Free Goddess of the Sea by P. C. Cast Page A

you?”
    â€œHere, colonel!” she answered, crawling on top of a mound of cargo so she could be seen. The rear of the plane appeared to be raised up, and CC could see that the officers had one of the doors open. While she watched, one of the captains attached a tether to the deflated life raft, pulled a cord on it and threw it out of the door. With a whooshing noise the raft inflated.
    â€œGet over here, now! This thing is sinking fast.”
    She looked back at Sean’s body. It should have been her. Because of his kindness, he had taken her place and now he was going to be entombed in a lonely, watery grave. The thought was unbearable.
    â€œWe have to take Sean with us,” she called back to the men.
    â€œNo time. The boy’s dead. There’s nothing to be done for him,” said the colonel. At a signal from him, the master sergeant jumped out of the plane.
    â€œI’m not going without him,” CC said, surprised at the calm sound of her voice. Her heart was pounding, and she felt her hands trembling, but knew with a certainty that defied logic that she had made the right decision.
    â€œGet up here, Sergeant. That’s an order.”
    â€œNo, sir. I’m not leaving him here.”
    Suddenly there was the sound of metal ripping, and CC felt sun on her face. She looked up to see a clean tear slicing a gap in the ceiling almost directly above her. The nose dipped farther forward, and CC had to struggle to stay on her feet.
    â€œGoddamnit! Damnit all to hell!” CC could hear the colonel approaching before she saw him. He was cussing like crazy and yelling orders. “Unbelt the boy and get ready to get the fuck out of here!”
    CC rushed to get Sean’s seat belts undone and had just finished when the colonel climbed around the last of the debris. Without looking at her, he grabbed Sean’s body and hauled it across one shoulder in the traditional fireman’s carry.
    â€œKeep up with me!” he yelled at her. CC was only too happy to comply with that particular order.
    They were almost to the door when the entire front section of the plane tore free and sank with amazing speed. The tail area had been high above the water, but now that the rear of the plane was freed of the dragging weight of the flooded front, it flopped heavily down to sea level. To CC it felt like she was standing in an elevator that had just dropped several stories. She and the colonel fell hard to the floor. Water started rushing in through the open door.
    The colonel regained his feet quickly. He grabbed CC by the scruff of her uniform and Sean by his leg and pulled them to the door.
    CC had no time to think. The colonel tossed her roughly out of the door. She hit the water and went under, but almost immediately her life vest brought her bobbing to the surface like a human cork. She sputtered and blinked, momentarily blinded by saltwater and sunlight. She heard two quick splashes next to her, and in another instant the colonel’s head broke the surface not far from her, along with Sean’s lifeless body.
    â€œThere.” He pointed and CC could see the florescent orange of the life raft about forty feet in front of them. “Swim! We have to get away from the plane.” He set off, sidestroking and kicking hard as he dragged Sean’s body with him.
    Wishing desperately that she was a better swimmer, CC kicked and began stroking awkwardly after him. A horrendous explosion burst behind her, and she spun around in the water in time to see a flash of light and flame. The plane was an enormous, gaping monster that seemed to be thrashing and fighting against its death. And she was too close to it.
    Adrenaline rushed through her body, and CC began swimming with everything within her. She didn’t look behind her again, she just swam.
    Then she felt it. A piece of wreckage wrapped around her ankle like a mechanical tentacle. Terrified, she kicked and kicked, but it