“You feel sick?”
Damian’s eyes went to him in that dim light. “Maybe… a bit…”
“I can bring you some crackers.”To soak up all that alcohol you drank…
“Are you gay?” Gabe straightened a bit, the question putting him off balance. The man grinned at him. “‘course you are… silly question.”
“I am not sure this is your business, with all due respect, Sir.”
“Sure… whatever. You don’t even need to answer…”
“Would you like those crackers?” His anger boiling, but he kept it in check, that professional smile still on but thinner.
Damian pursed his lips. “Sure… why not…”
Gabe brought him a bag of chips and crackers and a glass of water, avoiding his eyes, that mocking smile. “Thank you...?”
Gabe looked at him. “It’s Gabriel.”
“Gabriel… Isn’t that a girly name?”
Gabe just smiled at him and left. Damian’s eyes followed his form, straying to his ass, before his thoughts drenched him in ice, so he downed that cool glass of water and munched on the chips, putting on a movie.Still hours until arrival. Fuck.
Waking to the entire plane shaking, people howling, his eyes a bit wide, as objects were flying all over the place. The masks dangling from the ceiling.What…Complete darkness as he tore on the string and brought the mask to his face.Lifejacket under the seat…remembering that instruction heard a million times. Pulling it on. Inflate after or before…?He pulled at the string.What…No time to think as his world tore apart.
Slap. Slap. Something salty, licking his lips. Slap. Slap. A gentle sound. A breath, filled with sand. He coughed, spitting it out with some water. Trying to pry his eyes open.A dream. I’m dreaming.Pain, then, sharp, almost cutting that non-existent breath. He moaned, swallowing more water lapping at his face. Forcing one arm under his body, forcing his eyes open. Light. A white light. Too much.Fuck. Trying to comprehend, but somehow, reality slipped away like that salty water. Away. Back. He steeled himself and opened his eyes, lifting his face a bit. Sand, trees, bushes… What…A rising panic as he pushed himself up with his right arm, the left hanging limp, a sharp pain in his ribcage.Fuck.He cried out, sitting up, looking around. A white beach, palm trees, bushes, the sea, calm waves lapping at his legs, his waist.What…He moaned, trying to look around… How…He swallowed whatever he had in that parched mouth. Blood. Salt. Testing if he could get up, he peeled that half-deflated life jacket off, his shirt torn at the front, his pants still on, but his shoes gone somewhere. He pushed himself up, stumbling, a shooting pain in his left ankle.Jesus…a soft curse under his breath, his lips parched. He licked them, trailing that left leg, holding his left arm, not daring to look at what that pain was. Gritting his teeth, he scrambled to the shade, his back to a tree, his eyes wide. Panting, drenched in panic as his brain registered reality.We crashed… the plane crashed…remembering that darkness, the howls…Maybe this is it… Paradise. Blinking against that white light, his eyes scanning the beach. Logs, debris, garbage, birds, a corpse in a yellow jacket… His eyes darted back to that human form, wide, his guts clenching at that sudden fear, but also, a primal urge to go closer to that dead human… He got on his feet and limped there, in tears, going to his knees next to that immobile form.That face… familiar…even under the blood, a wide cut above the left eyebrow, bleeding…His name… that name… Gabriel…His eyes going wide, he pulled the life-jacket off, and he put his head on that man’s bare chest where his shirt was open, listening. A heartbeat, maybe, feeble. Frantic, he slapped him, hard, shouting as much as he could with his throat dry.
“Gabriel! Wake up! Hey!” Another slap, those hazel eyes flying open, grabbing for him, drawing a sharp breath, that panic in his wide eyes as he cried out.
Damian just held him, almost sobbing with relief, almost fainting at the pain in his left arm. Feeling the man tremble.
Gabe’s eyes on the sea, wedged against this body he didn’t know, so he pushed it a bit away, meeting those steel-blue eyes filled with his fear. “You…?”
Damian nodded, frantic. “Yes! Something happened… and we’re here… somewhere…” He looked around, still not fully aware, unsure. Turning back to Gabe when he felt him squeeze his shoulder.
“We crashed… the plane crashed…”
Looking at each other, at the beach, the waves lapping that idealistic perfect shore. That dread seeping in above the relief of being alive.
Damian sat back, drained, panic settling in above his pain. “We… this can’t be… we need to find the others… the plane… radio back home…”
His wild eyes met those drowned hazel eyes simmering with tears. “There might be just us…”
“How… how the fuck?!” He almost got up, mad, but that shooting pain made him sit, howl, clutch at his arm.
Gabe looked at him, concerned. “You’re hurt?”
Damian laughed, nearing hysteria. “You haven’t seen your face…” Blanching as a wave of pain washed over him, so he lay back, panting.
Gabe was near him and gently reached to his arm. “Let me have a look…”
Damian let his arm go, trying not to faint. Gabe tore the rest of the sleeve off, his eyes a bit wide at that crooked forearm. “It’s broken…”
“What…? Oh, God…” He started crying, but Gabe held his shoulder.
“I’ll fix this. I have some first aid training.”
“Great…” A wry smile as his eyes closed.
