Cold water dripped onto Elian’s forehead, shocking him back into consciousness. He gasped, his lungs burning as they filled with the heavy, damp air of the wilderness. Above him, twisted branches of pine and fir blocked out the sky, their needles glittering with morning dew. He was lying on a bed of crushed ferns, his body aching from head to toe.
"Do not move too fast," Sarah said, her voice coming from his left. "You fell off the hull when we hit the lower branches. I had to drag you away before the fuel lines caught fire."
Elian groaned, slowly turning his head. He saw the ruined shape of the shuttle ten yards away, wedged nose down into a shallow ravine. Black smoke rose from the cracked engine vents, but there were no flames, only the hiss of cooling metal meeting damp soil.
"Is
