What's Happening?

The sky was filled with dark clouds, and there was a rush among people as breaking news erupted worldwide—the most wanted criminal, the drug lord, had escaped from jail. 

"Don’t worry, sir. I’ve seized his money and drugs. Without them, he won’t get far," I reassured. 

(Sudden thunder strike) 

When I opened my eyes, everything was hazy with smoke. I looked around and realized I was on a plane. I was injured. Then I saw someone holding a knife, moving toward me. 

I began to run toward him. Both of us screamed. "Ahhhhhhh!” 

“Excuse me, are you okay?” 

“Yeah, I'm fine,” I replied, tense and sweating. 

“Am I dreaming? I feel like I’ve had this dream many times before.” 

When I began to think about it, my vision blurred, and I felt disoriented. I sensed black smoke filling the air. I couldn't stand; my head throbbed and felt numb. Am I going to die? My eyelids grew heavy as I heard a voice—it was a woman’s voice, sounding like an air hostess.

"I'm here! Somebody help me! Help me!” 

Why am I shouting for help in my dream? Why does my head ache so much? The confusion weighed on me as I struggled to comprehend what was happening. 

Air Hostess: Sir , sir , how may I help you I'm okay , just a bad dream 

I hurried to the restroom to wash my face and found a man lying on the ground, covered in blood—he was dead. I felt shocked and checked his pulse but he was dead. 

I tried to tell the air hostess, but then I received a message: 

“Hi, my old friend. Miss me? Before you tell anyone what you saw in the bathroom, listen to me. There’s a bomb on this flight. If you say anything to anyone, everyone will be blown to pieces. You have only 20 minutes to find the bomb. Let’s see if you’re smart enough. Alternatively, if you don’t want to search, just tell me where you hid my money and my drugs?"

Your time starts now—tick-tock, tick-tock… 

I was in a situation where I didn’t know whom to trust or whom to share my concerns with. 

The air hostess beside me—could she have access to every corner of the plane? 

Could she be the culprit? 

Some passengers were asleep, while others were on their phones. Could any of them have sent me that message? 

The man was killed on the plane. 

Did that mean he was observing me? 

Who was he ? 

What was he like? 

First, I put an "Under Maintenance" tag on the restroom door to prevent anyone from discovering the body. 

I observed everyone, scanning every corner and keeping an eye on those I found suspicious. 

There were four air hostesses: one was friendly but had no phone, the other two were busy serving food, and the last one stood beside me. 

An old man approached me, dressed formally in a sweater. He wanted to use the restroom.

“Uncle, this one is under maintenance. There’s another bathroom you can use.” 

“What??? I used this restroom an hour ago; everything was fine. What happened?” 

“It’s not very clean, uncle. They haven’t been cleaning it properly.” 

“I put that tag. Please go to the other restroom, uncle.” 

“Thank you, son.” He walked to the other bathroom. The air hostess behind me observed everything. 

“Sir, may I ask why you put that tag there?” she said. “Why are you ruining our reputation? We cleaned everything properly. Let me see.” 

She tried to get inside, but I stopped her. In my mind, a mini war raged over whom to trust. “Sir, I’m asking you: why did you put that tag?” 

“Listen to me, don’t panic. There was a dead body in there.” 

She tensed.

“Don’t get anxious. The culprit is on this plane. If everyone finds out, he might blow it up. There’s a bomb here, and we have only 30 minutes. Will you help me?” 

“How?” 

“The killer is with us. Did you see anyone use the restroom before me?” 

“No.” 

Who was he? 

Whose body is inside the washroom? 

I handed her a card with his details. 

"His name was Ayush, and he was a doctor." "Why did he kill him?" 

"That's what I’m trying to figure out. There are so many people here—why did he choose to kill the doctor?” 

“He sent me a message. Can you check their WhatsApp?” 

“Are you joking? Why would they give me their phones?”

“Take any of your brochures. There’s a QR code in them. Most passengers are too sleepy to fill out the details, so they’ll hand you their phones. That’s your chance to check their WhatsApp. The one who refuses will be our suspect. Don’t waste time—we have only 15 minutes left!” 

She followed my instructions, but there was no luck. However, some men refused to give their phones to her. She went to her cabin, and I followed her. "Any luck?" 

