"Please listen to me. For the sake of the child in your arms, please be careful. The rain is getting heavier. Taking off in this weather is too dangerous."
"Sir, I don't mean any harm. I just need you to hear me out. Sir?"
"Ladies, don't you feel it? That sense that something terrible is about to happen? If you would just stop and pay attention to it, I'm sure you would notice."
Bella did everything she could to persuade the passengers around her. She had no hard evidence. No technical report. No visible malfunction to point at. All she had was the urgency in her voice and the sincerity in her eyes.
If someone paused long enough to listen, she patiently urged them to wait for the next flight. Gradually, a few travelers began to hesitate.
Most remained skeptical.
A few openly mocked her.
"Crazy."
"Delusional."
"Conspiracy theorist."
The labels piled onto her one after another.
"Miss, if you are not boarding, then leave immediately. You are not welcome here."
Several security officers approached. One tall guard pointed firmly toward the exit, signaling for her to move.
Bella suddenly realized that persuading people one by one was inefficient. Too passive. Too slow.
She lifted her chin.
"Where is your manager? I am requesting a maintenance inspection of the aircraft. It will not take long. As passengers, we have the right to request a safety check."
This time her tone was sharp, confident, distinctly American in its appeal to rights and responsibility. Four or five nearby passengers quietly voiced agreement. An elderly man with white hair and a neatly trimmed beard spoke up as well.
"I support her. The airport must take responsibility for passenger safety. The plane should be fully inspected."
From the group of forty students, a tall brunette stepped forward.
She stood beside Bella.
The pressure on her was obvious. Sweat dotted her forehead. Her voice trembled slightly, yet she forced the words out.
"Claire, you're not actually joining this madness, are you?"
A few classmates scoffed.
"Crazy Claire. I always thought something was off about her."
"Miss Redfield, we are a team. I order you to return immediately."
The teacher's voice snapped through the terminal.
Claire Redfield did not move.
"We can wait for the flight three hours later. Boarding now is too risky. I have the same feeling as this young lady. Not as strong, but close enough. Please. Trust me."
Despite her effort, most passengers treated it as a spectacle. In the end, only Bella, Claire, Claire's two female classmates, and a dozen other bystanders remained behind.
The airport manager hurried over. He was a middle-aged man with a round stomach and an expression already twisted with irritation. More than ten passengers refusing to board for such an absurd reason would become a public relations nightmare if the media caught wind of it.
He frowned deeply.
"Ladies and gentlemen, leave the airport immediately. Global Airlines does not welcome you."
Claire's two friends stared in disbelief. Even as they hesitated, their eyes kept drifting toward the aircraft outside.
"Sir, you do not have that authority."
"You're abusing your position. I will file a complaint."
The manager waved impatiently for security to remove the "troublemakers." The mere sight of them seemed to offend him.
Before anyone could be escorted out, a commotion erupted at the plane.
Two large male students half dragged, half carried a thin boy down the boarding stairs. The same teacher who had suggested Bella see a doctor followed behind them, her face pale with concern. A flood of students and passengers spilled out after them.
"Let me go! The plane is going to explode! I'm not causing trouble, I swear! Let me go!"
The thin boy thrashed wildly. His clothes were soaked through, as though he had been pulled from water. His plaid shirt clung to him, heavy and dark. The two stronger boys restraining him looked disgusted, as if they were handling a madman.
Another voice rose from the crowd. A dark-haired young man shouted desperately.
"Do you remember the bridge collapse from before? I survived that! It was horrible. God. I was just thinking about it. The moment I got to the airport my mind went blank. It is terrifying. Something is trying to kill us. We can't escape. We're all going to die!"
One person making wild claims could be dismissed.
Two or three saying similar things made people uneasy.
Unlike Bella's vague recollection of the film, this time more than forty passengers poured off the plane in a chaotic rush. Some ran so fast they lost their shoes. It looked as though something invisible were chasing them. Within moments the waiting area was filled with shouting and confusion.
The captain, Blake, emerged furious. His dark uniform contrasted sharply with his ashen expression. He had flown for decades and had never witnessed such a farce.
Between the dozen who had refused boarding and the forty who now fled the aircraft, nearly a third of the seats were suddenly empty.
The incident would inevitably reach the press. The only way for the airline to suppress rumors was to depart as scheduled.
The manager lowered his voice and asked the captain quietly while rain lashed against the windows, "You're certain there is nothing wrong with the aircraft?"
"Trust my professional judgment. There will be no problem."
Captain Blake turned sharply and strode back toward the plane.
Bella kept her distance from the passengers who had disembarked. She slipped into a corner and sat alone, watching the aircraft taxi slowly toward the runway.
Her thoughts tangled together.
After courage came fear.
The more she knew, the more she feared.
She worried about the hundred remaining passengers. But if they landed safely, what would happen to her? Would spreading panic earn her fifteen days in detention?
And if someone decided she had orchestrated the chaos, would the punishment start at fifteen years instead?
Her mind swung between extremes. Her delicate brows knit tightly together. Her already pale face drained of even more color.
The thin student was still cursing and struggling, nearly feral in his desperation. The dark-haired young man continued shouting warnings.
Strangely, that gave Bella a small measure of comfort.
At least she was not alone in this.
If blame were assigned, it would be shared. She had no connection to either of them. No conspiracy tied them together. If three people were questioned separately, perhaps the consequences would be lighter.
She folded her hands tightly in her lap and stared through the rain-streaked glass, waiting to see whether fate would spare them or strike.