Where is he? Charlie ran his hands up and down my bare arms. “Do you have something warm in your suitcase?”

I nodded, my eyes glued to the plane. Come on. What was taking him so long? I startled when the fire at the back of the plane jumped, a burst of sparks exploding as though it’d encountered something flammable. “Tuck?” I called. My eyes darted past the windows, trying to catch sight of him inside. I took a step forward just as he appeared in the doorway. My breath released, my shoulders dropping. He was holding a blanket that obviously contained a pile of stuff, his fist gripping the gathered fabric that held it closed. He jumped from the door and started walking toward us just as the fire leaped again, causing another small explosion. Tuck picked up his pace, walking quickly and then jogging as the fire surged and spread, whooshing toward the cabin and blooming large behind him.

I let out a small scream, turning my cheek as the warmth billowed toward us. “Grab the stuff,” Tuck said, foisting the loaded blanket at Charlie and then turning toward where the pilot lay. “I think the plane’s about to blow.”

I could smell the fuel now, closer and more pungent as though Tuck had stepped in a puddle of it. I bent, grabbing the handle of my suitcase.

“Did you get the phones?” Charlie asked.

“Yeah,” Tuck said. “Maybe we can get some service but I’m not hopeful.”

“What if we can’t?” Charlie asked. “It’s cold as fuck out here.”

Tuck ignored him, heading over to the dead pilot.

“What are you going to do?” Charlie asked.

Tuck didn’t answer him. He seemed to be in some zone, or on a mission only he had been given. He bent and picked the dead man up under his armpits. His jaw was set, muscles bunched, dirt smeared across his cheek, the pilot’s blood on his clothing as he adjusted his weight and began dragging him across the ground. Charlie and I stumbled along behind him. “I’m going to get his body a safe distance away from the fire and then figure out where the fuck we are,” Tuck murmured almost as if to himself.

Seconds later, we all hit the ground when a giant boom filled the air, an explosion creating a whoosh of heat. I screamed, covering my head as flying debris crashed to the ground with a thud. Close. Too close. Breath sawed from my lungs as I lifted my head moments later, taking note of Charlie and Tuck just rising as well. Flaming pieces of what had been the plane were scattered on the ground nearby. Behind us, the entire body was engulfed in fire. Tuck’s eyes met mine. “Are you okay?”

I nodded jerkily. Yes. But he almost hadn’t been. Thirty seconds longer in the plane, and he’d have gone up in flames.