“ I—I’m not sure,” was the answer she settled on, unsure if that made her sound even more unhinged than if she had told Sylvia what she had seen.
“You know,” Sylvia was choosing her words carefully. “Maybe you could do with a break, a little time off might do you the world of good, with the divorce and all, you haven’t stopped.”
“I’m fine. I’m not crazy.” She knew she had answered a little too quickly, with a voice a little too high pitched, and had inadvertently made herself sound exactly that.
Sylvia was about to respond when David returned through the curtain. “All looks fine to me up there.”
“The man in 6A?” Cindy said, feeling the eyes of her friend on her.
David nodded “Yeah, the European-looking dude, right?”
“Yes, that’s him,” she said, almost adding on
The one with the black eyes, you can’t miss him.
Frowning, David shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “Well, he was sleeping, but as far as I can tell, he looked normal.”
Sylvia nodded, flashing her friend a quick, concerned glance.
“He’s right here on the manifest,” he added, waving the clipboard at Cindy. She took it from him and put a name to the horrific face she had seen.
Monde.
No last name. Not a Peter, or a James or any other ordinary name. Just that one word.
Monde.
She wondered what it meant, what country he came from, but her mind was already filled with too many questions that were in need of an answer, so she set the manifest aside. Hot tears welled up, which she struggled to fight off.
“Thanks, David, go ahead and close the doors,” Sylvia said, keeping a close eye on Cindy.
David nodded and then began to wring his hands, reluctant to move.
Sylvia looked him in the eye, her own heart now racing a little faster than she would have liked. “Was there something else?”
He locked eyes with her, too proud to show fear, although it bubbled close enough to the surface to make it impossible to hide. “Well,” he said quietly, “Whilst I was up there, the people in 6B and 6C, just...left.”
Sylvia’s heart skipped a beat. Cindy’s almost leapt out of her chest.
Careful to keep a steady voice, Sylvia spoke quietly. “What do you mean they left?”
David’s cheeks flushed, and he looked at his feet. “Just that, they just gathered up their bags, and walked off the plane without a word.”
Troubled, Sylvia tried to keep calm, despite the sense of unease which was growing by the second.
“They didn’t say anything?”
David shook his head. “Not a word, but they did both have the same expression on their face.”
“What do you mean?” Sylvia asked, not sure if she wanted to know the answer.
“Well,” David said, as he pointed at Cindy. “They both looked like that.” He shifted his weight, and his cheeks flushed with colour. “To be honest, it kinda freaked me out.”
Sylvia placed a hand on his shoulder. “Look, I appreciate you may be a little uneasy, but I need you to concentrate and do your job.”
For a moment, she thought he might refuse, and she couldn’t blame him. She trained her cool gaze on the agitated flight attendant. “Can I trust you to do your job?”
“Yes, of course, I’m sorry.”
Sylvia smiled, one of those natural reassuring gestures which she seemed to be able to muster so effortlessly. “No need to apologize.”
He offered her a small smile, which did little to hide his uncertainty. “Okay, so what do you want me to do?”
Sylvia looked at Cindy, who was watching the conversation unfold. Her face was a pale, red-eyed parody of her usual self. Sylvia turned back towards David, knowing that her next decision would either prove to be completely right, or wrong. No middle ground.
“Lock the doors. Tell the captain we’re ready for take-off.” She said, doing all she could to sound decisive.
She thought she saw a flash of something in his face, perhaps anger, more likely fear.
“Of course, right away.” he mumbled, then left, sweeping through the curtain towards the front of the plane.
Sylvia turned back to Cindy. “You get yourself strapped in. I’ll take care of the crew.”
Cindy looked at her friend, her eyes haunted and devoid of hope. “Everyone on this plane is going to die,” She said. Her matter of fact tone raising goose bumps on Sylvia’s skin.
Cindy fastened her seatbelt then turned her head, looking out of the small window at the runway as the pneumatic cabin doors locked into place, locking them into whatever fate awaited them.
