Neo-Odyssey

Chapter Four

What the hell was that? Collin thought as a terrible lurching feeling started welling up in his gut. One moment everything was plain and usual, the next he felt like he'd just gotten hit by one hell of a haymaker to the face. A moment after things un-fuzzed all the electronics were out, the plane engine sounded like it was being butchered by a gremlin, and every passenger in a state of mind to realize just how concerning this current state of things was erupted into a chaotic cacophony of panic.

This better not be terrorists, he thought as he breathed in and out deeply, focusing on just himself as best as he could. Heartbeat, pulse, breath, movement, his internal symphony was a good distraction, though, whatever was going on was too much for his normal calming methods to be much use. Everything began to feel more intense, his senses heightened to a fever pitch as, like the first dip on a roller coaster, the plane started turning down towards Earth, sending Collin's stomach into his throat.

He gripped the arm rests of his seat deathly tight as he ducked his head and prepared himself for the worst, narrowly missing tumbling luggage sent flying by the drop. The cries of the people around him had grown yet more terrified, and many times louder, drowning out his thoughts as the weight of the moment filled him.

What do I do? What do I do? What do I do? His instincts cried out to take action despite his helplessness in the face of the ongoing plummet to a watery grave. He felt ill, he felt overwhelmed, and he felt motivated to try something, anything.

What can I do though? What could I possibly do to fight against it? How to solve it? There has to be something!

He unbuckled his seatbelt, threw off his coat, and took a deep breath. This was stupid, insane even. Yet, he had to do something, anything, to curb this disaster before time ran out for everyone.

***

"Blake, whatever you do, do not let up on the yoke! We need to get this plane under control!" Clarice yelled over the deafening cacophony that now filled the air. She didn't think she'd ever see a more terrifying sight than the sea quickly growing closer through the cockpit window. She was just thankful that the steering still seemed to be working, with any luck they could glide to a gentle landing. As long as neither of them stopped fighting against the steering for a second, that was.

"Not like this. Not like this. Not like this." Blake muttered under his breath, holding his steering controls in a death grip. "What the hell, Clarice! Just what the hell is going on!?"

Wouldn't that be great to know? She thought as her hands began to ache, her arms growing weary in the fight to regain control of the plane. "This doesn't make any sense. Blake, did we get struck by lightning or something?"

"No way, clouds are too wispy for a bolt from the blue" her partner said, and she had to agree. "Maybe we stumbled into something? I don't know, like a secret military base, or the splash zone of some black ops weapon test? Maybe the electronics are being jammed and they're trying to take the plane down?"

"Oh, yeah, sure. 'They' are out to get us all right! This is definitely happening because 'they' decided a well-travelled flight route was the place to put a top secret whatever-the-fuck!"

There really wasn't any plausible situation either could conjure up that made the sudden inexplicable life-or-death clusterfuck make sense. Which just left the implausible stuff. Which was all implausible for a reason. Clarice liked to think of herself as open minded, Blake doubly so, but neither of them were chomping at the bit to wonder if the Deep State Reptilian Overlords chilling in the Hollow Earth might be to blame.

"Whatever it is, we aren't going to figure it out with guesstimation. Let's just focus on getting things under control." Blake concluded as the nose of the plane finally stopped tilting and started to right itself.