Ava shook her head, glancing down at the pearl cam. She pressed a finger to her lips as she pointed at it with her other hand.
He furrowed his brow before he raised a finger in the air and dug into his pocket for his phone.
As the plane’s wheels left the ground, he sent her a text.Texting so he won’t hear whatever it is you don’t want to say out loud.
She offered him a smile as her fingers flew across the keyboard.I hate to say this but…I think I may be sick.
She offered him a wince as his phone chimed. He glanced down at it, his eyes going wide. He stared at her, his features questioning. “What?”
With a shrug, she typed more as she said, “Sorry.”
Backache, headache, chills.
His shoulders slumped as he read it, rubbing at his forehead.Come on, Ava. You can’t get sick. I need you.
“I know,” she answered. “I’m sorry, I’ll try to keep it in check. I shouldn’t get worse until the flight home.”
“You and Alex are the first in line for the cure, too,” Kyle answered.
“Speaking of,” Ava said, her voice low as she struggled to focus over the dull throbbing in her head, “what’s our plan when we find the cure? If it’s not in bulk, how do we make sure we have enough for Alex? For everyone?”
Kyle’s jaw tightened as he glanced out the window. “We either need the formulation or a sample to reverse-engineer it. We won’t know until we get there.”
“And if it’s just one dose?” Ava pressed, her heart thudding painfully. She couldn’t bear the thought of finding a cure only to realize there wasn’t enough to save Alex.
“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there,” Kyle said quietly. “But whatever we find, Alex and you will be the first to get it.”
Ava sucked in a heavy breath, her eyes stinging a little. “Let’s hope we can find whatever it is you need to help everyone.”
“Well, we have a few hours before that happens, so why don’t you get some rest?”
“Yeah,” she answered, reclining her seat and settling into the supple leather. With a yawn, she let the motion and buzz of the plane soothe her to a dreamless sleep.
A violent shudder jolted Ava awake, her heart slamming against her ribs as alarms screamed through the cabin. She blinked rapidly, her mind sluggish as her body was tossed side to side.
“What the hell?” she gasped, fumbling with the seatbelt as she pulled herself upright. The plane lurched again, the metallic groan of the fuselage echoing in her ears as it dipped sharply. A deep rumble vibrated beneath her, and the roar of the engines faltered, leaving nothing but the deafening wail of the alarms.
“It’s not good. We hit some turbulence, we’re trying to ride it out.”
“Why didn’t you wake me?” She glanced out the window. “Where are we?”
“Not far from the airport, I don’t think. I hope we make it.”
The pilot’s voice broke through the chaos. “Keep those seat belts on, we’re doing our best up here, but things aren’t looking that good.”
Ava’s stomach flip-flopped at the words as she wrapped her fingers tighter around the arms of her seat.
The plane lurched again, dropping the sky with a bang. The lights in the cabin flickered before coming back on.
“That’s not good,” Kyle said.
“No,” Ava answered, reaching for him.
Time slowed to a crawl. Her fingers dug into the armrests, knuckles white, as the plane plummeted again, the cabin shaking violently. Panic seized her chest, her mind racing with a thousand thoughts of Alex, lying helpless in the hospital bed. She wasn’t ready to die, not like this, not when she had so much to fight for. The plane jolted again, and her breath caught, a sob tearing from her throat as she squeezed Kyle’s hand.
The pilot’s voice crackled over the intercom, chilling Alex to his core. “Brace for impact. We are going down.”
The alarms continued to blare as both Ava and Kyle leaned forward, covering their heads as the plane dropped again.
