Tales of Amity Park Cemetery
Chapter 10: Last Flight
The airport was crowded to the brim with seasonal travelers and backpackers who were on their way to some exotic faraway land, the staff working the sale booths were already on the verge of a nervous breakdown as they tried their best to help the people get on the correct flight, more than one had the wrong time or even date and demanded their mistakes to be correct though not much could be done.
"I'm telling you, ma'am, there's no first class on this airplane. There's only business and economic class"- a salesman dressed as the grim reaper said to a belligerent woman ready to burst a vein in her forehead and get physical with someone.
"Then change us to first class on another airplane!"- the woman demanded. "Do you know who my boss is?!"- she added begrudgingly.
"I'm terribly sorry, but we can't change your tickets since we are fully booked for tonight and tomorrow, maybe and that's a huge maybe, we can get you into business class, tomorrow."- the reaper said, his eyes glowing red. "Your tickets are for economic."- the creature added.
"Whatever! Just register our luggage!"- the woman said defeated after looking at her smartphone and seeing the time.
"Enjoy your flight, Mrs. Conner, it's to die for."- the reaper said with a sparkle in his voice.
"How the hell am I going to explain this."- Britany Conner muttered to herself.
It was her first real job as a music manager and thought to have struck gold as her first client was the rising star, Ember McLain, who had filled Amity Park's stadium twice and been on several local talk shows, the sixteen-year-old was a gold mine and she was a poor miner. The woman took a deep breath as she straightens her beige business suit and quickly comb her long brownish hair before moving towards the young yet eccentric Ember McLain, her long bluish hair tied in a ponytail caught more than one eye along with her typical rocker outfit that consisted of black knee-high boots with what seemed to be skulls drawn on the tips, a pair of leather pants and a crop top.
Many passengers looked at her with a variety of expressions, ranging from confused to downright frightened, such reactions were expected among the older crowds, especially if one takes a look at her bandmates who looked equally disturbing with their rocker outfits and punk hairstyles that reminded of the heavy metal fashion trend from the late 70s. Britany took a deep breath as she approached her client who was busy on the phone, surely on her social page.
"Don't tell me. I know… let's just get on board and be done with it."- Ember said as she stood up dragging her bag behind.
"I'm really sorry! I assure you that you'll love the hotel."- Britany replied apologetically but didn't get a reply from the singer.
She could tell Ember was angry or perhaps was only tired from the rehearsing, she had spent a few hours practicing her new song which she was going to open with at Madison Square Garden. All four band members and their manager lined up at the gate, tickets in hand, and one by one were allowed into the tunnel leading to the commercial airplane, the rock diva then noticed it was starting to rain which made her fear her flight might be canceled due to bad weather, she didn't want any more delays.
"Welcome aboard, you're in economic class. Down this aisle."- a high-pitched woman said with a bright smile. Her long blonde hair tied in twin tails gave her a childish appearance, her face screamed "dumb bimbo" due to the heavy girly makeup.
Ember wriggled her nose as she looked down the airplane's aisles, there were three rows all packed with families and backpackers which made her sigh long and heavy, she expected her first flight across the country to be in first class, filled with all manner of luxuries and attentions, at least she got a window seat and not a seat in the middle row. She made a mental note to buy a private jet soon after the concert so she wouldn't have to go through this kind of trouble again, a faint smile came across her face as she noticed a baby near the front and a few rows down, a mentally ill man who dressed in strip pajamas.
"Babies, that's a good sign. Only a fucked-up god would bring this plane down…"- Ember said looking at her manager. "A really fucked up god."- she confirmed with a chuckle.
The rocker let out a groan as she pressed her back against the chair, two of her bandmates sat behind allowing some comfort in knowing there wouldn't be any rude passengers putting their disgusting feet on her armrest during the flight. Britany quickly pulled out her laptop and began working on whatever managerial task she had been postponing, it was then she noticed the rain to be picking up but the captain announced they were clear for take-off which made the rock star feel most at ease knowing that they would be in the air soon enough.
The plane began to move across the runway soon after the safety signs turned on, most likely trying to leave the airport before the rain became more intense, grounding them until it was over. The rocker looks out the window with a bored expression, she was upset not because she was traveling in economics class, but because no one had approached her during her time in the waiting room looking for an autograph, even now, not a single person had come asking for an autograph, try to sneak a picture or get a selfie, not a single person had whispered her name and acted as if she were just any other passenger.
She was sure to be famous enough to draw a few eyes, but the Latina dressed as a cheerleader further up was getting all the attention, an influencer by the looks of it. Feeling most frustrated, she snapped a selfie and post it on her social under the captions, "Travelling with the people." A little humility often went a long way, it made her seem like a down-to-earth kind of musician, though she was hoping someone would now recognize her. But no one seems to react despite getting a good response online, it was then that she leans back on the chair and dozes off.
