Page 8 of Lost In Kakadu

“Help me.”

A shiver ran up his spine as he stared at Toni’s lifeless body. But then Abigail’s legs moved beneath her.

“Thank God.” He straddled the hole in the floor, and cringing, he lifted Toni off Abigail. Toni’s head rolled onto his shoulder, and he tried not to look into her vacant eyes as he placed her body in her original seat.

He scrubbed his hands on his jeans as he climbed back to help Abigail. “Are you okay?”

A deep gash sliced through a lump on her forehead. She touched the bulge and her eyes widened at the blood on her fingers.

“I’m bleeding,” she cried. “Spencer, help me!”

“He’s dead. Everybody’s dead!”

She turned to her husband and froze. Mackenzie thought she’d scream.

Instead, she covered her eyes and said, “No. No. No. No!”

Through the cockpit door, jagged pieces of the shattered windscreen glistened in the sun like giant teeth. He inched toward the oval doorway. The cockpit and the pilot had suffered the crunch of impact.

Blood dripped from several instruments, and the pungent smell of metal invaded his nostrils.

Bile rose in his throat.

Mackenzie ran to the hole in the floor and threw up.

Exhausted, he sat back and wiped his mouth. His eyes stung and his ribs ached. He felt Abigail staring at him.

“Are you hurt?” He climbed to his feet.

“Of course I’m bloody well hurt. I’m bleeding everywhere.”

He took another look at her wound. It was bad enough to cause a headache, but he didn’t think she’d even need stitches. “It’s just a small cut. Do you have any other injuries?”

“I have pain all down my back from that stupid girl.”

Mackenzie glared at her. “She’s dead, you know.”

“Well, she should have put her seat belt on instead of flopping around like a bloody rag doll.” She looked perfectly calm.

Mackenzie had to get away from her before he said something nasty. Sidestepping around the hole, he inched to the back and was surprised at how high they were off the ground. . . like they were floating. Unable to work out why, he hung his legs over the shattered edge and jumped.

“Where are you going? Don’t leave me!”

He couldn’t decide if she was demanding or pleading.

Either way, he had to get away from her. “Out of here.”

“Don’t leave me,” she repeated.

He ducked under the wreck and escaped.

ChapterFour

Abigail touched her forehead again and rubbed the blood between her fingers. Its rich colour surprised her. The last time she’d cut herself was twenty-five years ago. She could still remember staring at the thick blood in disbelief, much like she was doing now. Although, there’d been a whole lot more blood that time.

She placed her knee on her chair for support and looked at her husband. His crystal blue eyes stared blankly at the ceiling and no longer had the glimmer that had held her mesmerised in her naive years. She’d loved him once, idolised him as the man of her dreams. The first time she’d seen him, he’d dominated the crowd, full of charisma and everybody had hung on his words. When their eyes locked, the intensity in his irises was like he was reading her mind.

When did it all go wrong?

---