He heard Nora gasp<i>“Oh my god,” </i>and could feel the fear emanating from her. He felt the same thing; the sound of the wing ripping off the cabin was like a death shriek.<br/><br/>It was followed by the sound of an explosion, like a truckful of glassware crashing into a wall. Metal crumpled in a loud roar, and then the plane began to spin, flinging loose materials and people around the cabin like rag dolls in a clothes dryer. Mark felt stunned and dizzy. He was glad that he hadn’t eaten, sure that he would be feeling like throwing up if he had.<br/><br/>He felt like he was going to die. He gripped his seat, turned his head to look at the girl across from him. The airplane bumped across the top of the mountain as it slid and bounced along the ridge line sideways. The cabin behind them hit something hard, and with a chilling, terrifying jolt, the plane ripped into two.<br/><br/>He felt his stomach slam into the seat belt as their half of the cabin jolted to a sudden, horrifying stop. All around them were cries and moans of the injured. The sharp smell of jet fuel, bile and worse, was strong in the crisp night air. Flurries of snow fell where once the other half of the plane had been, and in the eerie moment of near silence they heard the distant sounds of metal hitting rock as the tail end of the plane that had broken away plummeted down the mountainside and then hit bottom with a bone-chilling crash.<br/><br/>“Oh my God,” Mark said, nearly to himself. He was alive. He looked across the seat at his companion, but in the dark couldn’t tell how Nora was. “Are you alive?” he asked. He fumbled with his seat belt. The cold all around them was lashing against his skin, despite the layers of clothing he had on. He heard more groans and weeping. Someone was reciting the Lord’s Prayer. Someone was calling out,<i>‘No, no, oh God, no!’</i>behind them.