Fatal Frame: Lost Requiem
Chapter One
Final Call for Flight 264 to Tokyo, Japan. Final Call.
"I told you the flight wasn't delayed!" Vanessa grabbed the handle of her luggage and wheeled it down the ramp towards the gate.
"I thought it was another flight…" Matt tried to defend himself but decided to just keep his mouth shut; he had already made a lot of unplanned errors already in his inability to plan things out ahead of time.
They paid no attention to the people they rudely bumped into or the noise of the airport and the airplanes that spit out roars as it took off hundreds of yards away on the strip on such a beautiful day. The sun shone in through the long glass-window as they finally arrived at the gate.
"I see security isn't that tight for an international flight." Matt tried making a crack to add some comic relief to the situation.
"Oh, no sir" The lady at the ticket booth added, "You need to pass through a security checkpoint after this."
"Nice going Matt!" Even though the security checkpoint wasn't his fault it was still his fault that they were going to be so late for their flight. Vanessa looked behind them and saw more people scrambling to make it, so they knew the plane was not going to leave without some of their paying passengers.
They turned the corner to find the gate, but the gate was walled off by a small security checkpoint. The overweight guard walked up to the couple with a brown bin gesturing for them to put all their metallic items into the bin and then pass through the metal detector.
Matt placed his keys into the bin, getting a confused look from the guard.
"Sir you do know we don't allow keychain can-openers on the plane."
The guard slipped on a glove and placed it into a confiscated box. "But sir, that is my can opener."
Matt felt the tug on his sleeve by his girlfriend to hurry before they miss the final boarding. Matt grabbed his bag and headed towards the plane; the can opener still fresh in his mind.
This is your captain speaking…
"I always hate this part of the plane ride…" Matt spoke in a loud voice as he threw the luggage in the overhead compartment, drowning out the sound of the Captain's message to Vanessa.
"You know Matt; some people want to hear this…" Vanessa tried speaking, but Matt just plopped in the seat next to her and grabbed her hand. "By the way, Vanessa, I am afraid of planes."
Matt never really took a liking into airplanes. Just the sheer thought of something going wrong and having no methods of escape was fresh in his mind. Vanessa knew of his fear of planes hence the fact that she took the seat closest to the window.
Matt took his seat, still tense from the thought of the plane taking off. He gripped the arm both arm rests, sweat gleaming across his face and along his neck. He couldn't help but flinch when Vanessa grabbed his hand in an attempt to calm him down.
"You know I am here for you right?" Vanessa tilted her head and smiled at him. His head turning like a clock towards his fiancé.
The plane began moving from the terminal. Even though he didn't have the window seat Matt still opened one eye to the activity outside of the plane. He saw the little baggage trucks pass by, the people on the runway, the other planes that were landing. Then he saw it, he saw the planes that were taking off. He saw the line of planes get smaller and smaller as they approached the main runway, where the plane would separate his body from the safety of the ground to the skies above, where anything could spell death.
The plane began to rumble, Matt could hear the engines kick into high gear. Matt gripped his right hand over his fiancé's left as the plane began to roar. Slowly the gravity pulled harder on Matt's body. The plane had lifted from the safety of the ground.
When an object separates farther from the ground, gravity becomes stronger. He felt every in his body being pulled by the gravitational strings connecting the rods to the earth. The tension in his body tightened every muscle strand, he stiffened his grip on Vanessa's hand, causing her to cringe in pain a little, but she knew she had to hold on to him. The plane rose higher and higher along with the beat of his heart. He looked over to his fiancé whose face became a blur to him; he didn't realize what was happening, until he passed out.
It took a few hours for Matt to awaken from his black out. He woke up to see that they had achieved a good cruising altitude. He turned his head towards his fiancé who as sitting there with the small folding table down with a bunch of paperwork sprawled about.
"Is that for your report?" Matt slid his head over, still shocked from the overwhelming tension.
"I can't believe they are actually sending me for this story. I always wanted to go to Japan." Vanessa smiled; she had been looking forward to any opportunity to visit Japan, even if the story was kind of awkward.
"Why do you have to investigate an old Japanese town anyway?" He tried looking at her papers, but she playfully slapped him away.
"It's not exactly in the town; it's the area around where the town is rumored to be. Also, this town is said to be resting on the very gates of hell itself." Vanessa made crazy ninja hand motions to try to add the effect, but Matt just sat there obliviously.
"The location is around the same location that I am doing the investigation for those murders I was talking about." Matt snatched the papers from her hands.
