I sit in my chair, scrolling through my phone, as my eyes drift to the massive window in front of us. Our plane gleams faintly at the gate under the heavy October sky, its white body contrasting sharply with the swirling gray clouds overhead. There’s a weight to the air today, something strange I can’t quite put my finger on.

“Look at that guy,” Brian says, nudging me with his elbow.

I glance up and follow his nod. A baggage handler moves across the tarmac, his steps slow and deliberate. His uniform hangs loose on his frame, and his head is turned just slightly, like he’s not fully there. Nearby, another handler freezes mid-motion, gripping a suitcase like he’s forgotten what he’s doing. Then his head tilts, jerking sharply to the side, like he’s listening to something no one else can hear.

“That’s… weird,” I mutter, lowering my phone. I glance around the gate area. Everyone else seems oblivious—reading magazines, chatting casually. Eagerly awaiting our trip to Hawaii. But my stomach tightens.

Brian narrows his eyes at the scene outside. “You think he’s okay?”

Before I can respond, the frozen handler snaps back into motion. The movement is stiff, almost mechanical, as he tosses the bag onto the conveyor. A chill creeps up my spine. My gaze shifts to the vehicles weaving between the planes. Their movements seem sluggish, like they’re stuck in molasses. Even the blinking lights on the luggage carts look dimmer than usual. I rub my eyes thinking that might help.

“Clouds are thick,” Brian murmurs, tilting his head toward the horizon. “Think it’s gonna rain?”

I don’t answer him. My eyes are drawn to something else—a speck in the sky, far off in the distance. My pulse quickens as I watch it. The way it moves doesn’t seem right. The angle is too steep, the motion too fast.

“Brian,” I say, leaning forward. “Look there.”

“What?” he asks, following my gaze.

“That plane,” I whisper. “It’s coming in weird.”

He squints, spotting it. “Ok, I see it. It’s just coming to land.”

I shake my head. “No, it’s too steep. Way too steep.”

Time passes, and I notice the plane is growing larger, its silver body flashing faintly as it approaches. It dips lower, nose tilted downward. My breath catches. It’s not leveling out.

“It’s coming in too fast,” I say, my voice tight. “That’s not normal, Brian.”

He stares at the plane, but doesn’t respond. More time passes, and I start to make out the peeling paint, the streaks of grime. The windows on the plane look cracked or missing. That can’t be right. My heart races as I grip Brian’s arm. “Say something!” I exclaim, a bit louder than intended.

“Hey, what’s going on?” a man sitting nearby leans forward, looking at us.

“That plane,” I say, my voice shaking. “It’s coming down too fast.”

He looks out the window, frowning. “It’s probably—” His voice falters. The plane is larger now, the engines emitting a guttural growl that sends a shiver through me.

More people start to notice. A young woman yanks out her earbuds, her eyes widening as she stares. I see a couple across the aisle whispering to each other, faces pale. Murmurs turn into exclamations, until nearly everyone is watching. I can feel the fear in the air.

The plane is enormous now, impossibly close. I can see the cockpit. Empty! Where the hell are the pilots? I realize with horror that the nose of the plane is pointing directly at us, towards our window.

“It’s coming right at us!” I shout, gripping Brian’s arm tighter.

People start to scream, while several bolt for the exit. A woman shields her crying toddler. The old man with the cane mutters something under his breath, his knuckles white as he grips his seat. The roar of the engines takes over my ears as the plane fills the entire window. There’s nowhere to go, no time to escape. I brace for impact—

And then the window goes black.

It doesn’t shatter. It’s just… black, like someone turned off the sky. The roaring stops abruptly, replaced by suffocating silence.

My ears ring in the quiet. For a moment, no one moves, no one breathes. I’m frozen, gripping Brian’s arm, my heart pounding so hard it hurts. Then a cheerful voice crackles over the intercom.

“Happy Halloween, everyone!”

