It was perfect. The island was remote, far from any curious eyes. It didn't even exist on the same physical plane as the rest of the world—he had made sure it would stay that way. The cameras were all ready to record the crash that would happen in a few minutes.

To say that Chris was excited was an understatement.

"Cheeeef," he whined to the walkie-talkie he had procured from a dead traveler some years ago (Gulliver, was it?). "Are you ready yeeet?"

"Have some patience, man, I just got off the intercom. Damn brats kept mingling together. I told them to strap up or I'd do a 360."

"Don't, I'd really love to see them bounce around in that tin can when the turbulence starts to hit."

There was a grunt, barely audible. "Anyways, I'm all set," came Chef's reply.

"Splendid." The smile that bloomed on that clean-shaven face of his was awfully sadistic. Chris looked up and saw the plane skimming across the sky where his victims lay oblivious to their demise.

His eyes glowed crimson. "Time to start Operation Animalia."

It had been something hours since they left for Canada, and Jake Astin was buzzing with excitement and fear. The tan-haired teen looked ironically innocent in his tough get-up, and if he wasn't wiggling in his seat someone would've mistaken him for a hiker.

"Are we there yet?" he asked for the umpteenth time, gripping on his seatbelt. They were, like, 30,000 feet in the air! They could hit a mountain and crash and fall—the thought made him sick.

"No, amigo," said a girl in a Spanish accent from behind. "We're still in the airplane, still flying. Still doce hours to go."

"I—I don't know what that means, but it doesn't sound good!"

"It'll be fine," assured a brunette who was sitting next to him. When Jake looked at her in disbelief, April Fitzpatrick tried to go another way. "Alright, so you're afraid of heights. Why don't we talk about something else then?"

"O—Okay."

"So, why become an exchange student?"

"To hike," was the feeble answer. "I want to get over my fear, but I thought I'd just have to do that in Alaska. I didn't think about a plane! I thought, you know, we'd get onto some cruise and sail over there." Then Jake chuckled. "You should've seen my face when I received the letter. I was scared! But stoked at the same time!"

"Me too," said Maria Santiago, who leaned over from the seat behind them. "I was so excited that I ran laps around my house until my el padre told me to come inside because it was night already."

April laughed. "I just went and packed all my stuff because I was so excited. I heard there was this famous circus in Canada, and I didn't want to miss that!"

Jake's eyes twinkled. "A circus? I've never been to one! Have you been to one? What's it like? Is it like in TV? Are there really elephants? And lions? And unicycles?"

"Calm down, amigo," said Maria, grinning. "But yes, circuses have all those animals and unicycles."

"Really?"

"I've been to one too. It's all true!"

Since the silence between the 14 passengers had been broken (by a very chatty Jake), others had sparked their own conversations with their seatmates. Some, like a girl and a boy, remained silent as they did from their departure. The two of them sat next to each other, one watching an interesting spot on the floor and the other watching outside one of the plane's windows.

Suddenly, a messy-haired blonde poked her head from the seat in front of them. "Hey, why aren't you two talking?"

"Is there a rule that states we have to?" retorted the boy, his blue eyes never left the window. He also had messy hair, but it was a chocolate brown. He wasn't against talking; it was just that he didn't know these people. Then again, he could if he actually talked to them.

Dismayed, the blonde replied, "No, Mr. Sarcasm. I'm just saying that since we're going to be in here for another twelve hours, we might as well introduce each other. I'm Allison Michelle, aspiring scientist!"

You look the part, the boy thought, noticing the glasses and lab coat. He didn't notice the person next to him speak.

"I'm Madison, aspiring performer," said the Hawaiian girl in a soft voice. Like the boy's, her hair was a chocolate brown. But it had blonde highlights, giving her a rather shy look.

"Nice to meet you!" The wannabe scientist then turned to the boy, unimpressed. "And you?"

"None of your business."

