Cope

“Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Marian and I am your chief flight attendant today. On behalf of the entire crew, welcome aboard American Airlines flight 108, non-stop service from Los Angeles to Auckland, New Zealand.” She took a breath, flashing the passengers a winning smile before returning her attention to the microphone.

“Our flight time will be approximately twelve hours. We will be flying at an altitude of 40,000 feet at a ground speed of 560 miles per hour,” she gestured to the monitor in the central row, which showed a colourful animation that showed the aircraft taking off and ascending to cruising altitude.

“At this time, make sure your seat backs and tray tables are in their full upright position. Please be sure your seat belt is correctly fastened. Also, we advise you that as of this moment, any electronic equipment must be turned off and, thank you for joining us on our brand spanking new 787’s maiden flight.” The passengers cheered at this, Marian couldn’t help but grin as she made her way to the staff compartment.

Marian took a seat as the automated safety instructions began broadcasting throughout the plane, checking her seat’s own emergency equipment as they were listed. As she was finishing her routine, another flight attendant sat down next to her and repeated the movements.

“Pretty exciting isn’t it?” The attendant asked, Marian glanced briefly at her nametag which read ‘Victoria’.

Marian nodded, “especially after all the problems they’ve had with these planes, I’m glad they’ve finally got something right.”

They both laughed quietly between themselves as the plane began to gain momentum, powerful jet turbines screaming into life as it tore down the runway, a joyous shout could be heard from the cockpit as the plane lurched skywards, ascending into the heavens. Marian sat back and pulled out a well-read book as she waited for the plane to finish it’s ascent, a task that would take roughly twenty minutes.

DONG

Marian flinched as the speaker overhead announced to the crew that the aircraft was leveling out. She hastily stashed her book away, unclipped her seatbelt and jumped to her feet, smoothing out the creases in her uniform before turning to face the other attendants.

“Alright ladies and gentlemen, lets do this. Another long flight ahead of us, we’re going to try our best to make it as uneventful as possible, Stan and Victoria, you’ll be handling first class. Anita, Louise and myself will have business, everyone else, you’ll be serving in economy.” One or two of the flight attendants frowned at this but said nothing, knowing better than to invoke Marian’s wrath. “As this is a new plane, you might not be familiar with the layout, reference charts are on the walls of each galley, be sure to use them.”

Marian checked her clipboard before nodding to the crowd, “that’s everything, if anyone has a problem, you know how to reach me. Enjoy the flight and best of luck.”

She picked up her headset at the crowd dispersed, stepping out from the staff compartment to face the business-class passengers, “hello again, ladies and gentlemen. The Captain has turned off the fasten seat belt sign and you may now move around the cabin. However, we always recommend to keep your seat belt fastened while you are seated. You may now also turn on your electronic devices such as game consoles, MP3 players and laptop computers.”

On cue, several passengers hurriedly got up and began digging around in the overhead compartments in search of various pieces of luggage.

She watched them as they rushed to get lost once again in their digital worlds, "in a few moments, the flight attendants will be passing around the cabin to offer you hot or cold drinks. Alcoholic drinks are also available with our compliments. Now, sit back, relax and enjoy the flight. Thank you for once again choosing American Airlines.”

Attendants began pushing trolleys down each aisle of the aircraft as she finished her announcement, offering the passengers drinks as they arrived at each row of seats. Marian grinned, the day was beginning flawlessly. She stepped back into the staff compartment and knocked on the cockpit door.

“Open up boys, Aunt Marian want’s to chat,” she called through the reinforced door. She heard someone inside laugh as the lock was drawn back.

She feigned her best scowl as the door swung open, raising an eyebrow as she was greeted by one of the flight engineers. He cringed, stepping out of the way in a hurry to allow her access.

“Morning boys, I hope that wasn’t about me.”

The co-pilot grinned as he turned around in his seat, “we wouldn’t dream of it Maria, how are things back there?”

She shrugged dismissively, “the usual. Quiet bunch, heads in their computers,” she looked out the windshield and frowned. “Please tell me you’re not going to fly over that thing.”

She pointed to a large black cloud formation ahead of them, directly below their flightpath. It glowed brilliant blue for a moment as lightning lit the clouds from within.

“Eh,” the co-pilot followed her gaze, “it’s just a baby, we’re high enough to avoid the worst of it. Although... we could hop along the the top of it if you’re feeling really uncomfortable.”

Marian stuck out her hand, a rolled up magazine was promptly placed in her grasp by one of the flight engineers.

“Forget I said anything!” The co-pilot cried, shying away from her as she swatted him across the back of the head.

Marian grinned as he turned around to face the controls, arms held high in defeat, “I’ll see you boys shortly, after we’re clear of that minefield,” she turned and walked out the door, back into the staff compartment.

She pressed a button on her headset which allowed her to talk to attendants only, “alright guys, we’re going to be flying over a nasty storm, might be a bit of a shake but once we’re clear of it, it should be smooth sailing the rest of the way.”

The plane rocked slightly as she finished talking. From the other side of the curtain, she heard a loud string of cursing. Sighing heavily, she once again smoothed her uniform flat and stepped out from behind the curtain to see a man sitting in the first row who had spilled his drink down his lap.

