snow cliff
The roar of propellers echoed through the narrow valleys of the Alps. An unmarked light transport plane was flying low among the snow-capped peaks along the Ghost Squad's usual covert route.
Inside the cabin, the four-man team, fresh from a major intelligence victory, was enjoying a brief respite from exhaustion. Elaine leaned against the window, gazing at the glaciers flashing by under the moonlight, their thoughts still lingering on the intricate financial flows and the upcoming return to "Eagle's Nest." Hesh was checking equipment, while Logan rested with his eyes closed.
Only Keegan, like a cheetah that never lets up, remained on high alert. He sat in the co-pilot's seat, his sharp eyes scanning the instrument panel and the flight path ahead through his goggles. Altitude, speed, heading... everything seemed normal.
But a near-instinctive instinct for danger, honed by years of life-threatening experiences, made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. It was too quiet; the rescue pilot had been almost completely silent since takeoff, which was unusual.
Suddenly, just as the plane was about to round a steep, V-shaped valley, Keegan's pupils contracted sharply! He noticed the pilot's hand on the control stick, his knuckles white from excessive force, and he was subtly pushing the stick forward with an extremely subtle, yet utterly abnormal, motion! The plane's nose then began to dip almost imperceptibly—not to avoid turbulence, but to crash into the black rock wall covered in thick ice directly ahead!
"What are you doing!" Keegan's roar exploded in the cabin like thunder! Almost at the same time he spoke, he sprang up from his seat, slashing at the pilot's carotid artery with one hand and pulling the control stick back with the other!
The pilot was clearly well-trained; at the moment of impact, he gritted his teeth, suppressed the dizziness, and instead used all his strength to push the control stick forward! The plane emitted a piercing alarm and plummeted downwards!
"Hold on tight!" Keegan yelled into the rear cockpit, engaging in a desperate struggle with the pilot in the cramped space. Elbow strikes, chokeholds, tug-of-war over the controls… every exchange was a matter of life and death. Hesh and Logan in the rear cockpit were pinned to their seats by the immense G-forces, struggling to move but unable to do so. Elaine watched in horror as everything unfolded before her.
The violent jolts and feeling of weightlessness lasted only a few seconds. Accompanied by a terrifying, tearing sound of metal and a violent collision, Keegan felt an irresistible force throw him violently into the air, and then everything went black before he lost consciousness.
After an unknown amount of time, the biting cold roused Keegan from his unconsciousness. He found himself half-buried in a pile of icy snow, his body aching as if it were falling apart. He struggled to crawl out, shook the snow off his head, and quickly checked himself: multiple abrasions and bruises, a piercing pain in his left arm, possibly a fracture, but nothing life-threatening.
He immediately looked up and around. In the moonlight, there was an unfamiliar snow slope, littered with the wreckage of an airplane. Not far away, a figure lay face down in the snow, motionless—it was Logan!
Keegan's heart tightened, and he staggered over, carefully turning Logan over. Logan's face and combat uniform were covered in scratches, and there was congealed blood on his forehead. He was breathing weakly but was unconscious.
Keegan quickly checked his vital signs and, confirming there was no immediate danger to his life, dragged him behind a sheltered rock to temporarily place him. Following the clear skid marks and scattered parts on the snow, Keegan looked up at the steep cliff above—where the main chassis had clearly fallen from.
He endured the pain and climbed upwards using both his hands and feet. Finally, as he approached the edge of a cliff, he saw a heart-stopping sight: the main fuselage of the plane, like a giant bird torn apart, was stuck upside down on an even steeper slope dozens of meters below, wedged between several boulders, teetering on the verge of collapse.
Keegan's heart sank. He carefully slid down the near-vertical rock face, each descent pulling at his injured left arm and causing sharp pain.
Finally, he approached the mangled cockpit. Through the shattered porthole, he saw the horrific scene inside: the pilot's seat had been pierced by a broken metal beam, blood staining the cockpit, clearly indicating no chance of survival. In the rear of the cockpit, Elaine lay trapped beneath the deformed seat and jammed metal frame, eyes closed, face ashen, lifeless. Hesh was nowhere to be seen.
“Elaine!” Keegan’s voice was hoarse and trembling with fear and tension. He slapped her cheek hard. “Elaine! Wake up!” Perhaps it was the call that worked, or perhaps it was the biting cold, but Elaine’s long eyelashes fluttered a few times and she slowly opened her eyes.
The excruciating pain made her furrow her brow instantly. When she saw the Keegan in front of her and her surroundings, a look of confusion flashed in her eyes, which was then replaced by immense fear and pain.
“Keegan… my legs… I can’t move…” she said weakly, her voice trembling with tears.
