Read Monstrum for Free Online Page B

can just make out her standing figure as she reaches out to grab Sammy and haul him into the raft. “You can’t even
fall
right. Put your leg over the rim—that’s it. Okay, guys,” she calls to us. “Who’s next? Hurry!”
    â€œBria,” Gray says, “you next.”
    â€œGreat,” I say, not moving.
    I tell myself to take that single step out the door and jump—it can’t be more than ten feet down or so—but renewed terror shuts my body down. The plane may be sinking, yeah, but at the moment it feels a whole lot safer than that flimsy raft. I look in every direction, straining to see a boat or a strip of land, or even the suggestion of one of those, but there’s nothing but desolation and hopelessness. Against the backdrop of the ocean disappearing into the black horizon, the raft looks as viable and practical as burning a candle in the shower.
    The truth is, I’m not sure if I can jump.
    â€œBria?” Gray says again, but he doesn’t really register with me because now I’ve got a new fear: heights.
    The raft didn’t look so far down when I was pushing Maggie out, but now it looks like jumping from Seattle’s Space Needle. What if I fall in the ocean like Sammy did? What if the raft crests a wave and drifts away from the plane just as I’m jumping?
    â€œBria!”
Gray roars, reaching for me. “Get your ass in that raft! Now!”
    I can see where this is going. He’s going to push me out, and if he does, my overstressed heart will burst out of my chest, killing me long before I hit the water.
    â€œDon’t!” I cry, tightening my grip on the door handle. He’s way bigger than I am, and if he gets a grip on me, I don’t stand a chance. “I—I can’t do it!”

M y breath races out of my control, becoming strained and wheezy enough for me to feel light-headed. I bend at the waist, frantically trying to think of something calming so I won’t collapse into a full-blown panic attack. But calming thoughts and plane crashes are mutually exclusive, and I can’t get my lungs to work. I can’t operate my voice, either, so I just shake my head and hold up a hand to ward him off.
    Gray gets the picture, which is one of the best things about him. He always gets the picture. “Okay,” he says softly, reaching out for my hand. “We’ll jump together. It’ll be fine. Let’s go.”
    To my utter shame, I make a mewling sound of despair. I cannot move.
    Carter curses sharply under his breath. He’s been watching the proceedings and seems to be out of patience with me, but Gray tries again.
    â€œBria. You can’t stay here. You know that, don’t you?”
    I manage a shaky nod.
    â€œWhat’s going on up there?” An demands.
    Gray never takes his eyes off me. “Take my hand, Bria. Let’s go.”
    With tremendous effort, I suck in a shuddering breath. This allows my throat to loosen up enough for me to speak in a wobbly voice. “I don’t”—
breathe, Bria
—“I don’t want to fall in.”
    Gray hesitates, but Carter steps up. “Where’s your seat cushion, Bria? Grab that. It’ll make you feel better.”
    Sudden comprehension swoops in on me. Seat cushion!
You grabbed it—use it, dummy!
    Only I don’t have it anymore. My hands are empty, and God alone knows when or where I dropped the thing. “I don’t have it,” I confess. “I’ll get another one.” Relief loosens me up a little—this won’t be so bad if I have my seat cushion—and I slosh a step or two backward. I’m still scared, but now I have a plan, and that makes a huge difference.
    Carter nods. “Great. You might want to hurry—”
    The plane lurches.
    There’s no warning. Just a sudden, violent tilt to the right, in the direction of the raft, and I hear the shocked cries of Gray and