NovelEnglishSURVIVORS
JESS
The room was too warm, the air heavy despite the gentle hum of the overhead fan. | sat with my hands folded
tightly in my lap, the fabric of my dress sticking to my skin as | shifted
uncomfortably in the plastic chair. Laura was beside me, her fingers drumming against the armrest of her chair-
a habit she'd picked up over the last few weeks. Across the room, scattered in a loose circle, sat a few other
women, each with the smix of anxiety and exhaustion carved into their faces. The wives. The girlfriends.
The ones left behind.
No one spoke, and the tension crackled like static in the air. Even Laura, usually the first to fill silences with her
sarcastic humor, remained unusually quiet.
The Indonesian police had been brutal, to say the least-disorganized, dismissive, and maddeningly slow to
respond. It had taken weeks for the U.S. embassy to finally get involved, weeks of speculation, rumors, and
tabloids playing guessing games with our lives. And now, after all that, here we were.
Waiting.
The representative sent by the embassy stood at the front of the room, a man in his fifties with graying hair and
a suit that looked out of place against the backdrop of the humid, coastal
000
air outside. He held a folder in his hand, its edges frayed like it had been passed around too many times.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtHe cleared his throat, a dry, raspy sound that drew everyone's attention.
The room seemed to shrink as we all leaned forward, the tension thick enough to choke on
"As many of you know," he began, his voice slow and deliberate, "the search and rescue efforts following the
crash of Flight 142 have been ongoing for more than 5 months to get everyone their loved ones back. We all
want closure. The Indonesian police have faced signif | bit down on the inside of my cheek, resisting the urge to
roll my eyes. We didn't need a recap of what we already knew. We needed answers.
Laura shifted beside me, her knee bumping against mine. | glanced at her, catching the faint shake of her head.
Not yet.
The man droned on, his words a dull hum in the background as my mind raced. There had been leaks over the
last few days-whispers of survivors, names dropped in passing, fragments of hope that felt more like traps. None
of those names had been Luke or Josh.
I had tried not to think about it, tried to push down the knot of dread that tightened in my chest every tthe
phone rang or the news played. Hope felt like a dangerous thing, too fragile to hold onto and too painful to lose)
"So, | brought all of you here today," the man continued, "to put an end to the rumors and speculation. After
lengthy
negotiations, the Indonesian police have agreed to release the names provided by the survivors
Survivors.
The word hung in the air, sharp and heavy.
| felt Laura's hand brush against mine, her fingers curling around mine in a tight grip. I didn't look at her,
couldn't. My eyes stayed fixed on the man at the front of the room, his folder trembling slightly as he opened it.
He paused, flipping through the pages inside with infuriating slowness. Every second felt like an eternity, the
pounding of my heartbeat drowning out every other sound. "Before | begin," he said, looking up briefly, "I want
to remind you all that this is a preliminary list. There may still be updates as we continue to receive information."
Laura let out a shaky breath beside me, her grip tightening.
The man began to read.
The first nwas unfamiliar, Sarah something... a woman's voice across the room letting out a soft gasp of
relief.
Laura's fingers dug into my hand as we waited, each nlike a hammer to the chest.
Finally, he paused and looked up right atand in the distance, | could swear | heard him say Joshua and Lucas-
as in Josh
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and Luke.
The room spun. For a moment, | wasn't sure if | had heard him correctly.
Laura's breath hitched, her grip on my hand suddenly crushing.
The sound of their names sliced
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My vision blurred, tears pooling in my
eyes as a sob caught in my throgh
Laura let go Qf By Rérfd) cbvering her
mouth Mtrboth of hers as she let
out a shaky, disbelieving laugh. They
were alive. The content is on
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chapter there!
| stayed rooted in my seat, staring at
the spot where the guamhad 60094,
my heattgounding against my ribs.
Luke and Josh were alive.
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