She approached him with a gentle smile, “sir, is there anything I could help you with?” She asked, immediately adding him to a mental list of people she did not like; he was an overly large but well kept man, dressed in a loose fitting blue suit which now bore a dark wet patch where his coffee had been spilt.

“I could think of a dozen things but none of them are going to get this fucking stain out of my pants,” he growled without looking up, flicking his coffee drenched hands in mid-air, pelting Marian’s skirt with tiny black droplets.

Her eye twitched as she struggled to maintain her smile, “you stay right there sir, I’ll get you some napkins.” She ducked under the curtain that separated the cabin from staff compartment and rubbed her temples, maybe it wasn’t going to be such a smooth flight after all.

As she reached for the napkins, her ears twitched. Behind the curtain the passenger grumbled, “stupid bitch, what’s taking her so long?”

Her hand passed over a bottle of Big Jim’s Stain Remover/i] but she lowered it looked at the box of napkins in her grasp, ‘oh no, I’m taking much too long for that,’ she thought, stepping out into the cabin once again.

“Here you are sir, sorry for taking so long.”

The passenger grunted in response. He snatched the napkins from her hands and began rubbing at his sodden leggings, Marian couldn’t help the motherly thoughts passing through her head, ‘dab it, don’t rub it. You’ll only make it worst’.

She was about to ask if he needed anything else when to both her relief and dismay, the fasten seat belt light came on as a chime rang through the plane. Moments later, the aircraft began to shake violently. Marian struggled to stay on her feet as she made her way back through the curtain and into the staff compartment, behind her the coffee-stained passenger swore loudly as the remainder of his drink reminded him of it’s presence.

Speakers throughout the plane burst into life, “ladies and gentlemen, this is your Captain speaking. We’ve encountered a little bit of turbulence and would much appreciate it, if you could at this time fasten your seatbelts and stow away any insecure possessions. We’ll be through the worst of it in a minute or so, and it should be happy flying from there onwards. Thank you.”

Marian groaned as the plane continued to shake, she hated turbulence; it was David to her Goliath. She looked up as another attendant sat down opposite her, looking a little green.

Without warning, the oxygen masks dropped from the ceiling and the speakers crackled to life once again. “Apologies ladies and gentlemen, feel free to push the masks aside for the time being, these new jets have hair-trigger response systems,” the Captain laughed over the loudspeakers, “not that that’s a bad thing!”

Through the speakers, Marian could hear sirens screaming. Something wasn’t right. She unclipped her belt and stood up, bracing herself against another crew member as the plane continued to rock violently.

“I’m going to find out what’s going on,” she declared, ducking under the curtain and heading to the cabin, using the plush first-class armchairs as support. She banged on the cockpit door, holding tight to a nearby handrail.

“It’s Marian, open up.” The heavy door swung open revealing a red-lit cockpit. She stepped inside, closing the door behind her. “Fill me in guys,” she called over the din of the sirens.

A flight engineer pointed out the windshield as an inhuman scream filled the air; a sound not too dissimilar from the sound of straining metal. She looked out the window, eyes wide at what she saw. All around the aircraft was a writhing purple-black sea of what she could only think of as liquid lightning.

“Sir!” The flight engineer called as a new alarm screamed into life, “we just lost all control left and right primary ailerons, we’re losing fuel and hydraulic pressure from both wings.”

The Captain swore, “seal off whatever the systems allow, we’ll have to turn back and land on the continent.” He flicked a switch on the dash, “ladies and gentlemen, we’ve encountered a minor technical difficulty and will have to return to continental USA. Once we’ve landed, you will be transferred to another plane to our destination-”

The Captain was cut off as the cockpit was suddenly filled with a robotic voice, joined by an obnoxiously loud klaxon.

TOO LOW, TERRAIN. TOO LOW, TERRAIN, TOO LOW, TERRAIN

Outside the cockpit, the ‘lightning’ faded, revealing a clear, cloudless sky.

“HOLY... SHIT!” The Captain and co-pilot yelled in unison.

The aircraft screamed through the air, suddenly no higher than a hundred feet off the ground. The Captain and co-pilot each pulled back as hard as possible on their respective yokes, “it’s no use Captain!” The co-pilot yelled, “we’ve lost hydraulics!”

In response, the Captain slammed the throttle all the way to zero. Outside, the turbines coughed and spluttered, starved of fuel and power.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” he called over the radio, “if you would kindly... put on your masks and brace for impact... I’d uh, much appreciate it. If you haven’t fastened your seat belt yet, may god have mercy on your soul.”

Ahead of them and fast approaching, stood a tall structure of glass and steel with a large, bright red cross painted across the face of the building.

“Aw hell,” the Captain groaned, “we can’t crash into a hospital. That’s seven flavours of wrong. Ed, pull back as hard as you can on the count of three and don’t let go whatever you do. We’ve still got manual control, it’ll just be a bitch to move. Marian, engies, give us a hand.”

The co-pilot, Ed, nodded and the rest of the crew in the cockpit raced to assist them.

“One...”

“Two...”

“Three... PULL!”

They pulled back on the stubborn yokes as hard as they could, adrenaline surging through their veins with their last ditch effort. Inch by inch, the nose of the plane began to rise. However, it was not fast enough.

“BRACE!” The Captain yelled.

Marian screamed as the plane shuddered violent, the world around the cockpit dissolving in a storm of brilliant fire as everything went black.