(XXXX)
A sudden shaking woke the rocker from her slumber forcing her to look around as the airplane experience hard turbulence, thunder illuminated the skies for a brief moment, and people screamed as the plane shook violently opening the compartments overhead but just as it started, it ended. The fear subsided within a few minutes allowing people to return to their chairs and continue watching the inflight movie while a few others return to some menial activities.
Ember looked out the window and saw black clouds in the distance, it was then that she squints her eyes upon seeing a strange creature flying without wings amidst the clouds, moving up and down as if it were swimming which made the rocker press her face against the glass to better see the creature while wondering if she was still half asleep, it was hard to tell due to the distance, the rain and the dark but could tell it had an oval shape and a long tail, the entire body wriggled as it flew.
The rock star screamed as a thunderclap briefly illuminated the skies revealing dozens of similar creatures, everyone within the airplane looked at her with scared expressions, she then pulled her manager to the window hopeful she would see the things. But it was too dark to see anything other than some nearby clouds, Ember cleared her throat and return to her seat refusing to be the crazy person onboard.
"Sorry, I had a very vivid nightmare. First time flying"- Ember said to no one in particular.
Her eyes once more turn to the window, she was sure there would be nothing there but there was, the same creature could be seen flying. She began to sweat cold while wondering if she was losing her mind, despite having been photographed many times with a marijuana joint and cocaine lines on her table, she had never once done drugs, it was all part of her bad girl persona that her manager conjured up, similar to how rappers pretend to be gangsters and yet never come close to committing a crime.
She figured the stress was getting to her and making her hallucinate, the creature came close allowing her to distinguish a pair of glowing red eyes, and the so-called tail split into several menacing tentacles as more creatures joined up. Ember started to shake in her seat, refusing to look out the window as she begged everything was in her head, just part of her overactive imagination and nothing more.
"What the hell is that?!"- Britany asked while looking out the window.
This question took Ember by surprise, it was then that she heard loud gasping followed by some random yelling. People pull their attention away from the movie and toward the windows, soon to join in the strange cacophony of gasping and soft yelling. The passengers muttered among themselves, surely, questioning their mental sanity, a few started to take pictures or use their cameras to zoom in on the strange creatures.
"Excuse me! What are those things out there? Some bird?"- a fat woman asked a stewardess.
"I don't know, never seen them before… and they don't like birds."- the young woman replied as she glanced into the window. "If anything, they look like octopuses."- she added truthfully.
It was then that the woman headed up to her colleagues after reassuring the passengers that nothing was wrong and they were all safe inside the airplane, this didn't fully calm the travelers who looked with concerned expressions as more creatures gathered outside. There was a mixture of emotions within the rock star who was glad to not be losing her mind, yet was terrified that there were monsters outside or so she thought.
A few passengers return to their movie to avoid looking at the strange creatures outside, surely, just a trick of the light. Ember too tried to avoid looking out the window and so pulled down the tray and began writing her latest song in a notebook, unfortunately, her curiosity was stronger, forcing her attention back to the window. Then, she could swear to see green spirals, but the clouds soon blocked her view.
"What do you think they're talking about?"-Ember asked while looking at the stewardesses at the front who were whispering among themselves. "You think the captain took the wrong turn and now we're at the ghetto airspace."- the singer teased.
"It's probably nothing, just a publicity stunt that went wrong, like with the giant duck or the balloons."- Britany said as she continued typing on her laptop. "Damn it to hell! I don't have Wi-Fi."- she added while taking out her phone and finding there was no service.
"I don't have internet either… or cellphone service." The man sitting next to her said. "Service went down right after the turbulence."- he added.
They weren't the only ones without service as several passengers started to complain about their lack of internet to the crew while a few others were starting to get up as they assured the creatures were coming closer, the stewardesses tried their best to calm the people down, though their efforts were in vain. A man at the far back suddenly cursed out loud as he swore one of the flying octopuses slithered up his window startling the rest of the passengers who looked around with fear.
Without any sort of warning the airplane nearly turned on its side sending dozens of passengers and crew flying across the plane's interior, slamming against the wall as luggage flew all around hitting people often in the head. Screams boomed all around as Ember clawed into her seat trying her utmost to avoid being tossed like the rest of the passengers, it was then that she gasped in utter horror upon seeing through the window the most impossible sight, a mountain.
It was then that the airplane turned to the opposite side sending passengers back across the interior screaming their lungs out, despite the chaos taking place, Ember was more focused on the mountain coming deadly close and the forest landscape shown through the window. She was sure they would be flying over the ocean and nowhere near mountains. Just as the madness started, it came to an end. The airplane straightens itself allowing the terrified passengers to return to their seats.
"Are you ok?!"- Britany asked as she patted Ember's chest, back, and head searching for any wound.
