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“I agree with Micah,” Maison says. “We can’t have the bodies rotting so close.”

Micah dips his chin and shares a look with Maison, who’s standing on the other side of the circle beside Ezra, holding a trembling Serena. I get it. His arms made me feel safe when they were wrapped around me, too.

James, Nathan, and Ollie tend to the injured by the plane, sitting a few feet away in silence. Jade and Nigel say nothing as well, keeping their heads down.

“We need to split up,” Micah finally speaks, gracing us with more words. Our focus should be on tending to the dead and gathering anything salvageable from the plane. There is enough water for a few days, and we can rely on plane snacks until someone comes.

Micah’s in charge—no one’s said as much, but I can feel it. They are all deferring to him, hanging off his every word. Even Ezra seems to defer to him, although it clearly pains him.

I disagree with the entire approach.

“I’m not even sure we should stay here at all,” I mutter.

Silence. The whole group turns to look at me, including Micah, who doesn’t seem too thrilled by my interjection.

“Well, that’s a stupid thing to say.” Naomi shifts beneath Micah’s arms, moving her hand up her body and grabbing his wrist. “Where the hell would we go?” She looks up at Micah, who brushes his lips against her cheek. “I’m not going anywhere, Micah.” she says in a whiny voice that makes me want to vomit.

She and I haven’t spoken yet. I couldn’t bring myself to check on her and Serena while the others were wounded and dying. They just sat there, saying they were scared. Well, we are all fucking scared.

“Let her talk, Naomi,” Maison cuts in, and Serena and Naomi share a look. “We are all entitled to have an opinion.”

Micah merely cocks a brow. “The floor is yours, London.”

I swallow a pit in my throat. “This doesn’t seem like the best spot. It’s hidden, dead, and rocky, and I don’t see or hear any evidence of fresh water. I’m not a survival expert, but I think that should be priority number one.”

“We have water,” Ezra snipes. “The plane is full of it.”

“But for how long?” Nigel snaps back. His body is tense and alert beside me, observing everyone and everything as he does so well. “How long will that water last us?”

Micah hangs back and lets this interaction unfold with that little hidden smile teasing his lips. He’s enjoying this…

Ezra’s beady eyes narrow in on Nigel. “Watch your fucking tone with me, loser.”

“You think popularity contests matter right now?” Nigel scoffs and puffs out his chest. “Do you think the wolves care if I’m a loser? They will rip you to shreds just as easily as they will me.”

Pure venom comes out of his lips, enough that Ezra flinches before recovering and steps forward, towering over him.

A primal response…

Maison steps forward and places his hand on Ezra’s chest. “Not now, man. Keep it together. Everyone needs to keep it together.”

Ezra shudders and steps back, giving Nigel a glaring look.

I did indeed hear those wolves howling through my broken sleep. I hoped it was only Jades crying, and the echoes of agony running through my mind as I remembered our fallen classmates take their last breaths. Those were wolves I heard—and other creatures nearby, likely following the scent of blood. Nocturnal beasts seeing our fallen as the perfect dinner makes sleeping a scary thought.

“What are you trying to say, London?” Maison asks as his eyes zone in on me.

I labor a breath, wishing I could have a sip of the water Micah had promised me. “It’s been ten hours and no one’s come for us. We have to accept the possibility they might not know where we are.”

A sob escapes Serena, who barely looks like she can stand. Maison doubles down on his hold on her. She looks as broken as I feel, though I seem to hide it better.

A foreboding sense of nervousness settles over the group as they contemplate what I said, what everyone must be thinking.

Micah leans back on a nearby tree, taking Naomi with him and pulling her into him. Cocky and confident, like he doesn’t have a care in the world. “My dad probably has half the country looking for us right now,” he says quietly. “He won’t stop till we’re found. I give it a day.”

Must be nice to be so loved.

I bite my tongue at the stupidity of it. My initial assessment of Micah was he is smarter than that. This plane went off course. Flight trackers should have pinpointed exactly where we are. His narrow thinking will get us killed.