Gods and Monsters

IV

Runway 2 - Heathrow Airport, London

The passengers had been held inside the plane while the airport staff waited for the police to arrive. No one knew for sure what had happened, but whispers began to emerge as the passengers noticed unfamiliar aspects of the setting. A whole new airport terminal was the obvious change in the environment, but others had noticed mobile phones were now pocket sized whilst the hair and fashion of the airport staff were drastically different when compared to the passengers own. They tried to remain calm, but after a number of hours simply waiting on the aeroplane, and with the cabin crew seemingly as confused as everyone else, some of the passengers began to get agitated.

As Mike and Atlin were escorted across the runway, Atlin asked Mike about the flight, and the intrigue surrounding it, having only been a child when the flight had disappeared.

"Oceanic Airlines Flight 616 went missing in the summer of '95 somewhere over western England. ATC never got any distress calls, and attempts to make contact were met with static." He began. "The search continued for weeks - months maybe - but nothing was ever found, not even some wreckage. Eventually it was decided to stop the search as no one wanted to put any more funding into a seemingly endless investigation."

"And then out of the blue, it lands here this morning. I take it Peggy's bringing Charlie along?"

Mike groaned at the thought of this. "Yeah, she texted me and said they'll be here shortly. I figured we'd have a root around the plane, chat with some of the passengers and then get Mr Occult to give us his theory." He said with just a hint of sarcasm.

The large Boeing 777 towered over the two officers as they exited their ride and began making their way up the metal steps to the plane where they were greeted by two pretty air hostesses, both still with beaming smiles although their eyes told a different story. Barged aside by the pilots as they harassed Mike and Atlin, the air hostesses went back to caring for the passengers who were beginning to become frustrated with the lack of action and explanation.

"Officers, I'm glad you're here. I hope you can help solve this situation swiftly." The pilot said to Mike as they shook hands.

"There's an ongoing investigation here so you're all going to have to remain aboard the plane for now, but I assure you that once we get some answers we'll resolve this as soon as possible."

The pilot attempted to protest but neither detective was interested as they made their way to the passengers behind the curtain. An uproar of noise erupted as the passengers leapt from their seats, not dissimilar to a crowd at a rock concert. They were desperate for answers. Why had they been held on the plane with no communication, and what exactly had happened during the flight? All of the passengers except for one were screaming and shouting. Sitting in one of the window seats, a gentleman in his mid-thirties casually leant back and surveyed the airport from his limited view, seemingly nonplussed at the delay. Running his fingers through his hair – or lack thereof - he paid no attention to the commotion around him, as if he wasn't even aware of it at all.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I'm Detective Inspector Rigby and this is Detective Constable Eyre." Mike began, forced to raise his voice so he could be heard over the crowd, but they continued to roar with some of the passengers even rising from their seats. "If you can all remained seated while we conduct our investigation we will get you off this plane as soon as possible.

One of the passengers shot out of his chair and bounded down the aisle towards Mike and Atlin in his grey suit. "Hey, screw you two." He said in a thick New York accent. "You expect us to sit on our hands and just wait it out? Just let us know what's going on you assholes!"

Mike and Atlin attempted to settle the passenger as he continued to make his way up the aisle, shouting and screaming at this perceived injustice. The quiet man with the window seat finally moved, getting up from his seat and moving to the aisle, but instead of facing Mike and Atlin he turned to face the enraged customer hurtling towards them.