“You’d be amazed at what a person can survive,” he told her. “I was there when Coop took his first flight, and I’m here now, with you. You’re not alone, sweetheart.”

Sherman took Stormy’s hand and held it tightly as they both said a whole lot of silent prayers.

“I don’t know if I can take the silence anymore,” Stormy said after a while. She had no more tears left to cry.

Sherman looked at Stormy, his eyes bright and wide. “Stormy, he’s alive. That boy is alive. I know it. I can feel it in my bones, so don’t you lose heart, you’ll see.”

She looked at him with hope. “Do you really believe that?”

“I do, darling. I really do. And you know what?” he said with a smile.

“What?”

“I bet it will be his brother out there saving his ass,” he said with a chuckle.

“I hope so,” she said, finding that she did have some tears left after all.

CHAPTER FORTY

Water lapping against his legs, Cooper slowly opened his eyes as a groan rumbled from his throat. His eyesight was blurry and he blinked trying to get his bearings. As his thinking cleared, he reached his hand up to his throbbing head.

Feeling a warm sensation, he pulled his fingers away, blood dripping down his hand. He had a substantial gash on his forehead from hitting the side window upon impact, and boy could he feel it.

Cooper began to look around to assess his situation. The flight deck was a mess of broken glass and crumpled metal. Water flowed in through the windshield and streamed down the instrument panel with each pulse of the waves.

The sound of groaning and creaking metal filled his ears as the body of the plane shifted in the gentle sea. Cooper reached down and undid his five-point harness as thoughts moved away from his well-being to that of his passengers and fellow crew members. He glanced over at Wolf, who was still unconscious in his seat.

“Wolf, wake up.” Cooper shook Wolf’s shoulders, saying his name over and over.

At that moment, the creaking became louder as the plane’s nose pitched drastically downward. The damage she’d sustained was substantial and it was nothing short of a miracle that she was still floating at all. But the forward portion of the cargo bay was filled with water and accelerating her burial at sea. Water rushed in through the windshield, filling the flight deck at a faster rate.

With the water now chest level on Wolf and rising, Cooper’s attempt to wake him became more frantic. “Wolf! Come on, buddy, wake up.” Cooper was now shaking Wolf violently with both hands. Wolf’s eyes began to crack open as the water level rapidly approached his neck.

“Cooper, what in the hell is going on?” Wolf’s eyes were now open with panic showing as the freezing water registered.

“The plane is sinking fast and we have to get out of here now,” Cooper commanded.

“I can’t seem to get this seat belt undone.” Wolf was straining, now terrified and spitting water out as it surged up to his face.

“Hold on. Let me try,” Cooper said as he took a deep breath and dove under the frigid Pacific water.

Cooper ripped and pulled on the seat belt mechanism with all his strength, but to no avail. He resurfaced and spoke as calmly as possible. “Wolf, hold on, buddy. I’m going to find something to cut it.”

Cooper’s gaze now looked all around as he tried to spot something that was sharp enough to cut the tough belts.

The water was getting dangerously high and every second wasted meant Wolf was closer to death. Cooper took another deep breath and dove under, still trying to free his distressed coworker from his seat.

The water was dimly lit by the slight glow of the instrument panel lights, but they were fading fast as water found its way into the electrical system. Cooper surfaced for air, still unsuccessful in his attempts.

“I’m sorry, buddy. I can’t get this damn thing undone,” Cooper said somberly as he grabbed Wolf’s hand.

“Can you do something for me?” Wolf asked while pulling Cooper’s shirt toward him. Wolf’s face suddenly became peaceful as the water continued rising.

“Anything.”

“Tell that sexy flight attendant that it wasn’t just a one-night stand. I liked her enough that it scared the crap out of me.” Wolf gripped tighter to Cooper’s shirt as the water covered his face. Cooper was fully prepared to go down with his copilot, not willing to leave a man behind.

Just before he turned away, he saw something glisten underneath the water, illuminated by the flickering light. It was a large shard of glass that had broken from the windshield. Adrenaline flooded his body as Cooper dove beneath the water, grabbed the glass, and began cutting the seat belts.

One by one, the straps snapped. Wolf’s body, now seemingly lifeless, was free. With one arm around his friend, Cooper pushed his way through the flight deck door and out into the flooding cabin.

The plane pitched violently forward, causing a large influx of water through the open exits. Cooper glanced at Wolf’s face and noticed he was becoming paler. He knew Wolf had no chance of survival without CPR, and soon. He could hear the sounds of passengers and the faint voices of flight attendants calling out instructions from outside the craft. It appeared they’d gotten everyone off in time.

The aisle was full of floating personal effects that he had to navigate around to get to the open exit row door. As Cooper emerged from the opening, a bright light shone on him. He looked up, hearing the pulsing blades of a helicopter as it flew past and out of sight.