"Mentioning your name won't hurt," said a black-haired teen, whose face popped next to Allison's. While most handsome men flaunted their beauty, he kept his head down as he spoke. "I'm Mathias Leopoldo, aspiring corporal businessman. See? Not that hard."

The boy was about to tell them off, something he really didn't want to. Small talk just wasn't his thing. But when three pairs of eyes stared at him in anticipation, he reluctantly gave in.

"... It's Sebastian Raven."

"And?"

Sebastian glared at Allison before mumbling, "Aspiring writer."

Though she wasn't the only one, she had solely gone on the trip to escape life back home. Or someone else' home, if Maureen Edwards had anything to say about it. The blonde was sitting comfortably away from the chatter, watching outside the window in contemplation. She was torn between her life decision and her parents, and just hoped that this 'vacation' would help her ascertain which one her heart truly belonged.

Lea, I hope you're right about this, Maureen thought, remembering the six-year old's kind face. If I ever swallow my pride and leave you—the family—just know that I'd be doing it for my own...

"HQ, this is Agent Johansson reporting from the plane. I am suspicious about one of the passengers aboard. I repeat; one of the passengers seems suspicious."

"Ugh," Maureen said, looking back. "Hey, can you stop your chanting?"

The bunned-up brunette crouching on the floor fully ignored her. No surprise, since Natalie Johansson was busy with her monologue to notice the annoyed teen. Groaning, Maureen found a set of headphones to drown the agent out. I'm beginning to regret this already.

"He is male, 5"6, 145pds and looks Caucasian. He seems to be intently watching a pair whom I've identified as Andrew Miles and Piper Leona. I am coming in for the kill; I repeat, I am coming in for the kill." Natalie stealthily crawled over to the mysterious teen sitting at the very back of the plane. Since their departure, nobody had bothered to sit next to Issac Smith since he gave off a rather unsettling vibe.

Ducking behind a seat, Natalie peered at the teen. "Okay, WWBWD: What Would Black Widow Do?" she recited, finger to her lip. "What would she do? What. Would. She. Do?"

Meanwhile, Issac had heard her (she was just a seat away from him, after all). He narrowed his eyes, thinking if he should stal—keep tabs on her as well. But he shook his head, focusing on the pair before him.

Hmm... they're on their honeymoon, and the husband is lecturing to his wife about her plans for the future. No, wait, he's nagging her that the hotel she chose was too expensive. Or maybe he doesn't want the baby anymore...

The only reason Andrew Miles went on the trip was because he needed to prove himself. Most people in his life labeled him with only one shade out of the many that made up his personality. Which wasn't much, he reluctantly admitted. For one thing, he had absolutely no patience for late people. Like their escort Chris McClean, who didn't even show up at the airport!

"There was one time when Levi took me to the ice-skating rink. It was pretty romantic... oh! Did I tell you about the time he took me out for ice-cream in the middle of winter?"

"Yes," the brownish-blonde deadpanned, "you may have mentioned it more than once. Twice, to be exact."

Piper Leona proved to be more tolerable than Andrew thought. The bob-cut brunette was a dedicated pupil, a prep. People like those were hard to find. Plus she didn't mind his advice (even though he knew most people hated how much of a prick he was).

Piper meekly scratched the back of her head. "I'm sorry, I just really miss him. I mean, we've only been together for a month but he's so my type!" Noticing that she was at the start of another rant, the prep stopped. "But enough about me. What about you, Andrew? Got anybody special?"

"No," he said, not sounding as resentful as he had hoped. "Not many people view me as 'boyfriend' material, since I... well..."

"What?"

Damn. He promised himself that he would keep it secret, and now he had backed himself in a corner. "I sort of have this gift." Great, now I sound like some comic book hero. "I can instantly calculate anything, like a human calculator."

That nickname had been the bane of his life, and he'd hoped that it wouldn't prevail for the rest of the flight. Thankfully, Piper looked genuinely interested in his 'gift'. "So you're good at Math?"

