Beyond the Sea Read Online Free PDF

stiffly, his eyes still wide.
    Slowly, Brian blinked and turned his head. He didn’t seem to actually register Troy, but he was alive. Brian ran a hand over his short brown hair, wincing. Thank fuck. For a minute, Troy simply breathed in and out to calm his racing pulse. He cleared his throat. “Brian? You okay, man?”
    It was a stupid question, because no, Brian was clearly light years from okay. He was in shock, and the bruise on his forehead had deepened to a purplish red. Shit. Troy couldn’t handle this. He needed Joe and Lara and the minions to tell him what to do and how to do it. He wanted to squeeze back into the crevasse and close his eyes until this was all fixed.
    Time to man up.
    After a few deep breaths, he prodded at Brian’s limbs. He didn’t think there were any major injuries. Troy ached all over, but didn’t seem to have any big injuries either. Poking through the backpack, he found a shiny square that unfolded into an emergency blanket. He tucked it over Brian. “I’m going to check things out, okay? I’ll be back soon.”
    Brian barely blinked. Shit, maybe Troy shouldn’t leave him, but he had to see what was left. They’d need as many supplies as they could get from the wreckage. They’d need to…what? He racked his brain, taking far too long to come up with building a fire so rescuers could see them. And getting warm would be awesome too. Even though the temperature had to be seventy degrees, the rain had been icy, and Troy had shivered for hours. He hoped the sun would make it out from behind the clouds before it got dark.
    Gingerly, he picked his way along the side of the cliff face back to the beach, wishing he’d thought to grab his shoes after the crash. But he hadn’t been thinking of anything aside from getting out alive.
    Sticks and rocks and whatever else covered the jungle floor scratched his bare feet, and his mind raced through all the possibilities for snakes and spiders and whatever the hell else lived on tropical islands. Each step was a victory, and it was glorious to have the sand between his toes again, even though it was wet and clumpy.
    The palms lining the beach listed wildly, but most still stood. Fronds, plants and small trees littered the sand and entrance to the jungle. Troy’s legs burned as he picked his way around the base of the cliff, his whole body bruised. The ocean was calmer, powerful waves rolling in, but no longer violent. Although there was still a gray cast to the world, it seemed the immediate danger was gone.
    And so was the plane.
    Staring, Troy bunched his toes in the damp sand, willing the battered plane to appear again at the base of the cliff. But it had vanished, swallowed by the sea. He stared at the sand narrowing to a collection of black rocks, and up at the stone wall, swallowing thickly. Brian had said the other pilot was dead, and if there had been anything left of her, it was gone now.
    The cliff face had been washed clean, and the pieces of sheared metal and debris left amid the rocks at the base didn’t seem like much. Most had apparently been swept away. The murmur of the waves and a bird’s distant cry filled the air.
    He bent in two, his knees hitting wet sand as a sob choked him. He wanted to go home—he wanted to go anywhere that wasn’t…this emptiness. Turning left and right, Troy searched for any signs of life. Did anyone live on this island? Was anyone going to help them? Surely they would have seen the plane go down, even in the swirling storm?
    “ Hello?” His shout was swallowed by the heavy sand and growing humidity in the air. “Hello? Hello?” Terror clawed his throat as he stared at the empty horizon.
    Breath coming in quick bursts, Troy tore back across the sand and into the jungle, not caring about the scratches and jabs to his feet. On his knees again by the crevasse, he panted. Brian was exactly where he’d left him, eyes still open and unseeing.
    “ Brian!” Troy yanked off the silver blanket and