***
The smooth take off did little to alleviate Cindy’s terror. She sat with her chin resting on her hand, trying to ignore the eyes of the crew as they bored into her. Word it seemed had travelled quickly. As she watched the ground drift further and further away she was still filled with an unshakeable sense of dread. It was as if the artificial atmosphere in the cabin was heavier than normal and seemed to push her into her seat. She glanced at Sylvia, hoping to find reassurance, but instead saw that she too was afraid, even if she was doing a better job of hiding it. Glancing out of the window, her mind drifted to her life, and she wondered absently if she had wasted it. Up to that morning, she had never appreciated the paper thin line between life and death, how fine a balance it truly was. Now, though, it felt right to think about such things. It made sense to consider the fragility of their existence. Closing her eyes, she prayed it would be quick, visualizing the headlines in the newspapers reporting on the crash that she was sure would happen. She wondered how it would be, those final minutes as the plane plunged towards the earth at five hundred miles an hour, the high pitched whistle the only accompaniment to their screams. She was fired back to the present by the chime of the seatbelt removal signal, which signalled that they had reached their cruising altitude of thirty-two thousand feet. Blinking, she glanced over at the crew, who were staring at her as if she were about to sprout a second head or burst into song.
“Okay guys, let’s get to work,” She said as confidently as she could, trying to show them she was okay.
Nobody moved. Instead, they looked blankly back at her, waiting for an explanation as to her sudden meltdown.
“Look, I’ve been working a lot of hours lately, and things just got to me, but if we can just pull together and get through this flight as normal, I’d appreciate it.” Even as she said the words, she hated herself for the ease that the lies slid from her tongue. She imagined she sounded just like condescending Captain Henshaw.
She waited. They looked back, their expressions telling her they hadn’t believed a word she had said, and why should they? It was, after all, bullshit.
“Okay everyone,” Sylvia said as she stood. “We’re here to work, not enjoy the ride. Let’s get out there and do what we are paid to do.”
This time, there was no delay. The crew stood almost as one, busying themselves with their various jobs. Sylvia stood, hands on hips and making sure that everything was in control.
One of the crew, a young girl named Carol, unclipped a stainless steel trolley laden with drinks and snacks. She had a natural beauty to her and even without makeup, her features were striking. Her green eyes were without fear, and as it was her first day on the job, she was determined to take whatever was thrown at her in stride.
Sylvia put a hand on the girl’s shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. “Just relax, smile, and ask the passengers if they want a drink. You’ve trained for this. You will be fine. See me if you have any problems, okay hon?”
Carol nodded, chewing her bottom lip as she positioned the trolley.
“They may get a little rowdy, but that’s normal. Don’t let it get to you,” Sylvia added, straightening a few of the bottles that had been dislodged.
Carol fidgeted but didn’t move.
“What’s wrong?” Sylvia asked.
“Well,” Car
ol said, “it’s not the rowdiness that bothers me... it’s the lack of it.”
“What do you mean, Hon?”
“Just take a look.”
Frowning, Sylvia ducked her head through the curtain looked down the length of the plane. Instead of the usual chatter and excited conversation, there was deathly silence. The atmosphere within the aircraft was oppressive and foreboding. Without realizing, Sylvia reached for the silver crucifix which she wore around her neck and began to rub it between her finger and thumb.
“Carol honey, change of plan. You stay back here and start getting the breakfast trays ready. I’ll serve the drinks today.”
Carol frowned, Sylvia detecting a hint of anger as her cheeks flushed. “I wasn’t trying to get out of it, I was just making a point. All due respect, but whatever else people are thinking, I’m not scared.”
“I know honey, it’s just...there’s a weird atmosphere out there and it’s not fair on you, it being your first day and all.”
“I can handle it,” She replied, looking past Sylvia towards Cindy.
“I’m sure you can. But for now, I want to do this myself.”
