The Reign of the Lost (ON HOLD)

Chapter 1.6

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''Hey, what time is it?'' asked Alia, she had one headphone in her ear and the other out.

''It has been approximately seven hours and thirteen minutes since we left england. So we have around forty-seven minutes until we arrive at Hong Kong.'' answered Eddie from beside her.

''Great'' she said sarcastically, this plane journey was taking forever. She reached into her handbag and took out the black cardigan she had brought with her and put it on; it was getting cold. She put her headphone back in her ear and looked out of the window. It was dark outside. She looked to see if there were any lights below. There was nothing it was all pitch black, so black she wondered whether there was something blocking the window.

Alia closed her eyes and tried to sleep but she couldn't. She looked around the plane, pretty much everyone else was sleeping. She closed her eyes, again.

Just as she was about to sleep she heard a deep rumbling sound, she looked down to her stomach; she wasn't feeling hungry. Embarrased, she hoped no one else had heard it. She clutched her stomach and closed her eyes once more. She dreamt she was falling, only when she woke with a shock, she still was.

The plane was tilting to the left then right. Then she heard it again, the rumbling sound only it was more distinct and was followed by a flash of light and the sound of thunder striking.

By now everyone was awake and looking around. ''What the fuck?'' she heard someone mutter.

''What's going on?''.

The muttering turned to worried talking, and an elavated sense of fear had spread amongst the students.

They heard a sreeching sound surround them, which was followed by a female voice, telling them to remain calm, there had been a 'minor hiccup' and the journey would be a little longer as they would be changing route. She reminded, all passengers should stay in their seats. She informed them of the safety precautions around them such as the vests and belts.

For the next thirty minutes or so, the students quietly waited, the storm, although quieter, had not passed. Alia kept looking out of the window but was only met by the dark. For the first time since they met them, the HGS boys were quiet, very quiet.

Although the fear had spread to everyone, the optimistic pretense that 'they'd be fine', was still observed by some. That is until the amber lights around the walls, that no one knew existed, began flashing and a sharp, 'bip bip... bip bip...' sounded every two seconds.

Another announcement, from the now more shrilly sounding voice, told them that the fuel was running low and so they would make an emergency landing at the next possible clearing. They were reminded that they should all remain calm.

Alia and her friends followed the actions of the others by pulling the string that was above them, to release an orange vest, which they wore. A few people began outwardley panicking, like Collin, a small blonde boy you'd never guess was 16, who kept repeating 'We're gonna die.' and then hyperventilating and breathing into a paper bag.

The plane was becoming increasingly shakey, the 'bip bip' now a background noise to the stirring storm outside which was getting worse.

All of a sudden the plane shook, everyone screamed and held on to their seats as the plane was tilted forwards, then back again.

Another paced and shakey announcement; '' Due to the weather conditions, it is not possible to see a clear landing, we are now lowering the plane'', the telecom didn't cut and they heard the pilot swearing.

Alia felt she was in some sort of stupor and couldn't quite comprehend what was happening, it was all a daze. She turned to Samar, who had tears flowing down her cheeks, but her expression remained stiffly scared. Alia heard someone being sick from behind her, only this time he wasn't attended to. She herself, felt a lump in her throat, but ignored it as best she could.

The next thing she knew, she was holding onto Samar for dear life, as the plane shook more violently than ever. There was a loud 'CLANG', followed by another and as the plane tipped forward the tail and the right side of the plane tore apart from he rest of the plane. She heard deafening screams all around her, and she could feel the unforgiving wind on her face. She shut her eyes as tight as she could and hunched her body forwards.

The last thing she remembered was trying to recall a dua. Between whimpered sobs she whispered, 'Inna Lillaahi Wa Inna Ilayhi Raaji'oon'.

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