"I'm fine! Oh, shit! You're bleeding!"- Ember replied as she took out a shirt from her backpack which she used to stop the bleeding on her manager's head. The woman had been hit by a metallic wheel bag.
People started to return to their seats as soon as the chaos ended, looking around terrified and wondering what just happened, their luggage was scattered around the floor though no one seemed to mind at all. The crew members ignored all incoming questions from scared people as they focused their attention on the injured passengers who had either been tossed across the interior or stuck by flying luggage.
"What the fuck?! Is your guy new or something? Doesn't he know how to fly a damn plane?"- a large bulking man asked as he rubbed his head.
"I'm so sorry, I don't know what happened but I'm gonna find out."- a brunet stewardess replied before heading to the cockpit.
"Where the hell are we?"- Ember asked as she continued looking out the window unknowingly drawing most of the passengers' attention. "I mean we just dodge a couple of mountains… and there seems to be some forest."- she added while staring at the black forest below, so vast that she couldn't see the end of it, though could swear the trees had odd shapes.
"She's right, we're flying at over forty thousand feet, there's no mountain that big in the country."- a voice from the crowd said.
It was the first time that Ember felt so afraid in her sixteen years of living, the last time she felt such dread was coming back home one morning after being stood up for a date only to see her house set ablaze. Police told her it was arson but the culprit was never found, she did believe it could have been her date. Her attention shifted to her bandmates who were busy talking with the rest of the passengers, sharing theories on what just happened.
Some blamed the airline for not properly training their pilots leading to this disastrous result, while others said it could have been an instrument failure as it was obvious, they were way off course. Some people contested these theories claiming the nearest mountainous terrain was several miles from their established course, and no manner how poorly trained the pilots were, there was no way they could go so far without ground control taking notice.
"This is your captain speaking."- A female voice through the intercom. "My most sincere apologies but we are experiencing some issues with our flight and are currently fixing them."- the captain added though avoiding going into too many details.
"No shit!"- the bulking man said before a few flight attendants tried to calm him down.
(XXXX)
Ember stood up feeling the urge to use the bathroom now that the madness is over, her manager didn't seem to mind too much as she was busy trying to contact someone from the studio but to no avail, people look out the window trying to determine where they were. Everything not only seemed foreign but also alien due to the odd shapes the trees had along with the abnormal size of the mountains, the clouds were dark purple and there were the strange creatures following them.
The rocker saw with a worried expression as a young mother was tending to her crying baby while her husband was busy curing her bruise shoulder, the woman had been one of the many who were tossed during the evasive maneuvers but her motherly instincts force her to protect the baby with her body, something that Ember considered most commendable and noble, though she wasn't the only one hurt.
People started to gasp and yelled out making Ember think there was another mountain in the way, she clutches the nearest chair yet noticed there was no abrupt movement, her eyes peaked through the window and saw with great shock as the strange clouds vanished revealing a dark green sky along with large green spirals. More impressive were the enormous floating islands.
"Where the fuck are we?"- a lonely voice cried out.
The scenery before them was surreal as if they had wandered into outer space but remained on Earth at the same time. People began to frenetically call their loved ones but the signal had yet to return making more than one scream in frustration, Ember was left dumbfounded as she looked at an enormous whale-like creature flying in the sky without wings, a few passengers started to panic praying to whatever god they believe in, while a few other were taking pictures and filming the creature along with the scenery as if they were on a safari.
Ember along with several people quickly turned their attention over to the front upon hearing the mistakable sound of glass breaking, one of the stewardesses was sitting on the floor completely terrified, blood splattering her face. The rocker could feel her bladder starting to fail as she watched with utter horror at a long tentacle that went through the window and into a second flight attendant.
The green feeler was thick as an arm and firm like an iron rod easily lifting the woman off her feet, it curves like a scorpion's sting, and the spear-like tip threatened with impaling the stewardess on the ground who watch in horror as blood flowed down the appendage. Without the need of being commanded half a dozen men rushed towards the impaled woman, wrapping their arms around the cold tentacle. Another batch of passengers made sure to take the second flight attendant away.
"This thing has spikes!"- one of the rescuers declared as he tried to hold down the tentacle.
The creature easily lifted all seven individuals as if their combined weight meant nothing at all, shaking them off his intended meal. The rocker singer watched as the creature pulls the woman away leaving a large bloody hole in the side of the airplane, she quickly grabs the nearest chair expecting to be pulled away but unlike action movies, nothing happened other than a sudden shift in pressure followed by a deafening ruckus.
Muffled screams came out from the passengers as more spear tentacles breached the airplane as if they were attacking a large animal, people ran for cover using their luggage as a shield, and hellish shrieking filled the interior alongside the howling winds once the pressure had re-established. Long sharp tentacles sway side to side trying desperately to find a target as a few brave souls used whatever they could get their hands as an improvised weapon.
