Chapter Five
The lights inside the shuttle turned back on, bringing everyone by surprise.
"That is the back up system." the stewardess announced.
"Well, that is a bit better." Roger replied.
"What about the rescue? How long is it gonna take?" Siobhan asked.
"About sixty minutes," the stewardess answered, "that is all."
"Then I suggest we all calm down." Brooks told the group as the rangers realized that Winifred was talking at the same time they were, "The panic is not helping. This poor woman is apparently in a state of self induced hysteria. I suggest that we should leave her alone."
"You guys." Casey told his friends.
"I know." RJ replied.
"You lot should leave her...alone." Brooks told the former rangers before realizing what Winifred/the entity was doing now, "What is she doing?"
"How can she do that?" RJ asked, "She is talking with you, and me!"
Winifred/the entity was now talking at the same time the other passengers were speaking.
"What is she doing?" Siobhan asked in fear.
"She is repeating." Seth answered, "At the exact same time."
"That is impossible." Deann replied.
"Not even a delay." Brooks added.
"That is just too weird." RJ stated, "but still, I think we should be very quiet."
"RJ's right you know." Lily nodded.
"How is she doing it?" Siobhan asked.
"Please, be quiet." RJ insisted.
"How can she do that?!" Siobhan insisted, "She has my voice! She has my words!"
"Darling, be quiet." Roger told his wife, "Hush now love. Hush."
Roger looked surprised, "My god, she is doing it to me."
"Just stop it!" RJ exclaimed.
"Yeah! Stop it please!" Lily added, "We are making things worse!"
RJ walked over to "Winifred" as he was curious at what this entity wants.
"Now there, Winifred, are you in there Winifred?" RJ asked as the woman was speaking the same time he was, saying the exact same words.
"Not again." Casey groaned.
"Is Winifred still in there? Hello?" RJ continued to speak as the entity was speaking the same time he was, "Wow, you know exactly what I am going to say before I even say it. How are you doing that? Luke Skywalker. Captain Kirk. Star Trek and Star Wars. Bang! Red, blue, yellow, violet, white! You are looking at four masters, a Tiger Master, a Cheetah Master, a Jaguar Master and a Wolf Master."
"My Robert James you are so handsome." Rick stated as the entity was speaking his words at the same time, "Oh thank you very much. I know. A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O."
Lily scoffed and rolled her eyes, "Seriously?"
RJ then stood up and said, "Well, first she repeats then it seems to be that she catches up. So what is the next phase?"
"Who knows?" Theo replied.
"Next stage of what?" Deann asked.
"That is not her, is it?" Seth stated, "That is not Miss Burkle anymore."
"I do not think so. No." RJ answered. Siobhan sobbed as her husband comforted her.
"I think," RJ stated, "the more we talk, the more she learns, but I think that we should move back. Shall we?"
"Let's get back as far as we can. Come on!" Lily exclaimed. The passengers followed the young Defenders to the far back of the shuttle, away from Winifred/the entity.
"Someone, make her stop!" Siobhan whimpered.
"Come on, let's all remain calm, dudes and dudettes!" RJ insisted, "To the back! Stop looking at her!"
"He's right." Casey added, "Let's move!"
Everyone was at the back of the shuttle, away from the entity that was possessing Winifred.
"Okay, fifty minutes. That is all we need." RJ told the group, "It has been ten minutes already from the sixty minutes we have to wait for the rescue to arrive."
"She is not exactly strong." Theo stated.
"You're right." Lily nodded, "So, we shouldn't look at her."
"Yeah. All she got is our voices." RJ added.
"I cannot look at her," Siobhan replied, "It is her eyes. They are white."
"We must not look at Goblin men." Deann stated.
"What does that supposed to mean?" Benjamin asked.
"It is a poem," Theo answered, "I think I have read it before in class."
"That is correct." Deann nodded, "Christina Rossetti."
Deann then proceeded to recite the poem that both she and Theo had mentioned.
"I don't think that is helping." RJ stated.
"Nothing we say will help." Casey added.
"She is not a goblin or a monster." Brooks told the others, "She is just a very sick woman."
"Maybe that is why it went for her." Seth theorized.
"There is no it!" Brooks insisted.
"Think about it though." Casey stated, "The knocking went all the way around the bus until it found her, and she was the most scared out of all of us."
"Maybe that is what it needed and that is how it got in here." Seth nodded.
"For the last time," Brooks urged everyone, "nothing can live on the surface of this Midnight Dimension!"
"I'm glad you have a definition of life in the many different universes and all," RJ replied, "perhaps the universe, this one in particular, has ideas of its own. There might be some consciousness inside Winifred still."
"There must consciousness inside Winifred!" Lily exclaimed, "I can hear her! The thing, what ever it is, is possessing her!"
"And you know that how?" Siobhan scoffed.
"Never mind that!" RJ exclaimed, "If...since Winifred is still in there, we have to help her!"
"You can." Roger replied, "but I am not going back there."
"No. We gotta stay back!" Theo insisted.
"Maybe Theo is right." RJ nodded, "because if she is copying us, then I believe the final stage is becoming us."
"Oh jeez." Casey nodded, "I don't want it becoming me or things might get much worse."
"Oh like you are so special." Siobhan scoffed.
