Chapter two – Flying with frightening heights

It was far too early in Mai's opinion to be sluggishly waiting at the airport for a four in the morning flight to Australia. Smothering a yawn she glanced over at Lin and Naru who seemed to be wide awake and perfectly alert.

Envious, she glanced back to the front, her sleep deprived eyes fixed on the front doors to the airport as she awaited the rest of the crew.

John had been first to arrive and was currently fetching the others coffee. Mai supposed it was out of guilt for dragging them out of bed so early, but with John you could never really be sure. The Aussie just seemed to be a naturally good guy. Naru could learn something from him, she thought duly.

A quick glance at a nearby monitor showed that their flight would start boarding any minute now and Mai was more than eager to get on the plane. Anywhere away from the stifling air that seemed to be surrounding Naru.

A quick look sideways showed Naru was calmly reading over some notes with his full attention. Lin was, of course, tapping away and a laptop without sparing the rest of the world any notice. Mai briefly wondered if they would even realize if she got up and left.

Naru had been in a foul mood since his announcement that Mai would be coming with them the previous night. Citing the reason as 'needing all the help they could get.' He hadn't even followed it up with a remark about her intelligence before turning on his heels and heading back to his own desk, Lin trailing after him.

Admittedly, he seemed a lot calmer now but he still seemed to be fuming slightly. Being stuck with an irritable Naru so early in the morning was hardly something Mai aspired for, and she was anxious for the arrival of the others.

Quick paced footsteps reached her ears and she looked up to see John returning while balancing a cardboard tray of Styrofoam cups and, much to Mai's surprise, Masako pacing evenly beside him.

For once the young spirit medium was not donned in her overly formal kimonos, but rather a light breezy blue dress that swung just below her knees. Somehow, it's cute but simple and modest design suited her just as well as her usual fashion.

Naru glanced up from his notes as John passed him a cup of coffee, his dark eyes settling on Masako. "You're late Hara-san," He said simply before taking a sip of his beverage. Sitting the mug down on the seat beside him he slid his notes back into a folder.

A light shade of red coloured Masako's cheeks. "There was some trouble with traffic. Monk is not quite as good of a driver as he would have us believe."

Mai gratefully accepted her drink and glanced behind Masako to see Ayako striding easily towards them, hair perfectly placed despite the early hour in the morning. Monk trailed slightly behind her and Mai was amused to see him laden with bags from his female friends. He looked decidedly frustrated as he caught up to the group and slammed them down with a groan.

"What am I?" He moaned, "Your pack mule?"

Masako brought one pale hand up to hover before her mouth as she tried to look as innocent as possible. "We couldn't have possibly carried them all this way ourselves. It's far too early in the morning for such strenuous labour."

Ayako tossed her hair and opened her mouth to add on to Masako's statement but a sharp ping from the speakers cut her off.

"Now boarding for flight 180 to Australia at gate six. Now boarding for flight 180 to Australia at gate six."

Mai let out a long suffering sigh before scowling down at her coffee which she had barely had a chance to drink. There was the sound of shifting paper as Naru slid the folder he'd been looking through back into his bag. Standing up he moved his bag over his shoulder and cast Monk – who was rolling his aching shoulders – a look.

"If you want all that luggage to make it on the plane, you need to go check it in. You're probably already too late," with those tension easing words he strode off simply in the presumed direction of gate six with Lin right at his heels.

"Whaaaat?" Monk blanched.

"Oh dear," Ayako smirked, "You better hurry Monk. You'd hate to hold up the plane on your account." Quickly the priestess hurried after Naru, Masako fighting for a straight face as she trailed after her.

"Now boarding for flight 180 to Australia at gate six."

Monk sent Mai a pleading look which Mai returned dumbly, one hand clutching a half-full cup of coffee and the other holding onto the bag she planned to take with her on the plane. Really, Mai didn't really want to help, but seeing the beseechingly look Monk was offering her she could do little more than toss her coffee in a nearby bin and sigh, "C'mon. Let's get this done with."

oOo_oOo_oOo

As luck would have it, Mai scored a seat on the plane besides Masako who was unjustifiably irritated due to the plane being delayed for ten whole minutes after it was supposed to take off because Mai and Monk had still been checking in her luggage. Which, for the record, had exceeded the weight limit. Mai was yet to tell her that her favourite kimono was no longer in her case but rather the care of the airport security. She supposed it couldn't hurt if Masako was deprived of this information for just a little while.

The seats were comfortable enough and Mai was enjoying watching the scenery dance by beneath her window. The small size of the porthole had her face all but glued to the class as her eyes traced the wisps of clouds floating along below.

