Parents pulled their children closer.
Couples reached for one another’s hands.
Passengers began searching the rows as though some hidden pilot might suddenly appear.
Laura slowly opened her eyes.
She recognized the tone in the captain’s voice.
Controlled.
Professional.
But underneath it was fear.
She had heard that tone before during emergencies thousands of feet above the ground.
A flight attendant hurried through the aisle, scanning faces.
Laura looked away.
She had promised herself she would never return to that life.
Never again would someone else’s survival depend on her decisions.
Then the flight attendant stopped beside her row.
“Excuse me, ma’am. Do you know if anyone sitting near you has military aviation experience? The captain urgently needs a military pilot.”
Laura glanced around.
She saw frightened families.
Children.
People trapped miles above an ocean with absolutely no control over what was happening.
For a moment, she remembered why she had walked away.
