Chapter 129

Carol’s POV

Waves of water engulfed me as I swam towards Aiden and the front part of the plane. The water was cold, but I hardly felt it with all the adrenaline pumping through my veins. The taste of salt invaded my mouth, making me gag as I went under another wave.

When my head broke through the surface, the burning sun scorched my bruised and cut-up flesh. I could hear the faint sounds of Aiden groaning as I got closer to his location. The waves were bringing the part of the plane lying on closer to the shore, but it wasn’t fast enough, and I was worried that it would bring him further out there. I decided not to wait for him and just to swim instead.

My legs and arms were tired from the lack of moment this past day or so, not to mention my body was still sore from the crash itself.

The salt stung my open wounds.

But none of that mattered right now. All that mattered was Aiden was in trouble and I needed to get to him. My heart was thrumming wildly in my chest.

My fingers hit something hard and when my head broke through the surface of the water again, I saw that I was at the plane. I gripped the sides of the plane and tried to hoist myself up but there wasn’t much to grab onto, and the ocean caused it to become slippery.

“Aiden,” I gasped, hoping that he could hear me.

I heard him murmuring something, but I couldn’t understand what he was saying.

“Just hold on,” I said, still trying to grip onto the surface with no luck.

We were naturally floating closer to the shore, I just needed to stay with the plane until we got there, then I’d be able to help Aiden.

“Carol…” I heard him whispering, his voice raspy.

My heart broke for him; it broke for me too. I’m not sure how we were going to get out of this.

“I’m here, Aiden,” I assured him. “Just hold on.”

“Are you…” he tried to say, but his voice cut off as a big wave washed into us, taking me under the surface as the plane flung forward several inches.

Water got into my nose and mouth immediately. I had trouble floating back to the top because of the waves that kept coming, but I managed to find a part of the plane that I could actually grip, and I pulled myself back to the surface. I coughed as soon as I was free from the water.

I took in greedy gulps of fresh air as my lungs burned from being tortured by all that water.

I was still holding onto the piece of the plane, so with all my strength, I managed to hold myself up so I was partly out of the water, my stomach hitting the hot metal surface and hearing it sizzle as my flesh stuck to it.

I gritted my teeth from the burn, but it was nothing compared to the crash itself. I panted for air and allowed my body to relax now that I was out of the water. The plane was even closer to the surface, it wouldn’t be long now before I was back on the sand.

“Aiden?” I called out after a moment of catching my breath.

“I’m here,” he sighed, and I saw his hand in my peripheral, his fingers moving.

Relief flooded me.

“Are you hurt?” He asked me, his voice sounding strained like it hurt him to speak.

“I’ll be okay,” I assured him.

I didn’t bother asking him if he was hurt because I could hear the pain in his voice. I already knew he was hurt.

Another wave took the plane forward again and I heard Aiden grunting in agony as we finally made it to the sand.

Once we were no longer bobbing in the water, I sat up and made my way to the top of the plane where Aiden was. I used the windows for extra footing to hoist myself up. Once I reached him, I gasped at the sight.

Aiden was lying on his stomach and right in the middle of his back was a metal rod from the plane. It pierced through his body and kept him stuck to the top of the plane. My heart shattered and tears immediately filled my eyes.

“Oh, God,” I gasped. “You’re hurt…”

“I can’t move,” he whispered.

“Let me help you,” I said, ignoring the stinging of the tears in my eyes.

I grabbed onto the rod just as he groaned in pain and I froze.

“I don’t want to hurt you even more though,” I admitted. “I’m not sure what to do. Please, tell me what to do.”

“Rip…” he paused as he took a shaky breath. “Rip my shirt off.”

I took the edge of his shirt and tore along the seams until it was easy to pull off him. Blood was all around his flesh, most of it was dry, but some was new from the rod piercing him.

It looked like part of the rod beneath him was wedged in the plane, keeping him in place. But it didn’t look properly attached. I might be able to yank it out of the plane and free him. But I couldn’t do that without hurting him and it could cause him more problems than anything. I could damage his spine, or it could bleed out.

“In the pilot’s cabin…” Aiden began to say, pausing as he winced in pain. “There might be a first-aid...” his voice trailed off again. I knew it was painful for him to speak, or even breathe for that matter.

I didn’t want him to waste his breath or strength, so I pressed my fingers to his lips to keep him from continuing his sentence.

