At around 11:30 AM, I settled into my seat on the plane heading from JFK airport to London Heathrow. I was seated on the edge of the row that had a window. Although I had enough money to pay for my own ticket, my parents decided to pay for it. It was their gift to me for Christmas.
The plane I was on was already filled with people. Most of them, I thought, were there for the same reason I was, and that’s to visit family for the holiday season. The flight itself would take about seven hours, give or take a few minutes. I looked around while boarding the flight and noticed that the majority of people were young adults and elders. This was good because it meant there weren’t going to be any crying babies on this flight. Or so I thought.
I reached my seat only to notice that I was going to be sharing my row with another person. He was seated at the window. Now, I don’t intend to sound rude, maybe this person has a medical condition that I didn’t know he had, but the man looked really dirty. He had dark brown, greasy hair. He had a small, ugly mustache, and he had a fat belly. Not that he was fat, but his belly was big. Like that of a pregnant woman. He was wearing a black t-shirt with no labels on it and had a black leather belt wrapped around his tight jeans. I got a glimpse of the shoes he was wearing and saw they were an old and withered pair of white sneakers. They looked so old and used that their whiteness was turning into a noticeable gray color as if the shoes were depressed.
To not seem mean, I simply nodded at him and sat in my seat. The row of seats I was seated at was to the left of the plane, and the layout of the interior was like that of many other planes: a six-seat layout with three seats on each side of the plane and a long pathway down the middle that divides the seats into two rows.
The moment I settled myself into the leather seat of the plane, I felt a strong odor hit me. It wasn’t a good one either, I realized it came from the guy I was sitting next to. It was a mix of shit, fart, piss, sweat, rotten eggs, and rotten flesh. If I ever smelled that in my home, I would have instantly assumed a raccoon got stuck in my attic and died there.
I didn’t want to look like I was bothered by it, but I also couldn’t just sit there and smell it through the entire flight, otherwise, I would have lost my damn mind! I shut my eyes and tried to sleep, hoping that during my sleep I wouldn’t smell it anymore. But that didn’t work. I wasn’t tired, nor was I one of those blessed people who could sleep the instant they close their eyes for more than just a second.
Eventually, however, the odd smell was completely gone. I opened my eyes, hoping that it wouldn’t come back, but to my horror, there was a bigger problem. I was alone. I scanned the area around me, realizing that I was indeed alone. I glanced out the window to see that it was entirely dark outside.
I also noticed that I couldn’t smell or hear anything at all. I gasped at the horrific idea that I was alone; I could hear myself breathing, so at least I could hear stuff, yet I couldn’t hear the plane or its engines, all I heard was nothing.
I walked out onto the pathway and made my way to the front of the plane, where the cockpit was. It was completely black outside, and the only lighting I had was from the interior of the steady plane. I gradually made my way to the cockpit as if I were trying to be quiet. I didn’t know why, but I had a gut feeling that I should be making the least amount of noise possible.
I got to the door that leads into the cockpit and reached my hand out to open it, only to find out that it was locked. Suddenly, I heard a noise behind me, toward the back of the plane. It sounded like the default Android ringtone. I froze in sudden fear before making my way toward where I heard it.
I walked for about 5 meters before I heard it again. This time, it was to my right. I looked to where I heard it and saw a phone sitting on one of the seats. It was being called by an Unknown Number. I responded to the call and put the phone next to my ear.
“Hello?” It was more of a question than a genuine greeting. I could hear static at the other end of the call, for about 10 seconds nobody responded.
“Hello, who’s there?” I asked, this time with a more firm voice.
This time, however, I could hear a sudden burst of demonic laughter on the other side of the phone. At first, it went nearly unheard, I made sure that the phone was on full volume, which it was. The laughter, on the other hand, gradually increased in volume until suddenly. I heard it from right behind me, however, I was holding the phone to my right ear.
My body was shaking, and my demeanor was tremulous. I was horror-struck, I didn’t know what to do. I knew this was a dream, a nightmare of some sorts, but it felt real. I pinched myself, but I was still in this alternate universe. I eventually decided to close my eyes and turn around before opening them.
I closed my eyes, my body was shivering at this point; I counted down from ten in my head, and the laughter kept growing louder. I turned around, and my life flashed before my eyes. I opened them. And I saw that same dirty man laughing at me, but he was different; he was completely naked, his skin was peeling at points, revealing another red-colored skin beneath his human one, and his nails were long and yellow. He was tall, his head nearly touching the interior of the plane. Two large horns were protruding from his head. His eyes were bloodshot, and his teeth were sharper than a lions. He laughed like a maniac while I was stuck trying to process what I was seeing.
I let out a shriek of terror once he put his hand on my shoulder. I blinked once, and suddenly I was in my seat, on the plane, with a flight attendant kneeling next to me.
“Sir, are you alright?”
I looked around and saw that everything looked normal. Taking notice that the guy wasn’t in his seat.
“What happened to the guy sitting here?”I inquired, pointing to the seat he was occupying not too long ago.
“There was nobody there, sir. This entire row of seats was empty aside from your seat.” I pushed that answer to the back of my head, just thankful he was no longer there.
“Where are we?”
“We are at London Heathrow airport.”
I sighed, much to my relief. I quickly got my luggage from the overhead compartment and made my way to the inside of the airport, clearing through all immigration and customs departments. I was looking all around me, making sure that guy was not following me. Everything seemed normal.
I got out of the airport and hailed a taxi. I suddenly felt uneasy, as if I were being watched while I was putting my luggage in the trunk of the cab. I turned around and saw that same man, in his human form, staring at me with a wide grin on his face from about 20 meters away.
He noticed that I had noticed him and he winked at me; Something about that wink made me want to vomit. It’s as if he knew he had intruded into my dreams. I looked away and got into the back of the cab. I gave the driver the location of the destination and told him to make it fast.
We arrived without running into that guy again; I paid the driver extra for the special service and made my way into my parents’ home. From there, everything seemed normal, and I slowly pushed the memory of that event and that guy into the back of my mind until eventually, it was time for me to leave. I was settling into my old bed for the last time before returning to the United States when I heard something hit my bedroom window.
I hesitantly made my way to the window and opened my curtains to see that man standing on the road in front of the house, grinning wildly at me. This time his entire skin was red, and there was no sign of him looking like a normal human. He had a rock in his left hand.
I didn’t want my parents to get involved, so I quietly rushed downstairs and opened the front door. I saw him still standing in the same place, this time without a rock in any of his hands. I started screaming at him, asking him what he wants from me and why he followed me here.
I threatened to call the cops and beat him up if he didn’t leave me alone. My voice must have been really loud because my parents, who are usually heavy sleepers, were now on the front lawn asking me who I was talking to.
He didn’t react to their presence, as a matter of fact, I don’t think I even saw his stomach move up or down nor did he ever blink, he was completely idle.
I pointed at that devil look-alike and told my parents’ that he followed me from the airplane to here, but they both raised their eyebrows and said there was nobody there.