There was a buzzing in the air—an excitement, a tension. It always happens like that, doesn't it? A trip meant to be memorable for all the right reasons. But fate has a way of shifting the ground beneath your feet, just when you least expect it. For them, it began in the air.
The turbulence started as a soft rumble, the kind of vibration you feel through the armrest of the seat, the kind you tell yourself is normal. Just part of flying. The group of students was scattered across the cabin, some still chattering about their upcoming adventure, others dozing off to the gentle hum of the engines. Excitement hung in the air like static.
Jake leaned back in his seat, earbuds half-in, his head bobbing lightly to the music. Across the aisle, Mia was flipping through a travel guide, her brow furrowed in concentration. She was always the planner, the one who had to know every detail. Even now, she was likely memorizing landmarks and potential hiking routes.
Two rows ahead, Raj was making conversation with Sarah—well, attempting to, anyway. Sarah wasn't much for talking. She kept her responses short, occasionally glancing out the window at the rolling clouds beneath them.
"I'm just saying, it's gonna be wild," Raj grinned, throwing a look back toward Jake, who gave him a half-hearted thumbs-up in return. "This is like the one trip you'll tell your kids about."
"Yeah, maybe," Sarah muttered, her voice barely audible over the increasing hum of the plane.
A sudden jolt interrupted their small talk. The plane shook, more violently this time. The seatbelt signs flickered on with a sharp ping. Nervous glances darted around the cabin. Jake pulled out his earbuds.
"Was that...?" Mia asked, trailing off as she peered down the aisle toward the flight attendants.
Another jolt, harder this time. The plane lurched to the side, sending a few gasps through the passengers. Outside the windows, the once peaceful clouds had turned dark, ominous. Lightning flickered somewhere in the distance.
"We're probably just going through a storm," Jake said, though even he didn't seem entirely convinced.
The PA system crackled to life, but the voice that came through wasn't the usual calm reassurance. It was strained, urgent.
"Passengers, please remain seated and fasten your seatbelts immediately. We are experiencing—"
The plane dropped, plummeting sharply as a deafening roar filled the cabin. Overhead bins popped open, luggage and personal items tumbling into the aisle. Screams echoed around them.
Raj gripped the armrests, his knuckles white. "Holy sh—"
The lights flickered, and for a brief second, the entire plane was bathed in darkness. Another drop. This one felt like it would never stop. The oxygen masks deployed, dangling lifelessly from above. Panic swept through the cabin as the passengers scrambled to grab them.
"Put it on!" Mia screamed, fumbling with her mask, hands shaking.
Jake tried to focus, pulling the mask over his face, struggling to breathe through the overwhelming noise, the fear, the sense of impending doom. Another violent shake threw him sideways, slamming his shoulder into the window. He could barely see outside now—the world beyond was a blur of storm clouds and chaos.
The engines screamed louder, but something was wrong. The sound was different now—deeper, more guttural. A groaning noise that cut through everything. Something was tearing apart.
Then, silence. A dead, oppressive silence. It lasted less than a second, but it felt like an eternity.
And then the plane fell.
***
Jake awoke to a sound he couldn't place. A steady hum, maybe, or was it a ringing? His head felt heavy, his thoughts sluggish as if they had been submerged in murky water. His chest rose and fell, each breath shallow and aching. He blinked slowly, the world swimming into focus. It was dark—darker than it should be. His fingers curled against something cold and damp.
The smell hit him next—earthy, wet, with a metallic tang that made his stomach lurch. For a moment, he couldn't remember. Where he was, how he got here. Then the fragments of memory slammed into him. The plane. The storm. The drop. Jake gasped, sitting upright. Pain exploded through his ribs, and he collapsed back onto the ground with a groan. His hand instinctively went to his side, where something sticky clung to his shirt. Blood. He was bleeding.
