CME Apocalypse Fiction
Five Apocalyptic Stories in One Book
By Blaze Eastwood
Distress Beacon
A Thriller
Blaze Eastwood
Text Copyright © 2017 Blaze Eastwood
All Rights Reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced
in any form or by any means without the
prior written permission of the author.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
More from Blaze Eastwood
Chapter One
The sun was gleaming in the wintry blue sky above the airport. The passengers on the plane were excitedly getting ready for takeoff.
Parker was in the pilot's seat, adjusting the knobs on the panel in front of him.
Baxter was in the copilot's seat, flipping switches.
“Did you check the ELT?” Parker asked.
“Give me a second,” Baxter said.
The ELT stood for Emergency Locator Transmitter. It was basically a distress beacon that the aircraft was required to have.
“Yeah, it's good to go,” Baxter said.
* * * * *
Bryce was sitting toward the front of the coach section, looking over his shoulder. An elderly man sat to his left, next to the window.
The world around him seemed to be moving along in slow motion. He had looked over his shoulder all the way to the airport, and now that he could hear the plane starting up, he felt slightly less tense. But he didn't want to take it easy until he was sure that Alec was no longer following him.
A year and a half earlier, Bryce had Alec arrested and sent to jail. It was entirely justified, and there were certainly no false accusations involved. But of course, that didn't matter to Alec. He had been released from prison early, and now, he wanted revenge.
Bryce had coped with Alec's psychotic behavior for a few weeks now, and it had led him to a nervous breakdown. He needed to get away, and he needed to get away fast.
He had no hard evidence to show the police. There were no threatening voice mails, text messages, letters, or emails. There was no solid documentation to prove that Alec was threatening Bryce's life. All of the threats had been made in person, without any recordings to prove it.
Property damage had been inflicted on Bryce's house, but he had no way of proving that Alec was responsible for it.
The flight from his hometown in Washington to Alaska would probably feel like the longest plane ride of his life.
It would be a three hour-long flight, then he could start over again and try to put the past behind him. At least he wasn't married with kids yet. Additionally, he was self-employed and able to work from almost anywhere in the world that he wanted. That lessened the stress and made it easier for him to make the sudden decision to relocate.
His eyes continued to scan the plane. But all he saw were passengers who were looking at him strangely, wondering why he kept looking in their direction.
“Ladies and gentlemen, this is your stewardess speaking. I'd like to remind you to please stay in your seats, and please fasten your seat belts. We are preparing for takeoff. This will be a nonstop flight to Anchorage, Alaska. Enjoy your flight.”
Bryce peered through the window on his left and saw that the plane was moving. Then he turned to his right and saw—
No, he thought. It couldn't be.
Bryce's heart thudded, and his eyes widened. He glanced away momentarily, before looking to his right again.
Alec was sitting on the right side of the plane, towards the back. He was only seven rows away from Bryce.
His stalker had followed him onto the plane.
Still in disbelief, he looked at Alec a third time.
It was definitely him.
But how? How did he know how to find him?
Then he remembered. Callahan had helped him book the flight. Since he knew how to get all the best deals, Bryce let him organize his travel plans.
The trouble was that Alec knew Callahan. Even though they weren't friends, they would still talk to each other every now and then.
Bryce never thought Callahan would tell Alec about his travel plans, though, and he certainly didn't think he would give him the exact flight number. But Callahan had all of that information. Since he was the one who set it up for him, he knew the time, the date, and the airline.
Alec might have intimidated him for the info, but either way, Bryce saw it as personal betrayal. That was too bad, because Callahan was one of Bryce's closest friends. Now he didn't know who he could trust.
Initially, his reaction was to run off of the plane. Maybe it wasn't too late. If he caused a big scene, maybe he could get the pilots to stop the plane.
Then he realized such a plan made no sense. Even if they did stop the plane, Alec would continue to follow him, just like he had all this time.
But now it was more serious. His stalker had actually followed him onto the plane. He wouldn't have gone through all the trouble unless he was planning something big, and since Bryce had already received the death threats, it was evident what Alec's intentions were.
Bryce would have to rush straight to the police station as soon as the plane landed. In the meantime, he would have to sit and wait for three hours.
It was beyond unsettling to have Alec sitting just seven rows behind him. It was one thing to be on the same plane as his stalker, but it was quite another to be seated in the same exact section as him.
Bryce glanced at him again. So far, they had not made eye contact. Alec kept looking downward, as if he was trying to remain casual and undetected until the time was right.
The front of the plane tilted upward, and the passengers began to ascend.