I turn, blinking in disbelief. A man in a Hawaiian shirt stands at the gate counter, holding the microphone. He’s grinning, his voice filled with smug satisfaction. “Wow! Wasn’t that something? Just a little Halloween fun to get your spirits up. You know, spooky season?” He laughs, slapping the counter. “This new screen tech is amazing, huh? Super realistic!”

The room erupts.

“What in the hell is wrong with you?!” the businessman yells, his face red with anger.

“That was sick!” screams the woman clutching her toddler. “My kid’s gonna have nightmares. Where’s the manager?”

I let go of Brian’s arm and press my hands to my face, trying to calm my breathing. I glance at the window. The screen flickers back on, and everything outside looks normal. Real. Our plane waits quietly at the gate, and the baggage handlers are back to work like nothing happened.

I drop my hands and look at Brian. His expression is carefully blank, but there’s something about the way he rubs the back of his neck, the faint quirk of his lips.

“Oh my God,” I say, narrowing my eyes. “Brian. Was that you—?”

He grins sheepishly, stroking his goatee. “I mean… it wasn’t just me. It’s a joint Sony and Delta project. Real-time simulation tech synced with these beautiful, ginormous screens. Pretty cool, right?”

I stare at him, my jaw dropping. “You knew?!” I smack his arm—not hard, but enough to make him wince and laugh. “The whole time! I thought we were going to die, Brian!”

“I know, I know!” he says, holding my hands. “But come on, it was incredible, right? Admit it.”

I can’t help it. A laugh bursts out of me, shaky but real. “You are such a jerk,” I say, extricating my hands and hitting him lightly again. “But… okay, yeah. It was incredible. Terrifying, but incredible.”

Brian grins, looking around at the chaos still unfolding at Gate D7. “Best Halloween ever?”

I sigh, leaning back in my seat, still laughing softly. “Idiot. You’ll be lucky I don’t throw you off the plane.”

We both laugh to ourselves waiting for the boarding process to begin.

We met in the spring

In the hand-me-down chill

Of winter cold sting

I feel it all still

A blissful triquetra

Three names carved in stone

One taken, one lost

And one now alone

•

I died in October

I left with the leaves

Now there’s only two

I know you’ll miss me

I pray from my heart

You won’t drift apart

My exit isn’t an ending

You both can restart

•

Her death was a storm

In our ocean once calm

The waves crashed me over

Testing my faults

I tried to keep afloat

On my metaphorical boat

But there wasn’t room for two

I had to do it alone

Flight 2842 landed in Dallas to an empty airfield in the middle of winter.

“Holy Jesus. Frank,” said Pennington. He contoured his mouth at his copilot. “Earth to Frank Watson.”

Frank’s airline cap laid over his face. His body flung back with his legs up on a part of the console. A large empty bottle of vodka laid at his feet.

“Well, you’re no help.” He picked up a radio from the console. “Ginda, come up here for a second.” He turned back and saw her come in. Her slim fit stewardess outfit came complete with a little blue scarf tied around her neck. His mouth watered every time he saw her.

“The airfield is bare,” she said. She looked at Frank, then back to Pennington. “Where is everyone?”

“I’ve never seen anything like this in all my life.”

“Do we release the passengers?” she said.

“No. I haven’t been able to contact anyone since we began our decent.”

“They’ll get restless. What should we do?”

“Give out the spare peanuts.” He adjusted his cap. “I’m going for a walk.”

Once in the airport, he clicked a flashlight into the dark corridor. The moving sidewalk stood still. The entire terminal held a coldness that pushed him further through the airport. He checked the security rooms and worker’s areas.

He stole a donut from the Starbucks. “A few days old at least.” He made a pot of coffee and continued walking.

When he reached airport security, he stopped at the sight of a man standing on the other side.

“Hello?” he called. An echo greeted him back. “Hello?”

The man turned and began a slow walk, his features hidden by the dark. As the man neared him, he rose his flash light first at his pants, covered in blood, then at his torso, a buttoned shirt ripped open, and as the light revealed his head, his face seemed lean and hungry.

“Are you okay? Sir?” said Pennington.

