"Jeez, where is she?!" a woman exclaimed exasperatedly, nearly throwing her pamphlet in the air in frustration. Her heels clicked as she kicked her luggage out of anger, because the wheels had stopped spinning and let loose a deadly squeal in the middle of the hall.
Neri, a 19-year-old Canadian had just had her plane land in Florida, so she could finally meet one of her dearest friends, Eleni. They had both chatted online for a number of years, and they finally organized a week-long trip so they could meet in person. But for now, Neri was beyond furious and comprehensible, trying to find the lengthy line for customs at the Floridian airport. Eleni said she'd be waiting right there as soon as she landed, but Neri was becoming less compliant to that idea by the moment.
"It's so hot..." she murmured, swiping away a thin layer of sweat with her sleeve. Neri grabbed the handle of her suitcase and began walking again, at a dreadful pace.
In Canada, it was just beginning to get cold, and everyone was expecting snow any day now. So, what had Neri been wearing? Long skinny jeans and a sweater; not exactly something people wore in one of the States' hottest areas. She tried to put her brown hair up in a bun, but it barely went two inches past her chin and was too short to begin with. After that failed attempt, Neri settled with pushing her long, blonde-streaked bangs back to the right side where they belonged.
I wonder what Eleni looks like, she thought. I've only seen pictures of her... But I've always thought that she was pretty. I bet she's even prettier in person! That thought brought a smile to Neri's full lips, and she drifted away in her thoughts. After I go through customs, I should find a washroom and change quickly... Or I'll have a fricking heatstroke before I even get to see her.
She bumped into somebody's back, and recoiled immediately, about to apologize for not looking where she was going. Neri bumped into her luggage as she stepped back, but the man she'd ran into didn't even seem to notice. She scowled, and rolled up the sleeves of her sweater as she attempted to straighten out the water-damaged pamphlet. Because of her late and poor timing, Neri was at the rear of the customs line, and was pretty sour about it.
Her grey eyes scanned over the blotted ink words, trying to find any hotspots that she could beg Eleni to take her to. There is a Disney World here, she thought, and clicked her tongue. Oh, and the Everglades...
"The news so far is that it is fairly contagious...requires caution and..." The TV droned in the background, hung above Neri's head in the corner.
For a moment her eyes darted up, and licked her lips as images flashed across the screen. Folding up the already crinkled paper, she shoved it in the pocket of her carry-on and crossed her arms, looking skeptically at the screen.
A woman with platinum blonde hair curled to perfection sat with a straight back, her red suit nearly causing her breasts to pop out of the top. She shuffled some papers and set them in front of her, folding her hands before finally speaking. "From what we have gathered, we know that precautions must be taken. Some peoples have already passed as a result of attempting to find a vaccine, but what has been developed has been determined as ineffective."
By then, Neri's narrowed grey eyes were locked on the blue ones on the screen.
The woman continued to talk as a video flashed on the screen. There was a corpse lying on the table, the face censored as people in masks, gloves, and full-body suits slit open the stomach and removed the tissues from the organs.
Some other people around Neri gagged and looked away, but she just frowned and gave her undivided attention as the women reappeared on the 4-foot flatscreen. Someone off-camera handed her new papers. It earned a questioning gaze from her, but she licked her lips and carefully began to read it, eyes steadily widening.
"I've just been told that the virus has indeed been released to the public. There is no cure yet, so please beware and make sure to always wash your hands and do not have any close contact with any of the infec--"
"Excuse me, miss?"
Neri blinked and snapped out of it, instead looking at the cop that was working at custom's counter. He had dark skin and a black mustache that covered his permanent smile.
"Yes, sorry." Neri grabbed her passport and papers from her carry-on, that she'd filled out on the plane.
She handed them to him, who stamped them while she directed her attention back to the TV, but the story was over.
"You're clear. Have fun in Florida, and head to security," he said, and Neri gave him a small nod and forced smile.
Because Neri was at the back of customs' line, the security area was nearly empty. She grabbed a scratched bin, taking her earrings off and her shoes to throw them into the bin and set them on the track.
"Walk through here," the other woman said, and Neri obliged.
She walked through, but the substance-detecting, door-shaped frame started to emit a high-pitched beep. Her mood was already bitter, and this only increased it.
"For fuck's sake..." she muttered as the women walked over to her.
Neri began to get patted down, and scanned by the baton that the woman carried. She grit her teeth, feeling her wrath beginning to boil over.
"You forgot to take your belt off, miss," the policewoman said.
Neri rolled her eyes. "Sorry, my stupid mistake."
More like, she wanted to slap herself. How could she forgotten to have take her belt off?!
"That's it. You can go." She waved her off, still having boredom lace her tone.
Neri shrugged her carry-on into the center of her back, pulling her heels on and adjusting her earrings as she began walking towards the food court.