"Help me!"- A man yelled as his leg was wrapped around by a spiked tentacle that went through the ceiling breaking it in several parts.
Ember stood frozen in her spot as the man was yanked through a hole in the ceiling and tossed into the black sky, she soon saw him falling in the distance as several monsters chased after him, ripping the man apart midair. The rocker was abruptly shoved to the side by a large man wielding a small revolver which he used at point-blank range, the flying octopus shrieked moments after being shot at the base of his body.
A ninja scream came from behind Ember who upon turning around saw one of the stewardesses spinning a mop around her hand and doing impressive martial movements, she then used the mop as a spear hitting the monster as it tried to enter through the hole. The most painful and deafening shirked escape from the beast as it was impaled in his large red eye, sending the monster flying away.
The rocker saw her bandmates fighting off the tentacles with their guitar cases or luggage, people ran around screaming while a few others fought as best they could. The sky marshals tried their utmost to protect the passengers but were forced to come deadly close to the monsters as they feared shooting a person. Long tentacles sway side to side cutting more than one person.
"Ember, get back here!"- Britany yelled as she pulled her charge between a pair of chairs.
"What the hell is going on?!"- The singer demanded to know.
Before she could get an answer saw a long-spiked tentacle come through the ceiling impaling itself on the floor, missing Ember's head by just a few inches. It was then that she noticed a broken whiskey bottle underneath a chair, without wasting any time took it and began stabbing the feeler as hard as she could. The monster's skin easily broke surprising the singer who expected its flesh to be hard as steel.
The beast shrieked loudly as green blood oozed from the deep lacerations made by the broken glass, Ember continued stabbing almost manically as she screamed. It was then that her arm went through the tentacle making her fall to the ground with a loud thud, she instantly turned around pointing her broken bottle upwards yet saw the monster flying away leaving behind his severed appendage, the girl examined herself and discovered she was only covered in green gooey blood.
The rocker was ever so grateful to whatever alcoholic managed to sneak in his bottle, otherwise, there would have been no way for her to beat the monster. The blue hair girl rolled on her side panting for air, she had never done anything remotely close, she felt her legs turn like jelly as she tried to get back on her feet, and screaming became nothing more than mere background noise.
"The things are leaving!"- Ember heard one of her bandmates say.
Ember stood up shifting her attention from the spike-haired girl dressed as a punk who assured the monsters were gone to all her surrounding, it was nothing short of chaos, the first thing she noticed was the many wounded people on the floor, the chairs or leaning on the side of the airplane, followed by blood-stained chairs and cuts on the floor or walls. Ember gulped down hard as she saw a severed arm resting on the chair forcing her to shift her eyes to the roof where she saw a few bloody holes showing the greenish sky.
The rocker was having a hard time not only understanding but believing what just transpired despite looking at the severed tentacle that served as proof of her ordeal, she had never heard of such abominations attacking airplanes or any other form of transportation, then again it wouldn't be the first time the government kept such things under wraps. The girl took hold of the feeler, it was heavy and the tip was made out of bone similar to a horn yet was curved and sharp.
"I'm telling you; this is a fucked up military experiment."- a man said drawing everyone's attention. "We gotta be in some restricted airspace or something."- the man continued.
"No! These things are from fucking outer space"- another man interjected.
"Are you guys blind or something? We're not even on earth anymore."- A young lady said.
"So, what's the plan, air lady?"- Ember asked interrupting the argument as she ripped flesh from the tentacle, making more than one passenger disgusted. "If what this guy says is true, those things are going to come back, or worst yet, someone's gonna shoot a missile up our asses." The rocker continued.
"I'll go ask the captain; she'll know what to do."- the stewardess replied before speeding off. As soon as the flight attendant left, the trio began arguing again.
(XXXX)
The airplane vibrated as it continues the flight, people were keeping their eyes glued to the windows in search of more dreadful monsters while a few others made improvised arms with anything they could get their hands on, the flight crew made Molotov cocktails with the surviving liqueur bottles while some passengers made clubs or shives with pieces of metal leftover from the attack.
Ember held tightly at the spear she made with the tentacle and a broom, it wasn't much but so far was the best weapon in the airplane aside from the revolvers the three sky marshals had, though would become useless once they ran out of ammunition. The singer wasn't one to sit around and wait to be rescued like some damsel in distress, she marched toward the front of the plane in search of answers.
As she walked came to notice there were far fewer people than what they left with, she never saw went the passengers being pulled out, in hindsight, was too focused on staying alive than seeing other people. Sudden retching drew her attention, one of the flight attendants was throwing up by the corner though not without a cause as she and her male colleague were busy dragging corpses out of the way.
"My god…" the singer whimpered as she looked upon the mutilated bodies.
