The Alien Agenda (#Wattys2018)

[Chapter 34: The Countdown Begins]

4 months 10 days 12 hours 36 seconds

"Elias, I stopped asking about the reason behind the places you travel to. I enjoy the excitement. Don't worry," our pilot Mr. Jeffry Henderson, said with a laugh.

He was a man in his early forties, and seemed to have a veteran look, as well as a keen eye for adventure. Definitely Uncle Elias's pilot.

Uncle Elias gave him a relieved smile. It was amazing enough that Mr. Jeffry did not ask us a single question on why we were travelling to the part of the Atlantic Ocean which would cause a large amount of turbulence, and of course we had no place to land.

He did not question but he warned us of the dangers.

I bit my tongue to hold back from saying that the dangers to come would only affect him, not us. But I was still hoping for the best, that we would get to the island properly before any of us are thrown off the jet.

The jet had only four seats, besides the cockpit. I sat on the seat on the second row, Axel taking up the one beside me. I gave him a nervous smile as we made eye contact. I was surprised to see him not smile back. Instead, his expression was grim.

I guess he was even more worried than I was.

Buckling our seatbelts, I took a deep breath. The jet lifted off the runway, and we were soon soaring in the air, headed for the lost city of Atlantis.
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We began experiencing turbulence three quarters through our journey. There was no land in sight, all we could see was the vast blue Atlantic Ocean spread out before us.

I heard rattling noises coming from outside the jet. The vessel was rocking in an uncomfortable manner, and the closer we got, I swore that my bottom was hardly on the seat.

Mr. Jeffry signalled that this would be when the turbulence would start getting worse. He would get us as far as he could.

The winds got stronger, and I saw the sky darken. The last thing we needed was a storm. But of course nature did not consider our needs. With the rain beating down on the jet, and the wind howling and rattling it, I did not think it would get any worse.

Then came the repulsion.

It first felt like a gentle push, but later on it became more and more significant. It felt like a magnetic repulsive force.

Everytime we tried to push forward, we would be thrown back.

"I don't think we can go any further!" Mr Jeffry exclaimed from the cockpit.

Uncle Elias gave me a worried glance. I clutched the armrest as another throw lurched me forward. Nevertheless, I insisted that we had to push forward.

I did not know how I was going to signal the Greys down in Atlantis, that it was me entering the force field.

Mr Jeffry brought us forward one last time, before we were flung back with an enormous force. The force was so strong it did a number on our aircraft.

It rocked so hard, my head slammed onto the window. My vision swam, but I held on to my consciousness. I turned to see Uncle Elias and Axel not in a better condition. I saw Mr. Jeffery pressing various buttons and flicking switches, trying to get the jet back in control.

Then a final blow hit us, and I felt the air leave my lungs. My ears popped and I felt my body defy gravity. I finally realised we were tumbling from the sky. The engines were failing and I had a strong feeling that one of the wings was seriously damaged, judging by the way we were falling.

I glanced at the cockpit to see Mr. Jeffry slumped on controls. Without a moment of hesitation, and despite the unstable condition of the jet, I unbuckled my seatbelt and made my way over to the cockpit.

My vision swam, and my heart was throbbing up my throat. My legs wobbled and I slammed myself several times on the walls of the jet, trying to reach the cockpit.

"Laila! What are you doing?!" I heard Uncle Elias cry from behind me.

I ignored him and gripped onto the pilot's seat, steadying myself. I felt hot, sticky liquid trail down the side of my head, and rolling down my cheek.

Blood.

I was not breathing properly, and the pressure was starting to suffocate me. Nevertheless I focused all my energy on trying to relay a message to the inhabitants of Atlantis.

My breathing became shallow, and my body was racked in pain. I tried to ignore the pain, and reach into the depths of my mind.

I did not have time to dive into my subconscious and travel in the realm of blue strings. I needed to send them a signal, fast.

I clenched my teeth, my body trembling. While gripping the seat as if my life depended on it-which it did- a thin blue string of light appeared before my eyes, shooting from the centre of my head straight out of the jet and disappearing into the thick, gray clouds before us.

My heart was pounding in my ears, I had no time to register what was happening. But the next thing I knew, was that the jet abruptly stopped it's thrashing and tumbling descend.

Everything suddenly became still. Too still in fact.

Black spots slowly invaded my vision, and my arms finally gave way. I dropped onto the floor of the cockpit, struggling to stay conscious.

The last I saw were bright blue lights piercing through the windows, illuminating the jet.