The cold was absolute. Collin felt his life slipping away. As oxygen left the big Boeing 777-328, wide-body jetliner, everything went quiet. As the effects of suffocation reduced Collin
’
s eyesight into an ever-narrowing tunnel-effect, he looked about and found Lydia
’
s still form sprawled on the aisle carpeting, on the other side of the cabin.
Chapter 6
The jetliner jerked violently and all at once oxygen masks dropped from overhead panels around the cabin.
Too little too late
, Collin thought. He knew he was dying. Feeling detached from his own body he was already resigned that he was falling away
…
slipping deeper and deeper into the void.
* * *
He awoke, lying back in a seat. A mask was strapped securely over his nose and mouth. A blanket was spread across his body. As awareness of his surroundings returned, Collin noticed the temperature in the cabin wasn
’
t nearly as frigid. It was bearable. He tried to sit forward but his head throbbed to the point he had to lean back again.
Turning his head, he saw he was still in the upper first class section. Someone had gotten him onto a seat. Collin pulled the mask away from his face and tested the air. He could breathe normally.
DiMaggio and Tink, standing and talking to each other, were near the forward bulkhead.
“
What happened?
”
Collin asked them, his throat dry and raspy-sounding.
DiMaggio crossed in front of two center aisle seats and knelt down next to Collin.
“
The oxygen masks are what happened. Thanks to you. A few of us got to them just in time.
”
Collin noticed others lying prone throughout the cabin; most still had oxygen masks over their mouths and looked unconscious.
“
How did you move them? Most of these guys are huge,
”
Collin asked, eyeing little Tink, who
’
d joined DiMaggio
’
s side.
“
Believe it or not, it was Humph. The guy did almost all the heavy lifting
…
although moving Bubba took both of us to get him up into a seat.
”
“
And there
’
s air again?
”
Collin asked, slowly getting to his feet.
“
We were just talking about that. Just guessing, but we think the spaceship moved into space for a while
…
where it opened like it did when it sucked in half of Texas. After that, the ship must have come back down to Earth
…
maybe to suck up more metal.
”
“
The air we
’
re breathing isn
’
t
…
right,
”
Tink said, scrunching up her nose.
Collin noticed there was something funky about the air too.
“
Maybe the ship didn
’
t return to Earth. Maybe we
’
ve moved on to some other planet.
”
“
That
’
s the other thing we were talking about. The constant screeching,
”
DiMaggio said, his eyes looking upward as if searching for something beyond the confines of the cabin.
Before he could respond, Collin heard something. It was muffled and far-off sounding, but he definitely heard it too: a series of sounds that were a cross between a lion
’
s roar and the screech of a hawk.
“
I don
’
t like the sound of that,
”
Collin said. Maybe they really had stopped at another world. One thing was for sure
…
there were other survivors out there.
“
And I
’
m going to cap its ass if it comes anywhere near me.
”
Humphrey had entered the cabin and was brandishing a handgun Collin recognized as a Glock 19. His father owned the same model; Collin had fired it hundreds of times at the firing range
—
something he and his dad had done together on Saturday mornings.
“
Don
’
t point that thing at me,
”
Tink spat.
“
Where
’
d you get the gun, Humph?
”
Collin asked, eyeing the weapon warily.
“
Found it in some dead dude
’
s satchel in one of the railcars. And don
’
t call me that, Sticks.
”
“
You know how to use it? It
’
s not a toy
—”
“
You just don
’
t know when to shut up, Sticks. Any douchebag knows how to shoot a gun
…
you just point and pull the trigger.
”
Collin nearly jumped out of his skin when Humph suddenly fired off two rounds toward the back of the plane.
Kids shot up in their seats while others rushed in from the other cabin.
Bubba filled the bulkhead opening, looking ready to kill.
“
What
’
s all the mo-fo shootin
’
about?!
”
Humph smiled and blew onto the end of the pistol.
“
There
’
s a new sheriff in town, folks. I
’
ve got us covered.
”
“
And that
’
s two rounds lost that we might need. You
’
re truly an idiot, Humph,
”
Collin said, leaning forward
—
his right fist clenched so tight his knuckles looked white.
Humph turned the gun toward Collin and everyone went quiet. Collin kept his eyes on Humphrey
’
s face
—
his arrogant, condescending smile; his brooding hate-filled eyes.
“
Bro
…
you need to put that piece away. Sticks is right. There
’
s something out there and you takin
’
pot-shots in the plane is dumb-ass.
”
Bubba took a step forward, his towering hulk looking far more threatening than the gun held in Humphrey
’
s hand.
Humph continued to smile as he slid the Glock into the waistband at the back of his pants.
“
You might want to think about putting the safety on that weapon, Humph
…
unless you want to have two ass holes,
”
Collin said.
Humphrey laughed it off while pulling the Glock free and setting the safety. He replaced it back into his waistband and smiled over at Bubba. He held a fist out in front of himself.
“
It
’
s put away. We cool, man?
”
Bubba hesitated and then reluctantly bumped the outstretched fist with his own.
“
Yeah
…
sure
…
we cool.
”
“
Um
…
we need to eat,
”
Collin said, getting up out of the seat.
“
With auxiliary power going, we can start warming up some of the ready-made meals they offer folks in first class.
