Velocity To Never Exceed

Chapter 28

Still Loop 7

Evelyn's brown eyes watch me, in concern. "What does that mean? All of it?"

My eyes skip along the freckles of her face like a stone skimming across a calm pond. "All of it, right up until the part when Heather gets killed. That's the only way we can get anyone's help."

"What? How can we get anyone's help when they're all just..." She glances around at the placid faces, at all the passengers completely unaware of anything about to happen. "Cyborgs."

"Ah, look at that," I give her a small grin. "You're a Trekkie at heart." She rolls her eyes but I continue, "Even though they're not in the loop, we still need their help. I feel like it has to be all hands-on deck. We can't do this alone, we'd be outnumbered. And we can't do anything reckless and be perceived as dangerous, because we know – very well – what happens to us when people think that we're the ones acting in bad faith."

She shakes her head in quick movements back and forth, still not understanding. "But what do you mean, all hands-on deck? Whose hands are all the hands on the all-handed deck?"

"We need everyone," I then say, my resolve hardening. "We need to harness the skills and abilities of everyone on this plane. We need Mason Kahn's sense of righteousness and heroic bravery, and Bryan Cooke's brute strength. We need Lydia and Cheyanne's vast expertise and knowledge. We need the chiropractor who occasionally flies small planes."

"Jason DeSouza in 28B?" Evelyn asks, skeptically.

I nod. "Even Edward Pickens III, if we can figure out a way to use him, although I'm not sure how square dancing can help."

Evelyn rubs her eyes, as if she's overwhelmed. "And how on earth are we supposed to do that?"

I exhale deeply. I know what needs to happen, but I don't really have a plan. Which is a difficult place to be. And an even harder place to explain.

Behind us, Sibyl Erly spills her drink all over the front of her blouse. But Evelyn's hyper-focused on me with an unreadable expression on her face.

Finally I just say, "We have to let it play out, the way it normally does. We can't convince anyone of anything before it happens. Without seeing the drugs for herself, Heather and the other flight attendants won't believe us. And without seeing Jerry holding the blade, Bryan and Mason won't help save Heather. They aren't going to just take our word for it. They'll need to see it for themselves. And without the plane changing direction or seeing whatever's happening inside the cockpit, no one else will listen to us. If we try to stop any part of the chain reaction before it plays out, we'll be the crazy ones and we'll just end up pinned down again as the plane crashes."

I lean forward, grabbing her hands in mine. My breath is quick. "Ev, we need to get them all on our side, to help us. We can't do it alone."

In Evelyn's silence, I plow forward. "Step one is we have to save Heather, but only at the point that it would be obvious to Mason and Bryan that she's in critical danger. And step two, we have to open that cockpit door using the code and stop the plane from falling, but we have to wait and do it at the very start of the nosedive, so everyone will know what's at risk. Everything has to happen at the exact right time."

Evelyn is quiet. Uncharacteristically quiet.

I glance out the window as the last dregs of sunlight bleed into the endless sky. The horizon is lit up, like it's on fire, glowing in yellows, reds and oranges. But every second it's changing. It's a beautiful dance, welcoming the dark.

I never thought I'd miss anything about the loops, but I'd miss this sunset.

And I'd miss the amazing girl watching the colors fade by my side. I reach out and gently touch her cheek. Her brown eyes search my face.

The girl I've fallen for.

I swallow and then add, "So, when it all goes down, we'll only have a matter of minutes – if even that. And so I've made the decision. When it's time, it's going to be me. I'm going into the cockpit, and I will do everything in my power to get it right."

Evelyn recoils as my words register across her heart-shaped face. Her words come out in a whisper, "Pilots often have guns with them in the cockpit."

"Maybe I'm just living on borrowed time anyways." I'm surprised to hear the words leave my mouth, but I guess that's the feeling I've always had, ever since the day I learned of my diagnosis. How much time did I really have left? And maybe at the end of the day, that's just what this loop was. Borrowed time.

And if I can use my time on earth – or above earth, as it may be – helping to save Evelyn and this flight full of people, then it's all worth it. Everything's worth it.

Tears well in Evelyn's eyes. "No, you're wrong," she says with a sudden hardness in her voice. "We're all living on borrowed time, Rion. Every single person on this planet. There's no guarantees in life."

The truth of her words wash over me. She's right. Tomorrow is only a concept. It's never a reality.

"I have to do this," I still say.

I squeeze her hand but she doesn't squeeze it back. It lays limp in my palm. I know she knows. She can see it in my face. That I've made my choice.

"We can't play it safe anymore," I tell her, trying to get her to understand. "There's no time left for that. We have to try everything... no matter the risk. Because it's all worth it if it means more time. Extra time. With you."

Her eyes are full with tears that don't fall. "In an odd way, when I first got on this flight, that's what I initially wanted, too. Extra time," she says. "Minus the murder and plane crash, of course."

"Of course."

We laugh. But nothing is funny.

Then we're both closer, somehow, even though I don't remember either of us moving. It's like we're drawn together, pulled towards each other. And now, I can't stop. My arms wrap around her waist, drawing her closer, as Evelyn's hands circle my neck. My heart flutters wildly in my chest, as she closes what little space remains.

My breath quickens and her brown eyes close in anticipation. Then she tilts her chin up and as her lips brush against mine, time stops. It just freezes. The seconds pause and we're in our own reality where nothing matters except for us.

I'm free falling, but in the best way possible, stuck in a perfect moment that I don't want to ever end.

It's just her and me. There's no one else in the world.

But then, behind us, I hear the luggage compartment pop open.