Arthur heaved up and down as he struggled against the crushing gravity of the plane. For some reason, the force crushing against his body increased tenfold, making him sink into his own chair as if he was being pressed by a boulder.
His body felt extreme pain and he could barely hold it. ‘This… This is…’ He clenched his teeth as he gripped the chair handle to try and keep his composure.
“We are almost past the first layer of the atmosphere.” He heard in the microphone.
“Just… fucking hurry!!” He grumbled. He didn’t know how he was still awake with all this Gravity force wrecking him but Arthur was indeed still fully awake. What felt like hours was in fact a few minutes of time.
The screams of the passengers echoed in his ears as they were perhaps struggling as he was. It was complete hell for that entire period of time. But, as the pilot had said, the struggle didn’t last long.
At some point, the gravity started lessening and the shaking of the plane weakened. The pressure on Arthur’s body returned to manageable degrees as he was finally able to take a deep breath. With wide eyes and a sweaty face, he heaved up and down as he leaned forward.
“I can breathe… Hah, hah…” With a hoarse voice, he held his chest as he looked up. The alarms stopped going off and the quietness eventually submerged the entire plane again as if nothing had just happened.
Arthur was stunned for a while before he finally regained some composure. “What was that? What kind of atmosphere does this?!”
What just happened felt like a horror movie. “Is every goddamn flight like this? I… I don’t want to get on a plane ever again.” He muttered as he shuddered.
“We have passed the first layer. You can leave your seats, ladies and gentlemen.”
Hearing that, Arthur slowly pulled the seatbelt over and stood up. His legs were still shaking but he was able to stand straight and looked around him.
Surprisingly, the plane didn’t look as chaotic as he expected. With what happened, he expected everything to be a huge mess. But, nothing seemed to be out of order. Even the cups and plates didn’t break from all the ruckus.
“… What?” Arthur felt even more confused than he already was.
“Agh!” A second later, Jack emerged from his seat with a groan as he staggered forward. “What the hell happened?”
“A turbulence it seems,” Arthur replied as he started walking through the aisle. “A very bad turbulence.”
“What?” Jack frowned. “Did we pass a storm of some sort?”
“I don’t know. The plane is very stable now. Even the engine had quietened.” He muttered as he listened for the noise and yet he couldn’t find it.
At that moment, a hostess walked out of the main cockpit and walked into the passenger area to check on them.
“Is everyone alright?” She asked with a hint of worry.
“I’m fine,” Arthur replied. “Did we land or something? I can’t hear the engine.”
“Ehem, yes, we have indeed landed. But, please wait a moment till we receive permission to open the door.” She said as she turned around and walked away.
“Jack! Are you ok?!”
At the same time, Jack’s group rushed out of their rooms toward him. They were clearly worried about him in the way they carried themselves. Even his cold sister had a hint of worry in her eyes.
“I’m good. Almost hit my head against the goddamn wall.”
“They should’ve warned us before this! I almost snapped my back!”
“Me too, I was trying to leave the capsule and I fell on my face.”
Hearing their complaints, Arthur sighed and walked away. Moving from the passenger area to the front section, he came across Mr. X who was standing in the aisle. He seemed to be busy with his phone as if he didn’t notice Arthur.
However, the moment he got close enough, Mr. X spoke. “The landing was successful, Mr. Arthur.”
“… What was that?” He asked as he looked over his shoulder.
“The atmosphere of the island we’re approaching is quite unstable on the edges so it is hard to navigate it without some turbulence.” He replied. “The hard part is beyond us.”
However, even with that answer, Arthur didn’t seem amused at all. Staring coldly at Mr. X, he opened his mouth.
“Where are you bringing us, Mr. X?” He asked in an almost quiet tone. He felt it, the sense of eeriness that carried this entire flight and this particular incident. He felt coldness wash over his heart and yet it didn’t feel right.
Mr. X looked up at him for a moment and then replied. “You shall see for yourself in a moment. I have received the permission. Follow me.”
Saying that, he walked past Arthur casually. The latter frowned and then followed him. Mr. X walked through the plane and stopped in front of the plane door as he looked around at the students.
He traced their displeased expressions and their intent to voice out their complaints for what just happened. But, his strong presence stopped them from doing anything.
“First and foremost, I would like to apologize for the disturbance. We cannot predict the time this turbulence happens in this area so we can only ask you to ignore what happened. If any of you are feeling uncomfortable or sick, please tell us and we shall give you immediate medical care. We have several doctors and medics on stand-by outside for any such case.”
Then, he waited for them to check if they were fine. When a few seconds of silence passed, he spoke again. “Good. Well, since we are done with that. I officially welcome you, ladies and gentlemen to…”
At the same time, the door behind him started opening slowly as a bright light seeped into the plane, making everyone squint. Their eyes took in the strong light rather quickly and finally, a whiff of beautiful aromas entered their noses.
The smell was so good, that almost all of them were stunned.
“To the island where heroes are bound to emerge. Where our very own dream is going to manifest. Where you shall become what you wish to be and more. We call this place… ‘The Middle Island’.”
Then, Mr. X moved aside to allow the students to walk out of the door and see for themselves what was outside. Arthur was the first to step forward, and he emerged from within the plane with his hand above his forehead.
“So bright…” When he was able to finally see, a small gush of wind moved past him, rustling his hair as his eyes widened slightly.
The first thing he took in was the airport where they landed. It looked rather simple yet futuristic in appearance, taking over a massive area as big as the eyes could see. The sun was in the sky and the sky itself was a beautiful shade of blue Arthur had never seen before.
The sound of birds whistling and the pleasant temperature almost instantly made him relax. Then, he saw it… Far into the distance. Something that made his jaw drop to the ground.
“… What… is that?”