Tangents, vol 1

by Rae Agatha

  “It’s disgusting,” Anna whispered.

  “How the hell did it get on the top of the plane?” Dan asked. “Did it jump?! Christ!”

  “Looking at the size of this thing, I think it’s more probable that all it had to do was to tense up and it was already above us,” Rick replied breathing heavily. He double checked if the grip he had around the seat-pipe was firm.

  “We’re screwed,” Matylda said quietly. “We’re all sweating, breathing heavily, it already knows how many of us are here and where we are,” she didn’t finish as another snake appeared in one of the windows on the left.

  “Oh God,” she sighed.

  It seemed smaller and thinner, but it was still impressively big, very thick and it was looking right at them. The third snake was now on the cockpit window, hissing, unfolding its forked tongue aggressively.

  “Okay, what do we do, damn it?” Anna said. “We need to get out of here!”

  She walked toward the door, looked through its window. “I don’t think there’s any of them near the door.”

  “That doesn’t mean they’re not right above them, hanging down, waiting for us to let them in,” Rick said. “I’m sure the wasp that attacked Dan was calling the others, the snakes might communicate, too.”

  “What, you think they’re planning their own little invasion on our plane?” Dan asked.

  “I’m not sure if is the word I’d use,” Matylda said.

  “I think it’s possible, I’m not saying that this is what’s happening.”

  “The window’s cracking!” Anna screamed and pointed ahead. A long fracture appeared on the cockpit window and soon smaller ones joined it, looking like an irregular spider’s web made of glass.

  “I don’t think we can confront them, not the gigantic motherfucker, anyway,” Dan said. He felt he was on the verge of panic, he had a feeling he could hear the snakes hissing outside. Anna moved closer to him.

  “We won’t get out through the door or the windows,” Matylda said. “They’ve surrounded us.”

  “Wait a second,” Rick said. He took his shirt, Anna’s sweater and Dan’s jacket from the seats and gave them to Matylda.

  “Do you think you might keep them in your backpack in case we need to run for our lives here?”

  “Sure,” Matylda answered and unzipped the backpack. Rick put their clothes inside it and gave Anna his seat-pipe. He moved toward the middle of the plane looking at the floor, checking it between every pair of seats.

  “What are you doing?” Anna asked, looking at the gigantic snake behind the window.

  Rick spotted something and knelt. “Dan, come here, help me,” Rick said and Dan ran toward him.

  “What is it?”

  “I think there’s a hatch here, look!” He pointed to the floor. There were two big visible squares on it, paralleled to each other. “If I remember correctly, the plane is standing on three landing wheels, I think we’re standing right above the front ones. Let’s try to open the hatch and see if we could jump out of the plane in this way.”

  Dan looked at him, “You think the snakes aren’t down there?”

  “I don’t know, I think, I, they surrounded the plane in such way as not to let us escape, so perhaps they’ve gathered on the fuselage, not under. I mean, it looks to me they’re making sure we don’t go anywhere, they’re blocking all possible ways of escape.”

  “Looks like there’s none by the door.”

  “The gigantic one is covering the window exactly opposite the door, I mean, it might have made a mistake, it’s just a snake, for God’s sake,” Rick replied and smiled nervously when he realized how absurd it all sounded. “Look, it’s our option to get out of here. That window in the cockpit is cracking more with every second, it’s a matter of time before it breaks completely.”

  “Let’s do this,” Dan said. “We need something to lift the hatch from the floor – Matylda! Come here!”

  Matylda looked at him and walked toward them.

  “What’s going on?”

  “We need your Swiss Army Knife, it’s kind of urgent,” Dan said.

  Matylda looked at them, at the floor and she immediately understood and handed her knife to Dan who opened it and inserted the blade into the thin furrow between the floor and the hatch.

  “Be careful, don’t break the blade,” Rick said.

  “It’s a 5-inch long Wenger, top thickness,” Matylda said.

