The Fall of Society (The Fall of Society Series, Book 1) (5 page)

           
George
saw the very light gray blotches on Peter’s pale skin. “He doesn’t look good.”

           
“Maybe
he’s just tired,” Paul said.

           
George’s
attitude changed as he glanced back at Peter. “Maybe.”

           
Peter
reached the back of the plane, which was a rest area for the crew and took a
seat. He leaned his head back and covered his face with both hands; it was
obvious that he wasn’t doing well. A stewardess noticed his discomfort and came
to him. “Peter, are you ill?”

           
“I
think so, I’m very dizzy.”

           
She
touched his forehead. “You have a fever; I’m going to get you some aspirin.”

           
“Good
idea, I should have taken some earlier,” he said in a confused state.

           
She
came back a couple minutes later with a drink and the medication. “Here you go,
take this.” she handed him the pills, he swallowed them, she gave him the
drink. “Some ginger ale.”

           
Peter
drank all of it and handed her the glass. “Thank you, Elizabeth.”

           
“You’re
welcome, get some sleep. If you need anything else, just ask me.”

           
“I
bet you taste just as sweet as you are nice to me,” he said and closed his eyes
with a smile.

           
Elizabeth
gave him an odd look for that remark and went back to her seat to continue reading
the eBook on her tablet.

           
A
moment later, Peter woke up abruptly; he clamped his hand over his mouth to
keep himself from vomiting and rushed over to the lavatory. He closed the door
and locked it.

           
Elizabeth
took notice but decided not to bother him.

           
Peter
quickly made sure that the lock was engaged, and then dropped to his knees and
vomited in the toilet, throwing up all the liquid that he drank. Then more than
he drank. It stopped after a moment, and Peter remained hunched over the
toilet; he was as pale as the toilet paper inches from his face and drained of
energy. He thought the worst was behind him, and then he gagged badly, which
led to involuntary spasms; he was dry heaving. He had nothing left in his
stomach to eject, but his vomit reflex continued until it became violent and
then he began to vomit more liquid.

           
It
was
blood
.

           
“Oh…God!”
Peter muttered in between heaves.

           
He
covered his mouth to stop the bleeding, but his spasms kept spilling it
everywhere, Peter didn’t realize that he was dying right there.

           
His
eyes became milky…

           
His
veins turned black…

           
He
vomited again, and it was so severe that a quart of blood splattered all over
the lavatory, his body went into a hard seizure, and he collapsed on the floor,
his chin catching the toilet seat with a
thud
.
He was incapacitated. His breathing was labored and very shallow, they were
sharp, quick breaths.

           
Sharp
and quick.

           
And
then they stopped.

           
His
face went lax and his pupils dilated fully to look at the final beyond.

           
He
was dead.

           
But
his corpse kept dry heaving every few seconds…

           
And
his eyes continued to change color with twisted greenish veins…

           
Blood
slowly dripped from his face like thick molasses…

           
Outside
the toilet, no one heard what had happened inside. Elizabeth looked up from her
book; thought that she heard something, but dismissed it and went back to
reading.

           
In
first class, Mark and Karen continued serving their passengers, which were
about seven. As Mark served drinks, he eyed Nick’s enclosed seat—he couldn’t
hear anything or see any movement—Mark looked closely for a moment and
was curious. He walked over but didn’t look over the privacy screen. “Sir, how
are you feeling?” he said.

           
No
response.

           
“Can
I get you some water and aspirin, sir?”

           
There
was nothing, so Mark activated the seat controls, and the privacy screen
opened. Nick had his back to Mark and appeared asleep; he was very still, and
then Mark noticed that it looked like he wasn’t breathing.

           
“Sir?”
Mark said.

           
Nick
said nothing and didn’t move.

           
Mark
nudged him on the shoulder. “Sir?”

           
Nick
rolled on his back from the nudge and Mark saw his face. “Oh my God!” he
gasped.

           
He
was dead with fully dilated milky eyes that stared into nothing. Mark checked
his pulse on his neck and his wrist, but there was nothing.

           
Other
passengers took notice, so Mark quickly pulled Nick’s blanket over his face. “Karen!”
he called out.

           
She
came over, and Mark whispered the situation in her ear, Karen was shocked but
she kept her composure in front of the passengers.

           
“Move
these passengers into business class; I have to get the captain.”

           
“Okay,”
Karen answered.

           
Mark
went downstairs, and Karen dialed a phone to call the crew rest area on the
first deck.

           
In
the back of the plane, a phone rang softly and Elizabeth answered it. “Crew
quarters, how may I help you?”

           
“Elizabeth,
is Peter down there?”

           
“Yes,
he is, Karen.”

           
“We
have a situation in first class; can you send him up here straight away?”