"Not just Math," Andrew said, realizing that the term calculator was misleading. "I can pick up details and piece them together like a puzzle. For example, I knew that you were committed to your academics just by your first impression. You like to be neat and orderly, which tells me that you frown upon rebellion. Conversely, this tells me that you cherish the rules. This was supported when you scolded Natalie for being out of her seat and lectured her about 'keeping safe' and 'seatbelts' and whatnot."

Piper flushed. "I guess I'm an open book, huh? But I'm impressed, Andrew Holmes."

"That's the worst pun ever," the human calculator chuckled.

Of course, he was very flattered.

At the far front end of the plane, two teens were discussing the one's experience at a military base. Hunter Storm was glad that someone appreciated his past, even if he despised the scars his father gave him. But Grant O'Neil-Shaun nodded happily as Hunter described the architecture of the camp which had housed over a three battalions.

"I wish the plane would take us there!" said Grant, whose bubbly attitude contrasted with his seatmate's calm exterior. "I'm a big fan of architecture—the complex the better!"

Hunter nodded, biting back a reply about the military base' strict rules. You'd be fired on sight, he thought to himself, almost robotically. Suddenly, a string of memories pounced on him like a wolf to its prey. They were flashes of pain and unneeded catharsis.

"—Hunter?"

Shaking his head, Hunter looked at Grant. "I'm sorry, what?"

"You just zoned out over there. You okay? If you're feeling nauseous, I can take out a bag."

"It's fine," the blue-haired teen assured him with a smile. "I appreciate the concern."

To dispel the silence he knew would come after, Hunter asked what Grant had been talking about. The chubby teen then told him of his other love, mechanics. Apparently the little race cars he would receive at Christmas were enough to pique his attention. Grant then asked him if there were any fighter jets or tanks back at the military base, to which Hunter nodded. Then the nostalgia came back, and he tried hard to repress it.

"Okay, I'm taking out a bag," declared Grant.

"No, I'm fine." But it was useless to argue, Hunter soon realized. Grant was too nice, too merciful.

But nice gets you nowhere, echoed a voice in his head.

He was flying behind them, his enormous wings flapping with enough power to sail an armada on a windless day. Chris had been silently tailing the plane. The first phase of Operation Animalia was going well, and now it was time for the chaos to start.

Chris swooped over to the plane's left. With reckless precision, he rammed the side with his scaly figure.

"What was that?!" Jake yelped, alerted again by his fear of heights.

"Probably some turbulence," April assured.

Andrew shook his head. "That's unlikely. I've looked out of the window and calculated our position as well as the weather patterns. We haven't hit any low pressure systems."

"He's right," added Allison, who was uncharacteristically serious.

"You would know that; you're a scientist." But even Sebastian couldn't pull off his sarcastic edge in the current situation.

Another jolt. The intercom buzzed with the voice of a cranky pilot. "Attention brats, this is your captain speaking. I'd apologize for the turbulence but I'm not Mother Nature's damn babysitter, so I suggest you sit tight and curl up!"

"It's not turbulence!"

"Whatever it is, we better do what he says!"

Another jolt sent them into a quaking frenzy.

Piper yelled. "Natalie, get back to your seat!"

"No! I need to investigate the problem. Now, where's the exit?"

Frustrated, Maureen turned to the agent. "JUST GET TO YOUR SEAT!"

Everything was shaking. A certain boom caught everyone's attention.

"Thunder," was all April said.

"I don't think so," Grant piped up. "I've studied mechanics; I know an engine explosion when I hear one."

The plane suddenly lurched downwards. Everybody screamed as they went down in flames, down to a certain island. They were hurtling like a bullet shot from above, plummeting like a bird shot in the sky. The sound was deafening.

It was too bad. Mathias was about to tell them that he saw a legendary creature just outside his window.

But he might save that for later.

The action will begin next chapter. The above is just a teaser :P

Hope I did your character justice. And don't worry, they'll all have their moment in the spotlight!

/terminated