Her knees felt weak and her stomach threatened with making a duo with the flight attendant. As she looked upon the pile of bodies. The victims had been brutally cut apart, they were missing body parts and the slashes were deep, though most intimidating was the blood that nearly covered their entire bodies, one thing movies forget to mention were the small details that Ember found most disturbing.
The yellow fat between the skin and the muscles along with the various body fluids that dripped down, how the red flesh hung from the bodies and worst of all was the stench of entrails that made her stomach twirl. It was then that she saw the Latina influencer among the dead, she was missing her left arm and left breast, there was a deep cut starting on the right corner of her forehead and going across her left eye, and the jaw had been ripped down to the throat leaving her tongue hanging out.
"Excuse me, miss. Please return to your seat."- a male flight attendant said, his face distraught and wanting to be anywhere else.
"I… um… I… want to… yeah."- It was the first time that the ever-overconfident Ember felt so confused and dumbfounded.
The man didn't wait for her and quickly took hold of a few sets of blankets that he used to cover the bodies, trying to make sure each one was properly wrapped and tied, though the bloodstains at face level and other parts didn't help make the scene any better. But it was as much dignity as anyone could get under such terrible circumstances, Ember felt dizzy, the sight was starting to get to her, and decided to continue.
Her eyes then set over a young stewardess who tied her long blonde hair into twin tails, the very same "dumb bimbo" who welcomed her aboard and was masterfully sawing up wounded people with skills that would make any surgeon jealous. Unfortunately, she had to improvise much of her bandages by ripping clothing as the airline never foresaw such an event and gave limited medical supplies. There weren't any parachutes either, these had been discontinued several years ago.
"What's up?"- Ember said as he rudely opens the cockpit door taking the pilot and copilot by surprise.
A third man sitting beside the door stood up clutching a piece of metal that he intended to use on the intruder's head but stopped midway as he saw it was the young rocker. All three let out a sigh of relief as they return to their activities, Ember quickly noticed the windshield was slightly cracked meaning the attack had not been limited to the sides of the airplane, surely, the beasts thought the airplane was some sort of animal.
"What can I do for you?"- the pilot asked who would have her escorted out under normal circumstances.
"I just wanna know what's going on."- Ember asked a little shyer than she expected.
"Everything's going to be fine, please return to your seat." The pilot replied as she studies a map book.
"I'm not an idiot, dipstick, we were just attacked by flying octopus monsters and I know damn well we're in some freakish world or some shit."- Ember said with a defiant voice, she was well known for her hatred of adult authority but other than her makeshift spear, she needed them to survive.
"Fine… to be honest, I have no idea where we are. The instruments aren't reading anything, our electronic mapping system is down and we just saw a giant whale flying in front of us, to top it off we have no communication with ground control or with anyone."- The pilot replied as if she was venting out.
Ember had imagined such a scenario but hearing directly from the pilot made it feel real. In just a few hours they would be out of fuel and be forced to land on whatever hell they had stumbled into, the only light was coming from the green spirals floating in the sky that didn't do much to illuminate the forest below which seemed to expand endlessly, Ember shivers at the thought of the horrible creatures that could lurk within that forest.
(XXXX)
Sudden screaming boomed from the plane's back forcing the rocker to turn around with terrified eyes, just as she took a step out of the cabin heard the door slam shut behind her, she cursed at the crew's cowardice but reminded herself that if the pilot died or the controls were destroyed, everyone would unavoidably die. Ember moved the curtain dividing the cabin from the rest of the airplane and looked, horror filled her sight.
The flying monsters were once more attacking the airplane, their long and terrible tentacles slithering inside through the windows and the already-made holes searching for a victim, for something to eat. Their hellish shrieking froze Ember's legs, she then saw the young mother with the bruised shoulder desperately holding on to a chair with one arm while holding her baby with the other as a tentacle wrapped around her leg.
The woman's husband was nowhere to be seen, Ember screamed loud before rushing towards the monster and bringing down her spear like an axe, though it was sharp and managed to cut halfway through the feeler, the binds loosen rather quickly forcing her to stomp on the blade making sure it cut through. Green blood gushed out as the beast shrieked in utter pain bringing a smile to the rocker.
Even though they look like terrible monsters from hell, the truth was that they were nothing more than animals and could be killed like any other animal. Ember turned over to the woman just in time to see her be impaled by a sharp tentacle coming from the ceiling, her head cracked open like a walnut. Blood and brain matter spilled Ember's face, she remained motionless as the tentacle wrapped around both mother and son, crushing them before dragging the two through a hole in the ceiling.
A gunshot broke her trance, she looked down the aisle and saw people desperately getting away from the monsters that seemed to come from everywhere, a few brave passengers made a stance and fought back using their makeshift weapons, and the sky marshals were forced to shoot at point-blank range. Ember nearly pees herself upon seeing one of the octopus demons entering the airplane.
"Shoot it down!"- a woman yelled as she fell on her ass.
