and useful from just a few lines of code. If he weren’t trying to be a little more self-aware in this time of panic, he would have just laid his head down right there and watched the laser carve it out bit by bit.
Both Ben and Drake suddenly heard something and looked down the aisle of the cabin.
“Nicole!” Amy called to her friend, motioning with jubilant urgency about her discovery at the back of the plane.
This was how Nicole came to meet Janet and Ed Hofmeier, an elderly couple who were returning home after visiting their grandchildren — a rare trip, given Ed’s aggressive lung cancer. His oxygen tank was sitting neatly by his side — the first thing Amy had spotted. Janet had been doing her best to keep him calm, but the signs of strain were telling on her face.
In the few minutes since crouching next to them, Nicole had heard all about Eric and Rebekah, the mischievous twins, and Janet and Ed’s older daughter, who lived just up the road from Nicole, in fact. They answered Nicole’s questions and explained how they’d met — they’d worked together at the old plant; Janet wasn’t so keen, but Ed pursued — and how they had been married. Janet had even produced a black-and-white photo out of Ed’s wallet of their wedding day. Everything seemed much simpler back then in photographs. There they were — Janet and Ed — young and in love and bliss.
“You can’t see it there, but I had red hair.”
“Beautiful,” Ed added.
“Of course, it faded over the years, and now I have this.” Janet indicated to her short, silver locks.
“Wherever she went, she’d turn heads,” Ed continued.” They’d all say to her, ‘Jan, did you hit your head before you married him?’ I was a scrap of a boy then,” Ed laughed.
Nicole laughed with him and glanced up at Janet, who was now fussing over Ed as he coughed from too much talking. The prognosis wasn’t good — three or four months, Janet had whispered. They both had covered over the sadness; they’d had 40 years of marriage. But the prospect of Ed’s imminent passing was still poignant, and Nicole felt the sorrow of the inevitability of a loving couple being parted before either was ready.
“Anyone know what’s happening up there?” Ed became a little more serious now.
“They’re trying to fix it.”
“You just let me into the cockpit — I can still kick some ass!” Ed joked.
They all smiled, and for a moment the four united in a brief spell of levity. In a way, Nicole reflected, Ed’s sentiment was exactly what she was intending to do.
It was time.
She stood up and took Amy’s hand.
“We’ll be back,” she said to the couple, and the girls began advancing up the aisle.
But they had taken only a few steps before a terrible mechanical groan came from beneath them. Others in the cabin, primed for new panic, screamed, and the plane lurched downward.
Nicole felt her heart race now. She clutched onto a nearby seat with most of her strength, sinking her fingers into the rough, carpet-like gray fabric. The cabin lights were blinking on and off, somehow mirroring the tremendous pace of her pulse.
What was happening now? Was she too late to help?
A passenger next to her, a scared-looking girl about her age, grabbed her arm to stop her from falling further. Nicole looked up and met the girl’s frightened gaze. Amy seized onto another passenger in front.
Once more, the plane jolted on its path downward. Nicole recalled the flight simulator at a theme park she had once gone to. But this was real. They were going to hit the ground soon.
Nicole tried to stand, but she felt her legs taken from underneath her.
Suddenly, the oxygen masks released from above the heads of the passengers — the sure sign of impending disaster.
“Everyone, get your masks on!” Nicole screamed as she stood back up.
“What’s happening, Nix?” Amy cried.
“I don’t know. We’re out of time.” Nicole looked down at the girl who had caught her
Both Ben and Drake suddenly heard something and looked down the aisle of the cabin.
“Nicole!” Amy called to her friend, motioning with jubilant urgency about her discovery at the back of the plane.
This was how Nicole came to meet Janet and Ed Hofmeier, an elderly couple who were returning home after visiting their grandchildren — a rare trip, given Ed’s aggressive lung cancer. His oxygen tank was sitting neatly by his side — the first thing Amy had spotted. Janet had been doing her best to keep him calm, but the signs of strain were telling on her face.
In the few minutes since crouching next to them, Nicole had heard all about Eric and Rebekah, the mischievous twins, and Janet and Ed’s older daughter, who lived just up the road from Nicole, in fact. They answered Nicole’s questions and explained how they’d met — they’d worked together at the old plant; Janet wasn’t so keen, but Ed pursued — and how they had been married. Janet had even produced a black-and-white photo out of Ed’s wallet of their wedding day. Everything seemed much simpler back then in photographs. There they were — Janet and Ed — young and in love and bliss.
“You can’t see it there, but I had red hair.”
“Beautiful,” Ed added.
“Of course, it faded over the years, and now I have this.” Janet indicated to her short, silver locks.
“Wherever she went, she’d turn heads,” Ed continued.” They’d all say to her, ‘Jan, did you hit your head before you married him?’ I was a scrap of a boy then,” Ed laughed.
Nicole laughed with him and glanced up at Janet, who was now fussing over Ed as he coughed from too much talking. The prognosis wasn’t good — three or four months, Janet had whispered. They both had covered over the sadness; they’d had 40 years of marriage. But the prospect of Ed’s imminent passing was still poignant, and Nicole felt the sorrow of the inevitability of a loving couple being parted before either was ready.
“Anyone know what’s happening up there?” Ed became a little more serious now.
“They’re trying to fix it.”
“You just let me into the cockpit — I can still kick some ass!” Ed joked.
They all smiled, and for a moment the four united in a brief spell of levity. In a way, Nicole reflected, Ed’s sentiment was exactly what she was intending to do.
It was time.
She stood up and took Amy’s hand.
“We’ll be back,” she said to the couple, and the girls began advancing up the aisle.
But they had taken only a few steps before a terrible mechanical groan came from beneath them. Others in the cabin, primed for new panic, screamed, and the plane lurched downward.
Nicole felt her heart race now. She clutched onto a nearby seat with most of her strength, sinking her fingers into the rough, carpet-like gray fabric. The cabin lights were blinking on and off, somehow mirroring the tremendous pace of her pulse.
What was happening now? Was she too late to help?
A passenger next to her, a scared-looking girl about her age, grabbed her arm to stop her from falling further. Nicole looked up and met the girl’s frightened gaze. Amy seized onto another passenger in front.
Once more, the plane jolted on its path downward. Nicole recalled the flight simulator at a theme park she had once gone to. But this was real. They were going to hit the ground soon.
Nicole tried to stand, but she felt her legs taken from underneath her.
Suddenly, the oxygen masks released from above the heads of the passengers — the sure sign of impending disaster.
“Everyone, get your masks on!” Nicole screamed as she stood back up.
“What’s happening, Nix?” Amy cried.
“I don’t know. We’re out of time.” Nicole looked down at the girl who had caught her
Similar Books
