1 I'm a Ghost?

The aircraft cabin was filled with screams.

The pilot had announced just a couple of minutes ago that they had lost multiple engines, that they had contacted the authorities and would be making an emergency landing. That everything should be fine and for everyone to remain calm and follow the instructions of the air stewards and stewardess.

The cabin was silent for a moment. Then people started freaking out. Sounds of screaming, shouting, sobbing, and praying made their way throughout the plane, with the air stewards trying to let themselves be heard over the din the passengers made.

"Please ensure your seatbelts are buckled and remember how to assume the brace position!"

"The masks will drop if we are losing altitude rapidly! Please tend to yourselves first before tending to any children or family members!"

"Our captain has already informed the authorities. The emergency crews will ready for us when we land!"

"The captain is a very experienced pilot; he has over 25,000 flight hours with 5000 hours on this type of aircraft. He will be able to land the plane safely!"

"Please pay attention to the demonstration of the Brace position and where the aircraft's emergency exits are!"

Elliot made sure his seatbelt was fastened and looked around at the chaos of the passengers in the cabin.

The panic and fear of everyone was palpable. A plane crash was something that was, after all, almost impossible to survive, unless the plane landed successfully.

He didn't panic, though. If his time were up, he would accept it and move on. He had already done so many things that ruined other people's lives, and it would be better if he passed away.

Maybe he could atone for his sins when he is dead.

Turning to his left, he observed the passenger occupying the window seat.

She had been sobbing when she got on the plane, but now she was sitting calmly, staring out of the window with a deathly pale face.

Then, the masks dropped.

Everyone fell silent as they quickly affixed the masks to their faces, children crying as they resisted their parents' attempts to get it on.

The woman sitting next to him didn't move, staring out of the window. He turned to look at the scenery outside, watching as the land below expanded at a breakneck pace.

He saw the runway and saw the tiny, revolving lights of the emergency vehicles getting larger and brighter.

'This is the end. It is too fast for the pilot to land safely.' He thought as a giant ball of fire engulfed the plane.

###

Elliot opened his eyes in surprise.

'I'm alive?'

He sat up and looked around. Finding firefighters, paramedics and the airport ground crew searching for survivors.

"Help!" He shouted, waving his hands frantically.

"I'm alive!!"

"Help me!! I'm here!!"

There was no response.

They walked by as if they never saw him.

Finding it weird, he realised that he was still in one piece and not seriously injured, he unbuckled the seat belt and stood up.

'Must be the adrenaline,' he thought to himself, as he walked around looking for help.

Finding some firemen putting out fires on parts of the wreckage nearby, he was about to pat one of them on the shoulder and talk to him when he heard them chatting.

"Such a shame that there are no survivors."

Elliot froze.

"Yea there were, I heard, 362 souls on board. All gone."

"Clean-up will be a bitch."

"Yea, the NSBT will want to do a full investigation and find out what went wrong."

Confused, Elliot ran in front of them.

"What do you mean everyone is dead? I'm here, and I'm alive!" He anxiously told them.

No reply.

"Hello? Can you see me?" He waved his hands in their faces, panicked.

Still no reply.

"This is not funny. I'm right here, and I need medical attention!" He shouted in their faces.

The firemen just continued aiming their hoses at the fire.

"What the hell is going on?" He cried out, frustrated at the lack of response.

"You're dead." Came a woman's voice behind him.

He turned around, looking for the source of the voice, and spotted a woman sitting on a burnt piece of wreckage.

It was the same woman who was sitting next to him on the plane.

"No one can see or hear you because you are dead." She told him, then patted the wreckage next to her, inviting him to take a seat.

"I know it's hard to believe, but I've tried talking to everyone before you appeared and I heard them say that there were no survivors." She gestured to the people milling about. The paramedics had retreated from the field, and the only ones left behind were people sifting through the wreckage, putting out fires, and the investigators here to find out the reason for the crash.

"The speed we were travelling at when we crashed caused the entire plane to break into pieces. There is no way anyone survived this."

She turned to him. "I didn't think I would see anyone else here with me."

"We've died. And we're still here."

"We can't be seen."

"We're ghosts."