Ember's eyes grew wide in utter shock as she looked at the monster, so far, she had only seen the tentacles but now felt even more terror. The monster was huge, nearly taking the entire aisle, it had only four long spiked tentacles that ended in sharp pointy tips that resembled a curve blade, a single red eye in its dome head but without any discernable mouth, though if they followed the same structure as an octopus, it meant their mouth was at the base of the body.
A flight attendant rushed past Ember knocking her to the ground as he tossed one of his Molotov cocktails, a stupid action considering they were inside a flying tube, the last thing they wanted was to start a fire but desperate people do desperate things, even so, his rush action had the desire result as the monster shrieked and twirled once the flames picked up, a second flight attendant ran up to the monster holding a broom that he sharpened.
"Die you freak of nature!"- the man yelled as he shoved the broom inside the monster's single eye.
People cheered and even clapped as they saw the broom going all the way into the monster's eye, but the beast retaliated by cutting the man in half using two tentacles as if they were scissors, ending the cheering. His intestines spilled on the floor. The man gave his life to kill one of the monsters, Ember turned away and vomit nothing more than saliva, the gore and carnage finally got to her.
A tentacle came through the wall missing her by an inch, the rocker yelled but instinct took over and began slashing at the tentacle, unfortunately, couldn't slice off the appendage this time, merely cutting it, so she quickly began tying her spear upon seeing the tip becoming loose. The beast didn't leave this time, instead, poke its large eyes into the hole trying to find who hurt him yet saw the tip of the spear.
Ember yelled loudly as she thrust the weapon deep inside the creature's eye, green blood gushing out accompanied by loud shrieking, but recalling the previous incident yanked her spear and rushed away before the creature could retaliate, she looked at the hole but could find the monster anywhere, either it died or ran away, it didn't matter. The rocker stood up and saw the chaos had ended.
"Bring all the wounded here!"- the blonde twin-tail flight attendant ordered no longer using her high-pitched voice.
The rocker gave her a sideways glance, her pristine uniform had been ripped along with the stocking, she was barefoot now, her expression wasn't that of the bimbo she first saw, and her true colors were starting to show, the woman was confident and demanding. Ember made her way back to her seat but couldn't find her manager anywhere, nor her bandmates, just the laptop, and their luggage.
"Where the hell are you?"- Ember said as she dragged her feet.
The teenager was more than tired, she wanted to sit down and forget the madness but felt compelled to find Britany and her bandmates, despite their aggressive looks and demeanor, were nothing more than teddy bears, the kind that would break down crying if yelled at. Ember looked at her trembling hand while regretting not charting the bus as her manager wanted, it would have been the perfect advertisement.
Unfortunately, Ember wanted to try a bit of high life after seeing a show on MTV Ghouls where all the high rollers and famous musicians traveled in nothing less than first-class flights. She already saw herself as a famous musician and should travel as such, not in a dirty rented bus. Now she was bruised and tired, her expensive designer outfit was in tatters, and she wasn't even sure if she would come out alive.
"Ember"- she heard said from her side.
"Is that you Explosive Diarrhea?"- Ember asked looking at the green hair guitarist.
Ember smirked at the irony of finding her bandmate, Explosive Diarrhea hiding inside the bathroom, she recalled bestowing him that nickname after he had an accident with his first-ever groupie. The teen never went into too many details about the accident but Ember still remembers with vivid details as the groupie ran out of the motel room screaming, her face and mouth filled with shit, the teen vow to never eat at Taco Ghouls again.
"Where's Britany and the others?"- Ember asked as she kneels in front of him.
"One of the things took the suit lady, I saw how it stabbed and yanked her out of the airplane, motherfuckers ripped her apart."- Explosive said having run dry out of tears. "They kill chaos too, what's left of her is over there."- the teen pointed over to a pile of bodies, Ember could see the spiked hair of her former bandmate.
"And Phobos?"- the girl continued but her bandmate shrugged allowing her to assume he was missing or worst dead.
The girl sat down and watched as crewmen used a fire extinguisher to put out the fire caused by the Molotov, as far as she knew they had killed only one monster but injured several more, Ember blinded one and maimed two more, the sky marshals shot creatures more but without a body there was no way to know if the shots were lethal. She was sure more monsters had been killed but didn't feel like strolling around the airplane to find out.
"You think we'll make out alive."- The teen asked timidly.
"No, I think we're good as dead."- Ember said firmly, she wasn't one to sugarcoat anything. "We've are trapped in some weird ass parallel universe; the airplane is running out of fuel and I'm sure these freaks are gonna attack us again. To top it off, we have nothing to defend ourselves with."- Ember added yet there was no defeat in her voice. She was angry.
"No! we are going back, I don't how but we are going back and we're gonna be famous and shit."- Explosive Diarrhea declared as he stood.
