A taxi, standard in size, pulled up just outside Los Angeles International Airport. Amongst the many airports in this region of the United States, it was the busiest one in California. This was especially the case early that bustling morning where sunlight had started to dissolve the local region’s gloom.
The Sterling brothers had arrived at their destination, greeted by the humming sounds of planes, preparing to take off from the runway. Kevin, the older of the two wore a wide smile, revealing how happy he was that he had not missed the opportunity to go on vacation. It so happens that a few weeks back, the Sterling elder had played an online game that won him a vacation to The Neo Dome, which was a A-list resort center that had just recently opened up to tourists in London. At first, Kevin found it difficult to believe. It’s The Neo Dome, how is that even possible? In these times, money had become difficult to come by. Nobody was willing to be of assistance to anybody; therefore, everybody had become cynical. Kevin doubted the veracity of the game, until the day he was called by the company, to come pick up his ticket-for-two.
In the difficult times that he was living in and with more strife to most likely come in the not too far future, Kevin couldn’t let the opportunity pass. He was hell bent on ensuring that he and his brother would have the time of their lives.
Now, in front of the airport, the older Sterling, not wasting time, began to set down his bags after opening the boot of the taxi that had brought them down. The younger of the duo, however, got out of the vehicle reluctantly before joining in retrieving their luggage. Matthew, Kevin's younger brother, was a handsome young man, a slightly taller sibling but slimmer and less hunky. After getting organized, they paid the taxi driver, picked up the bags set down and began to approach the spinning door that gave them access to the waiting area.
Kevin remained excited; however, Mathew did not share his brother’s enthusiasm. The night before the vacation trip, Matthew had a dream which had left him uneasy. In that dream, it was as if he could feel the grim reaper swinging his scythe in his direction. Although there was little he could remember, the scariest thing he could hold on to was the feeling of becoming nothingness literally. That dream had awakened him cosmically. Its aftermath was a struggle and Matthew found himself panting like he had asthma. Disregarding the effect the dream’s invoke had on him, he was more concerned that travelling the next day would be a hassle. He was introspective and attested to the unease that was ushered, against his will, by the dream. He still felt there was something off about the prize Kevin won; there is something off about everything.
It didn’t take long for the duo to go through the process of getting their luggage assessed and sent to the plane. After this was done, they headed to the terminal gateway – a section where people who had been approved for flight would wait until their plane was ready for boarding.
Once through the terminal gateway entry doors, they sat down in the waiting area. They were expecting to hear the announcement of their flight as ready to be boarded, however, it turns out both brothers weren’t as early as they thought.
“Hey man, wipe off that scowl,” Kevin said, sitting beside his brother.
“Can I wear my scowl? It’s my new sunshade,” Matthew snapped. “You know I don’t feel comfortable about this, and I told you--.”
“Told me what!” Kevin yelled and interrupted. “That you had a premonition of some kind of disaster. Like, what is that about...”
“You don’t get it.” Matthew complained.
“Actually, I do.” Kevin continued, “I’ve been there with stuff like that before, where your head gets scrambled with all sorts of thoughts and I just got to say that you’re overthinking this trip. We’re supposed to be going abroad to have the time of our lives. Everything is after all free and paid for, courtesy of yours truly. If I could split myself in half and take my doppelganger so I could have double the fun, I would. Sadly, I can’t. So for me, just focus your mind on all the fun we are going to have.”
The scowl that Mathew wore began to dissolve, especially more so after Kevin’s excessive rambling.
“Also, you’ve have been in college all year; we have not had the bro time,” said Kevin.
“Well, life is catching up with both of us. I am in college; you are busy with work. It’s just the way it is. The incarnate itself catches you like death catches those who give up living,” Matthew responded.
“Wow, bro. So poetic. That philosophy sounds way too deep for me to even want to comprehend,” Kevin scorned and threw an arm around Matthew. “But, life or no life, on this vacation, we are going to have some fun!” Kevin spoke with his voice increasingly getting louder as he got to the end of his response.
“Stop shouting, jeeez…” Matthew fired at Kevin.
