Turbulence

 Prologue

Anything mundane, can turn the ordinary, into extraordinary. It's when we get fixated, chaos reigns.

Chapter One

Mel was boarding her plane to go home when her phone pinged. Travis sent her a message saying she had a package on the porch. He was at work, but their video alarm system had alerted him. 

Slightly confused, she saw the picture of the big cardboard box. She quickly sent back a message, "I didn't order anything, did you?"

When the ‘no’ reply came back, she chewed her bottom lip, wondering what it was. He wouldn't get off of work until after she landed. He would meet her there to pick her up before going home.

Great, she thought, now I will be obsessing over what it can be. She had OCD, something she was seeing a therapist about.

Buckling herself in, she sighed deeply. The person who was at the window seat beside her was an overweight man with the worst body odor she had ever smelled. Grimacing, and trying to scoot as far away from him as she could, she took her phone to study the picture, only stopping long enough for takeoff. Takeoff and landing were the worst for her since she was prone to migraines. Once the plane was in the air, the pressure leveled off.

The man sitting next to her nudged her arm. She looked at him in surprise. He pointed to the steward looking down at her. He had been trying to take her order, but she was lost in thought.

Shaking her head that she didn't need anything, or more than likely couldn't stomach anything with the stench, so the phone came back out.  She looked at the screen again with her lip between her teeth. It was a decent sized box. It could be Travis playing  a joke on her, but she didn't think he would do something that cruel. 

Why? Why then? She couldn't keep those thoughts out of her mind. Realizing when she could taste blood that she was still chewing on her lip, she quickly poked her tongue out and licked the blood away. Turning her head as she was doing this, the man beside her was staring with what she was pretty sure was lust all over his face. 

She threw up a little in her mouth. Besides the fact that she was married, his being overweight she didn't have an issue with, but not showering, that was a big fat no. Turning her head around quickly, she let her mind drift again.

Remembering the detective series she had just watched the night before, she looked at the box again in a different way. She could see a few different angles, but there didn't seem to be any address labels. It didn't say where it came from. Who would just drop off a box to someone's porch unless it was something nefarious?

Oh god, she thought, what if it's a bomb!

As soon as that thought hit her, the plane started to shake. The Captain's voice came overhead telling passengers to buckle their seat belts., tThey had hit a patch of turbulence. 

She was so frightened. Her mind created horrible scenarios, including the plane shaking because of a bomb as opposed to the violent waves of air it actually was. 

That's it! They are trying to kill me on the plane, and take Travis out at home with the device in the box.

Her mind was so chaotic, she didn't notice the disruption in the air had stopped and they were flying smoothly. 

Chapter Two

The passenger beside her was concerned she looked so pale. He patted her on the arm, remembering his first time with turbulence. It scared the bejeezus out of him. Plus, his sweaty body couldn't smell good. He was at work welding when he received the call. His son was in a life -threatening car accident and he needed to get there as soon as possible. He either had to take this flight quickly or wait nine more hours, which his son may not have. 

She looked at the man and let out a blood curdling scream. He looked at her like she had three heads. "I didn’t mean to frighten you, I was only concerned that you were so pale."

She looked unconvinced. In the meantime, several people had seen the exchange so when the stewards came to check on her, he walked with them to the front. Explaining his situation first, he then explained what happened since the plane took off. They would be flying for three more hours. As the staff looked at each other, they grinned and nodded. 

"Mr. Daniels, we are going to move you to first class. We have an extra seat, and you will have plenty of room to lay down and maybe get a nap."

The tears in his eyes said it all. "Please check on her, though. I think something is wrong." The stewardess nodded her head, while her counterpart led him to first class. She gave him a towel and bar of soap so he could clean up a bit and change his t-shirt. By the time he came back, he had a steak dinner waiting for him. 

The stewardess came back. "We wanted to make sure you had a good meal, also."

"I appreciate this so much, but why are you all so kind?"

She looked at him sadly. "I just lost my daughter two months ago to a drunk driver. Burying your child is something a parent should never do." Patting him on the arm, she walked back through to the other side.

