First Class Seating

Struggling to figure out just where I am, my eyes dart back and forth. The jolting of my surroundings rips me from the tranquility of my dreams. I am awakened by a very beautiful but panic stricken woman dressed in all blue. She is shaking me and glancing back and forth as I struggle to collect my wits. "Wake up, the plane is crashing!" I can hear her scream but the words seemed to be drowned out by another source coming from all around me. Rows of airplane seats and dangling oxygen masks bring me back to reality.

"Everyone is dead!" She kept screaming hysterically. The roar of the plane's engines and the terrible sound of metal bending and tearing sent my heart up into my throat. Sitting next to me is a balding business man dressed in tan. His eyes seemed fixated on me but after a moment I finally caught a glimpse of the sharp piece of debris that had impaled him straight through, most likely killing him instantly.

The woman begins shouting and tugging at he to move but fear has glued me to my seat. She shoves something into my hands and turns away. She struggles to move toward the back of the plane even though it is angling oddly downward. The terror has utterly taken hold as my heart began pounding like a hammer beating to get out of my chest. Looking down I can see what the flight attendant had put in my lap. The seeming simple task of pulling my hands off the armrests draws my senses to the gravity of my situation. Struggling with the buckle on the safety belt I manage to pull it away. The panic coursing through me was now causing my vision to fade back and forth as the plane rocked and then shuttered. Moments later I realize it's a parachute and the pounding in my chest lessens.

Forcing my body to move I struggle out of the seat and begin my way back towards the rear of the plane. The smell of burning metal and fuel stings my eyes. The plane shutters again, and I can feel its axis shifting left as its oposite side begins titling upward. At the back of the plane I can see the woman struggling with the door. Her hands are bloodied and shaking as I pull myself up to her. "The pilots are both dead," she begins yelling over the noise of the plane literally ripping itself apart. "Need need to get this door open and jump before or we're both dead." We stare at each other for what seems like an eternity before a loud explosion violently shakes the plane. The plane jerked momentarily before its starts spiraling downward. In that instant both of us were lifted into the air, seconds later the door next to us rips open tearing both out of the aircraft.

I open my eyes again to discover that I am falling. The sound of the air rushing all around me brings be back to life again. Staring up I can see the dark clouds just above me and off to my right the sun trying to peek through. If there was ever a time in my life that I was able to clear my mind of any and all thoughts, it was now. For a moment I was free. No thoughts just freedom.

Pulling myself away from the that dreamlike state I spun myself over and spread out my body to slow my fall. Everything looked so minute as I found myself hurdling towards the earth. An explosion rocks my senses again. From below me the plane erupted into a ball of fire. Its fuselage ripped into several pieces, each burning wildly and spiraling away from the other. Pieces of the plane scream pass me one after another, the heat of the metal still glowing. It was then that I felt something tugging at my side. Struggling to look over my shoulder I could see that one of those fiery pieces had pierced the side of my parachute. Ribbons of melted parachute fabric began unraveling from the pack. Seconds later the entire pack opened, jerking me upward but only for a moment. The parachute struggled to open then broke free, ripping and tearing away before disappearing from sight.

The finality of my situation hits me after a minute of struggling. I was meant to die on that plane. I should have died and now nothing can stop whats coming. Looking down I could see pieces of the plane explode as they one by one hit the ground. Large plots of land chopped up into dozens upon dozens of oddly shaped patterns filled my eyes as the ground drew closer. Off to my left was a huge sprawling forest canopy and a large brilliantly green body of water spreading off further with several rivers twisting and winding through the woods. The wind now seemed to howl louder and louder as the earth drew closer and closer. Again my fear of falling seemed to fade away. In fact there was no fear at all just that same overwhelming calm taking hold. If I could only stop time.

A huge crash knocked me to my senses once more. Clinging to me was the woman from the plane. She shouted and motioned for me grab onto her as we spun uncontrollably. I could almost feel the earth pulling us faster and faster as I finally locked my hands around her. Looking up I could see her blue eyes staring back. With a quick nod she pulled for her chute to open, lifting us upward.

The woman stifled a cry of pain as the weight from my body pulled at her. For a moment I thought she might break as the force of gravity nearly ripped the strength from my hands. Looking down I could see the light reflecting of the water below. The orange glow of lithium sunlight was nearly blinding as the ground approached. We were so close now and the taste of bile rose up in my mouth as my stomach spun and tumbled. I could hear her screaming again but it took a second for me to understand what she was shouting. As thrilled as I was to have her next to me, the fact was we were still descending too fast. I looked up at her briefly only to feel her lips kissing me. A second later she smiled and pulled free. She shot up and away as gravity yanked my body towards the water below.

Jolted with a force so massive, I found it impossible to fight back and waves of electricity shot through every nerve in my body. Greenish water filled my mouth and lungs. The initial the explosion tore at every part of me, but the pain quickly began to fade. Once again I could feel that peace settle into me, this time however the light began to fade from my eyes. I'm alone once again and light as a feather floating in a void of utter darkness. Off in the distance I can hear a familiar voice calling to me but the darkness has gripped me in its arms. I feel no pain. I feel nothing.

My slumber is interrupted with a violent shaking that yanks me from the void that held me. My eyes pop open and again and I can see the same woman pulling at my collar. Looking around I expect to see and feel the shore of the lake surrounding me, but strangely this is not the case. She slaps my face as I struggle regain my composure. "Wake up" she screams. "The plane is crashing!"