From a group of forty students, a tall brown-haired girl stepped forward and openly supported Bella. It was clear she was under great pressure standing up at that moment, sweat covering her forehead as she forced herself to speak. Even so, her voice did not waver.
"Claire, have you gone crazy too?"
"Ha, crazy Claire. I knew long ago something was wrong with her head."
"Miss Redfield, we are a team. I order you to come back right now!"
The female teacher spoke harshly and without restraint. The brown-haired girl, however, firmly refused to board the plane and would not move no matter what was said. She insisted that they could wait for the flight three hours later and that boarding now was far too risky.
"I have the same feeling as this lady, even if it is not as strong. Please believe me."
Despite all the effort, most passengers treated the entire situation as a complete joke. In the end, only Bella, the brown-haired Claire, her two female classmates, and a dozen or so bystanders remained in the waiting area. The rest continued boarding as if nothing had happened.
Airport Manager arrived in a hurry, a pot-bellied white man with clear displeasure written across his face. More than ten passengers had refused to board for what he considered an absurd reason, and if this reached the media, he would certainly be questioned by airline executives. His expression darkened as he spoke.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I demand that you leave the airport immediately. I am also formally notifying you that Global Airlines does not welcome you."
The two female classmates of the brown-haired Claire were stunned. They had been counting on the flight three hours later and had not expected this outcome. Their protests came out in quick succession.
"Sir, you don't have that right!"
"This is an abuse of power. I will file a complaint!"
The airport manager waved his hand impatiently, signaling security to drive these so-called troublesome guests away. He felt disgusted just looking at them any longer. Before Bella and the others could leave the waiting area, a burst of chaotic shouting erupted from the plane.
Two strong male students dragged a thin, weak-looking male student down the stairs in an awkward rush. The female teacher who had earlier told Bella to see a doctor followed behind them with a troubled expression. A large group of students and passengers poured out after them.
"Let go of me! The plane is going to explode! I wasn't causing trouble, I really wasn't! Let go, let go, you bastards!" The thin student struggled wildly, drenched in sweat as if pulled from water, his checkered shirt completely soaked. The two strong students beside him looked full of disdain, as though restraining a madman.
Another passenger was also shouting loudly, a young man with black hair. He kept telling everyone around him about his experience. He claimed he was a survivor of the recent bridge collapse and described how terrifying it was.
"I was thinking about it just moments ago, and then at the airport it was like something clouded my mind. This thing wants to kill us. We cannot escape. We are all going to die!"
One person saying such things might not convince anyone, but when two people said it, then three, the story carried more weight. Unlike what Bella remembered, this time forty or fifty people rushed off the plane at once. Many even lost their shoes as they ran, as if chased by some unseen beast, and the waiting hall became chaotic in an instant.
The captain was a Black man, and he was so angry his face looked pale. After so many years of flying, this was the first time he had encountered something like this. With the original dozen people still in the hall and the new crowd fleeing the plane, nearly a third of the seats were suddenly empty.
At this point, it was certain the incident would reach the media. If the airline wanted to crush the rumors, there was only one option. The plane had to take off as scheduled.
"Are you sure the plane will be fine?" Airport Manager asked quietly, looking at the rain growing heavier outside the window.
"Please trust my professional standards. I guarantee nothing will go wrong."
The captain turned and boarded the plane in a rage. Bella moved away from the passengers who had boarded and then fled, sitting alone in a corner. She watched as the plane slowly taxied down the runway, her emotions tangled and uneasy.
After the rush of acting, fear finally set in. The more she knew, the more frightened she became. She worried about the hundred-plus passengers still on board, yet she also feared what would happen if the plane landed safely.
If that happened, what would become of her as the one who caused all this trouble? Would spreading rumors mean fifteen days in detention? If someone suspected she had caused an accident herself, then it might start at fifteen years instead.
Bella grew increasingly uncertain, her pretty brows drawn tightly together. Her already pale face looked even paler now. As she watched the thin student still struggling and shouting, and then looked at the black-haired young man, she felt a strange sense of comfort.
At least there were two male leads carrying this with her. She had no connection to either of them, so it could not be called acting as a group. If they were judged separately, the responsibility should be much lighter, she thought.
The heavyset old man with white hair and a white beard sat beside Bella and spoke to comfort her. "Do not worry, child. A kind warning is not a crime, even if it turns out to be wrong. We do not curse others with malice, and we will not punish good people for trying to help."
He handed her a business card. It read John Gray, a professor in the history department at Bard College.
Bella did not have a card of her own, so she introduced herself instead. "Isabella Swan Swan. Professor, you can call me Bella."
"Hello, Bella. You look very uneasy. Are you worried about trouble from the authorities?" he asked. "I know a few people, so you do not need to be afraid."
She truly felt guilty now. The rush to save lives had passed, leaving only fear behind, and she understood better than anyone what she was about to face. It was something that beauty, money, and status could not fight.
"Do you believe my nonsense?" she asked carefully.
Many passengers were half convinced, or simply chose to believe rather than doubt. Very few openly supported her and believed without reservation.
The old man looked into the distance, his expression turning a little lonely. "You are a high school student, right? Have you studied American history?"
Did America even have history? Bella looked down on what passed for American history, recalling only scattered stories about Washington and the vampire hunter Lincoln. She had inherited very few memories from before, and she had been here only three days, with no time to read.
She did not know what history classes here covered, so she answered vaguely. "I know a little."
"Our history carries original sin," the old man said. "This land does not belong to us, and this sky resents us. In 1821, in Idaho, every resident and gold seeker in a small town died. There were no wounds and no signs at all, five hundred people gone at once. There are many similar cases. The government blamed organized killings by natives, but I believe it was nature taking revenge."
Bella felt his words were very close to the truth. Whatever death was in the movies, no one could explain it clearly.
"I think," she began, but stopped short.
In the distant sky, a massive fireball burst into view. Two seconds later, the shockwave from the explosion slammed into the terminal windows with a thunderous crash, and several passengers standing near the glass were thrown backward as papers, cups, hats, and coats flew through the hall.