  “Meaning what exactly?”

  “That it’s a pretty nasty bastard and can’t be broken that easily,” she replied and helped illuminate the hatch with her flashlight. Dan and Rick looked at her, at each other and Dan continued levering the hatch.

  “I think the biggest one wants to come in!” Anna shouted. The gigantic snake was now banging on the window with its head, trying to break the glass. “Whatever it is you’re doing, make it quick!”

  Just then the cockpit window spider-webbed completely and it was enough for the snake sitting on the glass to push through the panel ramming it out completely, leaving a large hole. It started slowly slithering toward the interior of the plane, hissing and checking out the territory with its tongue.

  “Oh my God! IT’S IN, the cockpit one is in!” Anna cried.

  “Hit it with the pipe!” Rick shouted. The hatch budged a bit, but it was very heavy and difficult to move. “We’ll be out of here in a minute!”

  “Make it a second! The giant one has just spotted the glass is broken! Oh God!” Anna screamed. She took a few steps backwards, her eyes not leaving the snake in the cockpit area. It was now moving slightly quicker, apparently it made sure it’s surroundings weren’t dangerous. Anna saw a gargantuan cylindrical bulk gliding toward the front window, the third snake kept looking inside the plane through the door’s window. This is it, we’re done, she thought in panic.

  “Anna, get the flashlight, do not move without it!” Rick shouted.

  She grabbed it from the seat and put it into the back pocket of her jeans. She held the pipe in her hand and realized the cockpit snake was all inside and was clearly on its way directly to her.

  “How much time do you still need, damn it?!” She shouted.

  At the same time, the hatch moved and Dan slipped his fingers between it and the floor. “Help me lift it up, it’s completely stuck,” he grunted as Rick helped him. Once it moved a little bit, they felt the fresh air coming from the outside. They were also able to hear the snakes hissing and gliding on the plane’s fuselage and it was horrifying.

  “Just a little more, come on!” Dan said through his teeth. They were both red with exertion, their veins bulging with determination.

  The cockpit snake was zigzagging toward Anna. She stepped back quickly, but it was no good, the reptile was tensing.

  Come on, that’s it, come closer, Anna thought making sure she kept the pipe firmly in her hand. The snake tensed its muscles and began to slowly move its head from side to side, trying to draw her in. Big mistake. Anna quickly side-stepped and squashed its head, which was about three times bigger than her foot, stunning it enough to thrust the pipe through its skull. She could hear the bone cracking, the blood instantly gushed on her and the snake started to spasm and yank madly and hit her leg with its tail, making her fall. Anna fell on the floor with a loud thud, drawing Dan and Rick’s attention. They lifted their eyes and saw Anna being wrapped by the snake’s body. Anna was bloody but it was difficult to say it if was hers or the snake’s.

  “Anna, get up!” Dan shouted.

  “We can’t stop now,” Rick said to him and Matylda.

  “I’ve got this,” she said, took her Swiss Army Knife and went toward Anna who was now beating the snake with her hands, desperately trying not to allow it to hold its grip around her. Matylda came closer and stabbed the snake a few times, its blood splashed on them both.

  “Oh my God!” Anna shouted. The snake loosened its grip and as she stood up, Anna took the fire extinguisher from the floor and slammed the reptile’s body a couple
of times to make sure it was dead. She dropped the extinguisher on the floor which rolled toward the hatch. The floor was covered with snake blood, and the puddle was steadily becoming bigger.

  “Anna, Matylda, come on!” Rick shouted. They turned around and saw that the hatch was now fully open. “The big one’s coming, we won’t stand a chance against it!” he said pointing at the missing ockpit window. The gigantic snake’s body was already visible above it; apparently it realized it didn’t need to bang on the side window since the bigger one was already open for it to glide inside.

  The women came quickly and looked down at the opened hatch door. Beneath it there was another, slightly ajar metal door, which was uncovering the landing wheel standing firmly on the grass.