Bryce had tried so hard to get away from his stalker, and now he would be stranded in the air with him for the next three hours.
The plane continued its ascent until it was enveloped by clouds.
Bryce leaned back and stared straight ahead, trying to calm himself down.
Ordinarily, he would listen to music to calm himself down. But he couldn't do that now. He knew how unstable Alec was, and he was seriously beginning to wonder if he would try sneaking up on him from behind with a fork or knife in his hand, just to . . .
Stop thinking like that, he told himself. Alec would never get away with murder on a crowded plane.
Nevertheless, putting headphones on was one of the last things he wanted to do. He needed to be ready for anything. After all, it's not like Alec had a lot to lose.
Chapter Two
The plane had been in the air for an hour and a half now, and Bryce had only grown more tense by the minute.
He shot Alec another glance and saw that he was now smiling, as if he sensed the time to strike was close.
But had Alec even seen him yet?
It was likely.
Then again, Bryce was slouching in his seat for most of the time so far. Maybe the back of the seat had blocked him from Alec's view. If that was the case, he could exit the plane as soon as it landed, remaining undetected. Then maybe Alec would assume he took the wrong plane, and stop pursuing him.
; Bryce continued to slouch in his seat, hoping to stay our of Alec's line of vision.
But then he remembered that Callahan had likely given Alec the travel information, including the exact seat on the plane he would be sitting in.
He noticed Alec getting up and walking toward the front of the coach section. The bathrooms were in the other direction, so it was unusual for a person in coach to walk towards the front.
Bryce slouched further. He wished he had the window seat. Then he would be able to turn his head away and stare out the window. He didn't have a hat or hood, which made him even more likely to be spotted.
Alec stopped at the front of the coach section, looked up, and then turned his head slightly to the left.
He was looking in Bryce's direction.
Bryce tilted his head downward and put his hand over his face, like he was sleeping and trying to block out the light.
After waiting for what felt like a very long time, he slowly separated a few of his fingers away from his eyes, and peered through the gaps between his fingers.
Alec was still standing there. In reality, only a few seconds had gone by.
Bryce kept his hand over his face, head tilted downward.
The man sitting next to him was beginning to stand up. “Excuse me,” he said. “I have to go to the bathroom.”
Bryce didn't want to draw Alec's attention by standing up. He tried to sit sideways to let the man through, keeping his head tilted downward.
The man walked sideways and squeezed his way through.
Bryce immediately placed his hand back over his face, then peered through the gaps between his fingers.
Alec was looking right at him.
Chapter Three
By the time Bryce removed his hand from his face, Alec had disappeared. He wasn't even in his seat.
He was fairly certain that Alec had seen him.
The man returned, and this time, Bryce stood up to let him through. While standing, Bryce briefly scanned the coach section with his eyes. He still didn't see Alec.
* * * * *
Parker was peering through the window in front of him when he noticed a problem with the controls. He was hoping the issue was just on his side, but soon noticed that Baxter was having trouble, too.
The instrument panel was blank.
Confusion soon led to panic, as the two men struggled to find out what the problem was.
“The engines aren't running!” Baxter exclaimed.
“How was the fuel before we took off?” Parker asked.
“The fuel was fine. But that's not the issue. Look.” He pointed at the instrument panel. “We have no power!”
“We're losing altitude,” Parker said. He noticed that the plane was beginning to glide.
Since they were “fly by wire,” every control system on the plane was run electronically. Since nothing worked, they were certain it was an electrical issue.
“Are you able to send out a distress signal” Parker asked.
Baxter tried it, and failed. “No. We have no radio communication.”
“There must be a problem with the airport control tower,” Parker said.
“We're going to have to make an emergency landing.”
“Dead-stick landing?”
“Yeah.”
* * * * *
Alec was back in his seat. Almost everyone on the plane was growing worried. But at least they weren't panicked.
The plane was gliding smoothly, not falling drastically, and that was what put most of the passengers at ease for the time being.
The stewardess addressed the passengers. “I'd like to remind everyone to please stay calm. We are making an emergency landing. Stay seated and fasten your seat belts.”
* * * * *
Parker was looking for a suitable landing spot. He calculated the plane to be descending at a 20:1 ratio. If that was correct, they were falling 1ft for every 20ft they were gliding. He would have preferred a 50:1 ratio, particularly since he couldn't find any suitable landing spots in the vicinity.
They needed more time.
“Anything?” Baxter asked.
“Nothing. I don't see any landing spots at all, and we're descending too fast. This aircraft is too heavy. At this rate, we'll end up colliding with the mountains and the trees.”