The hungry man’s mouth opened to show red and yellow teeth. He started to pick up speed and snarled.

Pennington turned and ran with each step faster than his heart beating in his chest. As he continued, he heard a mass of feet running behind him. He didn’t look back. He returned to his airliner, slammed the exit shut and turned to look back at the passengers. “Wrong airport.” He returned to the console and pulled back the plane.

The creatures poured out of the airport and followed the plane as it turned.

The plane smashed a few under it’s wheels as it powered down the runway.

“This is your captain speaking. We seem to be having issues with our flying instruments. Please allow us to get you to the next closest airport before we allow you to depart.” Pennington’s rear end flew back in the pilot’s seat. His eyes turned to Frank. “You lucky duck. You’ll never believe me.”

He set the plane to autopilot and popped his head out to wave Ginda in. “Do you believe in zombies?”

Ginda snickered. “What kind of question is that?”

Frank started to stir and looked over at Pennington. His hat sat at a half cocked angle. His bloodshot eyes glared at Pennington.

“Frank, ever seen a zombie?” said Pennington.

Just at that moment, Frank threw his body forward and tackled Pennington to the floor.

“The hell!” said Pennington.

Frank bit into his shoulder and kept going back for more.

Ginda jumped back and slammed the door. She curled her lips inside her mouth as she held the door shut. After a few minutes, she heard bang-bang-bang come from the other side of the door.

The passengers yelled as the plane started a nose down decent.

Ginda shook her head in furious tears as she clung to bars keeping the zombie trapped in the cockpit. Death by plane beat death by zombie.

Bags in hand, on back, pulling rolling luggage behind Avery ran into the concourse to find her check-in desk. Somehow she was able to walk right up to the clerk who was doing very little as Avery blurted out “Yes, Hi, I’m so sorry I need to get checked into my flight.”

The clerk looked up, her name tag set on her ample bosom and gleamed under the blue lights and no matter how hard Avery squinted she could not read the woman’s name, she made a motion toward Avery’s left “Honey, you’re going to have to use the Kiosk!”

“Kiosk?”

“Yes, everything is done through the kiosk, just put your passport under the scanner to start, I’ll take your check bags after the labels are printed and attached to your bags.”

Avery plopped all of her luggage on the floor in front of the kiosk, shuffling it in between her feet, as you do in a large airport, then she did the typical look behind her shoulder, no one in a trench coat or suspicious looking, now she could open her purse and take out her passport. She attempted to scan her passport when the machine that had already welcomed her in 12 different languages suddenly let out a loud alert, a nope try again noise, the kind of noise her newer model Toyota makes when she’s backing out of parking lot and she hits the brakes in panic, the kind of noise that makes your already accelerated heart nearly jump out of your chest…

“You’ll have to turn it over, it only accepts it upside down!” The Clerk yelled across to her.

“Ok, thank you!” Avery waves and smiles nervously, turns the passport around and tries again. This time being softly alerted with the kind of ding ding that lets you know you have the right answer.

The machine quickly spit out her tickets and then a long line of labels were printed to attach to her bags for baggage claim. She grabbed up the bags and suitcases from the floor and approached the mysterious woman, who now she could read under closer inspection was “Pam”.

“Do you have any bags to check?”

“Yes, just this big one!”

“Set it up here on the scale, honey…I hope it’s not too big!”

“Too big? Oh no!” Her mind raced with ways to condense items into her other two bags, but did they follow the carry-on rules?, could she maybe remove a pair of shoes, would she have to open her very large bag in front of everyone and make tough, last-minute decisions...

Pam let out a positive sigh “Whew that was close, two more ounces and we would have had a problem..” She continued to talk about something to do with fuel mileage and careful calculations that the airline has to consider to make sure every passenger makes it to their destination safely but Avery had quickly tuned her out as she gazed hauntingly at the TSA line that was beginning to wrap around the concourse.

“Ok you’re all set!” She handed Avery some tiny stickers told her to hold onto them in the rare chance that her bag wasn’t on the baggage claim she she got to her destination.

