As Darkness Gathers (Dark Betrayals Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page B

here.”
    I whimpered as I was dragged, and when icy air flogged my exposed skin, memory slammed into me. I flailed my arms. “Release seat belt! Get out!” My voice was a raw croak.
    “Shh, shh. It’s okay.”
    I blinked at the ominous gray sky above, and then a man’s face filled my sight. 1A . He’d told me his name. “Clay?”
    “That’s right.” A gash bisected his left eyebrow and spilled blood down his cheek. “Just lie still a moment.”
    “You’re bleeding.” I reached a shaking hand toward his face, but he caught my wrist.
    “It’s nothing.” He probed carefully along my arms and then my legs. Though I winced a few times, there was no piercing agony at his touch. “I don’t think anything’s broken.”
    The frigid cold of the ground beneath me began to seep through my uniform, and I started to shake. When Clay sat on the ground beside me and pulled me carefully into his arms, I went willingly. He cradled me in his lap as I shuddered from cold and shock, and I burrowed closer to his solid, warm chest. Over his shoulder, I saw the other five passengers huddled together about twenty feet away under the lone tree still standing in a field of debris. Their faces were blank with horror.
    “They all got out,” I whispered, and he tightened his arms. He was a stranger, but there was comfort in his embrace.
    “When the plane flipped, a piece of luggage hit you.”
    I winced as I felt the growing knot at my temple. I didn’t want to look, but I managed to turn my head in slow increments.  
    “Dear god.” I dug my fingers into his sweater and my shaking increased.
    The plane lay like a butchered bird with its underbelly to the sky, the stretch of broken trees the arrows. The wings had been snapped, the landing gear ripped away. The fuselage was bent and gouged, the tail torn off and the nose crumpled in on itself. I had no idea how we’d survived.  
    I did a headcount—seven including myself. “Edgar? Bryan? The captain and first officer?”
    Clay shook his head. “I don’t know. I had to get you out first.”
    I stumbled to my feet and lurched toward the plane. Every muscle protested the movement, and I staggered. Only when a firm hand latched on to my elbow and kept me upright did I realize Clay was at my side. “You should stay with the others,” I said.
    His eyes were on the wreckage. “If either of them are still alive, you won’t be able to get them out on your own.”
    I swallowed, knowing he was right. I couldn’t smell smoke, and there were no signs of fire as we approached.  
    I crawled into the plane and slid along the depressed ceiling. Luggage had burst. Seatbelts dangled from the upside-down seats, and some of the cushions had been ripped apart, spilling the foam within. Debris crunched under my hands and knees. I nudged an oxygen mask out of the way.  
    “What do you need me to do?” Clay crouched behind me. There was no room to stand.
    I glanced around, rubbing my eyes when my vision swam. “The shock and the temperature will chill everyone quickly.”
    He swiped at the blood running down his cheek. “I’ll get all these bags out. We can put on any clothing we have.”
    It took almost ten minutes to wrestle the cockpit door open even a crack. I peered inside, wedging myself through, and choked on a sob. There was no question Edgar was dead. He was unrecognizable, save for the four bars across his shoulder indicating his status as captain. I touched them gently.  
    A moan startled me, but there wasn’t enough space for me to turn. I squeezed out and then wriggled in facing the opposite direction to see the first officer.  
    “Bryan? Bryan, can you hear me?”
    He groaned. His face was bloody, but his right arm and leg were worse. Both were broken, the bones having torn through skin.  
    I closed my eyes, a wave of dizziness assailing me. A touch on my arm startled me, and I slid out of the flight deck. “The first officer is hurt, but he’s alive.” I swallowed