Seriously, where is she? I think I'm lost, Neri thought, and looked at one of the directional signs overhead. It said that security was from the way opposite of where she came from, and from then, she was confused. Yup, I'm hopelessly lost.
Neri sighed, kicking her luggage to stand beside her as she massaged the bridge of her nose.
"Neri?!" came an excited, yet appalled voice.
"Huh?" Neri spun on her heel, seeing another young woman come running at her to envelope her in a hug.
The 17-year-old's brown and deep honey hair hung in loose waves, cascading down her shoulders and back. The woman's dark chestnut eyes sparkled with unshed tears of happiness, and her lightly sun-kissed skin made Neri feel paler than a ghost.
"E-Eleni?!" Neri said incredulously, eyes wide as she ran towards her friend.
Eleni practically jumped on Neri, nearly knocking them to the ground as they first saw each other.
"You're so pretty!" Neri yelled, almost shaking the poor girl's brains out.
"So are you!" Eleni said, pulling herself in for another hug.
Neri held her by the shoulders. "Wait, wait! We should probably get out of the middle of the hall," she said.
"Oh, right." She laughed, and Neri grabbed her suitcase, following Eleni as she navigated them through the crowd and ginormous airport.
"How do you know this place so well?" she asked, still looking around in awe while following her friend.
Eleni shrugged. "You get used to it, learn your way around."
"Ah." She nodded. "Actually, I skipped out on breakfast on the plane. Mind if I grab a coffee quickly?"
Eleni shook her head. "Yeah, that's completely fine. I was just about to take you there anyways." She laughed. "There's a Second Cup over there, against that huge glass wall."
"Good thing we're so close... Any more walking and I'll have to say goodbye to either my feet or these heels."
They were guided over to the end of the food court, towards the mostly empty Second Cup. It was against the huge glass wall that separated the airport from the large field of pavement, where planes landed every now and then, tracing paths of hot tar as the rubber hit the streaked cement runway. Just a few doors away from their table was the emergency exit that led outside, but Neri wanted to stay in that air-conditioned heaven.
"It's so hot here," Neri muttered, brushing her hair back again. "I mean, it's nice compared to back home but...it's still so hot."
Eleni leaned back against her seat. "You get used to that, too. Florida has one season all year round."
"We have four," Neri said, "and they're all vastly different. But only one of them has snow."
They both went quiet, staring out the huge glass window. One of the planes that just landed finally came to a halt after turning, and a bus came to pick up all the people and bring them to the airport, probably through the glass doors that Neri and Eleni were sitting next to.
"How can you get tired of the snow?" Eleni asked. "It's beautiful! I can't wait to come to Canada some year."
Neri shrugged, taking another sip of her already cold coffee. "I don't know, it just gets old. I could ask you the same thing, how can you get sick of the heat? We only get it for four months, at the most."
There was another silence for ten minutes or so as the passengers filed out of the bus and through the doors, with the squeaking of sneakers and the rolling of luggage accompanying the hushed and excited voices. The glass door closed, and the crowd began to file into the customs area, much like she had half an hour ago.
"It's weird to think that I was way up there just an hour ago." Neri laughed, and threw her empty cup in the garbage.
They both watched a second plane begin to slowly circle and descend to the airport. Before either Eleni or Neri could comprehend it, the left wing dipped and the plane did a full 360, twisting violently and beginning to rocket straight down.
"Oh my God!" Eleni said in a horrified whisper.
It began to spin faster and faster, until one of the wings ripped off. Everyone in the airport ducked as it went flying into the pavement, lighting sparks and taking out a bus. It rotated faster yet, one of the engines lighting aflame. Everybody was hiding under tables as they looked out the windows. The cockpit twisted from the body of the plane, coming free and rapidly growing as it grew in size.
"Duck!" Neri screamed, and grabbed Eleni.
They dove under the table as the cockpit slamming into the building. Glass shattered, sending splinters of wood and metal support beams flying through air, hitting unlucky victims. They both gasped as a metal rod impaled a man, sending him flying back with a splatter of blood. The body of the plane crashed to the ground, erupting in flame.
When the noises, explosions, and screams faded, they looked up over the tabletop towards the cement.
The plane was black and charred, but uninjured survivors were beginning to rush to the wreckage to haul out the passengers.
"Are you okay?" they asked at the same time, looking each other over.
"Just scared," Eleni replied.
"I got cut on my arm," Neri responded, touching her arm. It was an inch long and fairly shallow, but nothing to worry about.
"We need to help them!" Eleni said, her voice shaking with fear.
"Yeah. C'mon, let's go!"
They grabbed each other's hands, wrestling the table off of them, and began navigating their way through the metal beams to the outside, where the burning remains of the plane and the threat of an explosion continued to grow.