Crashing In To You ( Freen x Becky)

Chapter 2

Becky trudged out of the water, dragging a suitcase through the wet sand and up onto the beach next to the pile of luggage she, Engfa and Charlotte reclaimed from the ocean. Charlotte and Engfa lay on the sand beside the bags, breathing hard and utterly exhausted.

Becky bent over, struggling to catch her own breath. Her muscles were on fire and the blistering sun shining down on them wasn't helping any. She'd already gone through a full bottle of water while retrieving the luggage and anything else that might come in useful, including the contents of the catering trolley.

Becky only counted nine suitcases, which meant there was at least one more out there. She'd recovered her own case early on, and her carry-on bag was still inside what was left of the plane's fuselage. There was a bag of sweet Tao Kae Noi inside that had Becky drooling at the thought of them. She wiped the sweat from her brow with the back of her hand and stood to go back in the water.

Charlotte caught her wrist. "Nong, give it up. We've got most of them."

Becky shook her head. "There's at least one more, and bottles and cans floating on the surface. I'm going back out there."

"God-damn stubborn bitch!" Charlotte growled. She let go of Becky's wrist and moved to stand.

Becky shook her head again. "You're spent, P'Char. Let someone else play hero for a change. You too, P'Fa."

"Knock yourself out, nong. I'm never moving again." Engfa lay sprawled on the sand, one arm slung over her eyes. "You're wasting your time. A rescue is probably already on its way for us." Engfa sat up with a huff. She'd only joined in on the salvage effort because Charlotte had.

Becky wasn't so sure. "It's been hours since we crashed and there's still no sign of the cavalry."

The other two girls fell silent, the reality of the situation dawning on them. Their flight took off early in the morning and it was already late afternoon. Why hadn't anyone found them yet? They didn't even know how far out they were, were they closer to New Zealand? Or Australia?

They'd all tried their cell phones and not a single person could get a signal, so where ever they were it was far enough out to leave them off the grid.

Charlotte slumped on to the sand with a defeated grunt, more willing to give up since her rival had thrown in the towel. "Fine. One more run, but be careful out there and don't do anything stupid."

"Wouldn't dream of it." Becky grinned despite feeling like she was about to drop. She had to keep going. She'd lose it if she let herself stop long enough to think about their situation.

Leaving Charlotte and Engfa behind, Becky ventured back into the water. Becky had always loved the water. Her Mami called her a water baby. From the moment she'd been old enough to crawl she'd wanted to be in the water, be it a swimming pool, a lake or the ocean.

Right then and there, Becky would be happy if she never stepped foot in another body of water again. She fought against the current, her limbs feeling like lead weights as they cut through the water.

Becky gathered all the bottles and cans she found floating on the surface from the catering trolley in a gym bag slung over her chest. The last suitcase was nowhere in sight and the sun was creeping lower, casting long shadows over the water, so Becky gave up and joined the others on shore.

Richie started a fire to help them dry off. Becky sat in front of it with one of the complimentary blankets from the plane draped over her shoulders. The other girls - and Richie - were all sprawled around fire too.

Nam took stock of what they'd salvaged from the plane and the water, while Irin finished stitching the wound on Queenee's thigh with the first aid kid they'd retrieved from Irin's suitcase — and a small sewing kit Nam's Mae packed in hers.