“No, sir. I checked everyone’s phone, but your number isn’t in any of them. Maybe they deleted the message after sending it; who knows?” 

Another message appeared: “You have only 5 minutes left. What have you decided? The clock is ticking fast.” 

I received another message, which meant he was using his phone. I told her to check the people using their mobile phones or laptops. She went and checked their devices, but there was no luck. She came to the cabin, saying, “Sir, we are running out of time.” 

Suddenly, smoke filled the cabin, making it hard to breathe. Everyone was coughing, and some started losing consciousness due to the thick smoke. 

"Sir, what should we do? How can we clear it?" someone asked. 

We quickly advised everyone to move to another cabin and seal off the affected area. 

The safety masks deployed, and we instructed everyone to use them, but some people had already fainted. We rushed the unconscious passengers to the emergency cabin and administered CPR. Some recovered, but sadly, two people didn’t make it. To avoid panic, we kept the deaths a secret for everyone’s safety and returned to check on the sealed cabin. 

Sir , what to do next . We don't have time for everything? Already 3 people have died . ( She began to cry )

Smoke, bomb inside the plane , how can he manage to get all that , by avoiding that in the security check ? 

What are you saying sir ? 

I think someone helped him , he was not alone. 

“Excuse me.” (Someone approached the restroom.) “We're blocking the way to the restroom.” 

We stood silent as he went inside. 

“Sir, it’s a waste of time. Please allow me to talk with the pilots and my staff. We don’t have much time.” 

“Wait a minute.” 

“What??? I don’t want to die!” 

I noticed the man in the gray suit had an extra phone in his pocket.

Did you see that? He has an extra phone in his pocket. 

I rushed toward him. "Excuse me, sir, give me your phone." 

"What?" he insisted, confused. 

"Give me your phone!" I began to shout, attracting everyone's attention. 

"Why are you shouting? What did I do? Why are you asking for my phone?" 

"Sir, I’m sorry to disturb you. Ignore his words, but may I have your phone for security reasons. Please, sir, try to understand." 

He started arguing, but I noticed we didn’t have much time. He began to hide his other phone and handed me the new one. I slapped him and snatched the phone. When I checked it, I understood why he was hiding it. There was a chat about delivering cocaine on time. I handed the phone over to her to take legal action against him. But if it wasn’t him, then who was he? 

The people in the plane didn't understand anything and were tense . 

Sir , Only 3 minutes left

Hey , “The person who went to the restroom before we came here—what’s his seat number?” 

“He’s in the middle row.” 

“From his seat, the back restroom is near. Why would he come here?” 

“Maybe he saw the under-maintenance tag?” 

“No, no! I’ve been observing everyone. He came straight here. 

Don’t you understand? 

He’s the culprit!” 

I knocked on the door. 

When he came out, I grabbed his collar and punched him in the face. 

“Who are you?” 

“Where is the bomb?” 

One of the passengers opened the door and screamed upon seeing the dead body. Suddenly, someone hit me on the back of my head. My vision blurred. I saw an old man, dressed formally in a sweater. He used prosthetic makeup to look like an old man, so no one suspected him.

“Hi, my old friend. How are you? Where is my money?” 

I stared at him, anger rising. “Okay, don’t say anything. Ladies and gentlemen, this plane is going to crash within 180 seconds!” 

I tried to punch him but he dodged it. 

I pushed him toward the window. Someone hit me with a walking stick - it was her , The Air Hostess who had been by my side from the very beginning. She grabbed the stick and struck me on the head, blood splattering from the wound. 

Then smoke slowly started seeping from the closed cabin. She was gripping a knife tightly and they both began attacking me. I had slashes all over my body. As I bled and My body grew numb , she launched another attack. I dodged, and in a desperate move , grabbed her by the neck , squeezing tightly. 

"Sir, sir, what are you doing? Please leave me, sir!" she gasped, struggling for air.

I looked around, confused. Everything seemed normal. Everyone was staring at me. When I glanced toward the restroom, there was no dead body inside. I immediately let go of her throat. 

She began coughing. 

"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry," I mumbled, backing away and returning to my seat. 

I sat down, my mind racing. I don’t know what’s happening to me. 

