CHAPTER FIVE
well, that fucking sucked.

           LENNON

          " June!" The scream ripped from my raw throat as I pushed my way forward, towards the fire. "Juniper!" Tears were streaming down my cheeks. My head was thumping. My stomach threatened to lurch again.

              "June!" I was borderline hysterical. In my peripheral vision, I could see bodies slumped over in the seats and others frantically trying to undo their seatbelts. But none of them mattered, not when I couldn't find June. I had to find her.

             "Lennon!" Suddenly, someone was grabbing onto me, ripping me away from the direction of the fire. I fought against them, knowing that I had to find June. I had to find her. "Len, there's nothing back there!" It was Imani and she was trying to drag me away from the raging flames that threatened to burn me alive. And I would've let them. I was nothing without June. She was the other half of me—my twin flame. My twin.

              "J—June! I have to find June!" I shrieked, fighting against Imani's hold. She was strong and usually, I was stronger. But my body felt numb, like I was underwater, struggling to move as quickly as I wanted to.

              Imani turned me around to face her. She had soot over her face but no noticeable injuries, "She's not there!" She yelled at me, her eyes wide. "Lennon, we've got to go! We have to go!" She pleaded me. Imani wouldn't leave without me and I knew that. I couldn't do that to her. I couldn't allow her to die because of me.

              Slowly, I began to nod, "We have to help everyone else get out," Imani started to argue and I grabbed onto her shoulders. I knew there was a crazed look in my eyes by how scared Imani looked of me. "If we can't find June we have to help the others! We have to!" I cried over the sound of the flames, burning and dancing through the edges of the plane. They were catching up on us.

              "Fine!" Imani exclaimed, grabbing my hand and dragging me along. We had to hold onto the seats in order to be able to move, since the plane had crashed at an angle, trying to knock us over.

              The first person we came across was someone from the other team and my stomach dropped at the sight of her. I didn't know her, or even her name, but I knew her face. At least, what was rest of it. The entire left side of her body was burnt and her eyes and mouth were wide open. I felt myself lurching over, throwing up before I could stop myself, sobbing as I tried to catch my breath.
She was gone, there was no doubt about it. And I had to find those that had survived.

               I pushed my way through the walkway when I noticed one of the girls from the Red Devils. Nora. She was slumped over, knocked unconscious and blood was dripping from her forehead, creating a pool of blood by her feet.

              I immediately leaned over her, helping her sit up, "Nora, hey! Nora, open your eyes, you need to wake up!" I yelled, shaking her shoulders. She mumbled in her unconsciousness and her brows furrowed. I looked over my shoulder at Imani. "Search for anyone else! I've got her!" Imani nodded and rushed down the walkway for other survivors. I didn't know who had perished in the crash or who had managed to get off, but I couldn't leave anyone to burn. Not after seeing the sight of the other girl.

               "Nora!" Another voice exclaimed and I turned my head just in time to be shoved out of the way. I stumbled back slightly, grabbing onto the seats for support. I stood back, observing as Ivy shook her awake. She had a large gash along her arm and blood on her hands that smeared over Nora's Red Devils top. I felt out of place in her presence—dismissed. And I knew she would help Nora. So I had to find whoever else I could.

                 "Help! Please, someone help me!" The cry I had heard last time registered in my brain. I did know that voice. It was Brooklyn. I cursed myself for not recognising her voice sooner.

               At the realisation of her voice, I pushed my way by Ivy who was helping Nora stand and stumbled my way to the sound of her voice, "Brooke!" I called out, my head snapping left and right, trying to find her through the billowing black smoke, coughing as I went. I couldn't remember where anyone had been seated before the crash.

             "I'm here! I'm over here!" At the sound of her voice being on my left, I picked up the pace. Finally, I stopped where she was. She had tears down her face and her hair was everywhere, the blonde covered in soot. Beside her lay Rebecca's body, a metal pole sticking through her heart, blood dripping from her mouth, eyes wide.

               I gasped at the sight, feeling bile raise in my throat once again but I swallowed it back down, being snapped back to reality at the sound of Brooke's voice, "My seatbelts stuck! And my arm—fuck! My arm! It really hurts! Lennon, I can't get the belt off!" She sobbed, making a show of trying to unclip it, but to no avail, would it budge. I could also see that her arm closest to the wall was bent at an awkward angle.

               "It's okay, you're okay," I assured her as I leaned over her, trying to undo the latch myself. But just like she had said, it wouldn't unlock. "Fuck." I swore under my breath, halting for a moment as I realised it really wasn't going to come undone with my pulling and prodding, especially when I was trying my hardest not to nudge Rebecca's dead body—or even acknowledge it.

              Behind me, Ivy was helping Nora towards the open door where sunlight was flooding from, fresher air teasing me. I almost called them out for help but they were so close to getting out that I chose not to. Thinking fast, I crouched down and began searching the floor for something to cut the belt with. Finding a large shard of glass, I immediately took it to the material of the seatbelt. It was sharp, but still not enough to break it with one swift tug. It was going to take some time.

