The Remaining

01

Clicking of seatbelts, rustling of wrappers and kicks against the back of the seats. The plane to Australia had been in midair for almost four hours now, but not one student had taken the opportunity to rest. Jess was no exception to this. One hand was clutched tightly to her belt at all times as she glanced from left to right, then right to left. Take deep breaths, she kept reminding herself. Just a few more hours to go...

The seat beside Jess was taken by none other than her best friend, but she was propped up on her knees, ignoring all instructions to sit down and shut up. Jamie was her centre of attention, as well as the reason she was so giddy that day. A whole week with him sounded perfect, but for the moment, she had no other choice but to listen.

"Beth! Seatbelt, now."

Mr. Davis was one of the few kind teachers at St. Andrews, so even despite her usual stubborn attitude, Beth did as intructed.

Beside Jamie, was a more nerdy kid, but Jess knew little about him. His glasses were an easy target of torment for the rest of the school, but she saw the attraction in them, however, not so much when they hung at the tip of his nose. He was trying to engage in the conversation, but failed. Jamie always cut him off with a finger to his lips or a "shhh!"

"Ugh, tell me about it." Beth giggled- a poorly exaggerated giggle. It wasn't that funny, but in the midst of rolling her eyes, Jess was distracted by a boy racing past her, so quickly that her elbow slipped from her armrest.
Although she'd never really spoke to him before, she recognised him from at least one of her lessons. This time, his cheeks burnt a bright red, whilst sweat dripped from his brow. It became clear to her, and everyone else on the plane, the he was in a panic. Something was wrong with him, but all anyone could do was watch and wait.

"Get me off this plane, now!"

The boy's sudden outburst made most of the passengers jump, but Mr. Davis was first to get out of his seat, despite being told otherwise.

"Hey, what's the matter?" The teacher's voice was calm, the opposite to what everyone was currently feeling, and he had lost the "teacher tone".

"I said, get me off the plane!" The emergency hatch door was only a few inches out of his grip, but the teacher had managed to restrain him. To Jess, it seemed pointless. He could tug on that door handle to his heart'a content and it wouldn't open. Fascinating things, aeroplanes. She'd learnt about the air pressure in Science, which was when she remembered the kid. He was never one to cause a scene, in fact, he was more or less invisible.

Jess wasn't given long to dwell on the thought much longer as she felt the plane throw her forwards. It's normal, she told herself, but hostess' face said otherwise.

"Sir, please get back in your seat! Please!" She was begging both Mr. Davis and the kid who was now in a rage of fury, however none of them listened.

As Jess glanced around the plane again, she could see some kids wiping Coke Zero from their face or patting peanuts off their clothes- the aftermath of the jolt. Then the lights went out. In unison, they disappeared and high pitched squeals replaced them. Beth was one of them, it pierced through Jess and attracted more panic within her. Mr. Davis could be heard, once again, trying to calm everyone, and failing. Jess couldn't have been more terrified. One shaky hand stayed against the seatbelt and the other, even in the darkness, found Beth's.

As her stomach twisted and knotted inside her, Jess realised it wasn't due to her terror. The plane was going down.

|| I know how short the first chapter is, but meh... Also, I hate my cover and I'd like to see some more? ~Lib <3