Avery didn’t even have to time to process any future dread so she simply took the stickers, looked at Pam and said “Thank you for your help?”

She got into the the TSA line and immediately wish she could have Pam back to help her get through this part of her adventure, she would take being called “Honey” over the guards screaming at the line every three minutes…

“SHOES OFF, NO FOOD OR DRINKS, LARGE ELECTRONICS, FOOD AND LIQUIDS MUST BE REMOVED FROM YOUR BAGS, IF YOU HAVE ANY ITEMS IN YOUR BAGS THAT ARE NOT ALLOWED THE ITEMS WILL BE REMOVED FOR YOU, IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO KEEP YOUR ITEMS YOU WILL FORFEIT YOUR RIGHT TO FLY TODAY, THANK YOU FOR FLYING WITH US!”

Nothing about this vacation was feeling restful at this point she just wanted so badly to get through this part and that much closer to getting on that plane and getting away from here. She felt sweat roll down her back as she waited in the line trying so hard to have everything ready for her security check, her shoes were already off and hanging from her fingers, her carry-on bag already popped open, she repeatedly followed the items in her bag so carefully divided -my liquids are there, my laptop is there, my baggie of snacks are there she could easily remove the contents in the matter enforced and get through the line with zero complications but it never really feels that way on this side of the scanner.

“REMOVE ALL SHOES, BELT BUCKLES, AND JEWELRY LARGER THAN A WATCH, REMOVE ANY COATS OR JACKETS, REMOVE ALL ARTICLES FROM YOUR POCKETS AND PLACE THEM IN ONE CONTAINER, IN A SECOND CONTAINER PLACE ANY LIQUIDS AND FOODS, PLACE YOUR BAGS AND PERSONAL ITEMS FLAT IN ANOTHER UNTIL EVERYTHING IS UP ON THE BELT!”

Avery grabbed three containers and filled them carefully, just as instructed and began to place them neatly, smiling proudly she walked toward the scanner…

“Ma’am your jacket!” The large security guard gleamed at her as she quickly threw off her jacket as if it was on fire.

“Oh, I’m so sorry I forgot I even had a jacket on. I always get chilly on the plane…” she felt the urge to continue her excuses but knew she did not need to keep going so she halted her pleas and went into the scanner where she performed a very awkward dance and couldn’t quite figure out how to make her body perform the simple up and down movements as they were being instructed and at one point she even froze, now face flushed they probably thought she was a criminal, what was this woman trying to hide? What kind of heinous plans had she tried to bring into the terminal, this must be a terrorist...

“MA’AM, MA’AM” she heard the guard through her guilty thoughts, shook her head to get herself back to reality “Please put your arms up with hands behind your head!”

“Yes, sorry, I don’t know why I can’t figure this out today” -she placed her hands up and then behind her head. She heard odd beeps and sounds like she’d imagine a spaceship to use, some sort of electronic code the tone of which felt that the findings were inclusive, they’d have to search again, more deeply.

The guard looked at Avery and motioned for her to come toward him and explained he’d have to conduct a random security check. She hung her head and followed the man’s gestures and spread her legs shoulder length wide and and put her arms out straight, fully surrendered to their random search and on display for the entire security line to scrutinize, with their prying eyes to make all sorts of assumptions about the type of woman she could be. They were all writing her True Crime Blog in their minds and they were wondering if they were going to get to be a part of something first hand, if they had the real juice on this source, this eye-witness account. She closed her mind off and breathed deeply all she could hear were the strange alien sounds coming from the detection rod that might as well be a probe.

“Thank you Ma’am I think you’re clear. I really have no control over the random security check.”

“Great, thank you” she grabbed her things from the conveyor and quickly went to find somewhere to put her shoes back on. As she was sitting there she felt a brief moment of calm and in the air lingered the familiar smell of coffee. She looked at her watch she had ample time to get to her gate. She decided to gather her things again and follow that scent.