The older Sterling laughed. Then all of a sudden, he shot a glance at the window. He could see the plane they were set to board coming out of the hanger. Joy beamed all over his face as he waved Matthew over to come see the aircraft. “So there is our plane?”
Matthew frowned at the inscription written on it. “United 999! Really?”
Oblivious to the problem, Kevin replied, “Yeah. What is wrong with that?”
“How can you not find it odd, that of all the planes to get on, we are getting on the one with 999 on it?” Matthew puffed.
“Seriously Matt, I don’t know what’s so strange about that. What exactly is the big deal?” Kevin asked innocently.
Matthew added “Well, what do you get when you flip the number 999?”
Figuring out where the conversation was going, Kevin sarcastically replied, “Oh Gee! How did I not see that...666, it is the number of the beast and the mark itself.”
“Well bravo,” said Matthew, “You have given us another reason that we shouldn’t go.”
Kevin placed his hand on his forehead, wiping his face with his palm as a sign of exhaustion, then he replied to Matthew, “Seriously bro, don’t ruin this. You have no idea how lucky we are to get a luxury getaway in these tough times. Stop whining and let’s just enjoy it.”
The voice of an announcer screeched the boarding radio outlet. Then, the announcer spoke, “United 999 is ready for boarding.” Immediately after the announcement was made, Kevin began to start directing himself to the check in desk. Matthew, on the other hand, was distracted by his own thoughts. The dream he had, and the number ‘999’ on the plane was beginning to really freak him out.
“Bro,” Kevin called out, “Don’t just stand there. C’mon let’s go before the queue gets really huge.”
Matthew snapped in response, “Oh chillax. It’s not like we are going to be late or anything.”
Then he grabbed his bag and began to wheel it alongside him. Eventually, the brotherly duo arrived at the queue, with Matthew taking the position in front of Kevin.
“I hope we don’t spend too much time stuck waiting,” said Kevin.
All he could think about was The Neo Dome. He couldn’t wait to get there.
“I hope so too. So I can gladly get some shuteye,” said Matthew. He was slightly withdrawn from the lack of sleep he had the night prior. On the queue, as Matthew waited, his eyes scanned round his environment. Unexpectedly, hit out of nowhere, he noticed an older teen, a well looked after woman to be, who was staring at him, in an unnerving way. Matthew stared back at her, hoping that she was going to look away; however, she did not flinch. Her gaze was as stern as ever. “What the hell is her problem?” he wondered.
Kevin jerked to liveliness. “What…who?”
“That chick in black, seated over there,” Matthew responded, tilting his head to lead Kevin’s eyes in the direction of the curious watcher, who was dressed in a designer style black top and short tight bottom jeans.
“Oooh! I see what is going on here,” Kevin played.
“What the hell do you mean?” Matthew asked.
Kevin replied with a smirk on his face, “You have been flirting with that beauty. And I don’t blame you, she’s kind of hot.” Kevin looked at the young lady once again, then added, “Fair play bro.”
“Not so, you fantasist,” Matthew responded to Kevin’s claims.
“Don’t lie to me man. Just own up,” Kevin teased.
Matthew rolled his eyes and replied, “Whatever…”
Kevin laughed. He noticed that the lady standing in front of Matthew was almost done with her assessment from the clerk. “Bro, you’re up next. Make sure that you’re prepared.”
Matthew replied, “Yeah man. Got this...” Eventually, it was his short-awaited turn to be checked-in before boarding the plane. The lady in front of him had just been attended to, and everything appeared to go smoothly. Nothing seemed to be too suspicious, he was prepared and ready to be checked in.
The clerk called out, “Next!”
Finally, my turn, Matthew thought to himself.
He handed his passport over to her, she checked it, handed it back to him and gave him the indication to proceed through the security scanner. Making his way forth, Matthew thought to himself as he wheeled his bag behind him, the way things are processed now is so different from the way it used to be. Must be so annoying for the regulars. Who knows how many policies that must have been changed ever since that national disaster.
Once again, the clerk called out, “Next!”
