By: Carisa Weeaks
Copyright 2000
For: Emily Mills
"Come on, Ryan! Get the lead out!" Emily yelled from the living room as she dried her wet hair. "Your parents want us there for the reunion!"
Ryan, her boyfriend of a year and a half, stumbled wearily out of the bedroom. "I'm comin'," he grumbled. She laughed and threw her towel at him, hitting him in the face.
"Nice reflexes!" she smarted off. He arched an eyebrow as an evil grin appeared on his face.
"I'll show you 'nice reflexes'!" he laughed as he ran after her.
She squealed and ran away from him. She tried to run into the bedroom and shut the door, but she was too late. He tackled her on the bed and began tickling her. She pushed him off and fought her way to her feet. She laughed as she caught her breath. "Come on, Gosling. Your parents are waiting." She walked out of the bedroom.
Ryan propped himself up on his elbows and sighed. "Alright, fine," he mumbled. He got up, grabbed some clothes from the closet, and went into the bathroom to get ready for the flight.
~*~*~*~*~ At the Airport ~*~*~*~*~
Ryan and Emily sat on a bench with their carry-on luggage and waited for their flight to be called. Emily laughed softly at her scowling boyfriend as he pulled the bill of his hat lower over his face and pushed up his sunglasses.
Emily watched three teenage girls walked by and gawked at him. One of them whispered something to the others, then turned around and started towards them. She smiled at the nervous 14-year-old who had a pad and pen in her hand. The girl smiled nervously and looked at Ryan with wide eyes. "Excuse me, but aren't you Ryan Gosling?" she asked as maturely as she could.
He smiled. "Yeah, I am," he said happily as he extended his hand to shake hers and take the pad and pen from her.
The girl covered her mouth and jumped up and down with giddiness as Ryan asked for her name and wrote a note to her thanking her for being a fan. He handed it to the hysterical girl and smiled. "There ya go!"
She squealed and hugged him, making him jump and laugh at the same time. She ran back over to the other two girls and screamed along with them. They ran off calling to her mom so they could show her the autograph.
Emily sat there smiling at Ryan. "So much for the disguise, huh?" she said jokingly.
He smiled. "I'm just glad that I still have fans," he remarked. He glanced around the terminal at the busy people. He noticed a dark-haired girl by the pay phones watching him. His eyes widened. He recognized her as the girl who had been following him the day before. He had stopped in the middle of the street to ask her why she was following him and she just smiled evilly at him then turned away towards the way that he had come. He stood there bewildered until an obnoxious cab driver honked his horn and yelled obscenities for him to get out of the way.
"Ryan." He jumped and looked over at Emily. She laughed. "They just called our flight."
"Oh." He stood up and grabbed his carry-on with one hand and her hand with the other. They walked to the plane hand-in-hand.
Emily looked at Ryan with concern. He had a fearful expression on his face. "Ryan, sweetie, what's wrong?"
He looked at her with fear in his eyes. "Remember that girl I told you about yesterday?"
"The one who followed you?" she asked quietly, making sure no one could hear her.
He nodded.
"What about her?"
"She's here."
She rolled her eyes. "That's impossible, Ryan. The cops arrested her, remember?"
"But, Em, I…"
"Ryan, it wasn't her." Her voice was firm.
"Bu…" Emily interrupted. "No! No, 'buts', Ryan! It wasn't her."
Ryan frowned. "You're right. It couldn't have been her," he said unconvincingly as they boarded the plane.
~*~*~*~*~ On the Plane ~*~*~*~*~
Emily hummed along to her friend Tony's CD as she read. She looked over at the sleeping lump she called her boyfriend and chuckled at the expression on his face. She laid her book on her lap and dozed of into a peaceful sleep.