She began walking and was sure the coffee shop was right around the corner but as she walked past signs she remembered seeing C, D, F, G, H and suddenly realized the little coffee shop she assumed would be around the corner couldn’t possibly be around the corner because there wasn’t a single corner in this place! It was like some endless loop and as she kept walking the scent would get stronger and then fade. She finally found a map and could see that there was a coffee shop listed near the J gates she was so close she continued on her loop and somehow she never saw a sign indicating she was near the J gates. In fact, she was seeing N’s, O’s and P’s now and was starting to think she had imagined the smell of coffee, imagined the whole idea but then she would look to her left and look to her right and there were people holding steaming cups of coffee in their hands. Fresh hot coffee that had to have come from somewhere so close she could almost taste it. Where was this secret place? She needed find this speakeasy coffee shop that was dispensing coffee to everyone except for her.

She looked down at her watch she had now been tracking down coffee for so long that she had to run to her gate. She glanced at her ticket C4. C4? Oh no, that was where she had started and was now so far away she didn’t think she would make it in time. She hurriedly turned around to head the other way, looked down and increased her pace, one and two and three and BAM! She ran into someone’s cup of coffee with her right shoulder and it was at this time she remembered she never put her jacket back on because she could immediately feel the hot liquid go all the way down her arm.

The woman holding the cup just stood there for a moment in shock. Avery imagined that this woman too had finally found her coffee at the end of a very adventurous hunt and now it was gone except for the drips rolling down Avery’s scalded arm. Avery looked up at her and frantically said she was sorry and looking quickly for a way to clean up the mess and help this poor woman, who like herself just wanted a cup of coffee before her flight. The woman simply walked away but even to this day Avery can still see her look of shock and horror as she realized what had just happened to her coffee.

With no time to find the restroom, Avery remembered her jacket, a little too late, and she hastily, did a quick swipe and dried herself off with the jacket. Now she was running between the conveyor walkways and the halls to her gate just seemed to get longer and longer. Every time she heard “Last call for flight…”. She nearly had a heart attack. She just needed to get to her gate.

She finally got there and luckily still had plenty of time to board her flight, however, the budget airline she booked with seemed to be a little unorganized.

The clerk pushed the button on the intercom and it gave a slight squeal “This flight is over booked and we are needing people to volunteer to take a flight at another time. You will receive a travel voucher for $400 and no change fees will be applied to your next flight. In addition if you have our Smart Traveler’s Credit Card we will give you an additional 1,000 miles on your flight bonuses”

We all stood there motionless for at least three minutes, everyone knows you never take the first offer, so we waited. They were going to have to get pretty creative to crack this crowd.

The squeal of the intercom came over the speaker again “We have had no volunteers and unfortunately will be unable to board until we get some weight off of this flight. We are now going to randomly pick names since no one volunteered. This process will be completely random.”

The whole crowd audibly began to grumble, they were talking amongst themselves about whether or not they could make it work, but still no one was volunteering, no one was getting on that plane until we were all getting on that plane.

The clerk waited 3 more minutes and called over the intercom, everyone was completely quiet “I need AVER, I mean Everett Newberry to come to the stand.”

Avery was sweating, as she watched Everett go to the stand and throw several gestures in the air and shared some choice words, he took his new tickets and looked at all of us in disgust for letting him down.

After Everett was very much removed from the scene the clerk said over the intercom “I now need A VERY…”

Avery ran to the stand ready to face her fate as the clerk continued “gracious person to take our next offer of a travel voucher for $500, no change fees and 2,000 miles applied to your Smart Traveler’s Credit Card.”

Once Avery realized she had not been randomly selected she slowly walked away from the stand, hoping that no one had seen her jump there in the first place, past the grumbling patrons declaring they will never fly this budget airline again, toward the back of the crowd -when it happened. A couple who were traveling together went to the desk to offer themselves as tribute. They gladly took their new tickets, travel vouchers and gave the clerk their Smart Traveler’s Credit Cards now loaded with 4,000 miles between the two of them.

“I would like to thank George and Maria for volunteering their seats, we will need to make sure to get their luggage transferred before we can board the flight.” She also thanked them for flying with their budget airline.

