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radar, and they’ll see where we crashed.” He exhaled, but the relief was short lived. Troy’s pulse kicked up again as the silence stretched out. “ Right ?”
    “ We were too far away for radar.”
    “ What?” As adrenaline pumped through him, his voice rose. “What are you talking about?” He realized he was still gripping Brian’s bicep when Brian’s hand covered his and gently pried his fingers loose. Troy tried to catch a breath, crossing his arms tightly over his chest. “Shit, sorry. But what do you mean there’s no radar? How is that possible?”
    Brian’s voice was low and calm in the darkness, the only thing keeping Troy grounded, along with the warm press of his shoulder. “Radar doesn’t cover the whole planet. Only two, three percent. If you’re more than two hundred miles away from land, there’s no coverage.”
    Troy’s jaw dropped. “Are you fucking serious?”
    “ I’m afraid so.”
    “ So we’ve just…disappeared. In the middle of nowhere.”
    Brian shifted, clumsily patting Troy’s arm with his damp palm. “I’m sure they’ll find us.” His voice seemed to snap into a commanding tone. “Yes. Don’t worry. We’ll get organized in the morning. Do everything we can. It’s going to be okay.”
    “ I…” Troy gulped some water, blinking away tears. “Okay. Yeah.” A thought jolted him. “Wait, do you have your phone? I didn’t thing to grab mine. Shit, that was dumb.”
    “ Mine was in my jacket. It doesn’t matter anyway. We got soaked, and we’re nowhere near a service area.”
    He deflated. “Right. Duh.”
    “ We’re going to be just fine.”
    Troy wasn’t sure how Brian could sound remotely confident after being practically catatonic earlier, but shit, he’d take it. The fog of shock seemed to dissipate the more Brian drank. “We should eat, right?”
    “ Right.” He moved, hissing.
    “ You okay?”
    “ Yeah.” Brian moved again, and Troy heard a zipper. A flashlight beamed on, startlingly bright in the blackness. The bruise on Brian’s forehead was a mottled shadow. “I’m going to take some Advil. Do you want any? Are you in pain?”
    “ I’m okay.” Well, truthfully his cheek twinged where he’d hit the floor of the plane and he ached dully all over, but they should conserve their medicine.
    What if they never find us? What if I never see Mom and Troy again? What if I die here?
    “ Troy?”
    He was screaming in his mind, and he blinked a few times, trying to smile. “I’m fine.”
    In the glow of the flashlight, Brian stared skeptically. But after a moment, he nodded and dug into the pack. “There are protein bars in here. We have enough water for now, but if it rains again, we should fill our empty bottles.”
    “ Okay.” It was a relief to be able to sit back and follow instructions. They ate gross bars that tasted like chalky peanut butter, but after the first bite, Troy realized just how hungry he was. He had a second bar and drank more water.
    God, what he wouldn’t give for a hot shower and to change out of his dirty, damp sweats and tee. What he wouldn’t give for shoes. And underwear. But Brian gave him leather flip-flops and a spare pair of socks, so that was something, even though the socks were wet and the thong between his toes pulled at the cotton.
    “ How did this happen?” The question popped out of its own accord as they sat in the dark again, now with a mosquito net from the emergency pack draped over them. Troy was tempted to ask to have the flashlight back on, but knew it was dumb to waste the batteries.
    Brian’s shoulder against him hitched, then slumped. “I’m sorry.”
    “ It’s not your fault.”
    “ But…”
    “ Dude, I’m not blaming you.” Troy nudged Brian’s shoulder. “You saved my life. That storm was intense.”
    Brian sighed, a whisper that fluttered the net. “We checked the weather reports. They were calling for rain, but nothing we couldn’t handle. Nothing out of the ordinary.”