She woke up with a jolt as the flight attendant accidentally hit one of the seats behind her. The flight attendant came by with the cart and Emily took two bottled waters. She felt someone watching her as she reached for the bottles and looked around the plane. A dark-haired girl glared at her from a seat near the cockpit. An evil smile crept on her face as she stared at Emily. Emily shuddered and sat back quickly. 'Could that be the girl that Ryan was talking about?' she thought as she saw the stewardess take some coffee into the cockpit for the pilots. She noticed that the girl who had been staring at her was now gone. 'Maybe she went to the bathroom,' she thought, trying to convince herself that she was just being paranoid. She picked up her book and began reading again.
She jumped when she heard the stewardess scream and run out of the cockpit with tears streaming down her face. She felt Ryan nudge her and moved out of his way so he could go see what had happened. She sat there and waited for him to come back. He soon returned with the male flight attendant, along with his friends Justin and Lance. She tried to ask him something, but he just walked right past her. Lance tried to smile, but the look of fear on his face made her shudder. She saw Cat, Justin's girlfriend heading towards her. She stood up and smiled at the long-lost friend, but grew concerned at the strange expression on her face. "What's going on?" she asked with concern.
"Something's wrong with the pilots. The flight attendant thinks they're dead," Cat said solemnly.
Ryan emerged from the cockpit. His face contorted as he walked up to her. "Em, hon, you guys need to come up here," he whispered.
An old man stood up behind Cat and pushed her out of the way forcefully, causing her to fall into the lap of the passenger next to them. Ryan's nostrils flared as the old man got in his face. "What's going on?!" the old man yelled.
Ryan swallowed the lump in his throat. "Nothing that you need to worry about," he replied calmly. "We have it all under control."
"Under control, my ass!" he screamed. He got closer to Ryan's face.
Emily stood there, paralyzed.
"Would you please sit down?" Ryan asked firmly.
The old man laughed. "And let you heathens get us killed?! I don't think so!" He tried to push past Ryan, but he held his ground and pushed the old man back into his seat.
"Why don't you use some of that hot air of yours to keep you coffee warm!" Ryan snapped.
The old man huffed and went to get up again, but his wife rested a hand on his arm and pulled him back down.
Emily helped Cat up from the nice gentleman's lap and followed Ryan to the cockpit. She and Cat gasped when they saw the scene before them.
"What happened?" Emily asked hoarsely as she watched her boyfriend and Justin pull the pilot's body from his seat. She gripped her stomach and swallowed hard to keep her nausea from overpowering her senses.
Cat wasn't as lucky. She raced back through the curtains towards the restroom with her hand over her mouth.
Emily stood beside Ryan as he waited for Lance checked the other pilot for a pulse. Lance looked up grimly and shook his head.
Ryan grimaced. "Dead. Both of them, dead!" he whispered angrily.
Emily looked at him with confusion. "But how?! How did they die? Did someone kill them?"
Ryan nodded. "Yeah." He picked up a Styrofoam cup from the dash. "Probably poison or a drug of some kind." He turned to her. "Go see if Cat's okay and help the other attendants take care of the passengers, okay?"
Emily looked at him with pleading eyes. "I don't want to leave you, Ryan. Please! Let me help."
Ryan just looked at her.
She sighed. "Okay. But please! Be careful! The killer might still be on the plane."
Ryan nodded and kissed her.
As she walked out of the cockpit, she glanced at the seat where the girl had been sitting earlier. Emily stopped walking when she saw the evil grin and red glowing eyes of the dark-haired girl. She walked quickly down the aisle. 'What the hell are we dealing with?' she thought to herself.
Emily found Cat washing her hands and face with a wet towel in the attendants' quarters. The attendants were serving the passengers complimentary dinners and drinks to keep them occupied.
"Hey, Em," Cat said sickly as she threw the towel on the counter.
Emily tried to smile. "Weak stomach, huh?"
Cat nodded. "I don't know why. I mean, I'm going through medical school for heaven's sake! I shouldn't be this way. I didn't start feeling weird until…" she paused. Her eyes widened. "Em, did you see that strange girl sitting near the cockpit?"
"The one with the dark hair and the dark eyes?" Emily asked, alarmed.
