Read Online Unbreakable by C. C. Hunter - Free Book Online Page A

last victim of the fatal crash among the charred remains of the Cessna 210. Family and friends of both the Tallmans and the Collinses are waiting for the bodies to be released from the morgue after autopsies so they can be taken back to Texas for burial.
    Tom Phillips, Search and Rescue volunteer, was quoted saying it was “still too early to speculate as to what caused the crash, but weather could have played a part in the accident.” Phillips added he “could not imagine the heartbreak of the families involved.”
    More updates will be made when available.
    Â 
    Oct. 31, 5 p.m.
Chapter Eight
    Chase started to walk farther into the tunnel of light. He didn’t want to be alone. To be without his father, his mother, and Mindy. She was a pain in his butt, but he loved her.
    Then he heard it again. Baxter. His barking was even more persistent. He looked left, then right. Called the dog’s name. “Go get Baxter,” he heard his sister say. She stood next to him. “Go, Chase. Go.”
    The dog continued to bark.
    He turned to look behind him, away from the light, and that’s all it took. The power, some unknown power, pulled him back.
    All the way. Back to the snow. Back to the voices. The two strange men.
    Chase didn’t open his eyes. Didn’t want to. He hurt. Hurt everywhere. His head throbbed. His leg throbbed. His back ached like a charley horse.
    Now he could feel below his chest, but it hurt so bad, he wished he couldn’t.
You can’t turn your back on a challenge, Chase.
He heard Tami’s voice in his head and remembered what she’d said about the dog collar. Slowly moving his arm, surprised he could, he found his pocket. With eyes still closed, his fingers curled around the gift Tami had given him. He traced his thumb over the words cut out in the leather.
    â€œTold you he would make it,” someone said as if they’d seen him move. “I’ll stay with him, you go get us a body.”
    Chase’s head throbbed, surely he’d misunderstood.
    â€œDon’t you think they’ll just believe he got thrown from the crash? Animals got to him?”
    â€œYou’re forgetting, I volunteered a time or two with the Search and Rescue team. They won’t stop looking until they have the remains of all the victims. Besides, I’ve already called around. They have a body that fits our needs in the next county over. We’ll put it under what’s left of the fuel tank and light it, and they’ll never know it wasn’t him.”
    Their words echoed in his head. Okay, he must be imagining things. Head injury, he thought. Then a pain hit, as if someone had a vise grip on his rib cage. It grew so intense that he screamed out. When it finally let go, he pulled Baxter’s collar up to his chest and held onto it. Then he let out a breath and tried to slip back into nothingness.
    ***
    Chase smelled smoke. He felt cold. Colder than even the ice he rested on. Fever. He had a fever. He wasn’t sure how long he’d been out. Five minutes, or five hours. It didn’t matter, he told himself. He wasn’t sure anything mattered if what he believed about his parents, sister, and Tami was true.
    He didn’t know what hurt the most. His body or his heart. And then suddenly he did know. His heart. He’d lost his family. Lost his dog. Lost everyone.
    All of a sudden he heard footsteps coming his way. Another pain started at the top of his neck and crawled down his spine. He arched his back and moaned.
    â€œCome on, boy. Let’s get out of here.”
    Chase felt someone pick him up as if he weighed nothing. He opened his eyes. “Put me down,” he said, the words barely a whisper.
    â€œSorry, son. We gotta go.”
    â€œWhat about the tracks?” the other man asked.
    â€œRun some brush over them. With this weather, the team won’t make it down here for another twelve to fifteen hours.”
    Chase was