she and Tracy have joined them.
“I’m scared, too, Jared.”
-------------
“John, what did you mean about clear skies.”
The co-pilot does nothing. He is rambling words under his breath, but Jared can’t make what he’s attempting to say.
He shakes John. “John! What is going on here?”
“I told them the plane was cursed. I told them that changing the plane number would do nothing. I tried to tell them, Jared. I really did.”
“What are you talking about?”
“St. Lucia, Jared. Don’t you understand? Something happened between there and coming home. We didn’t board that plane with as many passengers as there were when we landed. The manifest was nearly as empty as this flight. I tried, Jared! You have to believe me… I tried… and they promised.”
Figuring John has lost his grip on reality, Jared attempts to contact Jennifer again.
“Jennifer, is everything okay back there?”
But nothing. Silence. This naturally worries Jared. As he gets up to check on her, John stops him.
“Don’t. Don’t go back there. There’s nothing to see… There’s no one to see.”
Jared doesn’t listen. He hustles his way through the cockpit to the seats where the eight United Arcadia 815 passengers and crew were assembled. Yet no one was there. Nothing. No evidence that anyone was on that plane to begin with.
“Jennifer! Tracy!” Jared shouts. Nobody responds.
He looks throughout the plane to see where everyone went. However, there’s nothing to be found.
As he drops to his knees in disbelief, John calls for him.
Upon reentering the cockpit, as he notices the storm has cleared, John begins to talk in a frantic matter. “Listen to me, Jared. Listen to me. This is important.”
Still confused and at a losts, Jared slumps in his seat to let his ears consume whatever it is John is about to say.
“People from Arcadia are going to be at the airport when we land. They’re going to try to explain certain things to you. That the passengers are okay. That Tracy is fine. That Jennifer is safe. They are lying, Jared.”
“What does Arcadia have to do with any of this?”
“I’m not entirely sure. It doesn’t even matter. It is all lies. It is all lies!”
John grabs a hold of Jared’s arm, pulls him near, then whispers, “They’re going to kill me.” Jared tries to interrupt, but is stopped, “That’s not what is important here. Arcadia will give you a chance to fly this plane again.”
“But why?”
“Don’t you see? Arcadia Airlines is only a faux-company under the watchful eye of its actual shadow. I’m not even a commercial pilot. I was former special forces in the military. Arcadia recruited me to see about some happenings near St. Lucia. We didn’t notice anything, but my crew went missing and new passengers appeared when I came back. They took them all when we got back… Arcadia sent us on this flight to see if it would happen again.”
“But why me? Why this flight?”
“Minimal loss, Jared. Six passengers on a flight? Think about it… Regardless, we are about to land. You can’t seem upset or even confused. I made the mistake of being too emotional over the last 24 hours. Don’t give them a reason to make them want to view you as expandable.”
Jared attempts numerous times to take over the flight. Nothing happens, however. The trajectory of the craft can’t be altered. After several last chances, he notices the same airport United Arcadia Flight 815 took off from is waiting for its return. It appears more empty than it was when they left.
As the plane beings to touch down, John looks to Jared and says, “Do not run. When we get off the plane, no matter what happens, do not run.”
Both pilots begin their journey off the doomed flight. A single file line, with John leading the charge, Jared looks over the empty plane one last time – with thoughts of Jennifer trotting through his mind.
-------------
“Get on the ground! Get on the ground NOW!”
Jared heeds John’s warning. He immediately hits the cold, wet landing strip, stomach facing down. He then closes his eyes…
“He is fine, guys. He didn’t even care. Coolest under pressure pilot I have ever…”
Jared hears three loud pops, then a thud. Too afraid to open his eyes, he can feel his arm being tugged by someone.
“Get up, Mintz. We need to have a talk.”
Jared obliges. What other choices does he have?
A man in a suit approaches him. Average build, average looking. Jared notices how unspectacular and with no defining features the man has. The most forgettable type of man he’s ever seen.
“You see, John here could be lying about you. He could also be telling the truth. Luckily for you, we recently had an opening in our airborne division.”
“Who are you people? What do you want?”
As the man in the suit stares through Jared as if he were more a commodity than a person, behind him are people changing out the numbers on the plane of United Arcadia Flight 815.
“Jared, right? Well Jared, there’s… Others. To be honest, we’re not too sure yet who or what they are, but nevertheless – they are here, and there, and in places we don’t even know about yet. You’re going to go back in this plane tomorrow morning for us, though, to help us sort that out.”
“If I don’t?”
“Shouldn’t you want answers as badly as us? Wasn’t your Jennifer on this flight?”
Jared stands there, looking defeated, emotionally ruined from the entire experience, the man in the suit can tell he is going to get his pilot.
“I’m glad you see it my way, Jared. Who knows… maybe you’ll have better luck than John.”
As two men in a uniform escort Jared to a large vehicle that looks to be used as a portal communications base, another man in a suit walks towards the one who was speaking to the pilot.
“You know this one isn’t going to work out, Sir.”
“None of them ever do. It has never been the point.”
“Sir, if I may, what has been the point?”
“This is when I’m supposed to tell you that this is above my paygrade, but let’s not do that. You’re a smart guy. You’d figure it out sooner or later.”
“What’s that sir?”
“That I came back on United Arcadia Flight 800 a decade ago… a flight that I never boarded. As for our new friend Jared, let’s simply hope he has more luck on UAF 818… and as importantly, has clear skies waiting”
United Arcadia Flight 817 Page 2
