June wasn't a fan of flying, so when the airline attendants asked for volunteers to delay their flight until tomorrow and stay the night in Dallas, June was the first to volunteer. Sure, it was New Year's Eve, but she wasn't all that excited about heading home. Holidays only reminded her of the family that she never spoke to, except on prized occasion. They weren't close at all and she didn't mind it being that way. Her parents knew how to do two things perfectly: talk and talk loudly. They had divorced when she was 16, and both remarried. Her mother married a loud stock market broker, and her father married a loud correctional facilities officer. Not only were they loud, but her stepparents were OBNOXIOUS. They had strong opinions about everything, strong opinions June didn't agree with. When she would confront her biological parents about this, they would simply tell her to be nice to her stepparents. It didn't help that each of her parents had new children with their new spouses. No, she was not looking forward to another Christmas in which she felt like the odd girl out.
"Still need volunteers?" She asked the gray haired lady at the front desk.
"Sure! Sure! Sorry about the delays. We've just had a rush of people. Holidays, y'know. Going home?"
"Yeah." June replied smugly. The gray lady smelled a bit too much like perfume.
"Oh! Well, then I bet you'll be happy to board the first plane out tomorrow morning. Just wait a sec."
"Please . . . take your time."
As the lady typed furiously on her keyboard, June looked around at the passengers sitting on or around the black terminal chairs. A little girl was playing peek-a-boo with her young mother, a business man wearing a full suit with a black suitcase stood up, already waiting in line to board the plane, continuously glancing down at his golden watch. A young couple sat holding hands, a large family of six in matching t-shirts reading "Happy New Year" stood in line right behind the business man, obviously annoying him with their loud talking.
In the corner of the room, right by the large plethora of windows, a young man in a brown suit and bowtie sat reading a newspaper upside down, occasionally looking up at the people, eyeing them suspiciously. Weird. Kind of creepy.
"Here ya go ma'am," the lady said, handing June a travel brochure, ticket, and her stipend to stay the night in the city. "Have a nice night here in Dallas."
"Thanks." June grabbed her small overnight bag and walked toward the Starbucks across from the desk.
Suddenly, she heard a scream and looked behind her. The bow-tie man was pointing a strange screwdriver with a bright blue light coming from it at the little girl who was playing peek-a-boo with her mother. Except, the mother had suddenly vanished out of thin air.