(XXXX)
It was then that the airplane abruptly moves on its sides sending people flying, several passengers struck against the seats while a few others grasp the luggage compartment as their screams filled the interior once more. It was a nightmare that just didn't end. Ember rolled out of the bathroom hitting the wall with a loud thud, it was upon seeing heavy bags flying toward her that she assumed a fetal position but even so was hit several times.
"Another fucking mountain?!"- the girl yelled out loud.
Ember gasped loud as she was lifted off the floor and slammed back down, she then slides to the side and back. The airplane was conducting evasive maneuvers, though the kind only a fighter jet would be able to perform. People were tossed around like rag dolls barely able to stay in place. The rocker slammed the wall, but quickly looked out the window and saw with horror a gigantic octopus, nearly half the size of the airplane.
"I think mom is really pissed off!"- Explosive said as he looked out the window.
"What the fuck are we gonna do?"- Ember heard a man say from behind her.
They had no weapons to fight off such a beast and the airplane wasn't designed for such dangerous maneuvers. Ember kept her eyes glued to the window as the monster lifted its long tentacle ready to wrap the airplane but the pilot made a dive in the nick of time preventing capture. It was then that Ember saw her bimbo giving instructions to the pilot from one of the larger holes on the plane, telling her how and when to move, the rocker grew rather respectful of the stewardess who was conducting herself with courage.
But Ember wasn't one to sit around and wait for the "authorities" to fix things, she marched to the front seeking anything that could prove useful, she saw people hiding under the seats trembling or praying to whatever god may hear. It was then that the airplane once more move to the side sending her flying along with dozens of passengers over the chair and slamming against the wall.
A hellish bellow resounded within the airplane filling everyone with terror as the giant octopus once more tried to slam its massive tentacle and yet, thanks to the stewardess's quick reaction managed to warn the captain in time, avoiding a deadly collision. The brief moment of stability allowed the passengers to quickly strapped themselves onto their seats, making sure to keep their heads down to avoid getting hit by luggage.
"We're leaking fuel! Close the third line."- The blonde stewardess yelled into the radio just as Ember slide near her.
Almost as if by divine intervention, a plastic box hit Ember's head and landed between her legs, the rocker was about to toss it away but saw much to her glee, a flare gun. It wasn't much, not even enough to scare the beast away but a wicked idea came to mind as she got back on her feet. The girl peeked out the window and saw dozens of smaller flying octopuses moving around the larger monstrosity.
"Hey! Tell the captain to get close to the thing, let's set this dipstick on fire!"- Ember declared as she showed the flare gun. "If we're going out, we're going in style."- she added.
"Captain, get in front of the monster and reopen the fuel line when I say. We got a plan."- the blonde woman ordered.
Fuel began to bathe the monster and her kin as Ember leans out of the airplane through the large gap on the side while being held by a series of belts that Explosive Diarrhea and a few strong men held onto, her long hair swaying violently in front of her face but her focus was on the beast. The surviving passengers and crewmen watch as a red glow flew toward the beast followed by a stream of fire.
The fuel leak became a deadly flamethrower that quickly engulfed the monster, Ember recalled the slain monster octopus, it didn't die because it was stabbed in the eye with a sharpened broom but because it was set on fire. Whatever these abominations are, one thing is clear for the rocker, they are extremely vulnerable to fire. Seeing the giant octopus burst into a gigantic ball of fire proves her theory true.
Hearing an animal cry in pain would make most people feel extreme sorrow and misery along with bringing a fervent desire to help, but seeing the monster become a giant ball of flames made everyone inside the airplane cheer in utter joy. Horrible bellows echoed within the hellish land as the beast flew away, its kin falling down one after another in smaller balls of fire.
"It worked! Close the line"- the blonde stewardess said through her radio. "Close the fucking line!"- The woman yelled as she saw the fire catching up to the engine.
Ember ran as the turbine exploded tearing the wing apart and sending the flight attendant out of the aircraft without even giving her a chance to scream. Left without options, the singer strapped herself in the nearest chair begging for some sort of a miracle as the airplane dove to the ground. Everything became black.
(XXXX)
"I'm so glad you're alive."- Explosive Diarrhea as Ember open her eyes, surprised to see that she was still alive. "Come on, get up, we gotta get out of here."- The teen said pulling Ember from her chair.
It was then that she noticed the airplane had landed but was a complete mess, her eyes grew wider as she saw a few dead passengers still in their seats. Random fires started throughout the airplane forcing the girl to follow her guitarist. Her plan had worked and the monster was surely dead but didn't expect another failure in the fuel line, as cruel as it was, Ember felt some relief in knowing that everyone who saw her conjured up this plan was dead. No one would blame her for it.
"What the fuck is this place?"- Ember asked as she step out of the airplane for what felt like an eternity.