Keegan immediately checked on her. Her right calf was firmly wedged between a twisted seat frame and a torn fuselage panel; blood soaked her trouser leg, and the wound was frostbitten and purple. He tried to pry the metal frame open, but the jammed structure was unusually sturdy in the low temperature, and his injured left arm couldn't provide enough strength; several attempts failed.
With each exertion, the entire damaged fuselage emitted a trembling "creak" and swayed slightly, as if it would disintegrate completely at any moment and plunge into the deeper, unfathomable abyss below.
"No... Keegan, you have to go!" Elaine looked at the snow and dust falling from above and felt the plane shaking. Tears finally welled up in her eyes as she desperately pushed him, "The plane is going to crash! Don't worry about me! Go!"
"Shut up!" Keegan growled, veins bulging on his forehead. He braced his shoulder against the metal frame again, trying to find a point of leverage, but the fuselage shook even more violently.
"I told you to leave! Did you hear me!" Elaine almost screamed, her emotions spiraling out of control due to fear and her determination not to implicate him. "You'll die!"
Just as she screamed again, Keegan abruptly stopped, turned his head, and, to Elaine's astonishment, leaned down and pressed his cold, bloody lips against hers briefly.
The kiss was fleeting, yet it struck Elaine like lightning, leaving all her words stuck in her throat.
Keegan's deep eyes were inches away, churning with a fear she had never seen before, a desperation, and an emotion so profound it made her heart pound. His voice was low and hoarse, trembling uncontrollably, each word seeming to be squeezed from his chest: "For me... don't give up."
Before he finished speaking, he suddenly turned around, poured all his weight and strength into his right shoulder and still intact right arm, let out a suppressed roar, and with all his might, he inserted his bare hand into the gap that was blocking Elaine and pried it outward!
"Crack!" A piercing sound of metal breaking rang out! He had actually managed to pry a gap in the deformed support! Almost at the same moment, the fuselage let out its final groan and began to slide downwards!
Keegan yanked Elaine out of the deformed seat, scooped her up in his arms, and leaped to the side without hesitation!
The very next second after they left the fuselage, the massive wreckage, with a tearing sound, completely broke free of the rock frame and tumbled into the dark abyss below with a muffled thud.
Keegan, holding Elaine, crashed heavily onto a narrow snow-covered platform below. The two tumbled several meters across the snow before coming to a stop. The impact caused Keegan to groan, but he shielded Elaine with his body, absorbing most of the brunt of the fall. Still shaken, Elaine clung tightly to Keegan's clothes, her body trembling uncontrollably, cold tears mingling with snow water, blurring her vision.
The wind howled between the cliffs, swirling up fine snowflakes. It took Elaine a while to recover from the extreme fear and the shock of the sudden kiss. She looked up at Keegan, who was so close to her.
His goggles were missing during the fall, and his face was stained with blood and dirt. His usually calm eyes were now filled with lingering fear and a vulnerable tenderness she had never seen before. She opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but found her throat felt blocked, and she couldn't utter a single word. She could only stare at him blankly.
Keegan didn't immediately let go of her; his arms remained tightly wrapped around her, as if she would disappear if he loosened his grip. He looked down at her pale face and tear-filled eyes, his breathing heavy and rapid. Silence spread between them, filled with the indescribable complex emotions of surviving a catastrophe.
After a long silence, Keegan took a deep breath of the cold air, as if he had made up his mind. He broke the silence with a hoarse, low voice: "Elaine..." He called her name, his voice carrying an unprecedented, cautious tenderness, "I know... this is definitely not the best time, and it is definitely not the right place."
He paused, his gaze fixed on her eyes as if trying to imprint his soul into them. "I originally planned... to tell you properly at a... suitable time after we safely returned to 'Eagle's Nest' and everything settled down."
His Adam's apple bobbed, and his voice, lowered by suppressed emotion, was unusually clear: "But now... I can't wait any longer."
"I like you, I like you so much." These words struck Elaine's heart like a heavy hammer. There were no fancy words, no romantic atmosphere, only the most direct, honest, and heavy confession on this desolate snowfield, on the edge of life and death.
Tears welled up in Elaine's eyes instantly, not from fear, but from a tremendous, almost overwhelming, bittersweet happiness. She looked at his scarred face, at the undisguised, deep love and worry in his eyes, and remembered his repeated protection, his silent care, his desperate rescue, and that kiss in despair.
She reached out her trembling hand, gently touching his cheek, avoiding his wound. Tears streamed down her face, but she finally found her voice, choking back sobs as she said, "This is... the worst, craziest confession ever..." She paused, sniffed hard, met his tense and focused gaze, and said, word by word, "...But, Keegan... I like you too."
The wind and snow continued, and the abyss below the cliff remained dark. But in this desperate situation, two souls clung to each other more tightly than ever before. Keegan pulled her closer, warming her shivering, cold body with his own. At this moment, survival and protecting the person in his arms became his only and unwavering belief.
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