”
Collin entered the galley kitchen where three teen boys were leaning against the counter tops, blankets draped over their shoulders, and drinking from an assortment of little liquor bottles. Apparently someone
’
d said something funny because all three were laughing hysterically.
“
Hey, Frost, you come to party?
”
Clifford Bosh, the Lone Stars
’
high-scoring wide receiver, asked, holding up a small, unopened Smirnoff bottle. The other two, Owen Platt and Garry Hurst
—
both running backs
—
let their laughter subside as they brought their attention to Collin.
“
Maybe later. Hey, Hurst, let me get by you. I think there
’
s some ready-made meals in that cart behind you.
”
Hurst used a forearm to slide his collection of still-unopened bottles down the countertop and took a possessive position there. Collin found the top handle on the recessed cart and gave it a pull. It shook but didn
’
t come free.
“
Wait, you gotta unlatch it, man,
”
Owen said, leaning over to the red latch mechanism at the top of the cart. Unsteady on his feet, he needed several tries before the lever finally turned sideways, out of the way.
“
Thanks,
”
Collin said, rolling the refrigerated cart free and out into the galley. He opened the top drawer and found a row of foil-topped meal containers. He touched the first one.
“
Still cold.
”
It took him several minutes to figure out the controls for the row of top-mounted ovens. With the help of Clifford, Owen and Garry, they got the cold meals loaded into the ovens and the meal heating process started.
* * *
Collin ate with DiMaggio and Tink and several cheerleaders he didn
’
t know very well.
“
So what
’
s next?
”
DiMaggio asked, his mouth full of chateaubriand steak and gravy.
“
We can
’
t stay here forever.
”
Tami Drake said,
“
We
’
re going to need a change of clothes.
”
She and the other girls were wrapped in blankets.
“
You guys have pants on
…
we
’
re wearing miniskirts.
”
“
It
’
s not like we can pop down to Macy
’
s for a new wardrobe, Tami,
”
DiMaggio said.
“
There may be clothes below,
”
Collin said.
“
I
’
m guessing this plane was in the process of pre-boarding
…
I mean, it makes sense since the food carts were filled. You never know, we could check to see if they
’
d started loading luggage into the cargo section.
”
“
What we really need is another weapon,
”
DiMaggio said.
“
You saw it
…
Humph
’
s not going to give up his gun and he
’
s probably not the best person to protect us all
…”
Collin remembered seeing a diagram of the jetliner in the pilot
’
s manual. There was an access door in the rear galley at the back of the plane.
“
What do you say we do some exploring? Probably best not to mention where we
’
re going to Humph, or any of his friends.
”
Tina and Tami said they wanted to come with them.
“
Let
’
s make our way to the back of the plane
…
but let
’
s not go in a group,
”
Collin added.
“
I
’
ll meet you all there in a few minutes.
”
Collin was the first to stand and head down the stairs. He moved through the plane
’
s business, then economy, compartments. He was surprised when he entered the galley to see the ceiling drooping at least another foot. The weight of the passenger car on top of this portion of the plane
’
s fuselage was taking its toll. He figured it was only a matter of time before this section was flattened like a pancake.
Hunching over, he
’
d missed it earlier when he
’
d first entered the galley. There it was on the carpeted floor: a two- by three-foot door panel with an inset handle. Tami and Tink arrived together, followed by DiMaggio a minute later.
Collin tugged the metal ring out from the inset on the panel, turned it and pulled upward. The panel opened on its hinges. He swung the panel all the way back and the four of them stared down into the darkness. Cold air rose up from below, into the galley.
“
I
’
ll go first,
”
Collin said. He turned on his flashlight app, placing his iPhone between his teeth, and stepped onto the top step of the metal-wrung ladder. He tried not to think about what was below him, in the cold, dark, cargo hold. He descended into the hold, one cautious step at a time. By the time his feet hit the cargo compartment
’
s floor he already knew two things: one, there definitely was luggage there
—
two, the cargo doors were wide open.
Chapter 7
What looked to be a late model combine machine was pressed up against the outer hull of the jetliner, where the cargo doors once stood. Collin stepped closer and was able to see a myriad of other things packed in behind it, including an old, rusted-out Chevy Ranchero; a segment of a Ferris wheel; wide blades of a windmill; and the cab section of a fire truck.
Collin turned back to see Tink already going through a large Samsonite at the top of a heap of suitcases. She held up a pair of silk underpants and pulled them wide between her open arms.
“
Someone
’
s grandma is missing a parachute,
”
she exclaimed, closing the lid and moving on to another suitcase.
Collin turned and sidestepped past Tami Drake
’
s own five-foot-high stack of suitcases. DiMaggio had already torn into half the suitcases in his stack and had a separate pile of items set off to the side.
Collin went farther back in the compartment where there were larger items, including hooded golf bags, several sets of skis, and some oversized duffle bags. Right off the bat, Collin hit pay dirt. He found two long, one short, green and tan camo hard cases. Each was individually locked. He
’
d seen these types of cases before at the shooting range
—
often used by serious gun enthusiasts. As Collin continued to separate out the items in his stack, he found several cases that matched the other camo cases. He put them aside, in their own pile, and continued to seek what else could be of use.