The crowd made a pathway for the couple and they left the scene as if they were superheroes, because that day they were.

After another few minutes of awkward silence, everyone was done with everything at this point, they just wanted to get on the plane, the clerk started to announce seating in sections.

When Avery’s section was called she went to the stand and frantically started shuffling around for her ticket. She realized she hadn’t seen it or thought about since she printed it out at the kiosk. She remembered placing it in the front of her bag and when she looked in the first pocket it wasn’t there and then she tried the other pocket and it wasn’t there either. She checked her pockets, purse, and it was no where to be found. Then for some reason she looked back at her hand and there it was. Had it been in her hand the entire time? She held it out to be scanned and gladly headed onto the plane.

In perfect pace, she found herself moving slowly, yet again, waiting as the line of people in front of her shoved their bags in the overhead bins, and argued over who got the window seat. She found her seat, a window seat she had secured even on the budget airline and it was all hers. She got her bag loaded overhead and sat down. She smiled as the stewardesses did their safety demonstrations, she was just so incredibly happy to finally be seated on her plane. And the plane slowly ascended, she felt her ears pop and felt a little pressure in her head but this meant they were in the air. As she watched the houses below become smaller and smaller and feel like she too was so very small she wondered how being suspended thousands of feet above the surface was somehow more comforting than everything she had just endured at the airport. She had been so afraid of missing her flight that she couldn’t even comprehend the capacity for real horror. The thought of this plane crashing into the ocean had somehow seemed much less likely than someone smuggling drugs into her carry-ons or robbing her at the airport. Even in her strongest fits of anxiety and panic she was really only concerned about things that would slightly inconvenience her, set her back a bit, not even change her path. The whole plane could be shot down from the sky but when the stewardess told her they were out of Diet Coke she let out a terrified…

“NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

Morgan stared at herself in the airport bathroom mirror popping another diazepam under the yellow light. She hadn’t slept properly since the funeral on Tuesday. Soon she’d be back to normal, cramming for exams in her university library and the tragic event of her uncle and aunts death would be forgotten so she could study for finals. Before life could resume normality she had to escort her kid cousin Fran back to Edinburgh where Morgan’s parents would take guardianship of the orphan. Poor kid, Morgan thought gripping her suitcase and heading back to the lounge where she had left the eight year old.

The airport was eerily quiet for a work day. There were small groups of people. Morgan supposed it had something to do with the chemical leak that happened yesterday, maybe that also had something to do with all of the flights being delayed.

She sat down next the Fran. The kid is so quiet, Morgan thought. I guess it’s to be expect giving the circumstances. Putting on a smile, Morgan pulled out her purse and emptied the change into her palm. “Sweetie, why don’t you take this and get yourself something yummy from that vending machine over there. Your barely touched your breakfast.......you must be hungry...” Morgan said, putting on the sweetest tone. Fran nodded standing up and letting Morgan dump the change into her small palms before hurrying to the vending machine a couple meters away. Good job Morgan she won’t starve, Morgan thought to herself.

Morgan reached into her purse pulling out her cell phone and headphone wanting nothing more than to turn off and play some music. However, a commotion caught her attention. Glancing toward to doors to the small airport she saw a large crowd of people approaching. A large crowd entered the airport in a hurry bombarding the desk. Curiously, Morgan observed the crowd. They were all carrying only small bags if anything. The majority of them looked sweaty and shocked as if half traumatized. Morgan glanced at the vending machine making sure that Fran was still near arms length.

Standing, she moved a couple seats closer wanting to hear the commotion. It was hard to make out what was going on with so many people talking and yelling. She managed to catch bits of dialogue like “my cell phones dead..” “so is mine” “we haven’t got much time..” “those things won’t be far behind..”

