The Dark Place In Your Mind II: More Strange Tales

The Plane

I've been an airport security officer for 10 years now. In my line of work I meet and see many strange and interesting people. Unfortunately in some cases, I meet dangerous people. I've seen about all there is to see, and foolishly thought that humans are what we should fear most. Last month, my understanding of what I should fear was shaken to the core.

Hanger #12 houses our planes that are not quite ready to fly. Most of these have some minor maintenance issues that have yet to be addressed, and some have been fixed but haven't undergone the inspections to be flight-ready. Anyway, it was at this very hangar that a maintenance worker reported hearing strange noises. The first time he heard an unidentified noise from outside the hangar. The second time, he was inside the hangar but not close enough to say what it was he heard. Apparently though, it was coming from inside one of the planes.

"It was loud, whatever it was." John said nervously. "Maybe in contrast to the quiet at the time, but I didn't imagine it. Out of nowhere, I heard what sounded like shouting from inside the plane."

"Actual voices this time?" I inquired.

"Yes."

The previous reports were laughed off as there was not a specific sound identified. It could be easily dismissed as anything...or nothing. When John came to me the second time, I thought he'd just been working too much. But now, with the same person reporting the same a third time, I had to acknowledge it as a pattern. And the more I thought about it, John was a straight shooter. But still, he could just be hearing things.

"Look, I know what I heard! I'm not crazy. Go check it out, please. There could be people squatting in there...or who else knows what? All I know is, I'm not spending another minute working on that plane until I know what keeps making noise in there."

His sincerity coupled with the possibility of some stowaway meant one thing...I was obliged to check. He hadn't made an official report because he knew how it sounded. Apparently, he felt comfortable enough with me to tell me about it. So I gave it some thought.

No one was working near him at the time, and it was dark outside. This meant a high likelihood of someone skulking around unnoticed, and if it was someone's idea of some ridiculous prank, we still had to take unauthorized personnel seriously. So I consoled him with a pat on the shoulder and told him I'd take a look.

"Oh, and tell somebody to fix the damn heat in there while you're at it!" He shouted after me as I walked away. I gave him a dismissive wave and left. He was generally grouchy and probably annoyed that I wasn't taking him too seriously until now. He was most likely yapping his jaw to let out his frustration.

Walking into the housing area, I did get sort of a spooky vibe. This was set out further from the bustle of the airport's main hub. Hangar 12 was near the back, with woods bordering most of the fenced area. In fact the closer I got to the hangar, the more I felt unsettled. The atmosphere combined with a possible intruder started making me feel on edge, and I gripped my flashlight tighter in my hand as I walked into the hangar.

"Hello?" I called, met with no reply. I methodically worked my way to the plane John heard the noise coming from, and called out once again. No reply. I looked down and saw the set of tools John was using, which looked as if he discarded them rather quickly.

The clunk of my boots echoed loudly as I ascended the stairs, and I laid my palm against the holster of my firearm.

As I stepped into the fuselage, I immediately felt my body tense at the drop in temperature. John wasn't badgering me, it really was freezing in here. It didn't make any sense though...there was no temperature regulation in here. There was only A/C in the hangar, and it felt fairly warm before I set foot inside the plane.