As she continued coughing, I overheard the other passengers whispering. 

How is he? Is he mad? one asked. 

Another air hostess replied, He's not mad. He has a problem. 

What problem? 

Check this out, she said, showing something on her phone. "He was an ex-army officer. Do you remember the hijacking that happened last year? 

“Yes.” 

Everyone panicked in that situation, but he didn’t. He’s the one who saved everyone with just 30

seconds left. He managed to stop the bomb, but there was an explosion on the plane, damaging the wings. The pilot had to make an emergency crash landing. He was the only one left inside, helping everyone, despite suffering severe injuries. It’s a miracle he survived, but those injuries caused amnesia and hallucinations. 

"He's our hero." 

Okay… but why did he hurt that lady by grabbing her throat? 

After that incident, he completely lost his memory. But whenever he’s on a flight, that traumatic event triggers hallucinations and panic attacks. He re-lives the moment without realizing it. 

"Hi, I’m his friend Akshay," I said as I approached the cabin of an air hostess. "I’m sorry for what happened." 

What happened to him? How did he save everyone? 

He didn't expect that the air hostess was one of the attackers, which led to him losing a lot of blood. Despite having severe injuries and a large wound on his head, he didn’t stop. He fought fiercely against them.

According to the reports, the air hostess died due to a gas explosion. During the fight, she went into a cabin filled with poisonous gas. He shot at her from another cabin, which caused an explosion. The flight controls failed, and the pilot had to crash-land the plane. When we arrived, he was the one still standing, helping everyone despite his severe wounds. 

"Attention everyone, we are about to land. Please return to your seats and fasten your seat belts.” 

"Okay, sorry for what he did." 

"No problem, sir. I understand." 

"Thank you.” 

"Thank you for choosing us. You have arrived at your destination on time. This is your captain speaking, and I hope you had a comfortable journey.” 

(As the flight landed and everyone was disembarking, we were the last ones left.) 

"Hi, sir." 

"Hi. Sorry for what I did. I didn’t mean to hurt you."

"It’s okay, sir. It was a bit painful, but it’s alright." (She hugged me and whispered in my ear.) 

Hi baby… Even after the memory loss, you didn't forget me. 

I remembered everything about how you killed him. You are a monster who stabbed every part of his body. I can still hear his screams and clearly recall how you made holes in his heart. 

( I recalled what I see in my dreams ) 

Everything was hazy with smoke. I saw him holding a knife tightly , and both of us had injuries on our bodies. He ran towards me and I ran towards him. My anger reached an extreme limit - I began to shout and punch him hard . When he fell to the ground , I took the knife and stabbed him in the arm. He began to scream , but I didn't stop. I kept stabbing him and demanded to know where he had hidden the bomb. He pointed toward someone’s bag before losing consciousness and then died.

I found the bomb, and everyone began to shout as I had only 40 seconds left. My hands shook as the crowd screamed. By luck, I managed to dismantle the bomb. 

Do you remember , dear ? 

The moment I saw you here, I wanted to kill you, but I didn't. 

You know why ? 

After the blast , I was alive with my face -half burnt, I underwent a surgery to change my appearance and completely alter my identity. 

I'm living a peaceful life now. But your police are still trying to find me . Close the case , and don't even come back to my life again. If you do , I won't miss my target - I'll put a bullet in your heart. 

She began to smile. 

"Have a nice day, sir. Take care. You're so inspiring.” 

"I don’t know if it was really her or if what she said was true. I don’t want someone like that in my world.”

I whispered in her ear : 

“ I don't remember everything, but you're under my surveillance. Even if you commit the smallest crime, I'll be waiting to slit your throat with my own hands.” 

“ This time, I won't miss my target”. 

(Smiling) "Hope we meet again." 

"Yeah… hoping to see you soon." 

"Visit again, sir…" 

"Have a nice day... Bye.”

-Beera Dheeraj

Meet the Author:

I'm a passionate writer and storyteller, specializing in horror, fantasy, and mystery genres. I have written and published multiple stories, including three books on Amazon Kindle—"Blood and Mysterious," "Almighty," and "Rudra - The Fear." I'm also share my work on Instagram under Writertalks82, engaging with readers through storytelling reels and short narratives.