“I can do my job,” Carol snapped, her cheeks flushing. “I don’t see the point in bringing me out here if you won’t even let me-”
“That’s enough,” Sylvia cut in, steering Carol away from the dividing curtain.
“I know you’re capable, and you will get a chance to prove it. But right now, I’m taking this first trolley service. You can do the next one, okay?”
“But….” Carol trailed off and broke eye contact as Sylvia took control of the trolley.
“It’s okay to be scared. Nobody has to know.”
Carol looked at her feet, then at her hands. “I—” she swallowed, struggling to formulate her words.
Sylvia took Carol’s hands in her own.
“It’s okay, we’re all feeling a little...strange today,” Sylvia said, confident that she had gotten through to the young girl.
Carol flicked her eyes to David, who stood behind the two women with a semi-amused smile. She licked her lips and tried to speak with conviction, but the shake in her voice betrayed her fearless expression.
“There’s nothing out there to be scared of. Now please, let me do my job,” she said sharply as she pulled her hands away from Sylvia’s, and adopted a defiant pose, hands lodged firmly on hips.
Under ordinary circumstances, Sylvia wouldn’t have accepted such attitude, however, she was aware that the situation was far from ordinary, and so felt obliged to give Carol more leeway than she otherwise would have. “Then go to it. The first sign of any trouble….” she trailed off, as Carol seemed to swell with an ugly but fragile confidence, as she glanced again at David, allowing a ghost of a smile to formulate on her lips. “What kind of trouble, I’m only serving drinks.”
Sylvia glared at the young stewardess. “Take this as a warning, honey. You speak to me or anyone else on board this aircraft again like that, you will be out of a job quicker than a hiccup, you got it?”
Realizing she had overstepped the mark; she flushed, lowering her head. “Yes, of course, I’m sorry,” Carol mumbled.
Sylvia nodded as Carol grasped the trolley risking another glance at the still smiling David, who was watching, arms folded and leaning on the air-sealed door. Carol pushed past him on her way with the drinks.
Sylvia turned and glared at David just long enough to make him squirm and to wipe the arrogant smile off his face, then turned her attention back to Cindy.
***
Sipping her mug of tea, Sylvia tried to relax and ignore the fact that the whole incident with Carol had managed to get under her skin. She sat in the jump seat opposite Cindy, who continued to stare out of the porthole window.
“It’s quiet out there,” Sylvia said.
“Yeah, it’s a weird one alright.”
“You know Cindy, the crew are at breaking point, and all due respect, you need to take control before things get out of hand.”
Cindy nodded. “Of course, I’m so sorry, I—I don’t know what’s come over me.”
“Whatever it is, it’s affecting all of us.”
Cindy had never known Sylvia to be intimidated or worried by anything for as long as they had known each other.
“Sylvia...” Cindy said, nervously licking her lips as she searched for the right words. “Do you think I’m crazy?”
Sylvia chuckled, taking a sip of her drink. “No more than the rest of us on board this damn tin can.”
They both shared a laugh, the smiles melting from their faces as Sylvia grew serious.
“Back here it’s not so obvious, but out there,”
She rubbed at the crucifix on her neck and lowered her voice. “Out there...something is in the air. It feels....dirty.”
Cindy nodded, recalling the sick feeling of dread she had felt when she had come face to face with the black-eyed man.
The smooth ride of the aircraft brought no sense of calm, and within the pressurized confines of the cabin, it was still deathly silent. Cindy waited anxiously for something to happen, but other than the horrible sense of dread, the flight seemed to be as routine as any she had ever experienced before. She was just starting to relax when Carol came back through the curtain. Both she and Sylvia saw it right away. Gone was the cocky, self-confident exuberance. She looked blankly at them, her lip trembling as she tried to hold it all together.
“What’s wrong?” Sylvia asked, standing and placing a reassuring arm around her shoulder. Cindy didn’t move. She knew what the problem was before Carol even opened her mouth.