He forced his eyes open again, straining to make sense of the darkness. There were shapes around him—vague silhouettes of debris, twisted metal, and shattered glass. The air was thick with dust and smoke, a haze that blurred everything into shadow. The wreckage. It wasn't a dream. A soft groan came from his left.
Jake turned, squinting through the dim light. Mia was lying nearby, her face pale, her arm bent at an odd angle. "Mia!" His voice cracked, barely more than a whisper. He crawled over, wincing with every movement. His head spun as he reached her, gently shaking her shoulder.
"Mia, wake up." She stirred, her eyelids fluttering open. "Jake...?" Her voice was weak, but she was alive. Relief flooded him, even as the panic clawed at the edges of his mind. "We—" he began, but his throat closed up. What was there to say? They were alive, but for how long? Mia tried to sit up but winced in pain, her good arm clutching her side. "What... what happened? Where is everyone?"
Jake glanced around again, but it was hard to tell where the rest of their group had landed. The plane had torn apart, and it seemed like they had been thrown into a thick forest. Jagged pieces of the fuselage stuck out from the earth like the remains of a monstrous skeleton.
Luggage and debris were scattered everywhere, and the eerie quiet of the aftermath was broken only by the occasional creak of shifting metal. "I don't know," Jake said. His voice was hoarse, his mind racing. "But we have to move. There could be... fire, or—" A scream.
Far off, but distinct, cutting through the silence like a blade. Both Jake and Mia froze, their eyes wide. "Was that...?" Mia whispered, panic rising in her voice. Jake stood, his legs wobbling beneath him. His chest hurt like hell, but there wasn't time to think about it. "We have to find the others."
Another scream, closer this time. Jake's pulse quickened. That scream didn't sound like someone calling for help—it sounded like someone in terror. "Mia, come on." He grabbed her arm gently, helping her to her feet. She was limping, and every movement seemed to send a wave of pain through her, but she didn't argue.
The two of them stumbled through the wreckage, stepping over suitcases, debris, and the occasional body—Jake forced himself to look away. They rounded a jagged piece of the plane's frame, and that's when they saw it.
Raj was crouched next to Sarah's body. Her lifeless eyes stared up at the sky, blood pooling around her head. Raj's hands were covered in it, shaking uncontrollably. "No, no, no... this isn't... I didn't—" he mumbled, his voice breaking. Tears streaked his face, mixing with the dirt and blood smeared across his cheeks. "She's gone. She's gone, man." Jake swallowed the rising bile in his throat, his mind refusing to accept the reality in front of him. Sarah had been right there, alive, just minutes ago.
And now... Mia gasped, covering her mouth with her good hand. "Oh my God..." Raj looked up, his eyes wide with terror, his breath coming in rapid, shallow bursts. "I couldn't... I couldn't save her. She... she was just there, and then..." Jake knelt beside him, gripping his shoulder. "Raj. Raj, listen to me. We need to get out of here. Now." "I can't leave her," Raj whimpered. "I can't."
Another sound broke through the night air—this time, not a scream. A low, guttural growl. It rumbled from somewhere deep in the forest, vibrating through the ground beneath their feet.
Jake's blood ran cold. "What the hell was that?" Mia's eyes darted toward the treeline, her voice barely a whisper. "We need to go. Now." The growl came again, closer this time. Something was out there. Watching. Waiting. Jake pulled Raj to his feet, his mind racing. "We can't stay here." None of them argued.
They moved as quickly as their battered bodies would allow, stumbling through the trees, away from the wreckage. Away from whatever was lurking just beyond the shadows. But even as they ran, Jake couldn't shake the feeling that they weren't running fast enough. That whatever was out there wasn't just hunting them. It was playing with them.
---
The Curator steps back into the frame, his voice low, a hint of amusement in his tone.
"Ah, the thrill of the chase. There's something so... primal about it, don't you think? A test of wills. A question of who will falter first—the predator or the prey. But in this little game, there are no clear rules. No boundaries. Just fear, clawing at the back of your mind. And the knowledge that you can never truly escape."