Chapter three

Her skin was a pale blue as the rain pounded her face. She lay among the wreckage of a single piece of what remained of Genovia One. It was clearly a section of the cargo hold, which usually carried her extra luggage and any useless items she deemed necessary for her trips. Her left leg was slightly twisted outward, and her left arm disappeared under a wooden crate. With her eyes closed she could have easily been dreaming of her head of security, though with the crash those dreams could have easily been knocked out of her.

Being the trusted aide of the Queen, her first thoughts were of her Queen. She pulled herself from between the remains of two seats, and scoured the wreckage for her. Genovia One had broken in pieces, and she clearly survived because of the seating arrangements. One whole half of the plane seemed to have shielded her, and the leather padding cushioning her body. A solitary stream of blood ran down her leg, though from where she had no idea. She felt sore and a little numb, though otherwise okay. As she scanned the wreckage, she knew it would be difficult to find anything in such a mess. The rain became heavier, and she strained to see what she believed to be the cockpit just across from her. She scrambled through the slippery surfaces, sank in the mud and struggled to reach the pilots.

Closing her eyes, she loudly gasped at the sight. The pilot was hanging half through the windshield, bleeding profusely. The co-pilot had been slammed into the control board in front of him, and his face was mangled beyond recognition. They were dead.

Breathing deeply, she struggled to move on to other parts of the wreckage. She couldn't be the only survivor. She kept running the thought through her mind. She couldn't be.

Squinting to see as far as she could, she could tell the wreckage was expansive. The plane must have crashed with her nose still in the air. It had to be the only explanation. Otherwise she would be dead and the massive pieces of wreckage would be small and obsolete. She made her way to another piece of the hull, still spouting a window that was unbelievably unbroken. She stepped up upon the steel, bringing her heel and foot covered in mud out of the muck she had walked in. Just when she had some cover from the downpour, she heard him moan.

"Shades!" She followed the groaning back into the rain. Several meters beyond her rested one of the wings, lying next to it was Shades. He was alive.

"Shades," she spoke, leaning down next to him, shaking his lying form half sinking in a puddle.

"Yeah." He opened his eyes, or rather squinted as the water droplets hit him in the face. "The Queen..."

"I can't find her." She looked about once again, seeing no more than she had before.

"I can't move...Ohhh," he emitted as he tried to move his body to any position other than the one it was in. "My back...somethings wrong with my back."

She knew she shouldn't, but she had to right now. She took both his arms and pulled him, as he yelled, into the largest piece of wreckage, right where she had been safe. There he would be out of the rain and mud at least. Watching him now, she was amazed she had the strength to move him at all.

"'manda, you have to find her," he whispered, still feeling the pain from his recent journey. He lifted up his head, and together they propped it against what was left of one of the seats.

"Hold still. You know help will be here soon."

"Find her 'manda. Phones?" She reached in his jacket, only to pull out a mangles mess of metal that use to be his cell.

"I can't find mine. Listen, the pilots are dead." Shades shook his head in recognition, somehow already figuring that much out himself. "I'm going to look around some more. I'll be back in a few minutes."

She left him half sitting, but as comfortable as she could manage. Two survivors were better than none, and she was counting on one more. "Clarisse!" She called her Queen's name over and over. Being formal now was just plain stupid. She stumbled around several trees, and to the far side where the other wing lay unattached. With a heavy heart, she searched as far under it as she could see, praying to find nothing but wreckage.

A thunderous boom, much more powerful than thunder itself, rocked him against the cold metal. "AMANDA!" He yelled and yelled as the fire and smoke drifted to the sky. The heat was intense, clearly not effected much by the rain, and Shades shielded himself even more behind the wreckage she had put him in. If not for her, he would be dead now. Yet, it would be him and not her. And where was his Queen. He shuddered to think now.