One Way Trip

You awaken to Annabel shaking your shoulder, alarm shows on her face. Something is clearly wrong. The plane groans from a strong pressing inward from the outside. Looking through the window, you see the sky is a muddy mixture of black and grey, the horizon a sliver of light in the distance.

Why?

Why does it always turn out like this?

You agitatedly think this to yourself.

To you, it feels like a curse. As though any moment of pleasant relaxation, even the simple simplicity of clearing your mind, is guaranteed to be torn away from you by a sudden pressing issue or urgent problem that appears out of seemingly nowhere, to annihilate any semblance of tranquility you had managed to achieve.

The cabin is alive with commotion. People agitatedly whisper back and forth. Trying to stay calm and get your bearings you ask Anna,

You: “W… What’s going on?”

Annabel nervously bites her lip. Looking down she says in a shaky voice,

Annabel: “The pilot just spoke over the intercom… He- he said we need to make an emergency landing because the weather suddenly turned for the worse…”

You knew that tropical weather could be unpredictable, but you had never expected it to be anything on this scale.

You can see that Annabel is visibly shaken. In an attempt to calm her, you lean to your side and wrap an arm around her, grasping her shoulder with your right hand and pulling her into a tight embrace. Trying to provide her with some words of encouragement, you murmur softly to her,

You: “Anna, listen to me. We just need to sit calmly and ride it out. This isn’t the first time an airplane has seen rough weather, they can withstand a little storm like this. And the crew is trained for these kinds of scenarios…”

Your words seem to have some effect on her, however small, but she still looks upset. The plane groans again and Anna shivers,

Annabel: “John, you don’t understand, we’re… we're still over the water…”

It hits you when she says this.

Annabel doesn't know how to swim.

You had tried many times to teach her, but she has always had a strong distaste for swimming. How could she have married a guy who was as close to a dolphin as a person could be, and yet still be fearful of large bodies of water?

This very trip itself for her, and for you, was to be a testament of your relationships strength. Her willingness to overcome her fears (at least in a smaller sense than actually swimming), and yours to act as her support. Now it was being tried.

God must be testing me…

You think to yourself.

…the bastard.

In an effort to come to grips with the situation you decide to double down on your assurances.

You: “Th... they must have some kind of special procedure for situations like this… They proba-”

Before you can finish your sentence, the pilot begins speaking over the intercom. The whispers emanating from the other passengers abruptly quiet down.

Pilot: “Attention please. We have located a small cluster of islands, but we are unable to make a safe landing due to the dense vegetation present. Because of the severity of the storm, I will be attempting to land the plane on the water alongside the nearest island, please remain calm and wait for further instructions.”

An anxious murmur ripples throughout the passengers, giving rise to louder utterances.

A woman in back begins weeping.

One of the flight attendants steps forward to continue the captain’s message.

Flight Attendant: “As the captain said, we will be landing on the water, near one of the islands. We must insist that all passengers put on a life jacket, which can be found stored in the above compartments. Once on, please ensure that all straps are secure, both on yourself and the person seated next to you. After landing, we will be opening the emergency exits and deploying the inflatable rafts which we have stored in back. We ask that at that point, you make your way to the nearest exit in an orderly fashion, starting with the rows nearest to the exits....”

She trails off.

Regaining herself and having finished her message, the flight attendant then moves from the front of the plane to where the crying woman is and begins making an effort to ease her worry.

The airplane creaks and you feel the sensation of lost altitude in your gut. Anna lets out a small whimper. Outside your window you see the water coming ever closer. You give Anna's shoulder a little squeeze in an attempt to comfort her and yourself.

You: “Even if we didn’t have lifeboats, you could cling to my back and I'd swim you all the way to mainland...”

A lie obviously.

Anna smiles weakly, trying not to look worried.

As you stroke her arm, you nervously take another glance outside your window. The static snap of the intercom indicates to you that the pilot is speaking again but his voice is a faint echo in your ears, drowned out from your mind as it focuses on what you see outside.

A wave the likes of which you have never seen, towers fifty feet from the glass you peer through. All sound rushes back to you in a cataclysmic ripple.

Pilot: “…Again, brace for impact! …Oh God…”

We’re going to die… We’re all going to die!

Your realization formed in abject horror.

The airplane lurches in a sudden attempt to regain elevation while simultaneously veering away from the wall of water, jostling everyone.

But the wave like a hand out stretched, snags the tail of the plane from the air, engulfing it completely, then slams it into the dark water below.