Chapter Text
The plane's engine is loud. It makes my little brother, Alex, scared.
He clings to Mommy and hides his face in her shirt. He doesn't like looking out the windows because he's scared of falling out of the sky. Daddy has said it won't happen because he is a good pilot, but Alex doesn't believe him.
I'm not afraid of the plane, or the plane engine, or being in the sky. I like it when we get to go up on the plane that Daddy flies for work. I always get to sit up with him at the controls, as long as I don't touch anything. If I touch the controls, I have to go sit with Mommy and Alex. I don't want to sit with them. I like sitting up here because I want to fly a plane just like Daddy someday!
Usually, it's a clear day, and when I look down, I can see the buildings and houses below the plane. But today, the sky is gray, and so are the clouds. I can't see the houses, only dark, angry clouds. The windows start being pelted by raindrops, and Daddy turns the wipers on.
Then suddenly, a loud bang makes me cover my hands with my ears. The plane shakes. "What was that?"
Alex cries harder.
"It was just thunder, Bud," Daddy says. "I need to turn us around. We're flying right into a storm."
"We can't fly in a storm?" I ask, feeling disappointed that we have to turn around. He shakes his head.
"It's not very safe. If we get hit by lightning, we could crash. We'll go home and come out another day. Okay?"
My eyes fill with tears. "But I want to keep flying now!"
"You heard your dad, Scott," Mommy says. "Don't be so stubborn, your brother isn't happy, and you don't want to make him more scared by going through a storm, do you?"
I huff. Alex always ruins everything! I can never do anything with Mommy and Daddy without Alex butting in and finding a way to make it all about him. I bet the storm isn't even that bad! I bet Daddy just wants to go home because Alex is scared.
So I pout harder, crossing my arms tightly so they know I'm upset.
"If you are going to pout, you can go sit in the back with your mother," Daddy says. "Co-pilots don't pout."
"Fine!" I slide out of my seat and stomp back, making sure they still know I'm mad.
BOOM!
The plane jumps, and I fall, rolling into the wall and hitting my arm hard. "Ow!" I cry. Then we're falling faster. Alex is screaming.
"Son of a bitch!" Daddy shouts. "Katherine! The parachutes!"
Everything starts blurring together. I don't understand what is going on. Alex is being thrown into my arms. Next, Daddy pulls my arms through a backpack strap. "I need you to be strong, alright. You have to jump out of the plane. Hold this string, Count to 45. You can do that, right? When you get to 45, pull the string. Never let go of your brother. Can you do that for me, Scott?"
I nod. "But-"
"Where is the rest!?" Daddy demands.
"This is the last one, Chris. The rest are burnt."
"God help us."
The plane is still falling, and I suddenly start to realize what's going on. We are crashing. The plane must have been struck by lightning Daddy warned. We have to jump out of the plane. I have to be strong and keep Alex safe while we jump.
"We love you," Daddy says. He kisses me on the head and then opens the door. The wind roars too loudly to hear anything.
Then he scoops us out and drops us out of the plane.
I scream, but I can't hear it. I grip the string in my hand, crying out at the top of my lungs.
- 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
I'm so scared. My eyes are squeezed tight, and I can hardly feel Alex against me. My arms feel numb as the wind burns them.
- 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20.
I think it's raining. My face feels wet. Is it raining? Am I crying? I want Mommy and Daddy! Why didn't they jump with us? I'm so scared.
- 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30.
What if the parachute doesn't come out in time? What if we die? What if Mommy and Daddy die? What if Alex dies? They'll be so mad at me if he dies! Oh no! We're all going to die!
- 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40.
I peel one eye open, but I can hardly see anything. Everything is blurry! Something orange soars past us. Fire! Oh no!
- 42. 43. 44. 45.
I pull the string. We get jerked up. We are stopped mid-air, and I choke on my cry. Then we start sinking to the ground, much slower than we had been falling. But then something worse happens. I hear a loud hissing noise. We start falling to the ground again really fast. Too fast.
I look up, and the parachute is on fire above us! I scream because the ground is close now. And Oh no! Alex isn't strapped to me anymore! I lost Alex! Where is he!? Mommy and Daddy will be so mad at me.
I hit the ground.
I roll, body over head. One, two, three, many times. My head crashes against something hard.
It gets dark. The last thing I see is a streak of orange in the sky. Then, nothing but blackness.