“His eyes…” was all she managed before she began to sway on her feet, and was helped to one of the free jump seats by Sylvia and David.
Sylvia turned to Cindy, and rather than the calm confidence, there was a hint of fear etched onto her face. “You need to tell me what’s happening here right now.”
Knowing there was no way to avoid it, and that as crazy as she would sound, it had to be shared, Cindy told the rest of the crew about her experience with the man with the black eyes. They sat in silence for a while, until David broke it with a nervous laugh.
“I don’t believe any of it,” He said matter of factly, leaning on the curved white interior wall. “I went up there and everything seemed okay.”
“Well, something is wrong. You only have to look around to see that.” Sylvia said, giving him a cold stare. “Besides, you seemed spooked when those other passengers got off the plane before take-off.”
“It’s just nerves,” David hissed back, and although he was trying to put on a brave showing, his eyes darted nervously and he shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “Besides, people get off planes all the time, it doesn’t mean anything.”
“Fine,” said Sylvia, standing and looking him in the eye. “You say nothing is happening, the girls here say there is. I’ll go take a look for myself and then we can decide what we should do about it.”
“It’s a waste of time, you know that, don’t you?” he said, staring at the dividing curtain.
“Maybe, but I’m still going up there to take a look. You stay here and make sure everyone keeps calm, okay?”
“Okay,” He repeated as he gave another uncertain glance to the dividing curtain.
“Good. Then we understand each other. But you have to keep calm. There are almost three hundred passengers on board this aircraft, and the last thing we want is a mass panic, understood?”
He nodded, and then sat beside Carol.
Sylvia paused at the curtain and wondered what was so terrible that it had seemingly incapacitated the crew in some form or other. She was determined to find out, even if it might mean they had to deal with something unique.
The walk towards the front of the aircraft seemed to last forever, and as she made her way closer to the passenger in seat 6A, she felt her heart begin to beat a little faster. She walked straight past him at first, moving through the curtain dividing the front sec
tion of the aircraft from the passengers. She took a moment to compose herself, and then peeked back through a small gap in the blue curtain. She saw him immediately. Just as David had said, the seats beside him had been vacated, and she could see why.
He was looking out of the small window at the ocean of clouds, but she could tell even from his profile that it was as both Cindy and Carol had said. His eyes were bottomless inky pools, and she started to pray under her breath as she watched him. As if he heard her mumbled words, he turned slowly towards her, locking his expressionless sharks gaze on the tiny gap in the curtain from where she watched. She felt nausea sweep over her, and her legs almost gave way. She suddenly understood why Carol and Cindy had been so affected, for it was plain that this thing was evil. She reached up to grasp her crucifix and increased the tempo of her prayers. The black-eyed thing in 6A seemed to grimace and then turned its gaze back towards the window.
The instant its eyes were off her, she began to feel more in control of her body, and the nausea passed. She realized that the hand not holding the crucifix was clenched into a tight fist, and as she relaxed her grip, she saw tiny crescents of blood in her palm from the pressure.
Her next thought was of what to do next. The black-eyed man had boarded with no trouble and had caused none since the flight had been in progress. However, like Cindy, her mind was now filled with images of mid-air explosions and depressurized cabins. Somehow fighting off the urge to panic, she hurried back down to the rear of the craft, staring straight ahead and just about resisting the urge to scream and run.
A cup of tea later, Sylvia was almost back to her normal self. So far she had said nothing and rightly guessed that she didn’t have to, as her facial expression would tell enough.
The crew was waiting expectantly, and with deceptive calm, Sylvia set her cup down and spoke. “We need to turn around and land this plane.”
“What happened?” Cindy asked, chewing her lip nervously.
Sylvia turned to the rest of the crew before she answered. “There’s evil on this plane, and if we don’t land, I think we could all be in serious trouble.”
At The Edge of Night - 28 book horror box set - also contains a link to an additional FREE book Page 29