Kevin approached the woman to a wonder; strangely, he noticed that she shot Matthew a very stern look, before turning to face him instead for serving.
From behind, Mathew had also noticed how the clerk looked at him. What’s her problem? That miserable cow does not look happy with her life or her job, he mused. Once Matthew stepped past the alignment of the security scanner, the scanner went off immediately, beeping loudly, drawing the attention of the passengers behind.
“What is this?” Matthew barked, stunned.
The clerk turned to the interrupter. “Hold it. Please stay firmly to the side, for a moment, until security personnel arrives.” Then, she turned her attention to Kevin and checked his passport. He had been cleared, she dismissed him with a smile. “Thank you. Have a nice flight.”
“Cheers, I intend to.” Kevin replied.
Having an opposite mindset to his younger sibling, he didn’t seem bothered by the sudden mishap because he was aware that airport security had become more tight in the recent years. Minor alerts like even the clothing you are wearing could delay time, Kevin knew what to expect.
Matthew stood aside, as instructed. Oh great, now what, he muttered to himself. All he wanted was to just pass through without any problems. As he stood beside the security scanner, his mind quickly shot back to the dream he had. Maybe this is another opportunity to just go home. Yeah but if I know Kevin, he would never stop talking about it. How we missed out an all…
After being served for crewing, Kevin walked past the security scanner and quietly without a beep. “What’s going on?” he asked Matthew.
“I have no idea, figures there’d be complication.” Matthew replied. He took a deep breath in and put both hands in his pockets.
“It’s probably nothing. I will wait for you at the gateway,” Kevin assured.
“Yeah. Sure,” Matthew responded.
As he assured, Kevin walked ahead and waited patiently for his brother at the front of the gateway to certify that he was not implicated in any way.
In that moment, Matthew stared back at the clerk with irritancy. She, on the other hand, had her attention focused on the person at her service. He whispered quietly to himself, annoying moron. Immediately as he mused the thought, she looked at him angrily. Matthew was stunned. He had not said anything to her to warrant such a quick show of anger, or maybe he did—in his mind! It did not make sense to him. The reaction she gave was almost like she heard him snarl, as if the negative thought had been projected. Regardless of the slight hiccup, Matthew fired back, in reaction to the snobbish look that overwhelmed her face. The younger Sterling began to feel that maybe he was just imagining things. It could have been just a coincidence…
In almost no time, another person was dismissed by the clerk. Though once again, on getting to the security scanner, the siren went off unexpectedly. This time, it was a blond beauty, a woman of allure. She too was stunned. She wondered why there was an alert. From what could be seen by watchers at the scene, it looked like it was not her first time at the airport, a person that most likely boarded regularly and always adhered strictly to the rules of travel. As much as she wanted to cause a scene, where everything in her very being wanted to flare up, she, however, chose to be calm displaying that she trusted the security services. Seeking a mutual understanding of her confusion, she turned to the clerk and asked, “What is next?”
Whoever she was, she had a strong presence. Matthew flashed Kevin a quick glance and whispered to him ahead, “Her too?”
Kevin replied under his breath, “This just got awkward.”
The clerk had responded, “Sorry. Could you please wait beside the gentleman to the side who too seems to be facing a similar problem. Someone will attend to you shortly.”
“Very well.” The young lady approached Matthew as instructed. “This should be interesting,” she said, taking a stand next to him.
Matthew began to indulge himself in his speculation about the expedition. Flipping heck, why is all this happening now…it is kind of lame.
He hissed and decided to just focus his mind on getting on the plane. A lingering thought of dooming began to scramble his senses as passenger after passenger had passed through.
Shortly afterwards, the female youth still sat by the terminal seating got herself prepared. She was noticed by the clerk as the last passenger to board, being the teenager dressed in black who was staring at Matthew some crowded minutes before he and his brother finally decided to get checked in. She was not a fan of being clustered among too many people; therefore she chose to sit it out until everybody had gone through the process. Now the time was perfect, she suddenly stood up from where she was seated and moved towards the clerk.
Comments (4)
See all