187 Pain and Bliss Excerpt

Chapter 1

Golden Triangle, Thailand

Kathleen Hunter held tightly to her ten-year-old son, Axle, as the dual-prop Cessna fell from the sky. The small plane had lost all power in the left engine and was shaking violently, smoke pouring from its side, as the Thai pilot shouted feverishly into the black radio. A thin Asian man on the other side of the aisle leaned forward and barked instructions into the cockpit, instructions the pilot was no longer listening to or couldn�t hear. It was very loud in the plane.

Kathleen hugged her son closer. "Everything is going to be all right, Axle!" She clasped his head to her breast and looked past him, through the window. The rainforest stretched out in all directions, a sea of green that touched the horizon. The plane dipped and yawed, and when the brown river flashed into view suddenly beneath her, she felt a surge of hope. The river was just fifty yards wide, murky and slow. Maybe they�d make it after all. Of course, they were moving pretty fast ... "I love you, Axle," she whispered.

The tail hit the dark water first, but the angle was too steep. The plane immediately pitched forward, slamming into the river and sending up a huge plume of water. Everything in the cabin that was not bolted down — and some things that were — flew forward as the nose dug in. The plane buckled and cracked. Windows broke. Then there was silence.