"Why are they sending you to investigate the murders?" Vanessa asked, wondering why they would send an American investigator to a Japanese murder scene.
"It's an international joint effort, because it involved American casualties also."
"Yeah, you know what? I'm tired of all this paperwork; I will do it once we get to the hotel." Vanessa stacked the papers up and realigned them before stuffing them into her briefcase. The video monitor in front of her showed the plane's exact location. They were not too far away from their destination.
The little white plane showed its trail, and that they were already over the Japanese mainland.
"Vanessa, I'll be right back. I have to use the bathroom." Matt let go of her hand and gave her a kiss on the cheek before getting up.
She giggled and told him as he left, "You know there are some things in life you don't have to tell me."
"Well I am just making sure you know." He rolled his eyes and made his way to the back of the plane towards the small restroom. He was still deadly afraid of the plane as it rocked slightly throwing him off balance just a little. Matt grabbed the handle of the restroom and folded it open.
"Whoa, folding doors." He amused himself for a few seconds as he opened and closed the door. The bathroom reeked of the lack of sanitation. Seeing as it is a plane, it is kind of hard to aim for the toilet. Matt laughed to himself thinking of that.
"Alright, here we go…and…"
The plane rocked slightly again. Matt grabbed the sink below the mirror to hold himself up. He opened his eyes and looked into the mirror. He fell back against the door at what he saw.
A woman, standing there at his very spot, staring at him, as if he was viewing into another dimension, except something about this woman was different. Something was horribly wrong. Matt reached for the door handle, but it was stuck. The woman stared blankly at him from the mirror, emotionless from the empty sockets where eyes should have been. Cuts and burn marks scorched her body. Her dark raven hair fell over her face onto the blood soaked kimono. Her boney pale arm reached up from the mirror.
Then the plane shook violently. He closed his eyes from the impact that the plane had sent him into the mirror. The mirror cracked, he quickly backed away, but the woman was gone. The pilot came onto the intercom.
"We are going to be experiencing mild turbulence, I will now switch on the fasten seat…"
The pilot was cut off as the plane shook and dove just slightly to the left, but came back up to a normal cruising level, then rocked harder.
"Matt please come back now…" Vanessa felt as helpless as the plane began to rattle violently. The oxygen masks had come down. She had gripped the sides of her seat listening to the muffled screams of the women around her.
Matt was thrown against the wall once again he his head hitting the mirror once again. He felt the blood from a gash from the mirror roll down his face.
Then the unexpected happened. Vanessa turned her head towards the window as she watched in horror as the wing began to rip away off the plane. She let out a terrible scream as the plane began to dive sharp to the left. Parts and debris began falling off the plane's exterior. She saw as people who didn't heed to the warning of the captain were thrown against the side of the plane, their skulls cracking upon sudden impact. The steep dive started sending dangerous debris flying through the cabin. A flight attendant's cart had been thrown back crushing a man's head against his seat. The blood from the man spatter against Vanessa and her eyes widened in horror. She knew she was going to die.
The only thing she wanted to see was Matt. People were being killed left and right from debris and from impact. She knew the pilot had some kind of control of the plane because of the violently jerking of the plane. He was trying to crash land. The plane leveled off, and Vanessa knew this was the chance to make it to the bathroom. She knew that if she wanted to die, she wanted to die with the man she loved.
She ran through all the screaming and chaos of the cabin. Cracked skulls and bodies had lay there, but she paid no attention as she hopped over them and grabbed the bathroom handle. It was stuck.
"Matt! Open the door! Open the door!" She jammed her hands against the door.
No response…
Matt could hear the desperate cry of his fiancé outside of the door, but he lay there half unconscious on the ground. He had been flung every which way; his body couldn't take another impact. Blood poured from his head and other gashes along his body. His arm had been broken, and he couldn't muster the strength to get up.
Vanessa looked outside of the window. She knew the plane was close to the ground. She tried the door handle once again. Hot tears flowing down her eyes, she kept looking back at the window to see how much closer the plane had been to the ground.
"Brace for impact!" The captain screamed over the intercom.
Vanessa grabbed the nearest seat to the bathroom and strapped herself in. The ground was two seconds away. She knew it was over.
The plane was in chaos. Blood, screams, and tears everywhere. She wanted Matt to come out, she looked back at the door. It didn't open. She felt the very tip of the plane hit the ground as she let out one final scream.
"Matttttttttttt!"
To Be Continued…