to be bumpy. Hold on.”

Okay. Okay. We were going to land. He sounded so sure, and his instruction gave me hope. We weren’t going to crash. We were just going to experience a very rough landing. Okay. Hold on. Okay.

Next to me Charlie had his eyes clenched shut and a low humming was coming from the back of his throat as though he was barely holding back a scream. I reached over and grabbed his hand, linking his fingers with mine. He didn’t open his eyes, but he gripped my hand tightly.

We broke through the cloud cover and the lightning diminished, the sky brightening. The ground grew nearer, but then the plane turned, heading in the other direction. An open field appeared, and the plane dipped, my stomach rising into my throat, vomit threatening. Breathe, Emily. Breathe.

Hold on.

I hadn’t heard any landing gear come down. We had no wheels. How were we going to—

The plane hit the ground with a violent bang, and my body bounced, an intense burn spreading from my hip across my stomach as I screamed.

Glass breaking. Screeching metal. Pain.

We were on the ground, but the plane was still flying across the earth. The tail tilted, and for a moment I was suspended forward, held in place only by my belt, a horrible crunch exploding in my ears before the plane once again slammed backward.

Groaning, both human and machine. Labored breaths. Settling metal.

“Are you guys okay?” Tuck. It was Tuck’s voice. I managed to turn my head and meet his eyes. His gaze jumped over me, and then looked to Charlie. I realized one of my hands was still linked with Charlie’s and the other was holding Tuck’s. I didn’t even remember reaching for him. I let go of them both, assessing my body, moving my limbs, shaking so hard my teeth were chattering. My hip burned, and my head ached, but I seemed to be mostly okay. I nodded, a jerky movement of chin to chest. I couldn’t find my voice.