Falling(2)

Bill inhaled sharply as though to speak, but couldn’t.

He looked down the plane to the closed cockpit door.

He was supposed to be on the other side.

Bill leapt over the flight attendant, sprinting down the aisle toward the front of the aircraft. He ran as fast as he could, but the door seemed to move farther away the faster he ran. All around him, people cried out, begging him to stop and help them. He kept running. The door kept moving farther and farther away. He closed his eyes.

His body slammed into the door without warning, his skull bashing against the impenetrable surface. His hands cradled his head as he stumbled backward. Woozy, he tried to think of how he could breach the sealed cockpit, but not a single idea came to mind. He pounded on the door until his fists went numb.

Hyperventilating, he stepped back to kick at it when he heard a click.

The door unlocked and cracked open. Bill rushed inside.

Buttons flashed red and amber warnings on nearly every surface in the cockpit. A loud, incessant alarm screeched, the shrill noise intensifying in the tiny space. He sat down in his seat on the left, the captain’s seat.

He struggled to focus on the display in front of him as the plane’s thrashing tossed the numbers about. Red followed him everywhere he looked. Every button, every knob, every display was screaming at him.

Through the window, the approaching ground loomed closer and closer.

Get to work, Bill ordered himself.

His hands stretched out in front of him.

Frozen.

Dammit, you’re the captain. You need to make a decision. You’re running out of time.

The alarms got louder. A robotic voice repeatedly commanded him to pull up.

“What about asymmetrical thrust?”

Bill turned his head. From the copilot’s seat his ten-year-old son, Scott, shrugged. He was wearing his solar system pajamas. His feet didn’t touch the ground.

“You could give that a try,” the boy added.

Bill looked back to his hands. His fingers refused to move. They just hung in the air.

“Fine, then. Do it the hard way. Dive and use speed to keep a straight line.”

He turned again to see his wife now reclined in the chair. Arms crossed, she gave him that smirk. The one she used when they both knew she was right. God, she was gorgeous.

Sweat dripped down his neck as he struggled to move and take action. But he remained paralyzed in fear. Terrified he would make the wrong call.

Carrie tucked her hair behind one ear as she leaned over, placing a hand on her husband’s knee.

“Bill. It’s time.”



* * *



He gasped for air as his body shot upright. Moonlight poured through the crack in the curtains to streak across the king-size bed. He scanned the room for the flashing warnings. He listened for the alarms, but heard only a neighbor’s dog barking outside.

Bill dropped his head in his hands with an exhale.

“Same one?” Carrie asked from the other side of the bed.

He nodded in the dark.





CHAPTER ONE


GIVING THE DUVET A SHAKE, Carrie smoothed the creases with her hand. A whiff of fresh-cut grass drew her glance to the open window. The neighbor across the street mopped his face with the bottom of his shirt before closing the trash can full of lawn clippings with a clunk. Dragging it into the backyard, he gave a wave to a passing car, the loud music fading as it drove on. Behind her, in the bathroom, the shower shut off.

Carrie left the room.

“Mom, can I go outside?”

Scott stood at the bottom of the stairs holding a remote control car.

“Where’s your—” Carrie said, making her way downstairs.

The baby crawled into the room, blowing wet raspberries as she went. Reaching her brother’s feet, Elise grabbed onto his shorts and pulled herself up to a stand, her little body jerking subtly as she tried to find balance.

“Okay, did you bring your dishes to the sink?”

“Yup.”

“Then you can, but only for ten minutes. Come back before your dad leaves, okay?”

The boy nodded and ran for the door.

“Nope,” Carrie called after him, placing Elise on her hip. “Shoes.”

The “whoops” baby ten years after the first kid had been overwhelming in the beginning. But as the family of three learned how to be four, Bill and Carrie realized the age gap meant big brother could do little things like watch-the-baby-while-I-get-dressed-and-make-the-bed. Things became more manageable after that.

Carrie was wiping the remnants of sweet potato and avocado off the high chair when she heard the front door open.

“Mom?” Scott hollered, a pinched alarm to his tone.

Hurrying around the corner, she found Scott staring up at a man she didn’t know. The stranger on the front porch wore a startled look, his hand frozen on its way to the doorbell.

“Hi,” Carrie said, shifting the baby to her other hip as she moved to place herself subtly between her son and the man. “Can I help you?”

“I’m with CalCom,” the man said. “You called about your internet?”

“Oh!” she exclaimed, opening the door wider. “Of course, come in.” Carrie cringed at her initial reaction, hoping the man hadn’t noticed. “Sorry. I’ve never had a repairman come on time, let alone early. Scott!” she yelled, her son pivoting at the end of the drive. “Ten minutes.”