Failure

"What's the matter?" Jasmine asked someone, but no one in particular.

"Not sure, Ma'am, but I can't get through to them."

"What do you mean you can't get through?" She snapped, coming up behind him. He straightened his back, wary of her. "Try again."

-----

At the Hotel,

Ian just lay in bed when his phone beeped, but he just ignored it, he felt too sleepy to check it.

-----

"The first engine failed." Jace announced disheartened.

"What do you mean the first engine failed?" Derrick's tone was panicked. "How is that possible?"

They had the Jet repeatedly assessed and had found nothing at all out of place at that time.

Just what the heck was going on?

He let out an exasperated breath

"We have to get to Barleion immediately. Have you informed the passengers?"

"Certainly have." He said with pursed lips. His anxiety was so much, he could give only curt replies.

Derrick sat, doing everything in his power to stay on the safe side. "Tell them to fasten their seatbelts."

Jace went and came back just to meet Derrick literally shivering. He didn't wait for long to know the reason.

"The second engine failed." And his heart went cold. His blood froze and turned to ice in his veins. The main fact, they were going to die. Just what exactly was happening?! "We're practically, almost out of fuel. I don't know what is happening, but all our electronics are failing." He clamped his mouth in a thin, taut line, tension building on his forehead.

Jace walked mechanically to his chair, trying to be of help in anyway, until the fuel gauge shone red. They were out of fuel. His heart plummeted to his stomach and he looked helplessly at Derrick who looked as terrified as he did.

Barleion was nowhere in sight and they had precisely 10 minutes before they lost altitude. They would surely die.

If anything, Jace loved to be practical.

In a shaky voice, he offered a prayer of thanks and forgiveness and acceptance.

He found Derrick flipping all the buttons when he opened his eyes, trying desperately to find a way out of this precarious situation.

Jace shrugged when their eyes met.

Derrick stopped. This was the most unprecedented event in his life. Failure was not something he was used to. He was a person who liked perfection. Nothing but perfection. And in one of the most important events of his life, he was failing, and badly.

"What about our passengers?" Jace asked, wanting to inform them. He lifted his shoulder with a little smile. "Who knows? God might accept their last prayers." He knew there were sinful people in there and they needed it. Like Laura Lorins.

Derrick shot him a look. "I'll go tell them. You wait here."

He slumped on the chair and rested his head on the headrest with his hand entwined beneath it, thinking about a lot of things. His family, friends, colleagues and that nurse he was crushing on. He closed his eyes. It really didn't matter though, Jace just wanted to... Out of the blues, he thought he heard movement. The air moving. He couldn't be sure because they switched the room to sound proof. He opened his eyes, sat upright, and looked out the window. He didn't see anything. Maybe he just felt the urge to be saved that he started imagining things. He slumped back in his chair, disappointed and perplexed.

The door burst open with Derrick emerging from it, his face glowing. He was too excited to speak, so he took deep breaths, fanning his red face with his hands.

When he calmed down a bit, he said, "they sent a jet. The company sent a Jet!" He clamped his hands together and gave a little jump with his legs still stuck to the ground. For a moment, Jace thought of him as gay. Though he was too excited, he couldn't speak more. His face was already red from the want of air after saying such few things. Maybe he didn't get enough air in his excited state.

Jace's spirit soared to the sky. It seemed life was breathed into him. He was momentarily shocked, left to just stare blankly at Derrick until he told him to hurry to get on board before the plane lost altitude. Now, that might be a Herculean task.

He got up quickly and dashed out of the control room. The Jet was there, hovering in the Sky with leisure, but remained close; to prevent any accident. The door was open and the breeze blew the hair to their faces, making it difficult to see for a while. He found a lot of people were already on board as he managed to peer through the airy night.

Laura was shouting, but her noise was absorbed by the violent wind. Jace rolled his eyes. In one swift motion, he dragged her into the Jet with him, Derrick right behind them. Someone got him a hot towel, but he waved him away not ready for that. Laura sunk to her feet, taking him down with her. She breathed a sigh of relief as she muttered a prayer of thanks, but a different kind of thanks, with the same prayer point. They were safe. The jet started moving and minutes later, he was looking down to a splash of ferocious fire in the background, far beneath him.

Danielle sighed before she grabbed a hot towel and went to Laura with it. She pried her hands off him, while Dana came to hold the other side. Though she did 'not'want to, her life had literally flashed before her eyes. How close she had come to losing it, felt the evil hands of death clasping her tightly, pulling her down with it and right now, she couldn't believe they were alive.

"What harm would it cost to practice some charity in case of the next time?" She asked no one particularly.

Danielle shot her a brief look. "You're planning for a next time?"

"Who knows?" Dana replied, lifting Laura to her feet with a frown. "And why is she acting like she was the only one that nearly died?"

Danielle tipped up a brow. "As you said, Actor. Plus, remind me never to get in a Plane with you."

Dana punched her on the arm, chuckling.

Jace walked to the control room to meet Derrick who wanted to make up for the previous failure by flying them to safety, after downing a can of water.

He could hear someone slapping Derrick on the back. "You guys are lucky, man." Derrick just laughed out loud.

At least he could laugh now.