David Atkins is trapped at the airport when his flight is grounded due to fog. He thinks he has found the perfect solution to his problems, but forgets that strange things can happen when it is Halloween on Witch Mountain.
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WARNING
! This warning is possibly not needed for this particular story, but I am including it because it is needed for most of my stories.
If you decide to read other of my stories make sure that you read the disclosures and warnings at the beginning of each story.
All of my writing is intended for adults over the age of 18
ONLY
. Stories may contain strong or even extreme sexual content. All people and events depicted are fictional and any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental. Actions, situations, and responses are fictional
ONLY
and should not be attempted in real life.
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David Atkins stirred in his sleep and lazily almost opened his eyes. The steady thrum of the aircraft engines was such a lulling sound. Then it hit him. Jet engines don't thrum, they purr. He came fully awake with a start and looked frantically around. If his seat belt hadn't been holding him tightly in the seat, he would probably have jumped to his feet. He stared out the window at the silver wing and the two rapidly spinning propellers. The wing was straight and shaped differently from what he normally saw. It looked more like something from an old movie.
"Am I still dreaming?" he asked himself aloud. Then he closed his eyes and tried to remember. His flight had been cancelled. ALL flights had been cancelled or delayed. The airport was totally fogged in. One plane, too low on fuel to continue on to a fourth alternate, had been forced to land, but visibility on the ground was so bad that a ground support truck had to go out to the end of the runway and guide them to the terminal. A couple of small private planes had taken off. Evidently they could see well enough to find the end of the runway and could rely on their instruments to keep them on the right path up through the fog. But the few big planes already at the airport would not risk taking off through the fog. David was stuck at the airport.
David's flight wasn't technically cancelled. It was delayed. He could see his plane through the windows of the boarding lounge. It was right there. If the small planes could take off, why couldn't the big jets with their much fancier electronics do it? Emboldened by several trips to the bar, he loudly asked that question of the harried agent staffing the boarding desk.
A pleasant sounding voice from behind him said, "Because there is no pilot alive who is willing to take off over Witch Mountain in the fog on Halloween."
Dave turned to face what was obviously one of the plane's pilots. Her copilot stood alongside her. They turned and faced the crowd. "Since it is my..." She paused and pointed to her copilot... "... our decision not to take off, I feel I owe you an explanation." She pointed out the window. "That is Witch Mountain out there, and with the terrain around us, there is no way we can take off from this airport without going over Witch Mountain."
The smile suddenly left her face. "There have been four major crashes out of this airport since it was built during World War Two. All were in the fog. All were into Witch Mountain. And ALL were on Halloween." She once again smiled. "I'm not superstitious by nature. The circumstances of these crashes are probably all just a coincidence, but I'm not willing to bet your lives on that. We will take off when the fog clears. ... Or, if it is still foggy in the morning, we will take off then. But I am not flying a planeload of people over Witch Mountain in the fog on Halloween night."
That's when the young woman-- a rich, spoiled young woman by the looks of her-- spoke up loudly. "Then I'll go find someone who has the balls to fly," she said loudly as she stormed out of the packed boarding area. David lifted his glass-- actually paper cup-- to her as she stomped away.
She was back a few moments later with a crowd of other young ladies. "I found a charter," she said loudly, "but we can't leave unless we have at least a dozen passengers. We just need one more. Is anyone willing to join us."
David didn't wait for anyone else to respond. He bolted upright and said, "Count me in." A tall, beautiful blonde also stood up and said, "Of course I'm coming." The gaggle of young ladies found that very funny for some reason.
In a way, David had no choice. If he wasn't at work tomorrow morning, he could kiss his job goodbye. Working for Druthers Industries wasn't the best job in the world, but it paid very well and it would be a good line on his resume when he moved on in a couple of years.
So he followed the group of young women down an older, dimly-lit hallway toward an equally dimly-lit old airplane gate. Obviously charter planes didn't get the same modern facilities as the major airlines.
Including David and the tall blonde and a petite Asian-looking stewardess, there were fourteen of them. David was the only male, but he didn't really think about that as he walked out onto the tarmac toward what looked like an older commuter airplane. The only thing he could think of was that he was finally getting a flight home. As they approached, a ramp lowered from the tail with steps up into the plane.
He must have fallen asleep as soon as the plane began to taxi because he didn't remember taking off. In fact, he didn't remember actually boarding the plane. The next thing in his memory was hearing the engines and looking out the window.
He shook his head as he tried to acclimate himself to his surroundings. He couldn't remember how he got a prime seat in the first row, but that was obviously where he was. There was nothing in front of him but the partition and door separating the cockpit from the rest of the plane.