CHAPTER 6 - PREVIEW
“The world is not only stranger than we imagine, it is stranger than we can imagine.” - JBS Haldane
Friday 5th, Aviemore, Scotland.
The twin engine prop plane buffeted like a fragile leaf in the eye of the storm. Lightning stabbed at the charged air outside the fuselage and shrieks from at least one passenger could be heard every few seconds. The faces of all those on the plane were drawn taught in varying degrees of terror, with hands either clenched in fear together with those of loved ones seated nearby, or gripped white-knuckled onto the sides of seats - all but one passenger, that is.
The face of the teen was unassuming apart from slight smile curling up the corners of his mouth. His eyes widened in wonder as he peered out the window into the darkness beyond, gasping as lightning arched through the night sky. The 14-year-old was on his own, no parent to hold his hand and keep him calm. The cabin attendant who was keeping an eye on this unaccompanied minor had already noted which passengers were likely to need more attention in the event of an emergency, and this boy was definitely not one of them.
His name was Luca McIntyre and he was used to travelling alone - in fact, he preferred it that way. Neither of Luca’s parents liked to travel with him due to the fact that extreme weather seemed to follow him around. Last year, during the holiday break, they had ended up flying through what could only reasonably be described as a valley full of tornedoes, unusual in that they appeared to come out of nowhere and disappeared just as quickly and, while not causing any damage to the plane, very nearly caused Luca’s dad to have a heart attack. On landing safely, they quietly but firmly stated to Luca that he would have to fly back on his own, an announcement which Luca happily accepted.
This flight, then, was one of many that he had enjoyed by himself and, as usual, was as thrilling as ever. He closed his eyes all the better to appreciate the low growl of thunder which slowly gathered force, rattling the plane until it felt as if it must fall apart - and then he opened his eyes just in time (always in time) to see the inevitable lightning strike, which hit the wing directly outside his window seat and blazed the entire length of the wing. Suddenly, Luca felt hungry and he realised for the first time that with all the excitement the cabin crew had been unable to serve dinner.
Just as suddenly as the storm had appeared, it abruptly stopped, the silence in the plane almost deafening after the hour of unceasing onslaught from the elements. Luca quickly pressed the cabin crew sign above his head and waited. After what seemed like an eternity, a very bleary-eyed hostess appeared next to his row of seats.
“Yes?” she whispered hoarsely.“Are you all right?”
After an hour of being thrown around, even the most hardy of travellers was feeling queasy and she was already scrabbling for the unused sick bag on the back of the seat in case he needed it.
“I was wondering when dinner would be served? I’m quite hungry,” Luca stated simply.
The attendant stared at Luca incredulously for a moment but then said, “Maybe I can get you a soft drink while you’re waiting? We’ve got a bit of cleaning up to do before we can organise food.”
Luca smiled. “Yes, that would be great, thank you.”
The hostess smiled weakly and put the airline bag away before turning around and making her way down the aisle to the galley at the end of the plane. In her path lay absolute devastation: passengers’ hand luggage had escaped from overhead lockers or from under seats and there was the unmistakable smell of vomit in the air.
Luca appeared oblivious to the wreckage around him and, ignoring the passenger next to him who was bathed in a liberal layer of sweat, began rifling through his bag for the snacks his mum had packed. Making short work of a chicken sandwich, he craned his neck between the gap in the seats in front to see if the hostess had made any progress. He pressed the button again and when the flustered woman finally made an appearance, he enquired expectantly about his drink.
“We have a small problem with the front galley; the door appears to be jammed behind the trolleys,” she stated impatiently, but then, seeing the boy’s crestfallen expression, “I will try to get you something before we land,” she said more softly, wondering why the boy seemed not in the least disturbed by what had happened and seemed almost apologetic, as if the storm were his fault.
Three hours later, Luca’s parents watched the news item on their TV screen. A reporter was talking about a flight between Heathrow and Edinburgh which had experienced “unusual electrical interference” during the flight and although the plane had landed safely and all passengers were unhurt, there were those who vowed categorically that they would never fly again. They watched silently as the tableau unfolded and could only feel sympathy as first distraught passengers and then crew were interviewed. The pilot could not understand how their plane had experienced such extreme atmospheric fluctuations without having literally been torn apart - a statement which, no doubt, the airline would play down in the next update.
Not in focus but still in shot, a teenager could be seen walking off the plane, looking relaxed and seemingly oblivious to his fellow passengers’ distress. Luca’s parents turned to look at their son, now sitting, watching intently, next to them on the couch.
“I’m sorry,” he blurted out. “I didn’t mean to frighten anyone - you know that it’s safe.”
Luca’s father, Ben, cleared his throat before saying to his son,“We know that it’s safe, Luca, but even your mother and I won’t fly with you. All of those people, including the pilot, it seems, thought they were going to die. You’ve got to be more careful...” he trailed off as he looked at the tears springing into Luca’s eyes. More gently, he went on, “…and you don’t want to attract too much attention. One day, someone is going to put two and two together and we’ll all be in trouble.”