  “It’s the only chance we have,” Dan said. “Who’s first?”

  “I’ll go,” Matylda said.

  “You’re sure?” Asked Rick.

  “Yes. I have the headlamp and the knife, if there’s anything down there waiting for us, I’ll try to kill it. You’ll throw me my backpack down, okay?” she looked at him and gave him a barely perceptible nod.

  “Okay,” he replied. “Go!”

  Matylda bent her knees and, while holding onto the plane’s floor, she carefully, lowered her legs. She was doing it facing them and held out her hand. “Back me up,” she said and Rick grabbed her hand. Matylda was balancing her legs on the wheel’s hinge mechanism. She inched them down, let Rick go, put her arms around the hinge and slid slightly. She turned around and embraced the strut, sliding down carefully. Once she touched the wheel with her feet, she jumped on the ground and rolled a bit. She turned the headlamp on and carefully scanned the grass around her, then looked up and beckoned the others to come down; it was safe. Rick threw her the backpack and she looked around while putting it on her shoulders.

  “Anna, go,” Dan said. “It’s your turn now.”

  Anna followed Matylda, she did everything in exactly the same way as their new friend, and was down on the ground within seconds.

  The gigantic snake was now hitting the remaining broken cockpit window with its head, trying to squeeze inside and it was a matter of a moment before it’d get inside.

  Dan looked at Rick. “Go,” he said. “Move!”

  Dan hesitated at first, but threw the seat pipe outside and started walking out of the plane. Rick was observing the cockpit window and, horrified, spotted the gigantic snake finally broke it completely and was now slowly slithering inside. It was looking around as if it was assessing its situation, looking for them. As gigantic and strong as it was, it was moving very cautiously, steadily. It seemed that he knew it was now a matter of time for it to catch them, so there was no need for haste.

  “Motherfucker will reach me with its tongue any time now,” Rick whispered as the snake was lazily gliding inside the plane, it was so big, its back would reach his knees. He looked down, Dan was already on the ground with Anna and Matylda. Rick looked at the snake again and thought that it would most probably follow them once it spotted the open hatch which they couldn’t close again. And once it’s out, looking at the size of it, it won’t have any problems catching us in the fields or the grass.

  What to do?!

  “Rick! What the fuck are you waiting for?!” Dan shouted.

  “What is he doing?” Anna asked nervously.

  “Coming!” Rick shouted back. Think, Lawrence, think.

  ***

  “Dan, watch out!” Matylda shouted. The third snake, the one that had been glued to the left window of the plane, fell to the ground and was now quickly slithering toward them, coiling to bite Dan who was standing nearest to it. Dan jumped aside, avoiding the contact, picked up the pipe furiously hitting the snake with it, trying to bash its head in. The snake was hissing madly, its mouth open, showing its fangs. Dan’s assault kept it from striking but not from smacking him with its tail trying to knock him over. Matylda jumped closer and stabbed it with her knife, the snake, however, turned around and moved swiftly toward her, while the blade glanced off its body. Dan took the pipe again and thrust it through its body, just behind the head, but the snake fiercely continued its attack.

  “Step away!” Anna shouted. Matylda and Dan glanced her way as he dove safely away. Anna fired a distress flare and hit the snake, which immediately started burning. It was making horrible, squeaking noises, was now rolling and slithering, but soon everything stopped, it went quiet as the flames were covering it completely.

  Dan and Matylda looked at Anna who was still holding the flare pistol in her hands, pointed at the snake.

  “Is that Matylda’s flare gun?” Dan asked breathing heavily as he got up off the ground.

  “Yes,” Anna nodded.

  “Are there any flares left?”

  “The box had six flares, I hadn’t used any yet, so we still have five,” Matylda replied.

  “Fabulous,” Dan whispered. “Where the hell’s Rick?”

  Anna, who was standing right under the hatch, looked up.

