"We're finally entering the atmosphere," I said, noticing the rising temperature outside as flames began to engulf the hull of the ship. The turbulence hit hard, shaking us violently, and the force was enough to blur the vision of everyone aboard.
"Hey, Anne," Roma's voice broke through the chaos, trembling. "Please, don't get mad or cry when I tell you this, but... I think my seatbelt is tearing." Tears welled up in her eyes as panic began to set in.
As I turned, I noticed with each violent jolt, Roma's seatbelt loosened more and more, leaving her struggling against the increasing force. Her body jerked harder with every shift of the ship, barely held in place.
I started to lose my composure, repeating under my breath, "Don't do this to me now… don't do this to me now... don't do this to me now... don't do this to me now... don't do this to me now."
At the same time, Roma, holding back tears, whispered back, "I am doing it… I am doing it… I am doing it... I am doing it..."
Finally, Roma's seatbelt gave way, and she was violently thrown against the ceiling with a sickening "Ughhh!" The impact echoed through the cabin as her body crashed back down to the floor, lying motionless. She was unconscious.
I froze, staring at her limp body, and repeated to myself, "There's nothing I can do… There's nothing I can do… There's nothing I can do..."
For a few seconds, the turbulence eased, giving me a moment to breathe. "Can I do this? No, no, no… It's impossible."
Suddenly, flashes of my best moments with Roma raced through my mind. Like the time she yanked down my pants while I was talking to the guy I liked, or when she crashed my date with another guy dressed up as me, just to mess with us. I couldn't help but recall so many images of Roma laughing mischievously in her room, flipping through her stash of lesbian porn magazines.
"I think I'd be better off without her," I muttered, resigned.
But before I realized it, almost reflexively, tears filled my eyes as I made my attempt to save her. "Please don't die! I don't want to lose you." Saying these words, I moved as fast as I could. For a moment, I glanced at the other passengers—they were terrified, frozen in shock, almost catatonic. In a swift motion, I grabbed Roma, lifted her, and placed her in another seat. I secured her with the seatbelts as tightly as I could, hoping it would hold.
"Please, don't die."
Moving as fast as I could, I rushed to get back to the pilot's seat. But just as I was about to buckle myself in, a violent jolt of turbulence sent me flying, slamming me hard against the ceiling.
"Ugh, shit!" I groaned as I hit the ceiling with a painful thud. "Uh, this hurts a lot," I muttered to myself as I lay on the floor, blood trickling down into my eyes, blurring my vision.
Almost on autopilot, and with my vision blurred, I somehow managed to pull myself up and strap into my seat. My hands, shaky and drenched in sweat, moved instinctively across the control panel. I activated the ship's emergency protocols, setting off an automatic alarm that blared throughout the cabin, alerting everyone to brace for impact.
As the turbulence grew worse, the ship rattling violently as it descended through the atmosphere, something caught my eye through the blurred haze of the cockpit. For a moment, I thought I saw a silhouette below, a dark shape resembling a city passing right beneath us. I blinked hard, unsure if it was real or just a trick of my mind in the chaos.
I redirected all remaining power to the shields, hoping it would cushion the blow. My fingers hovered over the final sequence of commands, but as the countdown to impact flashed across the screen, everything around me blurred.
"We will die if we hit land. I hope we hit water." I said to myself.
Just seconds before the inevitable crash, darkness consumed me, and I lost consciousness.
Deep darkness, as if I was drifting through space, weightless and detached from everything. Out of nowhere, I began hearing words, strange and unclear, echoing in my mind.
"Ankh... Ma'at... Kheper..."
"Who's speaking to me?" I thought, trying to focus. "I think I recognize that voice."
"Ka... Kha... Maat..."
"Ugh, I don't understand what you're saying!" I wanted to shout, but no sound came out. Yet, the voice felt oddly familiar, like something or someone I knew well.
"Ba... Neter..."
I wracked my brain, fighting through the haze. That voice... I know that voice... but from where?
"AH!" I cried out as consciousness finally returned.
Upon awakening, I noticed that the entire ship was covered in blood.
"AHHHHHHHHH!"