Friday 5th, Aviemore, Scotland.
The twin engine prop plane buffeted like a fragile leaf in the eye of the storm. Lightning stabbed at the charged air outside the fuselage and shrieks from at least one passenger could be heard every few seconds. The faces of all those on the plane were drawn taught in varying degrees of terror, with hands either clenched in fear together with those of loved ones seated nearby, or gripped white-knuckled onto the sides of seats - all but one passenger, that is.
The face of the teen was unassuming apart from slight smile curling up the corners of his mouth. His eyes widened in wonder as he peered out the window into the darkness beyond, gasping as lightning arched through the night sky. The 14-year-old was on his own, no parent to hold his hand and keep him calm. The cabin attendant who was keeping an eye on this unaccompanied minor had already noted which passengers were likely to need more attention in the event of an emergency, and this boy was definitely not one of them.
His name was Luca McIntyre and he was used to travelling alone - in fact, he preferred it that way. Neither of Luca’s parents liked to travel with him due to the fact that extreme weather seemed to follow him around. Last year, during the holiday break, they had ended up flying through what could only reasonably be described as a valley full of tornedoes, unusual in that they appeared to come out of nowhere and disappeared just as quickly and, while not causing any damage to the plane, very nearly caused Luca’s dad to have a heart attack. On landing safely, they quietly but firmly stated to Luca that he would have to fly back on his own, an announcement which Luca happily accepted.
This flight, then, was one of many that he had enjoyed by himself and, as usual, was as thrilling as ever. He closed his eyes all the better to appreciate the low growl of thunder which slowly gathered force, rattling the plane until it felt as if it must fall apart - and then he opened his eyes just in time (always in time) to see the inevitable lightning strike, which hit the wing directly outside his window seat and blazed the entire length of the wing. Suddenly, Luca felt hungry and he realised for the first time that with all the excitement the cabin crew had been unable to serve dinner.
Just as suddenly as the storm had appeared, it abruptly stopped, the silence in the plane almost deafening after the hour of unceasing onslaught from the elements. Luca quickly pressed the cabin crew sign above his head and waited. After what seemed like an eternity, a very bleary-eyed hostess appeared next to his row of seats.
“Yes?” she whispered hoarsely.“Are you all right?”
After an hour of being thrown around, even the most hardy of travellers was feeling queasy and she was already scrabbling for the unused sick bag on the back of the seat in case he needed it.
“I was wondering when dinner would be served? I’m quite hungry,” Luca stated simply.
The attendant stared at Luca incredulously for a moment but then said, “Maybe I can get you a soft drink while you’re waiting? We’ve got a bit of cleaning up to do before we can organise food.”
Luca smiled. “Yes, that would be great, thank you.”
The hostess smiled weakly and put the airline bag away before turning around and making her way down the aisle to the galley at the end of the plane. In her path lay absolute devastation: passengers’ hand luggage had escaped from overhead lockers or from under seats and there was the unmistakable smell of vomit in the air.
Luca appeared oblivious to the wreckage around him and, ignoring the passenger next to him who was bathed in a liberal layer of sweat, began rifling through his bag for the snacks his mum had packed. Making short work of a chicken sandwich, he craned his neck between the gap in the seats in front to see if the hostess had made any progress. He pressed the button again and when the flustered woman finally made an appearance, he enquired expectantly about his drink.
“We have a small problem with the front galley; the door appears to be jammed behind the trolleys,” she stated impatiently, but then, seeing the boy’s crestfallen expression, “I will try to get you something before we land,” she said more softly, wondering why the boy seemed not in the least disturbed by what had happened and seemed almost apologetic, as if the storm were his fault.
Three hours later, Luca’s parents watched the news item on their TV screen. A reporter was talking about a flight between Heathrow and Edinburgh which had experienced “unusual electrical interference” during the flight and although the plane had landed safely and all passengers were unhurt, there were those who vowed categorically that they would never fly again. They watched silently as the tableau unfolded and could only feel sympathy as first distraught passengers and then crew were interviewed. The pilot could not understand how their plane had experienced such extreme atmospheric fluctuations without having literally been torn apart - a statement which, no doubt, the airline would play down in the next update.
Not in focus but still in shot, a teenager could be seen walking off the plane, looking relaxed and seemingly oblivious to his fellow passengers’ distress. Luca’s parents turned to look at their son, now sitting, watching intently, next to them on the couch.
“I’m sorry,” he blurted out. “I didn’t mean to frighten anyone - you know that it’s safe.”
Luca’s father, Ben, cleared his throat before saying to his son,“We know that it’s safe, Luca, but even your mother and I won’t fly with you. All of those people, including the pilot, it seems, thought they were going to die. You’ve got to be more careful...” he trailed off as he looked at the tears springing into Luca’s eyes. More gently, he went on, “…and you don’t want to attract too much attention. One day, someone is going to put two and two together and we’ll all be in trouble.”