“I’ll go in and see if I can find one,” I told him.

He took an unsteady breath and his eyes fluttered shut. I knew he wasn’t sleeping; he was just resting.

I slipped from where I was perched and made it back down the side of the plane until I reached the very first window at the front. It was already broken so it was easy to get inside the pilot’s cabin. I froze entirely when I saw the pilot on the ground under the steering wheel. He looked pale and bruised.

He was also very dead.

I wondered at what point he died. Averting my eyes from the dead body, I searched around until I found the first aid kit which had broken free from its holding place on the wall and was thrown in the corner of the cabin.

Not bothering to open it, I put the handle between my teeth to hold it in place while I used both arms and both legs to climb out of the cabin, through the window, and back to the top where Aiden was lying.

As I sat beside him, his eyes opened, and they found me. despite how injured he was and how much pain he was in, he still looked at me with longing and love and it made my heart swell. His face still somehow lit up when he saw me, and I bit my lower lip when I met his gorgeous eyes.

Pulling my gaze away from his for a moment, I opened the first aid kit. There were gauge bandages and rubbing alcohol, which I was relieved of. There were also latex gloves, bandages, Vaseline, and Advil. But that’s not what caught my eye. In a small vile was a light green liquid and a smile lit up my face.

It was a healing potion!

At that moment, I knew exactly what I needed to do, but I needed to work quickly before he lost too much blood.

I put the kit aside and knelt beside him, taking the rod in both my hands. He winced at the motion but he didn’t stop me. He trusted me and that was all the encouragement I needed.

“Take a deep breath,” I instructed. “This is going to hurt.”

The scream that left his lips as I pulled the rod with all my strength was earth-shattering. I swear it caused a small earthquake on this island and nearby birds were scared shitless.

I was amazed with my own strength because the rod broke free from the plane, and I was able to remove it from his body. Throwing the rod into the ocean below us, I quickly got to work at stopping the bleeding.

There were a couple of rags in the kit as well that I was able to use, but the blood soaked through them almost immediately. I poured the rubbing alcohol on his open wound, which caused him to scream again, but not as loud this time.

His body convulsed in agony as I attempted to stop the bleeding, but I knew it was no use.

I think he passed out a few times due to the pain.

I uncorked the small vile and put it to his lips.

“Drink this,” I instructed.

His eyes fluttered to it but he did as I said. He didn’t fight me when I forced the potion into his mouth and made him drink it.

He groaned at the taste and winced in pain from the sudden movement and force I used to as I continued to clean his wounds. A few times I slid from the top of the plane and back into the water to soak the rags, then I climbed back up to continue cleaning out the wound. Each time I went away and came back, I was amazed to see his wound getting smaller. The blood was starting to stop, and it gave me good leeway to finally wrap him up.

He gained enough strength and the pain started to lessen enough for him to turn over onto his back. It was a slow movement, but it was an approval from the state he was in not long ago.

I wrapped him in the gauge, even though his wound was getting even smaller by the minute. His breathing was heavy, but it was steadier than it had been and he was able to lift his head up and look at me. His face gained its color back and his eyes were filled with more life.

The potion was working, and I couldn’t be more relieved by that.

Once he was wrapped and the bleeding finally stopped, he was able to sit up and move around without my help. We both slid down from the side of the plane and into the sand. His movements were still a bit unsteady, and he walked with a limp because he was still in a bit of pain, but he was in better shape than before thanks to that potion.

I wrapped my arms around him and basked in his warmth and loving scent. I had missed him, and I was so scared I was never going to see him again. I allowed those motions to come forth and it hit me with its full force as tears ran down my cheeks.

He held me tightly, not wanting to let me go like he was worried I would disappear at any moment.

“I was so worried,” he whispered, nuzzling his face in my hair. “I was floating out there for so long and when I couldn’t find you… I thought…” his voice trailed off, not able to finish that sentence.

“I was worried too,” I admitted. “I searched all around this island and I couldn’t find you…”

He kissed the top of my head lovingly.

“How did this happen?” I asked, keeping my face buried in his chest as we held one another.

He glanced over his shoulder at the plane and when I peeked up at him, I saw a grim expression crossing his features.

“Aiden?” I asked, getting his attention.

He glanced down at me, his lips pressed in a thin line.

“The pilot died when we were in the air,” he told me. “I’m pretty sure he was poisoned.”