  ***

  At first he thought he would take the seat pipe, swing it with all might and try to hit the snake, but looking at the size of it, he realized that the body was still squeezing in and it would be too dangerous for him to get any closer to it whatsoever. At the same time, he spotted light from the ground, looked down and saw fire-glow from under the wreck. Anna was standing right under the hatch with something that looked like a gun.

  “Anna! What is that?”

  “It’s a flare gun, come on Rick, what are you waiting for?! Get out of there!”

  He looked at the fire extinguisher lying on the floor under the seats opposite to him and got an idea.

  “Anna! When I get out of here, shoot the motherfucker, you hear me! I want it dead!”

  Matylda was now standing next to Anna. “We’ll only waste a flare, the snake’s too big, it won’t kill it!”

  “Just do it!” Rick shouted back.

  Matylda took one of the flares from her backpack and gave it to Anna to reload the gun.

  Rick took a step back and reached for the fire extinguisher. “Come on, you son of a bitch, just come a bit closer,” he whispered and took it from the floor. He backed toward the hatch and saw that the snake had moved close enough to reach him with its tongue. Rick lifted the extinguisher and started waving it right before the reptile’s nose, provoking it.

  “Come on, open your mouth you bastard, and come on!” He was puffing. The snake stopped and was observing him unfolding the tongue.

  “Ready with the flare?!” Rick shouted down keeping an eye on the snake.

  “Ready!”

  “Okay, I’ll be coming down any a second now! Point the gun at its mouth, shoot right into it!”

  “Come on, damn it, open it!” He shouted at the reptile. It knows I’m up to something, it got visibly cautious, Rick thought. “Okay, that’s how you want to play? Fine,” he unblocked the extinguisher, shook it and fired toward the snake. The stream wasn’t impressive, it was an old equipment, but it was enough to cover the reptile’s eye with foam. It hissed angrily and open its mouth exposing the fangs; it was furious.

  “That’s it!” Rick threw the extinguisher into its mouth. The snake immediately tried to close it and pierced it with one of the fangs. “Bull’s-eye!” Rick shouted and started going down through the hatch. The snake was now banging its head on the plane’s walls, trying to shake the extinguisher off its fangs.

  Rick was already down on the ground. “Anna! The gun!” Anna gave him the flare gun. “Everybody, run! Get out from here!” Rick shouted and pointed the flare gun up toward the plane. The snake was now looking down at him, trying to squeeze its head through the hatch, his tongue was unfolding aggressively.

  Rick pulled the trigger and as the flare flew directly into the snake’s mouth, he began running into the fields as fast as he possibly could. He reached Dan, Anna and Matylda, they all ran about fifty yards away from the fuselage, stopped and turned around.

  �
�This is – I can’t even,” Anna said, pointing at it. They were now all able to see the size of the reptile; the snake’s body was almost as long as the plane itself. They could see its body glued to the fuselage, reaching about a third of the plane’s length, while the rest of the reptile was inside. Until that moment they had no idea how gigantic the creature actually was.

  “I thought it’d explode, the fire-extinguisher,” Rick said panting.

  “Guess it didn’t work,” Dan said. “The flare.”

  “No, I guess it didn’t,” Rick agreed. “It was an old extinguisher, perhaps –“ As he was saying that, the plane exploded and burst into flames. Everyone instinctively covered their faces as the wave of hot air reached them, and were now looking at the wall of fire. The part of the snake which was outside the plane, fell down and was now miserably dangling from the cockpit window as the fire was consuming the middle part of the fuselage.

  “It’s dead. It has to be,” Matylda whispered.

  “Is everyone okay?” Rick asked and looked at them. They were all fine. “Will you be able to find the way to the hut in the dark?” he asked Matylda.

  “Yes, let’s go.”

  “Okay, we have two flashlights, so we need to walk in pairs,” Anna said and took out hers from the back pocket of her jeans. She checked if it was working and it was fine. Matylda took out hers and went on with Rick, while Dan and Anna were a few steps ahead of them.