Morgan’s eyes were then captured by something strange happening by the doors. There was a man walking into the door. Mesmerized, Morgan watched him. Bam. Bam. Bam. He walked into the glass over and over. Red splattered against the door which finally caught a few people’s attention. Observers like Morgan rushed to help the man just as a couple more people walked through the automatic doors. Morgan watched this new group. Something wasn’t right. They shuffled in slowly at first. They were more disheveled than the group at the desk. Their heads were bent low so she couldn’t see their faces.

Suddenly, they picked up speed heading towards the helpful group of observers gathering around the injured man. In a sudden act of violence one of the shufflers grabbed the closest person. With a horrid snarl. The shuffler sank it’s rotten teeth into the man’s meek tearing out flesh. People started to run In a crowd towards the plane gates.

Terror vibrated through Morgan. Turning toward the vending machine she called out for Fran. She was gone, swept into the crowd.

Carly watched from the large waiting area window at gate 6B as the massive jet crashed down onto the jetway, bursting into flames. The people around her all gasped and pushed against her to get a view from the window behind where she sat. The ground crew ran quickly across the jetway, fire hoses in hand, to put out the fire. At that moment, the next plane nose dived onto the jetway atop the last, taking the ground crew with it. People began to panic. Many still crowded the window to view the destruction, others rushed the ticket counters to have their travel refunded. Carly shifted her gaze to two women who had begun to argue over who had been first in line at the ticket counter. One woman shoved the other, and the next moment all hell broke loose. The two women were pulling hair, scratching, and punching one another. Both toppled to the ground, and onlookers simply stepped back, or moved forward to reach the ticket counter. No one intervened. An announcement sounded over the intercom, “ladies and gentlemen, please remain calm. We are investigating these events and we are working to have flights shifted or canceled. Please do not panic.” Carly was frozen in fear, and decided not to leave from the safety of her seat against the window. There was a loud crunch and a boom from behind her, and Carly turned back to look out the window once again: another plane had fallen just 20 yards from the last two. This time she could see paramedics on the jetway lifting steaming slashed bodies onto stretchers. People were beginning to emerge from the initial wreckage. Charcoaled bodies came hobbling from the fire, but there weren’t nearly enough paramedics to help them all. Within the airport the conditions began to worsen. People were pushing, shoving, fighting. Airport security had arrived, but no one paid any attention. People shoved past security scrambling to get to ticket counters, or to exit the airport. One guard was shoved to the ground as two men broke into an altercation, the crowd trampling over him as they attempted to flee. The guard lay on the ground trying to shield himself from the stampede, but soon Carly couldn’t see him any longer. The crowd had swallowed him. There was a loud bang, and she shifted her gaze to the gate across from her, filtering in through gate 5B were armed soldiers, and one of them had fired a gun. Piercing screams filtered through the air as people began to run in all directions. Carly curled up into a ball and shrank into the safety of her seat. The window beside her revealed a large incoming object, and she caught sight of the approaching plane from the corner of her eye seconds before it came crashing into the airport.

I watch as the animated map on my screen pops up. We’re just about 200 miles away from Savannah. We should be landing soon.

“Excuse me, miss?”

I turn to my left. The young man sitting in the aisle next to me is leaning over, looking around curiously.

“What’s going on?”

What an odd question.

“What do you mean?”

He raises his eyebrows, “The plane, what’s going on with it?”

“What do you mean?”

He shakes his head, groaning lightly. I may have made him upset.

“I was asleep, why is the plane going in circles?”

I turn to my right, looking past the older woman next to me, and glance out the window. The sky is bright and the clouds seem to be spinning.

Odd.

“We’re on our way to Savannah.” I say instead.

“Yeah,” he says a bit louder, “I get that, but why the fuck is the plane not actually going anywhere?”

Huh.

“I’m...not sure.”

I look at the map on my screen. We’re just about 200 miles away from Savannah. We should be landing soon.

My heart starts to race. My skin feels like its on fire, as if bugs were gnawing on my flesh in order to dig their way into my bloodstream. My chest hurts so bad; the oxygen feels curdled going down my throat. I look back at the young man, and find him wide eyed.

