The world seemed to stop spinning the moment the metallic thud of the Albatross kissing the shallows ceased echoing. The silence that followed was far more deafening than the roar of the storm moments before. Mateo Rossi choked, his lungs feeling as though he had just inhaled liquid gasoline.
The salt of the seawater mixed with the metallic tang of blood filled his mouth. He tried to force open his eyelids, which felt heavy as lead, only to be greeted by the crimson glow of the shattered cockpit panel and white smoke curling from the gaps in the dead engine.
"Elena..." Mateo groaned. His voice was ragged, sounding almost like a death rattle.
He turned to his side. Elena was slumped in the co-pilot seat, her head lolling to the side, held upright only by her harness. A thin trickle of b
