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CORALINE didn't remember how she fell asleep, but she woke up with dry tears staining her cheeks. She assumed the couple who took her sedated her with some drug. The last thing she remembered was screaming in the van at the top of her lungs, making sure people outside could hear her, and then – nothing. Ultimate blackness, like when she had a vision. If only one of those could've foreseen her kidnapping.
Scrubbing a hand down her face, Coraline fluttered her eyes open. Her butt felt cushioned, and she sat up to realize that she was strapped into a comfortable seat. Her eyes scanned the compact room: other cushioned chairs, marble tabletops, an unopened bottle of wine, subtle vibration from the floor.
She blinked her eyes quickly and turned to the small, circular window beside her. A plane, she thought, you're on a plane, dumbass. But how? And where were the Cooperative members?
Coraline rubbed at her temples and hunched forward. How could she have gotten into this situation? In the middle of the Apocalypse, kidnapped by an unknown organization ... Things had become so normal – well, as normal as they could be. The visions predicted this, but ... she would never be prepared, nor did she think she would survive it.
She had to find someone, and they had to explain what was happening right now. Coraline stood up and stumbled across the shaking floor. She gripped the chairs around her for support. For a second, she almost considered opening the wine bottle first and then worrying about answers later. She shook her head, reminding herself to stay focused.
Pounding her fist against the pilot doors, Coraline felt the heavy rumble of the plane and almost tripped over her own two feet. The door flew open, revealing the female agent. Coraline's vision swirled and she tried her best to focus. "What's ..." Coraline shook her head, eyeing the male agent driving the plane from behind his partner. "What the fuck is going on?! Take me back!"
"We're preparing for the blast," the female answered quickly. "Get down and stay there. You need to prepare for it too."
Coraline ran a hand through her hair. "The blast?! You need to take me back to L.A. right now —"
"Miss Avery, get down!" The male agent called out.
"No!" Coraline seethed, trying to shove her way into the pilot area. "Where are we –?"
And then it came.
The plane flipped sideways, sending Coraline across the carpet. Light flashed and flickered across the walls. Coraline heard an earsplitting explosion and a ringing sound emerged in her head. The light reflected a red hue across the entire cabin. She clutched her chest, trying to find air to breathe, before she looked up at the female agent, staring at her with wide eyes. Coraline crawled over to one of the windows and pulled herself into a seat.