"You look ridiculous." Masako sniffed beside her and Mai looked up for a moment simply to scowl at her before returning to staring out her window.

She could hear the fast taping of finger dancing along a laptop and she smiled at the thought of Lin's impatient face while he waited for the seatbelt sign to click off earlier for him.

This flight was going to be pleasant, Mai decided. Not even Masako and her stuffy attitude would interfere with the fact she was actually going to Australia when only a week ago it had seemed like an impossible concept. Best of all, she didn't even have to pay for tickets! The beauty of traveling for work.

If only it wasn't so damn early…

Stifling a yawn Mai tore her gaze away from the window and looked past Masako to see it anybody was serving coffee in the aisle. It didn't appear so. Sighing, she settled back in her seat and titled her head so she could still watch the window.

Her excitement had stopped her getting a decent night's sleep and she was really feeling it now. Maybe she could close her eyes for a little bit. Not long enough to miss the whole flight, by just long enough to miss out on the crappy movie showing on the communal television

"Seems like a plan…" She mummured sleepily, reciving a strange look from Masako.

If there was one thing Mai was good at, it had to be sleeping.

Smiling slightly she allowed her eyes to drift closed and prepared for restful nap.

oOo_oOo_oOo

"Eek…"

Mai opened her eyes as she heard the strangled and terrified sob. "Masako?" She asked, glancing to the side where her friend had been seated near her. Rather than an irritated raven head though, she found herself looking at a solid stone wall.

"… Eh?" A wild look around proved that she was no longer on the plane but rather an impossibly black place. "But I was just…"

"Hnf…"

There was another sob and Mai looked around. It was too black to see anything though. She couldn't even see herself when she looked down. It was an eerie feeling, like she wasn't there at all and that very thought sent shivers down her spine.

"Fnf…" there was another sob.

"H-Hello? Is someone there?" She called out and suddenly the sniffled sobs stopped and it was silent again. Mai hesitated than opened her mouth to call out again only to shut it when she heard a strange sound completely different from the sobbing she'd been listening too.

The sound of something scraping a trail through the grim stricken floor caught Mai's attention and she took and involuntary step back as she strained her eyes to see in the dark. "It's just one of those dreams…" she muttered to herself.

Where was Naru?

The scraping sound continued and Mai took yet another step back only to feel her back collide with another wall. Wetness spread across the back of her shirt and a strangled yelp slipped through her lips as she jerked away.

Pressing her fingers to the back of her shirt with some difficulty she transferred some of the liquid to her hand. She brought it up to her face but realized she couldn't see anything through the inky blackness. She had a hunch though and with her stomach rolling around she brought her fingertips up to her nose and gave a small sniff.

Blood. It was definitely blood.

The dragging continued and Mai's heart began pounding wildly in her chest. She knew she recognized that sound…

Focusing, she closed her eyes which were just a needless distraction in the blackness anyway, and listen carefully.

Shhhhhhhrrrr…

That was...

Shhhhrrrrrr…

Doubtlessly...

Shhhhhrrrrrrrrrrrrrr…

The sound of a body being dragged.

The dragging stopped and Mai was helpless to still her racing heart. Eyes squeezed tightly shut she pressed her hands firmly over her ears but couldn't quite shut out the guttural groan that shattered the stillness.

"Monica…"

OoO_oOo_oOo

Mai gasped and shot up right, nearly hitting her head on the seat in front of her as her heart bet so fast she thought she might just faint.

"Mai?"

Slowly Mai turned around and saw Masako half in and half out of her seat staring at her with what might have been concern. "What are you doing? We have to get off the plane now."

Mai stared at her blankly as she tried to register the words Masako was saying in her current state. "We're here?" She asked.

Masako's concerned expression became one of annoyance. "Yes, we're here. You spent the whole flight asleep –." Something seemed to click with Masako as she frowned and pressed one hand to a startled Mai's forehead.

"You're sweating…"She observed. "Did you have one of your…" Trailing off she hardened her expression. "Hm, well it doesn't matter if you had a nightmare."

With that last remark she retrieved her bag from below her seat as she joined the throng of people pushing themselves down the narrow walkway and towards the exit of the plane.

Mai just stayed where she was sitting trying to calm her racing heart. It was a nightmare, she reasoned, we haven't even begun the case. If I mention it, it'll just confuse everyone… It's my responsibility to not confuse those dreams with nightmares…

Despite her self-assurances Mai found her legs were just a little too weak to stand on right now.

She couldn't help but wonder if she had wasted a near ten hour flight on what felt like a one minute dream?