"Yeah, only they weren't that dark. I mean, the color was, but there was, like, well, they looked like the eyes of a jack-o-lantern!"
Emily nodded. "They glowed this eerie red color, didn't they?"
Cat nodded. "You saw it, too?" She paused and looked at the ground. "She wants Ryan," she said quietly.
Emily looked at her with confusion. "What?"
Cat looked up at her and sighed. "She kept asking me about Justin and Ryan and if they'd figured out what killed the pilots. Then she started askin' all these questions about Justin and me. Personal questions." She moved closer to Emily. "She knows everything about us, Em, EVERYTHING. I didn't have to say a word. She was asking the questions like she already knew the answer."
Emily looked at her in confusion. "Do the guys know her?"
Cat shook her head. "She wasn't in her seat when I tried to point her out, but when I described her, Ryan got really fidgety and wouldn't look at me." Suddenly, Cat grabbed Emily's arm. "Didn't you tell me last night that someone was following Ryan?" she asked in alarm.
Emily nodded her head.
"That's got to be her! How else would Ryan know what she looked like?" Cat beamed. "I knew those Agatha Christie novels would come in handy some day." Her smile faded when she saw the fearful expression on Emily's face.
Just then, someone tore back the curtains that separated the attendants' quarters from the rest of the plane. The lights above them exploded, causing glass to rain down on the two unsuspecting girls.
Emily and Cat screamed and covered their heads with their hands. Emily winced as she felt a piece of glass cut her hand. Emily heard someone laughing and looked up. The dark-haired girl was standing in the doorway of the now pitch dark quarters. Her eyes were the only things she could see, for they were glowing with red and evil.
Emily put her hand on Cat's arm. Cat looked at Emily with anticipation. She knew what Emily was about to do. "What the hell are you?" Emily screamed.
"I'm Medra, Medra Vidrean," she said. The opaque light from her eyes made her face glow eerily. "If you can figure out WHAT I am, than 'bully' for you."
"Why are you stalking Ryan?" she asked, panicked.
"Why shouldn't I?" she sneered. "He's perfect for the position I need to fill."
Emily's eyes widened. "Oh? And what position is that?" Before she knew it, she was three inches from Medra's face.
"My mate," Medra said evilly.
Emily stepped back in shock. She heard Ryan call to her from the cockpit.
Medra smirked and walked to the curtain and opened it. "Just a minute, sweetie," she called to him, sounding exactly like Emily.
Emily grabbed Cat's arm. "Go get Justin and the guys, NOW!" she yelled.
Cat nodded and walked towards Medra. Medra stretched her arm out with an open hand. Cat went flying backwards into the cabinets. She landed on the floor with a thump.
Emily looked at Medra in horror. "Dear god! What the hell are you?!" she screamed.
Medra smiled evilly. "That's for you to figure out, sweetie," she replied. She turned to the curtain and exited the dark room.
Emily raced after her. As soon as she ripped back the curtains, she looked around frantically for her. She looked in every seat, every compartment. Then it hit her. "The cockpit!" she gasped. She raced to the cockpit and burst inside.
Justin and Ryan were standing behind the pilot's seat. She couldn't see Lance so she knew he was the person flying. She looked around for the evil woman. She saw Ryan turn around and look at her. She looked at him with love and fear, but knew something was wrong when she looked in his eyes. They were empty like dark blue, hollow marbles. She saw that Justin looked the same way. She tried to look at Lance, but Justin and Ryan blocked her view.
"Ryan," she said nervously, "did a dark-haired girl come in here just now?"
Ryan shook his head. "No," he said in a monotone voice.
Emily felt her stomach turning. She knew that whatever killed the pilots and was possessing that woman was doing something to the guys. She walked up to Ryan and hugged him. His skin was cold and clammy. She noticed that his once tan skin was turning as white as the woman's. She looked over at Justin to see the same strange phenomenon.
