Unbreakable by C. C. Hunter

Sunday, November 1, 6 a.m.
    Breaking News
    Missing plane spotted in Jasper Mountain Range
    According to a statement from Sheriff Ted Carter, wreckage of a Cessna 210, believed to be the same one flown by Dr. Edward Tallman, was spotted in the Jasper Mountain Range. A SAR (Search and Rescue) team was called in when twenty minutes after takeoff the plane fell off radar yesterday at 4:20. Two helicopters from Mountain Rescue Association (MRA) searched the perimeter of the area yesterday but didn’t spot the downed plane until this morning. Due to low clouds and high winds, visibility of the crash site was poor and they were unable to spot any signs of survivors. Flying with Dr. Tallman were his wife, Amy, their two teenage children, Mindy and Chase, as well as a family friend, Tami Collins.
    Emergency ground crews have been put on call, but are waiting for a break in the weather. A spokeswoman was quoted saying that they know it’s imperative to get to the site as soon as possible, but the safety of their crew must be considered.
    It was speculated that Dr. Tallman and his family may have flown into Jasper to take part in a genetic study, however no local research facility reports any of the Tallmans’ participation. Meanwhile, friends of the Tallman family and the parents of Tami Collins are in Jasper praying the news will be good once Search and Rescue teams are on the ground.
    Â 
    One day earlier: Saturday, October 31, 10:30 a.m.
Chapter One
    Chase Tallman watched as the bright-eyed, bloodthirsty lab tech tied a large elastic band around the middle of his arm hoping to expose a few of Chase’s veins.
    â€œThere’s a good one,” the woman said as she passed two fingers over the crook of his arm where a blue vein now bulged out. “You have great veins,” she said, sounding sincere.
    Her hands were cold. Extra cold, making a chill run up his arm.
    â€œJust a little stick and we’ll be done.” She smiled at him and reached over to pick up the needle with the large tube attached, taking the plastic tip off the syringe. Shit! How much blood did the woman need?
    He freaking hated needles. But he didn’t flinch. Fourteen was too old to flinch. He hadn’t even cried when he broke his arm last summer during baseball practice. It had hurt like hell, but his coach had been the one to take him to the hospital and the last thing he’d wanted was to look weak in front of his coach.
    Chase glanced around the small lab in the doctor’s office that was practically hidden in some remote part of the Rockies. He wasn’t exactly sure why his dad had insisted on them taking part in this research study, but it had to be pretty important for his dad to get his plane checked out and fly them up from Houston to participate.
    Not that Chase liked it. Who gave up their blood for no reason? But the promise of a weekend in a cabin in the mountains, plus the plane ride, made it worth it. The fact that his sister’s best friend, Tami Collins, tagged along, made it more than worth it. Hell, he’d let them stick him with needles all day for the pleasure of seeing her in her bathing suit again. Holy cow, she’d looked hot last night when she’d joined him and his sister in the hot tub.
    For a second last night, he would’ve sworn she’d been playing footsies with him. It could have been an accident, but he hoped not. And he wished like hell he hadn’t shifted away.
    He liked to think she’d finally stopped looking at him as her best friend’s baby brother and started looking at him like … a guy. A potential boyfriend kind of guy. Hell, he was less than a year younger than she and stood a good eight inches taller. Most people took him for at least sixteen.
    Feeling the prick of the needle, the medical tech dug around for a vein. To distract himself from the pain, he closed his eyes and thought of Tami’s dips and curves, of how her dark brown hair had