           
“I
would, but he’s sick, he’s been in the lavatory for fifteen minutes and hasn’t
come out.”

           
“Oh
dear,” Karen said.

           
“I’ll
come up to help.”

           
“Thank
you, Elizabeth, as soon as you can.”

           
“What
happened?”

           
“Keep
this to yourself, but a passenger has died.”

           
“Oh
my lord. I’ll be right there.”

           
Elizabeth
hung up the phone and headed to first class. She looked at the restroom that
Peter was in as she passed and the door was still closed.

           
Karen
hung up her phone and began to address the passengers. “Can I have everyone’s
attention, please?”

           
Mark
hurriedly knocked on the cockpit door and they let him in. “Captain, the sick
passenger in first class that I told you about earlier…”

           
“Yes,
the one with the flu, what is it now, Mark?”

           
“Um,
he died, Captain.”

           
“What?
How?” the captain asked.

           
“I
don’t know, none of us knew that he had passed; he must have died in his
sleep.”

           
The
captain activated the autopilot on the instrument panel and turned to the
copilot. “Charlie, fetch the air marshal and meet us in first class.”

           
“Yes,
sir.”

           
The
copilot left and the captain went with Mark to go upstairs. “Mind the store,
Jimmy, like a good lad,” he said to the navigator.

           
“Of
course, sir.” Jimmy answered dutifully.

           
They
left him alone, and he closed the cockpit door.

           
All
the passengers were gone in first class; only Karen and Elizabeth remained,
except for Nick’s covered body, which they stood a deliberate distance from. The
emptiness of the cabin had a definite eerie vibe. The women were relieved when Mark
returned with the captain. “Ladies,” the captain said as he walked by.

           
In
economy class, Charlie, the copilot, walked up to Paul and George’s seats and discretely
motioned for George to come with him. George unbuckled his seat belt and got up
hastily, and that’s when Paul saw the pistol in a shoulder holster under
George’s jacket.

           
“Nice
pistol, George; you never mentioned what business you were in?” Paul asked.

           
George
leaned in to Paul for privacy. “I’m an air marshal. Please, try to keep that
information to yourself.”

           
“Of
course,” Paul answered and George went with Charlie.

           
The
captain had just finished his own examination of Nick’s body and he pulled the
blanket back over his lifeless face. “You said you thought that he had a flu,
Mark?” the captain asked.

           
“I’m
not sure, Captain, it’s just a guess, but he was definitely ill.”

           
“What
about Peter? He wasn’t feeling well, either,” Karen added.

           
“What
does Peter have to do with this?” the captain said.

           
“The
passenger grabbed his arm and scratched him,” Mark said.

           
The
captain was confused. “Scratched him?”

           
“Yes,
it drew blood, Captain.” Karen said.

           
“Really?
Where is he now?”

           
“Last
I saw, he was in the lavatory in the crew rest area, I believe he was
vomiting.” Elizabeth said.

           
“Be
a dear and check on him, would you?” the captain asked.

           
“Yes,
sir, right away.” Elizabeth left.

           
Charlie
arrived with the air marshal. “What’s happened?” George asked.

           
“Hello,
George, good of you to come,” the captain said. “We’ve had a passenger death.”

           
“What
was the cause?” the air marshal asked.

           
“We’re
not quite sure, but the man seemed to have a flu.” the captain speculated.

           
“Flu?
N1H1? Doesn’t that take a long time to kill someone?” George asked.

           
“Yes,
so if it was a flu, then he was probably in the last stages of it when he
boarded, poor devil, he should have went to hospital instead of going on a
trip,” the captain said. “But these things happen sometimes; it’s not out of
the ordinary.”

           
“Did
you check his pulse, Captain?” the air marshal asked.

           
“Yes,
of course I did, so did Mark. Didn’t you, Mark?”

           
Nick’s
body
SAT UP
a few feet behind the
captain and everyone saw it but him. They were all startled as they looked at
the sitting corpse with the blanket still over his head, making it look like a
phantasm.

           
Mark
didn’t answer, his eyes were locked on Nick’s body. “Bloody hell!” he said.

           
“What
is it?” the captain said and turned, he saw what they looked at. “Is this someone’s
idea of a sick joke?” he said.

           
The
blanket slipped off Nick’s head, revealing what he had become—gray, dead
skin, abnormally colored eyes, and a rancid mouth dripping blood-infused saliva—
It
saw them and roared madly, it charged
and attacked the closest person—the captain had no room to avoid the
attack—it jumped on him and brought him to the floor. The force of the
attack pushed the others away; Charlie staggered backwards, Mark and the air
marshal were thrown to the floor, while Karen staggered back and screamed so
suddenly that her voice broke and produced a loud
hiss
.