1 Chapter 1

I was wrenched from my slumber by a sharp jolt.

In the first hazy seconds, when consciousness remains wrapped in the filmy remnants of dreams, I heard a scream and realised the whole plane was shuddering violently. The scene inside the small cabin was surreal. I looked about at the other passengers, observing various expressions of fear, from mild alarm to sheer terror.

“What’s happening?” I asked.

I leaned over Walt, the man sitting next to me, catching only glimpses of the clouds racing past the window as the Cessna Citation V tilted and bounced its way through them like some giant demented bird.

“We’re gonna die,” he blubbered. “We’re gonna die.”

I sat back in my seat.

“No, we’re not,” I mumbled.

Suddenly the plane lurched forward. My head smacked against the back of the seat in front of me. Automatically my hand went up to my nose. No blood. I put my seat belt on and turned again to the window to see the clouds whizzing by, but this time in an upwards direction as we plunged through them.

I turned to Walt. “Where are the life jackets?”

He looked at me as though he hadn’t understood what I’d said. His expression was grim, as I suspected mine was. Without a word of reply he undid his seat belt and leaned forward. His arms disappeared between his legs and I remembered we’d been told at the commencement of the flight where the jackets were kept.

I undid my seat belt and felt about beneath the seat until my hand came to rest on a large bundle wrapped tightly in plastic. I pulled the package out and tore at the plastic, shredding it until I was able to free the bright yellow jacket within. Still being shaken like a tropical cocktail, I managed to slip the inflatable vest over my head and fasten the straps. All the while my ears were filled with the sound of a woman screaming, her hysterics grating on me and producing a deep frown on my face. I twisted around in my seat.

“Shut up!” I yelled at her. “Just shut the fuck up!”

It wasn’t like me to be so aggressive, so confrontational. As I was shouting at her to shut up, I felt as though someone else, or something else, had taken me over, and was working through me. Or perhaps it was just my reaction to the situation.

A well-tanned man with a three-day growth sitting next to her glared at me over the back of the seat in front of him.

“She’s terrified, arsehole!”

“Screaming isn’t going to help!” I snapped.

I settled back in my seat and refastened my seat belt, letting my head fall against the headrest. I closed my eyes.

“Please, please, please,” I mouthed. Having no religious beliefs I didn’t know what else to say. I figured the universe would see my situation and know what I meant. “Please, please, please.”

Despite the hysterical screaming I became aware the engines had stopped. That could only mean we were now in freefall. I gripped the arm of my seat as my eyes brimmed with tears. I felt a spreading warmth between my legs. I was pissing my pants, but I was unconcerned about so trivial a thing in the face of what was happening. This was finally it. I was going to die. It was an overwhelming, almost stupefying, feeling. It was incomprehensible that in a few brief minutes I would no longer exist. My body knew it though. My chest became constricted. It was getting more and more difficult to breathe. I felt the acrid taste of vomit bite the back of my throat and I only just managed to swallow it back before it spilled out of my mouth and onto my sweat-soaked shirt.

I felt Walt grip my hand. I opened my eyes and saw his wide eyes staring straight ahead. I didn’t know whether he’d assumed he had hold of the armrest or whether he really did need the comfort of another human being, either way it didn’t matter.

An almighty crash exploded in my ears as the plane hit the water. I think I screamed, or began to. I felt something hit me on the forehead a split second before everything went black.

* * * *

I didn’t know how long I’d been out for when I opened my eyes. For a few seconds I was unaware of where I was or what had happened. The cabin was dark. I looked around the gloom and saw everybody else slumped in their seats, or hanging over the arm rests into the aisle, eyes closed and motionless. The plane was slowly filling with water and I knew I had to find a way out. I undid my seat belt and stood as best I could, the motion setting off a sharp throb in my temples. I squinted, looking down at Walt, who was either dead or unconscious, before scanning the rest of the cabin.