1 We Will All Die

EVIE

She doesn't believe in destiny.

For her, it is our choices that dictate what will happen in our lives. Not some divine interventions.

She believes that all her life without questioning it. Not even once.

Until today.

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The plane shook, slightly straining Evie's seatbelt. But she didn't open her eyes.

She knew ‌it was just because of the change in altitude that triggered that effect. Instead, she pulled her cap down her face and continued her long-desired nap.

However, Ms. Huang tried to wake her up. "This is going to pass. Don't you think, Ms. Yang?" she laughed nervously.

Evie wasn't close to Ms. Huang. But they see each other regularly, since Ms. Huang worked as a flight attendant in the same corporation she was working with.

On the other hand, Evie is part of the AMT Mechanics Team from Alpha Aircraft Company that was dispatched to Honolulu Internationals that day.

Evie tilted the edge of her cap up with her pointed finger as she tried to observe their surroundings.

The bottled water beside her was shaking. And she could hear the announcement from the cabin crew.

"We are now crossing a zone of turbulence. Please return to your seats and keep your seat belts fastened. Thank you."

Evie nodded her head curtly at Ms. Huang in response to her question, before looking outside the window.

As far as Evie knew, weather affects the turbulence in planes. And right now, the sun is heating the earth's surface unevenly.

Besides, they have checked everything a while ago. And everything is functioning well.

"I hope so," Ms. Huang uttered before cupping her hand and saying in a softer voice, "I heard you're going to be the next AMT manager. I knew it! You're always calm and collected unlike -"

She paused before adding, "unlike Mr. Liu, who always stressed us out."

With that, she looked at where Mr. Liu sat, Evie's current boss, hoping that he didn't hear her.

"You're the first woman ever to head the AMT team. I am so proud of you!" she babbled on before giving her a bear hug.

Evie didn't respond at all.

It's not just because she feels uncomfortable with physical intimacy. But Ms. Huang's intel probably didn't mention to her how she tried to talk to the higher-ups to just let her be where she was.

She already has decent pay. And she hates the idea of mingling with the bosses.

They were not modest in showing their distaste for her, since she was the only woman who made it in that line of work, at a young age.

After Ms. Huang left, she put on her headset to distract herself from the jiggling plane.

Her cousin, who was studying parapsychology, sent her an audio file hoping that he would make her a believer in the supernatural, too.

He said it came from an unknown world where supernatural creatures exist.

Evie really doesn't care about it. But she decided to give it a try.

'Just as I thought,' she muttered after playing the audio. 'It was like an epic instrumental background from YouTube.'

However, her forehead wrinkled as she noticed something different about it. As she continued to listen, the sound became more and more realistic to her.

One could hear creatures talking to each other in an unfamiliar language. And there were also audible sounds that were difficult to figure out.

She didn't know why. But it made her feel nostalgic for an unknown reason, which only happens to her once or twice a year.

However, the turbulence became more intense. The plane shook so vigorously that it dislodged Evie's bag away from her.

Evie was able to snatch it immediately since she didn't really bring a lot during that flight. But her headset fell with the sudden jolt of the plane.

Loud commotions revealing the passengers' anxious state suddenly pierced her ears. Their bags were jolting here and there.

She quickly stood up and bolted to the cockpit together with the other members of the AMT Team.

"Didn't you do your job properly before we took off? I am just following along with the airspeed indicators and this happens!" the anxious pilot shouted from his seat.

"You must have made a mistake with the calculations. Don't go blaming the mechanics for your faulty judgment!" Mr. Liu was angrily shouting back at the pilot with his hands on his waist.

The other members of the team scratched their heads as they waited for instruction from Mr. Liu.

Evie heaved out a sigh as she pulled out the assistant pilot from his chair and sat on it herself at the speed of light.

"What are you doing?" Both the pilot and Mr. Liu chorused as they gazed befuddled at Evie.

"Stop it, this instant, Evie Yang! Do you think I don't know that you seduced the Chairman's son so you can be promoted? You're not even qualified to be here!" Mr. Liu growled at her.

But Evie didn't respond as she checked out the flight instruments at breakneck speed. They have no time to lose! This plane would crash anytime!

'All of them seemed to be working fine. Then it must be coming from external conditions.'

She glanced at the cabin window in front of them and noticed that something odd was happening with the winds and clouds.

Something which she has never seen before.

It appeared like it was forming a hole in which the plane was about to enter. And it looked like it has a magnetic field pulling the plane inside it, which was causing the malfunctioning of the regular operation of the plane.

In a flash, Evie grabbed the radio.

"Mayday! Mayday! Mayday!" she repeatedly said, hoping the ATC or other agencies would receive their distress signal and assist them as soon as possible.

Then she quickly stood up and said to the pilot, "Level out the plane as much as you can."

At the same minute, she turned on the other members of the team. "Put on your seatbelts."

She grabbed the emergency manual book and gave it to Mr. Liu abruptly before dashing outside the cockpit to view the passenger's condition.

Her heart pounded at a faster rate as she saw how quickly the scene changed.

Only a few minutes had just passed by. But now, the passengers' items were falling and lifting off the floor.

The cabin crew had dropped the oxygen masks in front of them in an effort to provide them with something that would give them hope and comfort.

And the passengers were now screaming in distress.

"Please do not panic. Our team is doing the best that they can so that we can land safely," Ms. Huang calmed the other passengers with a reassuring smile.

But as soon as she saw Evie, she immediately ran to her and wailed, "We will die, Ms. Yang! Oh, God, have mercy on us!" She rubbed her hands together in prayer. Her tears were like waterfalls cascading down her cheeks.

Evie felt her stomach roll at the sight. 'Is this really the end?' she pondered.

Not wanting to be controlled by the chaos and emotional outbursts, she took off her jacket and tried to think clearly.

The only way that they could get out is for that hole to disappear, which seemed to be impossible as it was getting bigger.

"Help - me -," Ms. Huang pleaded in between breaths as her other hand clasped on one of the chairs for support.

Like lightning, Evie sprang to the nearest oxygen mask and put it on Ms. Huang's face, sat her on one of the seats, and put on her seatbelt.

Then she put one on her own and did the same.

Ms. Huang's cold and trembling hand reached out to her, which she didn't mind.

Oddly, Evie then put on her headset again and played the eerie audio clip, knowing it would calm her somehow.

As Evie sat back and allowed the bizarre music to relax her soul while everybody was panicking, she was internally accepting the scene.

'I hoped the pilot could get us through this. But if he can't. It's all right. We will all die, eventually,' she concluded, before closing her eyes.

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We all die.

The goal isn't to live forever.

The goal is to create something that will.

Charles Palahniuk