4. Suprise

Neo stared at the monstrous nightmare in horror, the blackness consuming the space around him, shadows twisting unnaturally as if alive. His teeth chattered as he glanced behind him—everyone was dead except him. The reality dawned on him that he was next. The being stretched forth its hand, pulsating with a dark aura as it aimed directly at Neo.

Neo closed his eyes, bracing for the inevitable. *So, is this how I'm going to die? Am I really never going to make my parents proud? Damn, I thought I was going to be successful in life... not die on a plane. Well... life is sure full of surprises.* He saw darkness—normal, since his eyes were shut. *Wait, what?*

He opened his eyes to find the plane empty. The lights were on, casting a sterile glow across the cabin, but no one was there. Not a single bloodstain marked the walls. The carnage had disappeared without a trace, and the bloodlust was nowhere to be found. Even the smell of death had vanished, leaving only the sterile scent of the plane's recycled air.

Neo stood bewildered, the entire scene tranquil and surreal, as if he had just awakened from a terrible dream. But this wasn't a dream. Nobody was on the plane—well, except maybe the pilot. *The pilot!*

His dread intensified as he hurried toward the cockpit, the only place where he might find some answers or a semblance of control. His heart pounded as he reached the door, but it was empty—just like the rest of the aircraft. The vacant seats, the lifeless controls, and the eerie silence of the cockpit sent a shiver down his spine.

In that moment, the dread simmering within him erupted into full-blown terror. The absence of any human presence heightened his fear, and it dawned on him that he might be powerless against whatever was happening. The fate of the entire flight now hung in the balance, with no one at the helm.

"What? The pilot is gone too? I-I don't know how to fly a plane..." Neo's thoughts spiraled into chaos as he stared at the empty cockpit.

The plane was on autopilot, but Neo didn't know how long it would stay that way or if it would even come out of autopilot at all. *Will the plane crash?* He looked out the window and saw the sun rising. The flight was scheduled to end in seven hours, but when he checked his watch, he saw that only three hours remained. Panic gripped him.

As Neo stood in the cockpit, his thoughts raced, searching desperately for any way to survive. His eyes darted around, scanning the empty controls and the featureless horizon outside. The terrifying possibility of jumping from the plane emerged in his mind—a reckless but urgent solution to escape the unknown threat.

He spotted a parachute. The thought of jumping off the plane seemed more real, more logical, as his fear clouded any sense of reason. The idea of hurtling through the sky was terrifying, but staying on this ghostly plane seemed worse. After a moment of hesitation, he strapped on the parachute, his breaths quick and shallow. He moved to the door, feeling the cold, rushing wind as he opened it, the roar of the engines filling his ears. *Damn, I never imagined my first skydive like this... damn.*

This was his first time skydiving. He knew the basics, but theory and practice were two very different things. "Well, here goes everything..."

Just as he was about to leap into the void, a voice, deep and mocking, pierced through the chaos. "Are you really that stupid? Ha, you really wanted to jump? Where will you go? That's the middle of the ocean for crying out loud..." The words froze Neo in place. He spun around, heart pounding in his chest, to see a man standing in the cockpit.

The figure was draped in black, his clothes absorbing the light like a void. The man's aura was unsettling, exuding a calm malevolence that made Neo's skin crawl. His face was covered by a mask, smooth and featureless, as if someone had erased all signs of identity or emotion. The blank mask stared back at Neo, conveying nothing and everything at once—a silent, unreadable menace.

Neo's confusion deepened as he struggled to comprehend how this man had appeared without him noticing. The cockpit had been empty—he was sure of it. There had been nowhere for anyone to hide, no shadows deep enough to conceal a person. And yet, here this man stood, as if he had materialized out of thin air.

Neo's mind raced, trying to make sense of the impossible. He hadn't heard footsteps, hadn't sensed any movement behind him. It was as if the man had simply appeared at the exact moment he chose to speak, challenging Neo's resolve and shattering the fragile plan he had constructed in his panic. The impossibility of the situation only heightened Neo's terror, leaving him paralyzed with uncertainty as he faced this enigmatic, ominous figure.

"Let me ask you a question," the man said, his voice sending a chill down Neo's spine. "Do you remember what happened with the Oni?"

"Oni?" Neo raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, the dark being. Do you remember?" The man asked, and Neo just stared at him.

"Yes," Neo replied, his mind racing. *How did this guy know what happened? Was he on the plane?*

The man's presence grew more oppressive as he took a step closer. "You've seen too much, boy. And now, you've drawn its attention. The Oni isn't just some mindless creature—it's a hunter, and you're its prey."

Neo's heart sank. *Prey?* The word echoed in his mind, filling him with a new level of fear.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Neo stammered, backing away. But the man advanced, his movements smooth and deliberate.

"You will soon enough," the man said, his voice carrying a sinister edge. "But for now, you need to stay alive."

'Yep.. this man was definitely on the plane', Neo thought.