LOST:
Silent Voyage
Prologue
"So It Begins"
The hum of the Boeing 777 engines reverberated to the passengers of Oceanic Flight 815, but with almost eight hours into the flight, Aden Walker was use to it all. His darkish brown eyes gazed out of the window beside him. Below them was an endless expanse of ocean, it seemed never ending. He let out a loud sigh, while loosening his red stripped tie. He had taken off his jacket earlier in the flight, and had rolled his sleeves up.
He glanced to the man who was sitting next to him, who seemed agitated with a flight attendant giving him the wrong kind of peanuts.
"I'm sorry sir, would you instead like a beverage?" The woman said in her lovely Australian accent. Aden could detect the hint of frustration in her voice though, but did try to hide it.
"What's your name, young lady?" The man asked.
"Sonya."
"Sonya? I'll remember to let customer service know how inconsiderate you have been. Thank you, that will be all." The man said rudely. Sonya, the flight attendant, gritted her teeth and turned down the aisle way, her dirty-blond hair swinging as she did so.
The man caught Aden's glance.
"Can you believe that? I don't think the service could get any worse." He said to Aden. It was the first thing he had said to him all flight. Why did he choose to talk to him now? Aden said nothing, only shrugging. The man stuck his hand out.
"Leslie Artz."
Aden glanced at the hand, and reluctantly gave him his own.
"Aden Walker. Pleasure to meet you." Aden said this, but was lying. This was the last thing he wanted, this jerk beside him to start talking his ear off for the rest of the trip. Aden shifted in his seat uncomfortably, once again turning to look out at the ocean.
"Sir, excuse me. Sir." A different flight attendant called out. Aden turned to see a couple of the flight attendants following a young man.
"Oh my. Could this trip get any worse?" Leslie asked. Just before Aden could reply, the plane shook of air turbulence. Aden took hold of the handle of his seat. This last one was most defiantly the worst they had encountered yet. Quickly after, Aden heard a ring over the intercom.
"Ladies and gentleman, the captain has switched on the fasten-seat belt sign. Please return to your seat and fasten your seatbelts."
Aden did as it said, and fastened his own seatbelt. He hated flying, and this didn't help one bit. The plane continued to shake from the turbulence. It seemed to get worse. Aden gulped. Why? Why did this have to happen? Aden thought as he gritted his teeth.
Suddenly people who weren't fastened down, shot into the air. The person ahead of Aden hit the ceiling with a loud thump. Aden reached for the chair in front of him, searching with his hands anything to grab hold of to hang on. It felt as if the plane was going down.
Screams of horror could be heard through-out the plane. Aden would have also lent his voice, but the shock from the situation he founded he couldn't even yell. They were going down, and fast. His heart began pumping faster and faster. This could possibly be the last few moments of his life.
From above the breathing masks popped out. Aden didn't let go of the chair to reach for it because he was paralyzed by fear. Logic was screaming for him to reach up and grab it, but he just couldn't. With each passing second it felt as if the plane was going to just rip apart. And that's exactly what happened.
Just behind Aden, 815's tail section ripped from the plane. He felt the air whoosh in, becoming a sucking vacuum. He slightly turned his head to see a couple of people fly out, along with the end section of the plane. He tightened his grip the chair, closing his eyes. His mind only on one person.
"Are you sure we can afford this?"
Aden gave her a blank stare, then lightly laughed to himself. "Of course we can, sweet pea. Don't you worry about that."
On the outside, Aden presented and radiated calm. On the inside, it was quite the opposite. Emotions of all sorts where whirling inside him. After all the time, he was finally going to ask Rachel to marry him. Aden and Rachel had come to a very well to do restaurant in Los Anglos. Before him, Rachel sat in a beautiful red fitting dress. Her long, brown hair was fixed up nicely and her blue eyes seemed to gleam with happiness.
Aden couldn't help but smile when he looked at her. Aden himself was also dressed up for the occasion. He wore one of his nicest suits tonight. Inside his pocket, he wiggled the ring.
"Are you okay, Aden? You seem a little...I don't know. Edgy?" Rachel quizzically asked.
"Oh, yeah. I'm fine. Perfectly fine." He shrugged. His heart was pounding. He had already planned all this out. He was going to ask after dinner. But if he did that, Aden was afraid he'd pass out by then. Should he go ahead and do it?
Rachel raised her eyebrow, seeing that he was thinking deeply about something. Aden couldn't help it anymore. It was now or never. He reached for her hands.
"We need to talk." Aden began. Rachel, stunned, said nothing and allowed him to continue. With the look on her face, she had no idea what he was about to do.
"We've been together for about two years...and things have been...complicated to say the least. We've been through a lot together. And...and well..." Aden got out of his seat, coming closer to Rachel. Slowly he bent to one knee, still holding her hand. She raised her other hand to her mouth. People at the other tables around them stopped their conversations to watch.
"Well, Rachel Louise Gibson will you marry me?" Aden said. That was it. He laid himself on the line. Now it was all up to her. After the two long years, he was finally doing it. Now that the complications were out of his life, he could finally ask her to marry him. Together they could start a new life. Just get away from everything. Finally.
"Yes." She cried shaking her head. "Yes."
Aden smiled, sliding the ring onto her finger. He himself was almost overcome with joy. Aden wrapped his arms around her, holding her. He would spend his life with her forever. His new life. This was a new beginning. Finally.
Slowly, Aden's eye opened. He was quick to shut them after the bright sun burned into his retinas. He moaned, trying to raise his hand to his face and finding he couldn't. What had happened? Am I dead? He thought.
Am I in a coma? Wait, no I just opened my eyes.
Again, slowly he opened his eyes. He squinted at the crystal blue sky above. At that moment it seemed all his senses rushed into his life. He could suddenly hear things. A screaming girl, possibly an engine? What was the other noise? It took a moment for it to register, but Aden realized it was the sound of the tide coming. He was on a beach.
It hurt to move, but Aden forced himself anyways. His body hurt...bad. Aden sat up, shocked at the carnage before him. A chill came over Aden as the shock began to sit in. Wreckage of what remained of Flight 815 was every where to be seen. How could anyone survive this?
Aden raised his hand to his head, feeling the blood trickling down his face in rivulets. It was then that Aden noticed that his shirt seemed to be covered in blood. He searched for the wound, finding a deep gash right across his own chest.
It didn't even hurt.
To his feet he rose, looking all around at the destruction on such a beautiful day. This moment in time would change Aden for the rest of his life. This one moment in time would always be scared, and brunt into his mind. Forever.
The blond haired woman, screaming over and over again. The fires and still active engines. The dying victims of the crash, their agonized yells for help. All Aden could do it stare out into the ocean before him.
He could feel the dried blood on his face. Slowly his fingertips fell across his face, tears welling up. He was in serve shell shock, not being able to move anymore. Aden would have helped the other castaways had he been himself, but it just wasn't possible.
Aden had no idea how long he had been standing there until a loud and large explosion shook him from his daze. The blast behind him forced him to turn and look. Purely on instinct, Aden dropped to the sand. Debris flew in all directions, causing even more confusion.
It appeared that one of the engines had been the cause of the explosion. Aden had just begun to get back up when he noticed that the wing of the plane was coming down, and then caused another explosion. This time it was even bigger. Aden didn't even bother ducking for cover this time.
He fell back onto his back, looking up at the blue sky above. Aden felt that his wound wasn't bleeding, but the pain was now setting in. As the world around him went to hell, Aden knew that from this day forth his life would never be the same.