Every single person on the plane is looking at us. Not a single flight attendant or child or young couple is watching anything but us. Tears stream down their cheeks in order to dry unblinking eyes and the plane beings to hum. It vibrates in my bones and the acidic taste starts to leave my teeth feeling rotten.

The young man is crying too, face ping ponging back and forth between rows looking for something, anything, that will provide him relief from the sight before him.

The words crawl out of my mouth unbridled, “We’re just about 200 miles away from Savannah.”

Like a rubber band pulled too tight, each head snaps back into place. Joints crack from the speed and the hum shuts down instantly. I can’t hear anything. There is no sound.

The silence feels like a warning, a slap on the wrist. Don’t do it again or else.

Or else what?

I turn to look at the young man, who is gripping the arm rests so tight his finger nails rip into the padding. He seems to understand just as I do that we shouldn’t cause trouble. I’m not sure we were supposed to interrupt in the first place. I smile as wide as the plane will allow me.

“Don’t worry, we should be landing soon.”

“Boarding Flight 1, Take Off at Midnight” a voice cackled over the loudspeaker, echoing through the empty airport. Why is it empty? There should be other flights at night.

I walk to my gate. The seats are dilapidated pieces of fake leather that my bag will barely fit on. Footsteps crowd the hallway, but no one enters.

A flight attendant ushers me onto the plane, and I see all the passengers. Regular people, but their thoughts are shown. I cower at being in the same room as them.

“You know what you did” the flight attendant whispers in my ear, her formed tongue spitting burning venom into my ear. The flesh rotted and burned to a green color.

Escape. I have to escape. I run into the cockpit and there’s the pilot. He turns around and grins at me, horns poking through this pilot’s hat.

The devil tells me to look out the windows, and the runway is burning lava bubbling into a cheeky smile, into bands, trying to grab me.

I hear a scuttle and push behind me and soon I’ve plunged into the deep, never ending clouds of fire and brimstone.

WAKE UP.

I went to the airport for a work trip. When I arrived the lights were all off, the planes were nowhere to be seen even in the dark. I heard lots of odd noises. Most of the noises sounded like screams. There was also strange mist in the places the planes were supposed to be.

I then realized that I was alone. Usually this airport was crowded.

All of a sudden the lights flickered and I was on the floor. I tried to get up. I couldn’t. I couldn’t move at all. Then a ghost attacked me.

The plane kicked off the ground and in a matter of moments, we were soaring through the air. Out of my window I studied the buildings as they became smaller, and suddenly, there was a sickening feeling in my chest.

Every part of me wanted to scream out until my lungs gave out. The sweat on my brow burned as it became visible. I couldn’t understand what was happening until it hit me like a carry-on falling out of the overhead. It was because he had come back. It was then that I realized I was missing time.

How did I get in this plane? I don’t remember boarding it? Where was I going? These were all questions I needed answers to. I collected myself as best as I could and turned to the woman sitting in the next row.

“Pardon me, ma’am. Where are we going?” Idiot. I could have at least covered with something like ‘do you know where the layover will be?’ Whether there was one or not, at least I wouldn’t look so suspicious.

“You know we can’t talk about that here,” she muttered under her breath. “Just stay quiet and we’ll be there before you know it.”

What?

What kind of response was that? Is she in on it too? Dammit, i need to find out what he did and undo it. Immediately. Now the question was, will excusing myself draw suspicion? I had to try.

“I’m just going to the boys room.” The woman didn’t seem to care, only focused hard on the book in her lap. Maybe she wasn’t in on it.

In the tiny bathroom I splashed myself with the freezing cold water. I’d been in worse situations before, I just needed to think of a way to get off this plane without drawing too much attention. Best option is to go up to a flight attendant, tell them I’m having some kind of medical emergency. They’d have to land the plane for that.

I exhaled my hesitations of this plan and opened the door to find an attendant. To my surprise, that same woman was waiting for me right at the threshold, grinning to show all her teeth. I opened my mouth to speak but she beat me to it.

“You told me if you ever left your seat…” and that’s when I saw the pocketknife in her hand aimed straight for my chest.