Her jaw nearly fell off her face upon laying eyes over giant mushrooms that stood at the same height as a two-story building, hundreds of these mushrooms dot the grass-filled landscape, the girl had never seen anything remotely similar anywhere. Ember let out a yell as she saw a giant centipede crawling between the mushrooms and slithering away, her entire body was starting to shake as she was now at the mercy of any manner of hellish creatures.
"My god! Look at that!"- a man yelled out.
Ember turned toward the few survivors left and saw with utter disbelief several floating pyramids of colossal proportions. Based just on pure sight alone could tell these constructions dwarfed any other on Earth by a thousand, there was a bright white halo underneath each edifice that seemed to keep them afloat, it was fair to say they had electricity based on the many bright dots on the pyramid.
"You think they'll help us?"- Explosive asked bringing everyone's attention.
"I'm no expert but that looks like an Egyptian pyramid with a lot of Aztec mixed in it, and those guys weren't exactly friendly."- Ember replied though could see several more styles mixed in as well.
"If they're intelligent, they'll want to help us."- an overweight woman said before marching toward the structures.
Everyone went silent as they look at a small crowd walking towards them, it was hard to distinguish them in the distance but held humanoid forms that made brought a sense of calm, the leader seemed to be wearing some sort of robe. Cold sweat ran down each of the survivors as they gazed over strange creatures, their forms were partially human though their arms were longer than normal and ended in three digits, it was hard to tell if they were clothed but their skin was red, like a worn brick.
But that was where the human parts ended, the denizens of this hell were headless and the upper torso was missing. The shoulders extended upwards like horns giving them a U-shape, floating in the center was a circle that resembled a donut for lack of a better word. The leader lifted his three-digit hand and one of his followers had his "donut" glow, Ember screamed as a green energy ray came out disintegrating the overweight woman in a matter of seconds.
The survivors took this as their cue to start running for dear life, making their way down the giant mushrooms that served as shields. Ember cursed her long heavy boots as they made running most difficult, especially with the extra thick soles that force her to lift her feet even higher, one by one she was being passed by the rest of the survivors who didn't even give her a sideways glance.
"Holy shit!"- Ember yelled as an energy ray passed by her head striking the man in front of her.
"This way!"- Explosive Diarrhea yelled as he pushed the girl away from the crowd.
Ember looked back and saw their pursuers going after the rest of the humans, but they weren't out of the woods yet, one of the strange denizens continued after them. Both rockers were too tired and without a weapon to make any kind of stand, even if they were facing a single monster, it was then that Ember and her bandmate slipped down a steep they failed to see.
"For fuck's sake"- the singer said as she rolled off a cliff.
Everything she had done to survive was for naught, Ember could taste the irony of falling off a cliff after surviving a plane crash. As she fell to her demise saw a purple circle forming directly in front of her. It was then that she heard a powerful splash, she was surrounded by water, and the black sky above was filled with beautiful bright stars, a long and wide smile came upon her upon realizing to have come back to earth.
"Yo dude, are you ok?"- A young man asked leaning on his yacht. "You, like, came out of nowhere and just hit the water."- he continued as Ember saw the beach in the distance.
"Hey, you're Ember McLain." A blonde woman added making the rock star smile.
It had been three days since Ember's ordeal and so far, was the only known survivor of the tragedy, the unofficial report said the airplane crashed in the ocean after the captain went off course for unknown reasons, and that Ember survive after drifting back to the coastline where she was rescued by a passing tourist in his yacht. This, of course, was far from the truth the rock singer initially told the authorities who naturally didn't believe a word she said.
"Quite a story you told them."- A bold man dressed in a pristine white suit said. "Giant octopus, floating islands, and demons"- the man said while looking at a file.
"That's what happened, I didn't imagine or hallucinate the whole thing, can't blame them for not believing me but it seems like these dipsticks have a hard-on for the word terrorist."- Ember replied as she looks at the man. "I'm not stupid, I'm not gonna go on a public rant about monsters and other dimensions."- she added.
"Good to know, by the way, that place is called the Ghost Zone, and the monster you described is an Ectopuss."- Ember looked incredulously at the agent wondering if she was making fun of her until she was granted a file with blurry pictures of the Ectopuss. Several agents walked in holding a camera and other equipment, a simple nod was enough to send the two cops guarding her door away.
"Why are telling me this?"- Ember asked.
"Well… no one believes you, so you and the national safety board are gonna read off this script, and say it was all a mechanical failure, don't worry it's very detailed."- the agent continued as his peers set up cameras. "Tell me what happened, and I'm a sucker for details, I wanna know everything down to what you had for lunch, but don't worry, we're not like the mean feds. You show me yours and I'll show you mine, tell you everything about that horrible place."- the agent added.
"Who are you, people?"- Ember asked knowing that no one would believe outside this room.
"I'm your biggest fan"- the man replied showing her newest album and a marker.
The end
