Chapter 1

“Jocelyn, give your parachute to Serena, hurry!”

The plane’s windshield was shattered, a fierce air current ripped through the cabin, and the fuselage violently bucked.

The plane was minutes from crashing. The crew had already deployed their parachutes and jumped.

The entire cabin held only Captain Leo Thorne, me, Caleb Vance, and his fiancée, Serena Hayes.

In that desperate moment, Serena’s parachute pack was torn.

“It’s over… Am I going to die here?”

Serena’s face was soaked with tears, her body trembling uncontrollably.

That’s when Caleb made his choice.

“Didn’t you hear me? Jocelyn! Give your parachute to Serena!”

I thought I’d misheard him.

“…If I give her my parachute, what about me?”

“Stop arguing! Just give it to her. You insisted on coming on this flight with us! You were always the extra one!”

After saying that, Caleb snatched the parachute pack directly from me and handed it to Serena.

“There’s not much time. You go first.”

Serena, still sobbing, put on the parachute.

“I’m terrified of heights, I can’t… Caleb, you come with me!”

One second she was claiming she couldn’t, the next she was pulling Caleb, who already had his parachute on, and they both jumped.

Her piercing scream echoed in the air, fading into the distance.

In a matter of seconds, they were gone.

Leaving me alone at thirty thousand feet, feeling like I was trapped in a nightmare.

“Don’t just stand there, grab onto me. We’ll jump together.”

Captain Leo rushed out of the cockpit.

The wings and roof of the plane were already on fire, the aircraft completely out of control, moments away from exploding.

I knew this wasn't the time for sentimentality.

I clung tightly to Leo, counting one, two, three—

We leaped into the thick clouds, accompanied by plumes of black smoke.

I thought I was going to die. The moment my parachute opened, Leo and I were violently separated by the turbulent air currents.

My body plummeted at an extreme speed, followed by a suffocating, near-death sensation.

I plunged into the deep sea like a meteor.

I don’t know how much time passed. When I woke, I thought I was dead.

The scorching sun beat down, a sea breeze caressed my face.

I lay on the ground, coughing violently, spitting out bitter, salty seawater.

I… I wasn’t dead.

Before me stretched an endless ocean; behind me, a dense forest.

Not far away, someone was lying there…

I thought it was Leo, who had jumped with me. But as I got closer, I saw it was… Caleb!

I looked around, bewildered. There was only us.

Caleb’s clothes were soaked with blood. During the fall, his thigh had been gashed by sharp rocks, and he’d passed out from blood loss.

“Uncle Caleb! Uncle Caleb!”

No matter how I called, he didn’t respond.

The wound on his leg wouldn't stop bleeding. He wouldn't last much longer.

I quickly tore off some of my clothes to tie around his leg, trying to stop the bleeding.

The immediate priority was to disinfect the wound.

“Uncle Caleb, I’ll carry you. There must be herbs in the forest that can disinfect and stop bleeding…”

My small body erupted with an immense burst of energy in that moment.

I somehow managed to hoist the almost six-foot-three Caleb onto my back.

Every step was incredibly difficult.

I walked barefoot into the forest, my skin torn by thorny plants, my body covered in ugly gashes.

I’m terrified of insects, and poisonous bugs swarmed in the forest, buzzing around me, biting and stinging, making me itch unbearably. Yet, I didn't shed a single tear.

Because the most important person to me was on my back; I couldn't afford to fall.

Finally, I found herbs for inflammation and bleeding. I chewed them into a pulp and squeezed out the juice, applying it to Caleb’s wound.

Only then did my heart finally feel a little steadier.

The forest seemed like a giant maze, with no end in sight.

“Thirsty… thirsty…”

Caleb’s soft murmurs broke my heart. Without fresh water, I could only bite my wrist and feed him my blood.

“Uncle Caleb… I’ll definitely get you out of here.”

My eyes were bloodshot, my lips cracked, my whole body felt like a zombie.

My only thought was to get Caleb to our other scattered companions and out of this terrifying place.

I don't know how long I walked, but eventually, the trees gave way to an open, wild plain.

Scattered airplane debris lay everywhere, and the ground showed signs of being scorched.

The next second, several familiar figures appeared.

It was Captain Leo, flight attendant Maya Jenkins, security guard Grant Bell, and Serena Hayes!

They were all here!

Leo was the first to spot us and rushed towards me.

Seeing familiar faces, my tightly strung nerves finally loosened.

A stream of tears flowed down my face, my eyes rolled back, and I fainted.

I woke up at noon, my entire body aching as if it had been run over.

A bonfire was lit opposite me. I immediately saw Serena nestled in Caleb’s arms, a scene of affectionate display.

“Serena, you saved me. I will never fail you in this life…”

Serena brushed a light kiss on his lips, nodding shyly.

“Uncle Caleb… it was me who saved you, though…”

Caleb gave me a cold glance.

“Jocelyn, you’re getting better and better at lying. Do you really need to claim credit for this too? If Serena hadn't told me, I wouldn't have known that *you* were the one who broke her parachute pack. People's lives were at stake, how could you be so reckless?”

“Uncle Caleb… I just woke up. Aren’t you even going to ask how I got all these injuries?”

Caleb stiffly turned his head away.

“If you hadn't stubbornly followed me onto the plane, would any of this have happened? You brought it on yourself!”

“So you gave my parachute to Serena?”

“You didn’t die, did you? What’s the point of holding a grudge now?”

Watching his indifferent expression, my heart ached as if it were being ripped to shreds.

The pain was so intense that it turned numb.

I brushed away the lingering tears from my eyes.

“Fine, I won’t be reckless anymore.”

I won’t cling to you ever again. Once we’re safely off this island, I’ll completely disappear from your world.