"We should wait then." Theo suggested, "that way when the rescue ship comes, we can bring her to the hospital. I am sure the hotel has a hospital."
"I think that we should throw her out." the stewardess suggested.
"I beg your pardon?" Brooks asked.
"Can we do that?" Siobhan added.
"I would not do that if I was you," RJ exclaimed, "ill advised."
"That thing, whatever it is, killed the driver and the mechanic!" the stewardess told the group, "and I do not think that she is finished yet."
"Really?" Lily assured his friend before telling the others, "she cannot even move! How could she do all this?"
"Look at her." the stewardess replied, "Look at her eyes!"
Everyone looked to see Winifred's eyes were white, showing the signs that she was truly possessed as the stewardess continued, "She killed Bill and she killed Edward and we are next."
"She is still doing it!" Roger exclaimed before approaching Mary, "Stop it! Stop talking! Just stop it!"
"Roger, don't sweetheart!" Siobhan pleaded.
"But she won't stop!" Roger told his wife before returning to the others, "We cannot throw her out though. We cannot even open the doors."
"No one is getting thrown out!" Lily exclaimed, "That is just inhumane!"
"Yes we can." Deann replied, "because there is an air pressure seal. Like when you opened the cabin door, you were not pulled out, you had a couple of seconds because it takes the pressure wall six seconds to collapse. Six seconds exactly. I believe that is enough time to throw someone out."
"Would it kill her outside?" Siobhan asked.
"I have no clue." Deann answered, "but the thing has a body now. It'd certainly kill the physical..."
"No one is killing anyone." RJ exclaimed calmly.
"I would not risk the cabin door twice," the stewardess stated, "but we have got that one. All we need to do is grab her and throw her out."
"That is not a good idea!" Theo exclaimed.
"For all we know this could be a brand new life form that nobody has ever discovered before." RJ stated, "Which is pretty odd if you ask me."
"Are you people gonna really resort to murder?" Casey asked.
"Could any of you actually murder her? An innocent human being possessed by an evil entity?" Lily asked.
"Or are you better than that?" Theo chimed in.
Pause.
"I would do it." the stewardess answered.
"So would I." Roger added.
"And me." Siobhan nodded.
"I think we should." Deann nodded.
"What?" Casey scoffed.
"I want her out." Deann stated.
"You can't say that!" Lily exclaimed in annoyance.
"I am sorry, but you four said it yourselves," Deann replied, "She is growing in strength!"
"Whoa, we never said that!" RJ replied.
"I just want to go home." Deann whimpered in fear, "I am sorry. I just want to be safe."
"We will be safe." RJ stated, "We know it! The rescue truck is on its way."
"And what happens then?" the stewardess asked, "If it takes that thing back to the hotel, if that thing reaches civilization, what if it spreads?"
"I am sure when we get back to the hotel, they will do their best to contain it." Theo answered.
"You four are not any use to us!" Siobhan replied to him, Casey, Lily and RJ.
"What does that supposed to mean?" Lily asked.
"She is dangerous." the stewardess insisted, "It is my job to see that this vessel is safe. We should get rid of her."
"Now hang on there." Brooks replied, "I think perhaps we are going a little too far here."
"Thank you, sir!" RJ exclaimed.
"Two people are dead!" the stewardess exclaimed angrily.
"Do not make it a third person!" Casey replied, "We can't do that!"
"What about you, Seth?" RJ asked the emo teen, "What do you say?"
"Oh, I am not killing anyone." Seth answered.
"Thank you."
"He is just a boy!" Siobhan exclaimed.
"So, I do not get a vote?" Seth replied.
"There is no vote!" RJ exclaimed, "It is not happening! Ever! You will have to get past me first."
"And me." Casey walked over next to her friend.
"Me too." Lily walked next to his two friends.
"You guys, this is..." Theo hesitated before finally working up some courage to walk next to his friends, "Okay. Killing someone is wrong."
Another pause of silence filled the room.
"Okay, I shall do so." the stewardess spoke up.
"Fine by me. I will not let any of you stop me!" Roger exclaimed.
"Now you are being ridiculous!" RJ exclaimed.
"Think about it!" Casey added, "Could you really grab a hold of someone and throw them out of this shuttle?!"
"Calling me a coward?" Roger asked.
"No." Casey shook his head, "I never said that."
"Who put you children in charge anyway?" Siobhan added, "because you are Pai Shaw Masters..."
"Pai Zhua Masters!" RJ corrected her.
"And that has nothing to do with it." Lily added.
"Oh whatever!" Siobhan exclaimed, "Just because you are masters does not make you special and the hippie boy acted like you wanted this to happen!"
"I beg your pardon!" RJ exclaimed, "I was just curious about this thing that is all!"
"You are just curious!" Lily told his friend, "the rest of us are trying to keep things from getting worse as it is!"
"Well," Siobhan asked, "what were you talking about?"
"We were just talking." RJ answered.
"Saying what?!" Roger asked with anger in his tone.
"It seems they volunteered and brought this thing in!" Siobhan accused the former rangers.
"Do we throw them out too?" Roger asked.
"If we have to." the stewardess answered.
"You four act like you are in charge when the contrary is true!" Siobhan exclaimed, "Besides if anyone should be in charge, it should be the Professor! He is the expert!"