Chapter Three

She was so thankful they moved him away. He made her really nervous. She never liked a window seat, which was good, since it smelled like rotten trash. 

As she looked around, she realized everyone was staring at her. Were they all in on it? Her mind was trying to comprehend how she could be caught up in a conspiracy. But then, she remembered a news program a week ago that showed people who have no idea about any trouble, are the ones who are targeted. 

Oh no, what if Travis is targeted? Or worse, involved? She couldn't fathom that thought. Please don't- 

The plane started shaking again. This patch of turbulence was worse than before. She didn't have her seat belt on and smacked her head. 

She saw the terrorists with their machine guns behind her bushes at home. They were waiting for her to open the box. She'd already taken a bomb off of their car at the airport. Spotting it as she put her luggage in the trunk, she threw it in a 32 gallon drum, then sealed the lid tight. The satisfying boom inside the drum made her feel like a mastermind.

"Mel, Mel."

Someone was shaking her, trying to wake her up. Sitting up, she wondered if she'd been kidnapped. Opening one eye, she saw it was the staff of the plane. Even the pilot. If he wasn't flying, wait, did that mean they had been hijacked?

"Why aren't you flying?" she whispered to the captain.

"We have landed. You passed out when you hit your head," he explained, smiling gently at her. 

"No!" she insisted. "Someone attacked me."

"I saw you hit your head ma'am."

She looked at the steward. Could she be mistaken? Or is he in on it? Either way, she needed to get off of this plane. They helped her stand, and the med tech walked her through the airport. She saw Travis and walked quickly to him.

The flight attendant explained what happened. Travis thanked him when she glanced over to see the man who was sitting beside her. 

A young woman was running to him in tears. He held his arms out. She could hear the girl saying, "Daddy, I'm so sorry. They couldn't save him. He died an hour ago." They both broke into sobs. 

Travis was pulling her arm to get her out to the car in the lot. She only had the carry on so there was no luggage to retrieve. Keeping alert for any threats, she moved mechanically, but kept going.

When they arrived at the car, she bent down to look at the bottom of the car for any signs of a bomb. Travis had a peculiar look on his face. 

"Mel, why are you crawling on the ground?"

She mumbled, "Looking for something. Can you open the trunk... slowly?"

He shook his head, clearly aggravated with her, but opened it so they could leave. She looked all around the exterior, then climbed inside the trunk, pulling at all the carpet in the car.

"Mel, I don't know what or how much alcohol you consumed, but if you don't get out of that trunk now and stop acting like looney tunes, I swear to you I'm going to shut you in there and drive you to the psych ward." He was beyond angry at this point. He'd been working all day, was exhausted, and now she was playing some weird ass game. 

She peered out at him. Slowly she nodded, then got out. Walking around to the passenger seat, he stopped her. "Get in the back seat, please." She was now convinced he was a part of this. 

Hitting her head must've done something to her. He wasn't sure she wouldn't jump out of the car when he was driving, so he made her sit in the back with child safety locks. When they got home, he would phone her doctor. 

Chapter Four 

Travis was worried now. She was acting so bizarre; he wasn't sure he shouldn't take her to the hospital right away.

She took in the landscape as they drove closer and closer to the box. Her adrenaline was pumping, her heart racing. 

Travis pulled in front of their house, smiling when he saw the neighbors labrador retriever jumping after the butterflies in the bush. Glancing at the box on the porch, he had forgotten it was there. Maybe that will cheer her up, or at least make her normal again, he thought, shaking his head. 

She instantly saw the box, then noticed the bush had movement in it. She was positive she could hear the clicking of a timer counting down. 

As he went to open the door, her breathing became erratic. Her eyes widened in fear and pain. She grabbed her chest and slumped over.

By the time the paramedics arrived, it was too late to revive her. They said it was probably a pulmonary embolism from flying. 

His eyes were red and swollen when his parents arrived. Mel's were already gone. 

His mother was cleaning, not because it needed it, but because she needed to do something. She looked out at the porch with sadness, then said to her husband, "She didn't even get to see the box full of afghans I made for her."