Velocity To Never Exceed

Chapter 14

Janelle squints, confusion shifting her features. She leans in, an inch closer.

She's right in front of me now. I stare at her, taking in her features, like I'm mapping them out in my mind. Recording them so I can jog my memory, and remember where I've seen her. Why she looks so familiar.

Her lips part, just an inch. "You," she whispers.

My heart hammers wildly. "What?" I mutter. The anxiety-riddled word buzzes around us, mixing with the crackling static of the white noise. My knees buckle and I'm unsteady on my feet.

But Janelle doesn't answer. I'm not sure if she's even heard me. Instead she scans the cabin, her eyes suddenly lucid. She glances just past me, her gaze pausing for a moment. But then her pupils glaze over again as she takes a step to the left. I reach out, to grab her elbow, but I'm already too late. She collapses, her limp arm escaping my grasp, and falls to the ground.

I fold to my knees. I want to help her, but there's nothing I can do. Her eyes roll back, and her body grows still. Seconds later, a man rushes over, telling me that he's a nurse. He grabs her wrist, looking for a pulse.

My eyes fall to the bag sitting in front of Janelle's feet. It's a leather purse, dark brown and covered in small letters. A name brand of some sort.

My skin prickles. Of course Evelyn knew Janelle's name because she must have gone through her bag.

Then it hits me. And if she went through her bag, then that means she went through my bag, too. That's how Evelyn knew my name during the first loop. I can't believe I forgot about that, but with the nosedive and time resetting every half hour, it's been overwhelming, like I'm running on the pavement trying to catch a moving bus. My memory isn't properly retaining information anymore. Instead, my brain has become more like a revolving door, spitting memories out as quickly as they enter.

"Come on!" Evelyn's grabbing me by my sleeve, pulling me to my feet. "Let's go!" She yanks me backwards as my gaze falls to the woman lying still against the ground.

You, Janelle had said. The word rings in my ears. Why did she say that? Did I seem familiar to her, like she did to me?

I'm still standing when the tip of the plane begins to tilt, and Evelyn shoves me into an empty seat a few rows up from Janelle. She leans across me, flinging the seatbelt across my lap and slipping the metal latch into the buckle.

Random objects fly forward, bags shift, a few people nearby force out little gasps, and I watch an iPad slide down the center aisle. I never saw that before, likely because I was near the front of the plane. Plus my eyes were always sealed shut in terror.

But this time, I force them open.

The plane is tilted at an unnatural angle. It's a surreal feeling like I'm both in and out of my body, my brain detaching from normal frequencies. While I know that the loop will reset any moment now, my body hasn't gotten the memo. I want to keep my eyes open and search the cabin for clues, but instead I find myself instinctually hunching forward, curling my head between my legs and curving my arms over the top of my head. Crash position, like I've seen in the movies. I clench my head, my entire body trembling, as I wait for the end to swallow me whole.

Then I feel Evelyn's fingers tighten around my shoulder, and she grips it with a strength that surprises me. My hand loosens from my head and falls over hers.

Together, our hands slide into the empty space between us. I dip my palm under hers and it pulses from the heat of her skin. My fingers slip between each of hers, alternating like the teeth of a zipper. They're locked together.

She squeezes my hand tight. And I don't let go.