Terror at 30,000 feet (Chapter Two)

“This is your captain speaking. We are now at our cruising altitude of 30,000 feet. We will begin our decent into Miami International Airport in four hours. You may now use all approved electronic items. Cell Phones may be switched on, but only if the transmit feature is turned off. I would also like to thank you for flying with United Airlines. We know you have a choice and we thank you for choosing United.”

The body cooler sat in the cargo hold, strapped into place by three Velcro straps. There was a big red sticker stuck on that said, “Take directly to Rabies Research Center” followed by an address.
Raulph sat in the cooler, put to rest by a well placed bullet to the head. The doctor wrote it off as a new strain of Rabies.
And now he was on his way to Miami, land of sun and surf.
The virus was dying. Its only function was to keep the hosts body in workable condition, but without a brain it wasn’t possible. The hosts’ energy was its energy, and with the host dead...the virus didn’t appear to have a future.
Then it mutated. It infected the bacteria that came to eat the corpse, it used the bacteria. But soon it was apparent that the virus could not sustain itself using bacteria. The virus dwindled, began disappearing.
So it mutated again. To something more resistant, more virulent.
It became airborne.

“Excuse me, sorry” Ryan said as he sidled past the little old lady in the seat next to him. He made it to the aisle just as the plane hit some turbulence.
“This is your captain speaking. We seem to be heading into some rough weather,” With a ding, the seat belt lights came on, “For your safety, we ask that you put on your seat belts.” Ryan ignored the captain and made his way down the aisle to the bathroom. When you gotta go, you gotta go, he thought sliding the occupied marker in.

The turbulence had shifted some of the cargo around. The body cooler strained against the Velcro straps.
The plane hit turbulence once again, and for a split second the cooler opened a quarter of an inch before slamming shut again.
That was just enough for the now airborne virus to escape.

Ryan flushed the toilet, watching it zoom into its place in the cargo. He washed his face and hands in the cramped bathroom and switched the sign on the door to vacant before making his way back down the aisle to 27B. He sat back in the chair and closed his eyes.
He shivered. Ryan looked up and went to turn off the air conditioner, but found it was already off. He pulled out the blanket the airline provided, pulled it up to his neck and closed his eyes. Only three more hours to go.

In his sleep Ryan dreamed.
In his sleep Ryan shivered and shook.
In his sleep Ryan passed away.
And then he woke up.


“There isn’t much information on the crash of United Flight 1441. What we do know is that the United Airlines flight took off normally from the Sacramento Airport and for some unknown reason crashed just outside of Atlanta on its way to Miami. The FAA is hoping the black box will offer some clue into discovering what happened and why it crashed. We will let you know more when anything new comes up.
And in other news, a local woman was attacked outside of a 7-11 early this morning. She escaped with a few cuts and bruises and received medical attention for a bite she procured in the altercation. She described the man as “wild” and “covered in blood”. If you have any information regarding the capture of this man, please call crime stoppers at the number below.”