              I glanced over my shoulder, seeing the flames chasing us from behind me. Soon, the entire plane would be engulfed in flames if it continued at its rate. There must have been some kind of look in my eyes because Brooklyn was suddenly grabbing onto me, her acrylic nails digging into my skin, "Don't leave me, Lennon. Don't you dare fucking leave me!" She screamed desperately, her eyes wide and wild, her face wet with her tears and soot.

               I shook my head, "I'm not. I'm not." I clarified. Though, I wasn't sure who I was saying it to. Maybe I had to convince myself that I was a good enough person to stay behind and help her—even if it ended in the flames catching the both of us. And part of me thought that maybe, that wouldn't be so bad. Because then, I would be with my sister. But I couldn't do that to Brooke.

               I began cutting at the seatbelt, harder and quicker than before. I could feel the jagged edges of the glass cutting into my skin but I didn't stop. A blast erupted from the bottom of the plane and it knocked me backwards, causing me to bang my head on the wall of the plane on the way down.

                I was disorientated for a moment, my head spinning, pain flooding over me as my ears rang loudly. But I got back to my feet and grabbed onto Brooke to steady myself, "Brooklyn, I need you to pull both sides of the belt whilst I'm cutting. The pressure should break it faster!" I yelled at her, over the sound of the plane being engulfed in flames. It was making it hard for me to breathe or see.
Brooklyn nodded and did as I said and I began cutting the belt again.

              Within a few moments, the material snapped and Brooklyn was set free. She hurled herself into my arms, hugging me tightly with one arm—almost so tight to the point that it hurt, "Thank you! Thank you!" She exclaimed over and over again, her voice shaking as well as her body.

               I dropped the shard of glass, leaving it stained with my blood as I pulled Brooklyn towards the exit, putting her good arm over my shoulder, "Wait, what about the pilots? They're friends of the family! We have to check on them!" Brooklyn suddenly exclaimed, pulling me to a stop and I stared at her in disbelief. We didn't have time for that, if we weren't careful, the fire would spread further and catch up with us.

"Brooke, that's not a good—"

"Please, we just have to check. It'll only take a minute. Please, Lennon!" She cried, tears streaming down her ash-covered face as I stared at her, fighting a battle in my mind.

"Alright, come on." I urged after a moment, pulling her along faster towards the cockpit. During the crash, the doors had flung open and we could see right inside where the pilots had been.

The moment we reached the cockpit, I came to a sudden halt as my heart dropped. The co-pilots body had been flung through the window, only his legs were still in the inside, the front of his body draped over the nose of the plane. The pilot beside him had his head resting against the control panels and I could see blood smeared everywhere.

Working up the courage, I reached forward and pressed my finger to his neck, feeling for a pulse. I felt nothing.

"Brooke, they're both gone. We have to go now." I told her, grabbing back onto her and hauling her out of the cockpit as she cried even harder. My stomach felt weak at the sight of the co-pilots body, how he had been smashed through the window, his body cut to pieces.

Finally, we reached the door and threw ourselves outside. We hadn't realised how high the plane had been and we fell out of the door, landing on a heap on the ground. It hurt, but it had only been a fall of at least five feet. But I was glad to be on steady ground that I could feel beneath my body; dirt and grass. Safety.

              I was coughing up a lung, rolling around in the dirt, trying to suck in as much air as I possibly could whilst smoke piled from the plane wreck beside me. I could hear Brooke crying in pain from beside me and the hums of dying mechanics from inside the plane.

             "Lennon, thank god!" Maggie was on me in an instant, hugging me tightly and I sighed into her hair, relieved that she had made it out. She smelled like fire and honey and her grip was tight.

              "June, have you seen June?" I asked her in a panic as I turned away. I was oblivious to my surroundings, to the survivors of the crash that were all around me. It was a survivors site and I paid it no attention, my mind being on my sister and my sister only.

             Maggie's cheek was cut and she was covered in ash, "The end of the plane dislodged when we crashed. Ivy went to find it," She told me as she helped me to my feet. She rubbed at my arm. "I'm sure June is fine, Len. She's the strongest person I know." She attempted to reassure me. And any other time I would have agreed with her. But this wasn't an ordinary situation, we didn't get to choose to be strong, not when we were flung into a fucking plane crash.

              "Who else made it out?" I demanded, needing to know who had survived.

              Maggie's face grew solemn, "We've got less than half of our numbers now," A pang went through my chest. Maggie's eyes were watering as she said. "We have Imani, Abby, Ethan, Hailey and Brooke... Hopefully we'll find the others." I felt physically sick to my stomach. And not because of the turbulence anymore, but because of what Maggie's words had meant.

              Our team had sixteen players. And now, from what Maggie had said, that only left us with seven—not including Coach. If we didn't find the rest of the team on the other half of the plane, then it would just be us. And it was all the more awful when my sister's name wasn't amongst the survivors.

               "Fuck..." I whispered under my breath, my head spinning at an alarming rate. I was seeing three of Maggie's figure and I wanted nothing more than to lie down and close my eyes. But I knew I had to fight it. It probably meant that I had a concussion—and sleep wasn't an option.

