Poison Paradise - Damned of the 2/19th

Welcome to Paradise

The plane smelled of plastic, cleaner, and too many people crammed too close together. Sarah Hollings smiled brightly at the stewardess as she made her way down the aisle, checking her ticket quickly to make sure she had the right seat. Sarah smiled at the little boy bouncing up and down in his seat despite his mom's best efforts to get him to sit still long enough for her to buckle his seat belt.

Sarah found her seat quickly, sitting down, grateful that it was an aisle seat. She smiled at the man next to her, a well dressed businessman who nodded to her and went back to reading the magazine in his hand. Next to the window was a younger guy, who Sarah checked out quickly and then put out of her mind. He wasn't her type, too skinny, with dredlocks that let her know that his hair probably smelled bad.

The cabin was full of chatter, some people eager to take off, others talking to the people next to them, and still others grumbling about being put in such close proximity to the other passengers. The stewardesses moved back and forth, helping people get settled with smiles that seemed to Sarah to already be forced.

When the door closed people seemed to relax slightly, everyone knowing that it wouldn't be long until the plane would be lining up to take off. Non-stop, Seattle to Hawaii, the flight would be a long one, but Sarah couldn't wait to get there.

One of the stewardesses moved up to another one, talking quickly and quietly, before they both moved down the cabin, looking at people in the seats. They stopped at the seat in front of her, where only a single older man was sitting.

"Sir, I hate to bother you, but would you mind moving?" One asked.

"Why?" The man asked. Sarah couldn't blame him for sounding irritated. The last twenty minutes everyone had been waiting they'd spent getting comfortable and now the stewardesses wanted him to move?

"We have to... um.. load a late trio of passengers, and they need to sit together," The stewardess said quietly.

"How about upgrading me to First Class then?" The man said, somewhat eagerly.

The two stewardesses looked each other, and Sarah could see something pass between them.

"Fine, sir," one said. "If you'd get your luggage and follow us?"

Sarah watched as the man got his single suitcase from the overhead rack and followed the stewardesses toward the front of the cabin. Sarah felt a surge of jealousy as he left, idly wishing it was her.

After a few minutes one of the stewardesses opened the door, stepping back. Sarah watched as the woman looked startled, like someone had spoken to her, and took another step back. Sarah frowned, wondering what was going on, until the new passengers moved into the cabin.

The first was wearing a blue windbreaker with US MARSHAL on it. He looked over the cabin and the stewardess moved into the aisle, making a motion for the man to follow her. The second caught her eye and she found herself staring at him.

He was big, not huge, but definitely a big man. Six foot, built like a linebacker with wide shoulders and a thick neck. The left side of his face was scarred, his left eye covered by a black eyepatch, the corner of his mouth twisted by a thick scar that ran from the corner of his mouth, up to the side of his nose where it vanished under the eyepatch. He was dressed in military camouflage and Sarah could see that he had several patches on his chest. She didn't know what they meant, but she could read the US ARMY and STILLWATER A. on two of them.

Sarah noted that he started to look around the plane, his one green intent and focused, but the man behind him, a big man in a US MARSHAL windbreaker pushed him forward. She could see his shoulders tense for a moment, and wondered why one was slightly lower than the other.