Total pages in book: 123
Estimated words: 119597 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 598(@200wpm)___ 478(@250wpm)___ 399(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 119597 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 598(@200wpm)___ 478(@250wpm)___ 399(@300wpm)
“I triple-checked everything.” He flicks switches and levers on the instrumental panel. “The plane’s ready. We’re ready.”
With only two wired headsets, it makes sense for Leo and Kody to wear them. I’ll be dependent on my eyes to know what’s going on. I hope I can read lips.
Maybe it’ll be better if I don’t.
I trust Leo’s newfound knowledge and confidence in handling the aircraft on the ground. But in the air? He’s never made a turn, adjusted altitude, or dodged a mountain peak at ten thousand feet.
The cold sensation of fear trickles down my spine.
He’s got this.
Kody twists to look at me, his deeply brown, savage-soul eyes commanding my attention with their alpha intensity. They hold a world of untold pain, battles fought, and a depth and rawness that’s not just seen but felt.
When he looks at me like that, I shut up and listen. It’s a look that promises protection and fierce loyalty, yet there’s a hint of tenderness that he reserves only for me.
“We’re leaving a lot behind.” He cocks his head. “But we can always come back.”
“Oh, God.” I grimace.
“Too soon?”
I nod, swallowing the lump in my throat.
My gaze drifts to the cabin—the shelter that was my prison for nine months. Its walls have witnessed our lowest moments, our fight for survival against Denver, wolf attacks, hypothermia, starvation, and grief.
Kody’s gravelly voice draws me back. “We’re not just fleeing from death. We’re chasing life. Remember that.”
“You’re right.” My heart hammers so fiercely I’m convinced he can hear it.
“Kody.” Leo tosses him a headset. “You can close your eyes or grab the oh shit handle. Lady’s choice.”
“Where’s the oh shit handle?” He looks around.
“We don’t have one. Better grab your dick…if you can find it.”
“He’s a goddamn comedian,” he mumbles and shoves on the earphones.
“Frankie.” Leo shifts, finding my eyes over his shoulder. “I love you.”
“I’ll say it back when we land. Deal?”
“Deal.” He returns to the instrument panel. “Here’s to no crash landings, expectedly or unexpectedly.”
The engine roars to life, a sound that’s both terrifying and exhilarating.
As Leo pushes off, guiding the plane away from the only home they’ve ever known, a tear escapes me, trailing down my cheek.
“Goodbye,” I whisper to it.
Hard to hear anything over the whirring turboprop, but Leo looks focused, his hands steady on the controls as we begin our taxi, the cabin receding into the distance.
Shallow, rapid breaths escape me, my anxiety mounting with the plane’s acceleration. The uneven terrain of the runway causes our vibrating metal cage to buck and kick like a wild, unbroken stallion under the command of an untested pilot. Each jolt sends a shockwave through the aircraft, gripping me in a chokehold.
The relentless, overwhelming noise makes it impossible to share fears or words of encouragement. They don’t need my distractions anyway.
I’ll just sit back here like a good girl and try not to wet myself. No biggie.
Outside, the Arctic expanse scrolls by like a long dream, giving way to a blur of motion. The rush of speed presses against my lurching stomach, shoving it into my spine.
Without turning around, Kody reaches behind his seat, his hand extended.
I grab it, squeezing the life out of his calloused fingers.
Then, the moment of lift—a sudden lightness, a breath held collectively.
The plane slants, the climb fraught with violent shaking. Every dip and sway feels like a hand trying to slap us back to the ground. But Leo holds it steady, propelling us higher with an upward hunger that brings surreal weightlessness.
The aircraft wobbles, flirting with the earth once more before he pulls it up hard and wins the fight against gravity.
The world tilts and shifts outside the window, marked by the turbulence that tests the strength of my bladder. But holy fuck, we’re airborne.
We’re flying. Truly flying.
Kody bellows a victorious shout and releases my hand to twist in his seat and check on me.
A grin sparkles in his eyes and stretches from cheek to cheek, completely free from its constraints. It’s a moment of transcendence.
As we gain altitude, the plane levels out, and the Arctic becomes a sprawling mural of white snow and blue skies, standing witness to our escape.
For the first time, I dare to breathe.
The fear remains, humming beneath the roar of the engine, but it’s tinged with a whisper of freedom.
“Love you,” I mouth to Kody.
He mouths it back and returns to Leo, talking to him through the headset. I can’t hear their voices. There’s only the deafening din of the engine and propeller that swallows every thought but one.
We’re finally leaving.
As we reach a cruising altitude that Leo seems to navigate with unexpected ease, my heart remains a prisoner to every creak and murmur of the plane. With each passing minute, as the ground falls farther and farther away, my fears shift from the dangers of takeoff to the myriad of catastrophes that could still lie ahead.