            Suddenly, there was a booming explosion that made me jump out of my skin. It wasn't the half of the plane beside us bursting into flames and instead, it was another fire that blew into the air through the trees. Everything stopped in that moment when I realised it was the other half of the plane. The half June had been on.

            The inhuman scream ripped from my throat as I collapsed to the ground. Maggie and Imani were on me in an instant, trying to hold me and comfort me as I screamed and thrashed in their grip. June was gone—my sister was really gone. And I couldn't take my eyes off the mushroom smoke cloud in the air, mixed with fire.

               I was sobbing hysterically, the weight of what was happening pushing me down, making me want to curl up in a ball and never move again. I wanted to die. I wanted to be dead—I should have been dead. And I would be without her.

           It felt like I lay there like that for hours, wailing until my throat hurt and my eyes stung. Imani stayed by my side the entire time, holding me in her arms and running her hands over my hair but it brought me no comfort. My sister was gone—and I couldn't even remember the last thing I had said to her. All I could remember was being angry at her.

             At some point, the sound returned to my ears and it began to snap me back to some form of reality. I began to still in Imani's arms, bringing my head up to take a look at the scene around me and it made me feel physically sick.
The front half of the plane was lodged in the trees, tilted at an angle and smoke was plowing from it, flames still burning where the end had snapped off.

             With Imani's help, I managed to get to my feet, slowly turning my head to look around. There were people on the ground, crying and screaming in pain. Others were trying to help. The only faces I could recognise in the crowd other than my own team-mates, were some of the Red Devils. There seemed to be more of us than them.

             "Who—who did Maggie said went to the wreckage?" I asked shakily, steadying myself against Imani as she limped me towards a fallen log, sitting me down.

             "Ivy—"

            "I have to go—"

           "Len, you're not in any condition to move." Imani argued, tucking my hair behind my ear.

           "I—I'm fine," I argued, even though my body was in agony and I felt like I could throw up again at any given moment. I got back on my feet, wobbling slightly. "Imani, I'm going to find my sister." I insisted, staring her down. I could feel blood beginning to harden around my eyebrow, giving me the urge to itch it.

             Imani stared at me and then sighed heavily, "Alright, fine—but I'm staying here. I'm not wandering about when we don't even know where we—"

"That's fine," I spoke over her. I hands expected Imani to offer to come anyway—she wasn't the best when it came to helpful actions. "I'll be back soon." I assured her before turning tail and heading further into the forest, not once glancing back to the scene behind me.

              I sped-walked through the woods, pushing vines and sky-high grass out of our way. It looked like I was in some kind of jungle, something you would see on Google Earth images that stretched forever. We had been on the plane for hours and I hadn't paid the slightest amount of attention into where we had been before the plane went down, leaving me with no clue where we could possibly be.

              I walked for ages until I begun to see the smoke up close, in a clearing about thirty feet in front of us. I immediately took off running, despite my body protesting against it. I pushed through the brush, the twigs scratching at my skin as I went but I didn't give a shit. If there was a chance June was alive, I had to find her, and soon.

               I entered the clearing, skidding to a stop when I noticed Ivy helping Eden move from where the rear end of the plane was on fire, her arm flung over her shoulder, head dropping low. She was unconscious from what I could tell.

             I ran at them, almost knocking them down as I barreled into Ivy, "Have you seen June? Have you seen my sister?" I demanded, grabbing onto her.

             Ivy's eyes met mine, for once not holding any hatred. She looked just as terrified as I did. She began shaking her head and I immediately collapsed to my feet, unable to keep myself standing.

             I could feel the tears streaming down my cheeks, my body rattling with sobs. How could she be gone just like that? How had the world managed to take not just my mom but now my twin sister too?

             "Well, that fucking sucked." The voice that came from the trees was so familiar that I thought I was imagining it.

              Looking up, my eyes raw and blurry, my lips parted at the figure emerging from the trees; blonde and very much alive. My sister.

               "June!" I cried, pushing myself to my feet and running at her. I needed to be with her. Like magnets, I could feel the force pulling us together.

            We crashed in a bone crushing hug. I never wanted to let her go—never again. Not when I had thought I had lost her only a few moments before. I'd put up with her annoying teasing and temper tantrums for a lifetime just to not be in the world without her.

             "Len, you're crushing me." June croaked out but she didn't dare pull away. June wasn't much of a hugger—or a physical touch kind of person at all. But she needed this embrace just as much as I did.

           I pulled back, grabbing onto her face, "I thought—"

            "I know. Me too." June agreed that she had thought the same, that she had lost me. She then pulled me back into a hug, her arms wrapped around my neck and her face burrowed in my hair. She smelled like soot but I didn't care. She was alive and that was all that mattered to me.

              AUTHORS NOTE.

              did i have y'all fooled? i could never kill of june... or could i? who knows!

              i hope y'all liked this chapter! this is where the plot is really going to pick up and these girls are gonna be fighting for their lives <3

                — taylor xx