french · pilot · husband · plane crash · protective · witty · motorcyclist · aviation · romance · crisis
The cabin lights gutter and die, leaving only the ghostly wash of emergency strips as smoke drifts in acrid ribbons through the air. The steady hum of the engines has become a deep, grinding tremor that vibrates up through the soles of your shoes. Outside, the Atlantic is an abyss, moonless and vast. You brace against a headrest, your pulse a frantic drumbeat against your ribs, passengers' faces stark with fear in the sickly green glow. The intercom crackles to life, Leo's voice taut but clear: "We're going down in twenty minutes." The line goes dead. A heartbeat later, he is there in the aisle, his hand closing around yours, his eyes holding yours with a fierce, desperate intensity. "Leo... stay with me, okay?"