She turned back to Ryan. "Ryan, that woman that Cat asked you guys about earlier, she's hurt Cat really bad, and now she coming to get you!" she blurted out quickly. She looked over to see Justin's expression when she mentioned Cat and noticed that he didn't even seem to care. He just stood there staring at her.
She heard the curtains fly open. "You're too late, Em, dear. Ryan's mine now," an evil voice said behind her.
She turned quickly to see Medra. She no longer had her long leather jacket on. She was in a black leather outfit. Emily stood there, entranced by Medra's presence. She felt someone grab her arms and force them behind her back. She felt him lean down and place a small kiss on her neck. She knew that kiss. "Ryan?" she said terrified. She turned slightly to see him smiling. It wasn't his usual smile, though. It was hideous and vile. She looked at Justin, who was now smirking maliciously. He stepped aside allowing her to see Lance. Tears welled up in her eyes as she collapsed to the ground. A metal lever had been broken from the dash and rammed into his chest. Blood streamed from his mouth, nose, and injury.
She looked at Medra in disgust. "Why did you kill him?" she screamed.
Medra smirked. "Lance's heart was too pure, as is yours. He had to die because we was of no use to me." She chuckled. "So guess what's going to happen to you," she sneered happily. "Besides, I didn't kill him. Justin did."
Emily looked at Justin with shock. "What?"
Justin's smirk got bigger. "It felt SO good to ram that lever into him!" he said as he laughed maniacally. "Now I'm the only southern-bred sex toy in the group."
She held her stomach with her now pain-stricken arms as she tried to keep herself from throwing up. She saw the curtain move out of the corner of her eye. She looked up and saw Cat appear from behind it. Emily half-smiled. "Cat! Help me!" she pleaded. Her half-smile disappeared when she saw the evil look on her face.
"Oh, please, Em. Do you really think I'd go against my Justin?" she laughed as she pressed her body close to Justin. Emily looked away in disgust. She closed her eyes and tried not to cry.
"What are we going to do with her?" She heard Cat ask.
Medra replied, "I don't know, whatever Ryan feels like doing to her, I guess."
Ryan picked her up by the arms, causing her to wince from the pain. She tried to break free from his grasp, but it was useless. Ryan pushed her through the passenger area to the door. She knew what he was going to do and fought even harder to break free.
Medra sneered and reached her hand out towards the door. It went flying out, causing everything and everyone near the door to be sucked out…except them. Ryan looked at her with soulless eyes and placed her in front of the door.
"Ryan, please, don't! I love you!" she pleaded, crying hysterically.
She watched as the look in Ryan's eyes changed. They started glowing and his face contorted. Tears fell from his eyes and a look of pain shot through his eyes.
"You love me?" he asked.
She nodded. She heard Medra groan. "No! Ryan! It's over! Throw her out!"
Ryan looked at Medra then back at Emily. He pulled her close and kissed her passionately. Emily felt someone push them. They flew out of the plane. Emily tried to hold on to Ryan's hand, but he slipped away. She could hear him yelling her name.
"Emily…Emily…"
She sat up quickly. Sweat was pouring from her forehead. She looked around the plane frantically. Everyone was in the aisles of the plane and staring at her like she was crazy. She looked over to see a very concerned Ryan hovering over her. "Honey, are you okay?" he asked.
She reached up and pulled him towards her, locking her lips on his. This surprised him, but he definitely didn't mind. They broke apart.
"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked as they got up to get there stuff from the overhead compartment.
She nodded. "I just want to get to your parents' house as soon as possible."
As she and Ryan passed by the flight attendants, Emily started thinking about Medra's name. "Medra Vidrean," she muttered out loud.
"What?" Ryan asked, confused. Emily jumped. "Oh, nothing." She went ahead of him towards a crowd of people.
A woman appeared beside her. She turned to see Medra walking beside her. "Sweet dreams, Em," she sneered. Her eyes glowed with red.
Emily stopped in her tracks and watched, horrified, as Medra disappeared into another crowd.
~*~*~*~*~ The End ~*~*~*~*~