The Way the Wind Blows (Third Entry)

Epilogue

ID: Whitfield, Noah

Status: Alive, Normal

Location: Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport

Date and Time: September 16th, 3:18 pm

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The flight from St.Louis to Dallas went smoother than expected. We landed earlier than predicted, and it seemed that none of us minded getting off the long plane ride. 

When it was our turn to exit the plane, Natsuki stood up and stretched as I reached for our bags. 

"Well, I would definitely love to do this again soon." 

I smiled as I handed the bag to her. "I'm glad you enjoyed it." 

In the back of my head, I couldn't help but wonder if we would get the opportunity to fly again. With the disease continuing to spread, airports would most likely be shut down along with most other forms of travel. 

We walked down the corridor until we stepped foot into the large airport. I watched people bustling to their gates and others walking with their families or significant others. As we walked toward the baggage claim, Jacob tapped my arm. 

"You ordered that Uber to take us home, right?" 

I nodded. "Yeah, I did. He should be here in a few minutes. I gave him the address to your house." 

"Wow, this thing is huge," Sayori said in surprise. "So the bags come out of that tunnel?" 

"That's right," Jacob said. "People load them onto a conveyor belt from the plane we rode on and it comes out through here." 

"That's cool," Natsuki stated. 

A few seconds later, a buzzer sounded and the belt started to move. Bags began to emerge from the tunnel, and I noticed a bright purple bag that looked to be Yuri's heading in our direction. 

"When it comes to you, go ahead and grab it," Jacob said. 

Yuri stepped forward and tried to pick up her bag, but something was holding it stuck. She almost fell into the conveyor belt, but Jacob and I caught her. 

She was clearly flustered, but the bag continued to travel along the belt. I started to go after it, but a man reached over and tugged on it a couple of times before it broke free. He set it on its wheels and handed it to me. 

I gave him an appreciative smile. "Thank you so much! I think the wheel was stuck." 

He smiled just as big. "It's alright, young man. Take care of yourself." 

The man gave me one more smile before rolling his suitcase toward the exit. I took a deep breath and returned to the group when I saw that my bag was slowly making its way to me. 

I'm not sure what came over me at that moment. As I was staring at the bag, static started to fill my vision and it held me in place as if I was in a trance. A faint voice was calling for me, but the static toned them out. 

"Noah!" Natsuki's voice finally called, breaking me out of my trance. I turned to look at her, my breath running short. 

The group was giving me a concerned look along with some other people who happened to be nearby. I swallowed my embarrassment and turned back to get my bag, but it was nowhere to be found. 

"I picked it up for you," Jacob said, rolling it to me. "Are you okay?" 

I grabbed the handle and hesitantly nodded. "Yeah, I think so."