A Time of Useful Consciousness

Shock

Waves of nausea crushed me against the floor of that toilet for what felt like hours. Eventually, I had the sense to rummage through my backpack for some painkillers and the bottles of water I'd grabbed from the galley earlier. I put on my eye mask and sipped the water in the dark until I was able to stand without immediately feeling like I'd pass out again.

While I recovered huddled on the ground I considered my next steps. Memories of recent events were fragmented but I could still remember the creature singing. A damaged and wet sound, it stuck in my head like a half-remembered song. I eventually realised that with the amount of time that had passed and recent events, the chances of rescue were slim to none.

Removing the eye mask I stood and looked at my reflection in the toilet mirror; I was a horror-show mess. My hair was plastered down by blood from the knock I'd taken to the head and the rest of me was covered in gore from the pool I was still standing in. It had mostly dried into a thick tacky mess that covered every surface in dark brown streaks.

I spent some time cleaning myself up, best as I could, enough so I could see how bad the cut on my head was and at least make myself look better than I felt. It gave me time to steel myself while I procrastinated cleaning the blood from my hair. I'd decided that staying here wasn't going to be an option so now it was just a matter of following through.

There was no noise from outside the door so I tried baiting movement by disengaging the lock before snapping it back. Hearing nothing, I counted down from 100 before throwing back the door and bracing myself to run. The body I'd tripped on was gone but even stranger someone had left me a message. There was a crude arrow made of wet toilet paper plastered on the floor in the galley corridor.

Lacking any other options and fairly certain the creature wasn't in the habit of making paper mache, I turned and headed in the direction it pointed, away from the section I'd woken in. My head still pounded but with the painkillers it was a distant ache and moving was actually a relief after the time spent on the floor. Just as I was starting to wonder how far it was I saw a note sitting on the ground by the next set of galley curtains.

It looked like it had been slipped under the curtain so I knelt to pick it up whilst cautious to not get too close to the curtain itself. One side was blank and the other only consisted of 5 words, "Forgive me if this works".

As I started to stand back up I heard a click from one of the overhead compartments. Long pale limbs dangled as the creature slid out and landed on all fours. It stood and before I could run started to speak. Melodious and strange, it trilled with a rhythm like poetry.

I realised as it approached that I'd never stopped to properly look at it. Why had I been so afraid of something only ever half seen? At a glance, it was human. Pale like someone drained of blood but as I looked closer it had its own strange beauty. It was the ratios between the body parts that threw me, the face too narrow, the arms too long. Each on their own would look normal on someone else but together looked like some form of amateur taxidermy.

It walked up to me calmly and raised its hands to form an O between thumb and index fingers, the joints popped and cracked slightly as the circle extended itself. It worked its other fingers beneath the ring as fine filaments sparkled with a soft light.

This circle above my head, this was my crown. A profound treasure just for me. My heart hammered with elation and I could barely contain myself from the urge to take its hands in mine and pull the crown upon myself.

We both noticed it at the same time, the shuffling of someone trying to approach quietly from behind. The woman from earlier was moving up the aisle, walking low with something strapped around her chest. When she saw me notice her she started to run, quickly closing the gap, and slapped her hands on either side of the creature's head.

It had already been turning so she caught it low over the left eye and near the back of the head. Her hands left behind two blue gel pads connected by fine wires to the box slung around her chest.

"Shock Advised, Press button to continue" intoned a tinny speaker in the defibrillator.

The creature turned as far as it could and howled. In my mind I could see the wolves at night, shame and terror consumed me. In a rush it coronated me with its hands, the crown burned and sizzled satisfyingly as it connected.

"Oh please god stop! You don't understa-" I begged her.

She slammed the blinking red button on the defibrillator with a scowl of determined fury.

"Administering shock, Stand clear."

A moment of nothing and then the smell of burning hair and ozone. My first realisation was that for the second time that day I'd been knocked unconscious. I watched as the passenger methodically removed small red belts she had strapped to her waist. They looked familiar and I recalled seeing them handed out on flights to parents so they could secure toddlers in their lap. She wrapped each around the creature, planting a foot on its chest and then using her full weight to tighten each one almost to breaking point.

Once she had the legs and arms secured she straddled its shoulders and pulled out a thick wedge of what looked like compacted foil trays from inflight meals. She held this above the creature's head and waited.

The moment it opened its eyes it began to thrash but quickly went still. After making eye contact with me it began to sing. I leapt up to help but before I could reach her she slammed the wedge into its mouth and then smashed it home with the edge of the defibrillator.

I stopped mid-run, not sure of what I was running to or from as she ruthlessly hammered the wedge in.

"What... what the fuck was that!" I yammered.

"No, it's not dead"

"What?!"

She looked at me with a concerned expression while removing earplugs.

"Sorry, what did you say?"

"What was that?!"

"This?" She said motioning toward the creature.

"No, yes, no I mean what was that... singing?"

"Glossaria, at least I think."

"What?"

"Don't worry, look I need to ask you something."

I looked at her blankly, still in shock.

"Where are you from?"

"The States. Michigan."

"Ok, the States, Michigan." she paused before looking carefully in my eyes, "Hi, my name is Anna. Now we've covered where, can you tell me when you are from?"