OVERWHELMED BY CRABS
OVERWHELMED BY CRABS Fred did not survive the crash landing. Amelia had done her best, but putting the Electra down on the reef was like running a tin can over a cheese grater. When she looked east down the atoll, she could see that Fred had washed ashore on the beach, same as her. She couldn’t be certain he was dead. He hadn’t moved for what seemed like hours, but then again, she could barely move herself. All of her limbs were broken and completely immobile, and she could see the jagged end of a rib poking out of her chest, through her leather bomber jacket. She could turn her head, but only just barely. The pain was sublime. When she looked to the west, she could see the Electra still hung up on the reef. It dangled there like a gum-ball charm, rolling and shifting like a little toy on a chain every time the waves crashed over the wreckage. Before long, the sea dislodged the Electra and swallowed her to the bottom. Amelia watched as she sunk,...