I sat in my window seat of the plane, gazing out the window at the grey runway.
I’d never particularly liked flying, but I’d gotten used to it with all the travelling I did with my job. I glanced left. In the middle seat was a larger man in a blue shirt who had already began trying to sleep and in the aisle sat a small brunette woman in a tracksuit, who was firing out some last minute texts before take off. Finally, the flight attendants finished their safety routine and the pilot made an announcement before the plane began to taxi.
Shortly after, we were in the air. I look down to see the ground which we’d once been sat on become a distant memory.
We were about two hours into the 6 hour flight. The man next to me was now fully asleep and the woman had her headphones on. A sudden frantic announcement from the pilot pulled me from my daydream.
‘Ladies and Gentlemen, fasten your seatbelts and remain seated, we’re expecting severe turbulence.’
I obeyed, watching the cabin crew hurriedly rush to their seats. I’d been on many flights with turbulence before, but this one just seemed more serious.
The plane began shaking violently, and the lights cut out. The man and woman next to me were now fully alert, and began fumbling for their seatbelts.
My stomach lurched, and a few people screamed as the plane seemed to drop from the sky for a moment. I gripped the armrest and looked out the window, and my eyes widened. We’d dropped under the clouds, and I could see the distant green-ness of the land below. We were not moving.
I pointed this out to the man next to me, who craned over my seat to have a look. Like me, his eyes widened and he looked at me in shock.
The intercom sounded the familiar ping, as if the pilot were about to make an announcement. But all that came from the intercom was a bloodcurdling scream, then silence.
The cabin crew all exchanged terrified looks, before two of them got up and began approaching the cockpit. They knocked firmly on the door, calling out to the captain and co pilot but received no response. One of them opened the door and poked her head in, before letting out a gut wrenching scream and running backwards, almost tripping over the other crew member.
The cockpit door swung open. Something stepped out. It was tall, with a strong build and long wet black hair. It almost looked human, if it weren’t for the large crimson eyes with thick black pupils, and eyelids which closed sideways. It had no lips, and its mouth was shaped like a deep chelsea smile to reveal its thick, sharp, yellow teeth. It stepped forward, now allowing passengers in the front rows a glance into the massacre that had taken place in the cockpit.
People began screaming, and passengers started unbuckling their seatbelts in an attempt to flee to the back of the plane. Everyone pushed and shoved, tripping over in the aisles as they tried desperately to put distance between themselves and this being.
The woman on my row jumped up to join the flee. The man next to me tried to grab her but she’d already been pushed along by the terrified crowd. The man turned to me and grabbed my arm firmly, pulling me out of my horrified trance and staring at me with stern blue eyes. ‘Get under the seat, curl up and be quiet,’ he instructed. ‘We’re fucked if we run or not.’
I obeyed him, awkwardly forcing my way under the seat in front of me and gripping my knees to my chest. The man did not follow. I assume he’d accepted what was happening and wanted to go quickly. I look to the front of the plane, willing there to be an air marshal on board to end this. I saw the legs of the attacker and nearly let out a shriek. At the end of his long, grey legs were two hooves, which slowly and heavily made their way down the aisle. I heard the vile sound of passengers choking on their own blood as the creature picked off everyone who had fallen in the stampede. I closed my eyes tightly, the screams and sounds of people being mutilated filled the plane.
I heard the creatures heavy, rattled breathing and dared to open my eyes. The hooves were now next to my head. The man who I’d been sat next to stood up, and I heard his shouting and throwing punches. I then heard his cry out, before the floor rained with blood as he was lifted off the ground. His still beating heart fell to the ground beside me, and I lost control of my bladder. I held my breath and clenched my legs closer to my chest, desperately fighting the urge to vomit.
A clawed hand reached under the seat. It had six fingers and a secondary set of small barbs on its knuckles. The hand fumbled around for a while, before closing over the heart and slowly retreating. I peaked out to see the creature take a bite, before throwing it into the screaming mass of passengers. I could feel hot tears running down my face as I silently cried my mind wandering to my family. My daughter would be without her father and my wife a widow, and I had no way of saying my last goodbyes to them.
There weren’t many screaming voices to be heard anymore. The plane emitted a strong, putrid smell of death, and blood had soaked through my clothes. The creature let out a final howl before retreating to its entry point in the cockpit. I made eye contact with one of the stewardesses. She was laying on the ground, her body badly torn up and her leg lost to the evil being that had invaded the plane. Still crying, I crawled out from my hiding spot and reached out to take her hand. She was shaking violently, and tried to talk but the words just wouldn’t come out. I gripped her hand tighter as I felt her soul leave her body. I look to the back of the plane, once filled with terrified people now a sea of blood, limbs and cries for help. Only a few had been untouched. They were either frozen in fear or desperately trying to save the injured. I began to crawl over to help, unable to use my shaking legs.
I suddenly feel my stomach lurch. The stationary hold which the plane was once grasped in had now relented, and we began plummeting towards the ground. I gripped the bottom of the seats, holding my breath as a few muffled shrieks emitted from the slaughter at the back of the plane.
I woke up with a start, accidentally hitting the man next to me with my stray arm. He looks to me, asking if I’m ok.
‘Yes I’m fine sorry about that, just a bad dream.’ I turn to him, his blue eyes looking genuinely worried for me. He nodded his head and smiled at me before closing his eyes once more.
Embarrassed, I took a breath and collected myself, wondering at what point I’d fallen asleep. I checked the time, we were about two hours in.
A sudden, frantic voice over the intercom pulled me from my daydream….