Flight to Nowhere

The plane soared high in the sky, its engines thrumming steadily as it cut through the clouds. The passengers were mostly asleep or lost in thought, lulled into a sense of security by the drone of the engines and the gentle rocking of the plane.

Alice closed her book down on her lap and let out a long, quiet sigh. Her eyes started to feel tired as she reached for the tiny button next to the dim, yellow light above her. They were still four hours away from their destination. And she knew she needed as much rest as she could get before they landed.

She stretched her long legs, as far as she could in the little space underneath the seat in front of her, and closed her eyes. As she was about to pull down her eye mask, the plane suddenly started to shake.

A loud bang outside woke the sleeping passengers. Alice jolted back up in shock. She looked through the window but could only see darkness.

The cabin continued to shake as the air around the plane grew thicker, like an invisible fog that no one could see. The passengers started to feel uneasy, as if they were being watched.

The flight attendants noticed the unease and started to calm the passengers down.

"Help! She's having a panic attack!" the man, sitting in front of Alice, cried aloud. One of the attendants quickly rushed towards them. Once she got there, she bent down to the panicking passenger, smiled, and tried to calm her down.

Alice was confused at the calmness in the flight attendant's voice despite the growing mayhem around them. She acted as if they were just experiencing an ordinary ordeal, like the plane just got caught in some turbulence.

As the flight progressed, the shaking and feeling of unease only grew stronger. Some of the passengers reported seeing strange shapes moving outside the windows, fleeting glimpses of something dark and ominous. Others reported hearing whispered voices in the dark, their words incomprehensible but their tone unmistakably sinister.

Alice stared outside the window once more and could see flashes of white light behind dark clouds in the distance. She could not see anything strange as some of the passengers claimed. Until one flash of lightning illuminated behind a strange dark figure. It was enormous and frightening.

It was as if all the colour in Alice's face disappeared and all that was left was a pale mask of fear.

Over the intercom, Alice could hear the captain. She was still frozen and her eyes still staring at the darkness outside, where she briefly saw the unknown beast.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we're experiencing some turbulence, but everything is under control. Please fasten your seatbelts and remain calm," The captain said in a calm and reassuring voice. Way too calm, Alice thought.

Despite the encouraging announcement by the captain, the passengers knew that something was very wrong. They could feel it in the pit of their stomachs, a cold dread that seemed to be spreading through the plane.

As the hours passed, the situation only grew direr. The lights started to flicker until they went out, plunging the entire cabin into darkness. The passengers screamed in terror as the plane shook violently as if it were being attacked from all sides.

Alice's heart quickened as she braced in her seat. She could hear her own short, panicked breaths amidst the chaotic noise in the cabin. Her eyes struggled to adjust in the darkness. But she could hear the passengers' cries and worries as the flight attendants tried their best to calm everyone down with empty promises and comforts.

An older woman three seats behind Alice started to sing some religious hymn as someone further at the front screamed in terror, "We're all going to die!"

And then, as suddenly as it had begun, it stopped. The plane was flying smoothly again, and the lights flickered back on. The passengers looked around, confused and terrified, wondering what had just happened.

Alice let out a big sigh of relief. But then she quickly turned her head to face the window next to her. She squinted her eyes and tried to find the figure she saw outside. But the white flashes behind the clouds exposed nothing unusual.

The flight attendants tried to soothe their fears, but they too looked shaken and unsure. "We apologize for the turbulence, ladies and gentlemen," one of them said. "But everything is under control now. Please remain seated and fasten your seatbelts."

But the passengers knew that something was still wrong. They could feel it in the air, a lingering sense of menace that refused to go away.

And then, it happened again. The lights flickered and went out, and the plane shook violently. This time, it lasted longer, and the passengers could hear strange noises coming from outside the plane.

Suddenly, there was a loud bang. It came from the right side, rocking the passengers from their seats as if something had just violently pushed the plane to the side. If it wasn't for the captain turning on the seatbelt lights minutes earlier, a lot of the passengers would've been sent flying off their seats.

They huddled together in fear, their hearts pounding in their chests. They knew that they were at the mercy of something they couldn't see or understand, something that seemed determined to bring down the plane.

As the turbulence continued, the passengers began to hear a low, rumbling sound. It was a sound, unlike anything they had ever heard before, a deep and ominous noise that seemed to be coming from all around them. Most of them thought it was just thunder. But Alice knew better. It was a roar from something big. Alive. Enraged.

"Ladies and gentlemen," one of the flight attendants clinging to the front row seat said in a loud but surprisingly calm tone. "We're experiencing some unexpected weather conditions. Please remain calm and keep your seatbelts fastened."

But the passengers knew that this was no ordinary weather. They could feel it in their bones, a sense of foreboding that seemed to be growing stronger with each passing moment.

And then, just when all hope seemed lost, the plane lurched forward and shot forward with a burst of speed. The passengers screamed in terror as they were thrown forward, their bodies pinned against their seats.

But as suddenly as it had started, it was over. The plane was flying smoothly again, and the lights flickered back on. The passengers looked around, confused and disoriented, wondering what had just happened.

The captain's voice crackled over the intercom. "Ladies and gentlemen, I'm sorry for the turbulence. We had a minor technical issue, but everything is under control now. Please remain seated with your seatbelts fastened until we reach our destination."

But the passengers were too shaken to relax. They exchanged frightened glances, unsure if they could trust the captain's words. They knew that something had happened on that flight that defied explanation, something that left them feeling vulnerable and exposed.

Alice looked around to see bags, water bottles and spilled food scattered on the aisles. The flight attendants did not seem to mind the mess as they fixed themselves up and continued to help the shaken passengers. Everyone was still horrified and confused of what just occurred. But the flight crew acted as though it was nothing unusual. And it made Alice feel unsettled.

As the plane continued its journey, Alice and the rest of the passengers remained on edge, waiting for the next wave of turbulence to hit. But it never came. The rest of the flight was uneventful, and the plane touched down safely at its destination.

Alice was relieved to be on solid ground again, but she couldn't shake the feeling of unease that had settled over them during the flight. And as she looked at the passengers, she knew they felt the same way as they huddled together in small groups, talking in hushed tones about what they had experienced.

As they disembarked from the plane, Alice noticed something odd. The crew was gone. There was no one to greet them or direct them to the terminal. The doors to the plane had been left open, and the passengers started to notice that the cabin was empty.

Confused and frightened, the passengers filed out of the plane and onto the tarmac. They looked around for any sign of the crew, but there was no one in sight. It was as if they had vanished into thin air.

As she stood there within the crowd, shivering in the cold air, Alice began to realize that they had just experienced something that defied explanation. Something that had left them feeling vulnerable and exposed, with no one to protect them or guide them.

Alice knew that they would never forget that flight or the strange and ominous feeling that had hung over it from beginning to end. And as she walked away from the plane, she knew that they had been lucky to survive it. But Alice also knew that she, and the rest of the passengers on that flight, would never be the same again.