Shadow of the Sun (Timeless #1)

Chapter 10: Crash

"Siete al sicuro," he murmured. I melted into his embrace.

I had no idea what he said, but the words soothed me. "Thank you," I mouthed.

He must've understood, because he gave a small nod.

We floated in the air for another moment before we descended. Below was chaos. Screams reverberated and sirens echoed. Lights flashed all around, coming from every different direction, all trying to find a way to the crash site. Fire flared from the middle of the cluster of trees where the plane had hit. From the twisted metal and downed trees, smoke rose into the air. It was like a beacon to the rescuers. Good, I thought. They needed to find the wreckage quickly.

We submerged into the trees a few hundred feet away from the crash. When we landed, the angel gently put me on my feet. The only thing I could think of was to get to Joseph and Sally. Maybe they had survived, though deep down I knew it was impossible. Unless they were immortal like Karen.

I ran toward the fire, splashing in the mud. There was the sound of rushing wind overhead before the angel dropped in front of me. He had flown over my head.

"You cannot help them," he said.

I tried to pass, but his warm arms wrapped around me again, this time constricting me, holding me to his chest. "I cannot allow you to go. You could get hurt." His voice was firm.

"No," I cried out but didn't fight him. It was a cry for the souls who lost their bodies. I went limp, though the angel held me up until I regained my balance.

"Thank God you're all right," said a male's voice behind me.

I whirled to see Joseph. I blinked in the rain, not believing.

"I thought we were all dead," he said, a distraught look on his face.

"Joseph!" I ran toward him, hugging him as if I had known him my whole life.

He embraced me back just as fiercely, and that same electric current ran through me and into him. It wasn't like before; this was almost painful. When I stepped back, I could tell he had felt my jolt of electricity, though he seemed to be okay.

"How did you..." I trailed off, seeing three angels and Sally behind him.

Joseph smiled, which I'd thought I'd never see again. "They saved us. I don't know how, it was all a blur. One moment we were plummeting to our death, and then a hole opened, and the next moment we're on the ground."

I didn't have time to think about what that meant because my knees went all weak again, this time from relief. The angel who saved me caught me as my knees buckled, and there was another undercurrent between us, this one pleasant.

"I think we need to get her some medical help," he said over my head to Karen.

"No. I'm okay." I tried to smile, though it was hard.

"Gabriella." Karen sighed.

"Really," I said.

The angel released me, and I sank to the forest floor, overwhelmed. I took several long deep breaths, trying to regain my composure.

I survived.

Sally, her red hair tangled in her face, darkened with ash, was crying, which left more streaks through the soot already being washed away by the rain. Joseph's face was also blackened with ash, though his dark eyes showed a weird mixture of sorrow and relief. Karen stared at me, concerned. But what interested me most were the now very alive angels, no longer corpses.

"Andrew?" I said, remembering the names the Elders had given.

The angel who rescued me lowered to the ground. His golden eyes searched mine for a second, eyebrows creased. "I am Andrew." Then he said over my head, "This one is special."