"Heads down! Arms front!" The mantra shouted repeatedly by the flight attendant was starting to get strained and cracked, then grew quieter and almost to herself. Aside the fluctuating engine noise from the engines as the pilots feathered the throttles, the cabin was eerily quiet, Kim noticed. There were a few sniffles sprinkled with quiet Oh My God's, and Ashley was mumbling something in what Kim guessed was more than one language. Whatever it was, she didn't understand the words.
Kim for her part was quietly content. Her inner thoughts were amused at the oddity of that. In occasional nightmares, she was hysterical, running and screaming toward or from whatever threatened her slumber. Kim had always figured that's how she'd react in reality. But now that she was in a real nightmare, she felt that she had reconciled things with Ashley, and Ashley was at her side. This was as good a place and time as any for it to all end. That is, as long as it was quick.
"As long as it's quick," she breathed her last words before the left side wheels skipped down the pavement of the runway.
* * *
"What is with you Jill?" her cheer partner, Ken, asked. "It's like trying to balance a sack of corn up there."
She glanced again at her sorority section, and still four of her friends were missing. "They should have been here by now. Something must have happened," she frowned.
"Yeah, they're probably hung over like the rest of the student section," Ken retorted. He was in a foul mood, frustrated at the open spaces in front of them. Usually for a rival game, the stadium was packed a couple of hours ahead of the kickoff, but this year was CBS's turn for the game. ABC would have moved the game to prime time given the high ranking of both schools this year. But for some reason, CBS went the other way to an 11:30 start, meaning the louder and more rowdy students were still sleeping it off. Ken surmised that CBS had the SEC in their pocket, and the move in kickoff time was done to benefit the visiting Gators. It didn't help matters that their team also seemed to be sleeping in, as they were currently getting trounced.
The cheerleaders were divided in half so they could cover both sides of the stadium, moving counter-clockwise between cheers. The co-captain stopped their group to do a "Scalp 'Em" cheer.
"You don't understand," Jill continued as they started walking again. "Ashley and Kim are flying back from Atlanta this morning."
An off-duty deputy working field security nearby overheard that. "Did you say Atlanta? A call came over the radio that a plane from Atlanta is in trouble."
Jill's eyes went wide open. "But they're gonna be okay, right?"
FSU got a rare third down stop and the quiet crowd kicked up a few decibels. "They were sending twelve of our units to the airport, that's all I know," the deputy called into her ear with a shrug.
"Oh my God." Jill started shaking then sprinted along the retaining wall, heading for their bench on the opposite corner. She just had to reach her phone. Ken was close on her heels. With fumbling fingers, she swiped the lockout bar, but there were no texts nor any missed call notifications.
"They'll be here," he said while putting an arm around her shoulder. "Come on, let's rejoin our squad so you won't overthink it, okay?" he coaxed while gently guiding her away from their bench.
On the way back, she paused at the deputy, making him promise to give her updates when he saw her come around again. It usually takes them about 45 minutes to make a circuit around the stadium, but the 'Noles seemed to finally wake up. They were leading cheers more frequently now, and it seemed that every three minutes, Ken would hoist her to sit on his shoulder to do the first down cheer. And then the crowd started yelling, followed by a large roar. Jill groaned as she clenched her pom poms tighter, rightly expecting Ken's hands to grab her waist from behind. She halfheartedly bounced to give him an assist, and heard him grunt as she was lifted up to his shoulder just when the band fired up. The good guys had finally scored, but the last thing she wanted was another delay in seeing the deputy again.
Two quick turnovers were turned into scores, and when the crowd roared at the second one, Jill moaned "Fuck me!" She affected her now-habit perma-grin for the TV camera to take yet another shot up her skirt, but Ken grunted "Fuck it!" before the expected red light came on and pulled Jill toward the wall with him. She almost didn't notice his arms were still bulging from the previous exertions, or that he was practically panting to catch his breath. The celebration cheering ended and the co-captain came over with the others to ask what was wrong. The guys and gals gave her a group hug after she explained her fears, and the co-captain told the pair to sit out the halftime performance.
Now temporarily freed from her obligations, Jill strode the perimeter of the field to find the deputy. She was somewhat surprised that Ken tagged along. "You're my partner" was all he said when she asked why. Hopeful for good news, she found her news source, but her heart fell as she saw his shoulders heave in a heavy sigh when they made eye contact.
"The plane crashed," he told her. "The only other information I know is that they transported two females to the hospital in critical condition. I'm sorry."
A sharp chill went through her. "But what about the others?" she stammered.
"I'm sorry. I don't know."
"The two...how old?" Jill asked, praying against hope for an answer that matched her wish.
"Thirty something, not sure...hey...whoa!" He and Ken had to grab her since her knees had buckled. "Okay sweetie, okay. Put your nose between your knees," he said as they set her down on one of the back Gator benches.
He looked at Ken and Ken explained that she was expecting two of her best friends on a flight from Atlanta. Ken rubbed her back gently as she bent forward and sobbed. A team doctor from UF strode over and the deputy explained simply that she received very bad news and nearly passed out. He nodded, went away briefly and returned with a squirt bottle of water.
Handing the mascot emblazoned container to Ken he said, "I know it's not y'all's colors, but it's a clean, new one. Try to get her to sip some." He was genuinely thanked by Ken and then continued, "If she needs to go somewhere, my car's at the gate with the other doctors'. Let me know and I'll have one of our equipment managers take her," he offered before returning to his team duties. Jill finally took her first sip after much encouragement from the deputy and Ken. The officer stayed a while, but a scuffle broke out between two drunk guys in his section and he hopped the wall to take care of it. They did not see him again that afternoon. About mid way through the halftime show, Jill felt strong enough to make it back to their own bench.
There she checked her phone, already knowing in her heart that it didn't hold any answers. She straddled the bench and put the phone down between her legs, waiting for the dreaded call from Joe or Jasmine. Ken sat facing her and opened his arms. Her head fell forward and she allowed him to cradle it against his shoulder while she alternated between heavy sighs and deep sobs. Looking back later on, it surprised her that when she did, she faced him instead of facing away. Their teammates stopped by for water and to check on her, but Ken just shook his head slightly. They would move off, most felt deep pangs of empathy, while the others who knew Ashley felt the same fear and uncertainty Jill did, but to a lesser degree. For Jill, an eternity seemed to tick by.
Suddenly, she realized Ken had said something and it was aimed at her.
