Between the Cross and the Flame

Chapter 11: Haniel

Haniel gasped awake. Blinding light seared his eyes. His lungs rattled when he breathed in, sending him into a violent coughing fit. Haniel tried to sit up, but his ribs exploded into pain. He gradually rolled himself onto his knees, wincing as he did so, and finally opened his eyes. Rich, dark earth covered the ground. The moisture from the soil seemed to transfer to the tropical air pressing in all around him. Sweltering heat beat down on his back. Haniel brushed the dirt off his arms as he pushed himself into a sitting position.

What happened...?
Then he remembered: the loudest explosion he'd ever heard, incinerating heat, and then falling, falling, falling, until the plane crashed into the ground. He didn't remember passing out, but the impact must have knocked him out pretty fast. Mavet had shouted something before the explosion, too, then jumped over them...

Wait, where is everyone?

Haniel struggled to his feet, wobbling on stiff legs, then shielded his eyes against the sun as he searched. They had landed in a tropical forest. The cabin of the plane, mangled, burnt, and half-destroyed, had flattened a patch of undergrowth the size of a football field. In the clearing it created, Del and Irvin were just beginning to stir. Chaya and Mavet were scattered on opposite sides of the wreckage. The rest of the plane – including the pilot – were nowhere to be found.

Haniel leaned on some trees for support as he made his way to Irvin and Del. The pair were fully alert when he finally arrived at their sides, although Del appeared slightly concussed. Irvin, bearing only a few scratches, asked a million questions on how she was feeling. She waved away his fussing, reminding him that Chaya and Mavet were the priority. Haniel led her and Irvin to Mavet, then collapsed by Chaya's broken form.

"Hey, Chay, wake up," Haniel said, brushing the hair out of his face. "Come on, you've got to wake up for me. I need to know you're okay. Chay, please, wake up!"

The blonde suddenly coughed, and his eyes fluttered open. Haniel could have cried with the relief that washed over him. He helped Chaya prop himself up on a nearby tree trunk. The blonde gasped, gripping his side from the movement. Haniel gently pulled Chaya's shirt aside to reveal an angry red mark on the right side of his trunk. A few cuts marked his right shoulder and a rather deep wound stained his forehead scarlet. Chaya cried out when Haniel let his shirt back down.

"Sorry, sorry, I know that hurts," Haniel apologized. "You've got a nice burn on your side. We need to take care of that. Stay here, I'm going to find some water."

Haniel marched off toward the plane wreck. If the cabin had mostly survived, then his backpack, secured to his seat as it was, surely remained. It took five minutes of combing the wreck, but he finally found it, and the water bottle he'd sneaked in was still there. Haniel brought the whole pack with him and returned to Chaya.

"Okay, this is going to hurt like hell, so feel free to squeeze my arm," Haniel offered.

He carefully peeled off Chaya's shirt, revealing the whole burn– in addition to a surprisingly toned abdomen. Forcing himself to focus, Haniel poured the cold water over Chaya's wound. The blonde's grip immediately tightened. He yelped and drew his legs a little tighter to his chest. A few silent tears ran down his face. Haniel allowed him to mutilate the nerves in his hand until he'd poured out all the water. After a few moments, Chaya leaned back against the tree and sighed, muttering that he felt a lot better now.

"Sorry, I hate doing that to people, but you have to kickstart the healing process with cold water," Haniel said. "You took that a lot better than my dad did after burning himself on the grill. My mom threatened to administer an anesthetic."

Chaya smiled slightly. "I wouldn't have minded an anesthetic."

Haniel chuckled. "I know, but it will start to feel so much better in a few minutes." He cleared his throat. "By the way, did you forget to mention you have abs? Because you have abs."