“We passed an airport not too long ago,” Baxter said. “Can we do a one-eighty, and turn ourselves around?”
“No, we don't have that kind of gliding range.”
The clouds above them were getting further and further away.
They were running out of time.
* * * * *
“Did they say what caused the power to go out?” Bryce asked the elderly man seated next to him.
“No, but I have a feeling it's an EMP.”
“EMP?”
“Electromagnetic pulse,” the elderly man said. “There was a solar flare yesterday, and on the news, they were warning that there was a thirty percent chance it could be followed by a coronal mass ejection.”
Bryce nodded. “It could be. I've heard the same thing on the news this morning. You never know.”
The elderly man seemed unable to stop looking out the window to assess how rapidly the plane was falling. He would peer through the window, glance at Bryce, then peer through the window again. “It certainly wouldn't surprise me,” the elderly man said. “But it would still scare me. If the power is out on the plane, that means it's also out at the airport control tower. And if the power is out at the airport control tower, that means it's probably out all over the city. Maybe even across the world.”
“I hope not,” Bryce said.
“We'll see.”
* * * * *
Baxter tried the distress beacon again, hoping against the odds that it would work somehow.
It did not.
“I think there is a field not too far in front of us,” Parker said. “But it's covered in snow, so it's not exactly going to be a smooth landing.”
“It's probably our best bet,” Baxter said. His voice was shaky. “Certainly a lot better than crashing into a mountain. That's for sure.”
The stewardess approached them from behind. “What's happening?”
“We found a field,” Parker said.
The stewardess leaned forward and peered through the window. She could already see the snowy field up ahead. With all of her frantic rushing around as she assisted passengers, she hadn't even realized how close they were to the ground.
But in front of the field was a large patch of trees, and if the plane descended too early, they would miss the field and crash into them.
The stewardess looked down at the trees in surprise. “It looks like we're headed for the trees,” she said anxiously.
There was a pause.
“Let's hope not,” Baxter said.
The stewardess slowly straightened her posture, then turned around and left.
Chapter Four
Now that they were so close to the ground, the stewardess was trying harder than ever to keep the passengers calm.
It wasn't working.
People were refusing to stay seated. Some of them were demanding answers, requesting to speak to the pilot in person. Others were walking back and forth down the aisles, trying to burn off their excess adrenaline.
Bryce thought about reaching into the overhead compartment for his carry-on baggage, when suddenly, the entire left side of the plane was met with a devastating jolt.
Screams filled the air as people who had refused to stay in their seats were violently thrown forward in a catapult fashion. Some of them had hit their heads hard, rendering them unconscious.
Most of the seated passengers were frozen with shock at what was happening.
Largely shocked, himself, Bryce steered his head to the left and peered through the window. No longer was there a view of the clouds, but instead, a seemingly endless array of trees.
The ride was not getting smoother. The plane continued to glide through the tops
of the trees, crashing through the dead branches that adorned the wintry landscape.
Bryce looked to his right and saw that a few of the passengers had attempted to arise from their seats to assist those who had suffered injuries from the initial impact. But they were soon jolted to the ground with the rest of the passengers who had left their seats.
Others were tensely leaning back in their seats and closing their eyes tightly, anticipating the inevitable.
Bryce turned his left and peered through the window again, and now he saw a red flame in the midst of a black cloud of smoke.
The left wing was on fire.
The elderly man seated next to him no longer cared to look out the window, and instead, chose to stare straight ahead, clutching the sides of his seat.
Still peering through the window, Bryce watched as the plane emerged from the trees and entered a large open space that was blanketed in white snow.
The plane made a loud sound as its tires met the snow-covered ground, startling the passengers with a new wave of fear.
People were now starting to open their eyes, wondering what was taking so long. If the plane was going to crash and kill them all, they wanted to have it over with already.
The plane kept moving forward.
Bryce looked over his shoulder again, wondering if Alec was among the many passengers who were rendered unconscious.
Still seated in the same spot, Alec turned his head and looked in Bryce's direction. He was looking right at him. But he didn't seem to be distressed. In fact, he shot Bryce an unsettling smile.
The plane slowed noisily, sending chunks of snow high into the air.
Bryce thought about reaching up into the overhead compartment again. All he had in his pockets were a battery-powered personal locator beacon and a granola bar. But the plane jolted again, keeping the ride continuously rough. He stayed seated.
Of course, his beacon wouldn't do much good if the control stations in the surrounding area had suffered an electromagnetic pulse. No one would see the signal.
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