Perry
"Fear doesn't shut you down. It wakes you up."- Divergent
I was more glad that I made the decision to bring Guad food when I saw that he has an old man to take care of as well. You could tell, though, that while he wanted to turn down the food, it was clear that he couldn't.
Standing in the lobby of La Tierra Finis for the last time, I take in a deep breath of air that's both fresh, but full of the scent of soil. It's quiet enough in here that dropping my pen would win me stares. The man at the front desk keeps looking at his hands, then up at me, as if making sure that I'm not watching him. Even though now I am.
"You just turned in a key from room 113, yes?" he questions in broken English. "Mr. Perry White?"
I move from my spot where I'm leaning against the wall so I can examine what he's holding. "Yes, can I ask why you need me please?"
"This was delivered for you." He hands me an envelope and I quickly rip it open. Inside is a green bookmark with that black and white insignia circle from the travel agency. But besides that, the envelope is empty.
For a second, I'm scared to be so far from home, and so alone. Somebody sent this to me, and I don't have the protection of my parents or anybody.
To calm myself down, I guess that it's just a complimentary gift from the travel agency, although I'm not sure as to why they're sending it right before we leave. OR why it's only for me, as this trip isn't even mine nor in my name. OR why it's a bookmark of all things.
I shove it into my bag as Diana, Angelina, and Lisa come from down the hall, lugging all their bags behind them. After swiftly thanking the man at the desk, we head to the street where our rental car is parked.
As Angelina, the oldest, drives us to the airport, we pass the alley with Guad's hut. For a split second, I see him and the old man sitting on two barrels outside their door, heads following the car as we pass.
We return the car and go through airport security, which is surprisingly quick and rushed. It seems America has many more security measures than this place.
"This is the last time I let you plan the timing, Perry," my sister tells me as we sit at our gate an hour early.
"You say that every time," Angelina reminds her.
"It's not his fault," says Lisa as she takes a seat on her suitcase. "He's only just finished sophomore year."
My phone buzzes, and while I'm confused as to who would call me down here, I'm not saddened to stop hearing Lisa baby me.
"Hello, Perry? It's me, Guad." I forgot that I even gave him my number with the food. It was more out of pity than anything; anyways, I assumed he wouldn't have access to a phone in the first place.
He continues: "I just thought that I should tell you, we're going to be at the airport soon, and if you see us, can you act like we're with you or something?"
Some hissing comes from the other line and it takes me a second to realize it's from Bob.
"Why do you both sound so nervous?" I ask cautiously.
"Nervous?" Guad asks. "Me? No."
For the next 30 seconds he stammers until he hangs up, leaving me with a silent phone and a question. What is he up to?
. . .
I lug my bags down the aisle to my seat, and am pleased to discover I have another window seat. Angelina has the seat beside me, so I know I'll have company for the next 14 hours.
The plane isn't very full, which is understandable, considering there probably aren't a lot of people visiting Punta Arenas anyways. Most of the passengers are young people around my age, possibly too "hipster" to hit the typical tourist spots. Like Diana and the girls, I think.
As we sit and wait for take off, I play "I Spy" with Angelina.
"Okay, I spy something green." I say, causing her to whip her head around and observe everything.
"Aha! That hot dude's hat!" She laughs excitedly when I nod that she's correct. "Okay I spy something white." Me? I think.
I spend several minutes trying to find something white that sticks out from all the other white things on this plane, but eventually have to surrender. Angelina's basically another sister to me, so I'm used to losing to her.
"It's that guy's wicked beard," she points out the window to an old man limp-running across the cement runways and loading ears. Someone much younger than him helps him along, and they're both wearing bright worker uniforms, like they're trying to blend in with the crew members.
The pair climbs onto the luggage conveyor belt and is smoothly pulled into the hull of the plane. So that's what they were talking about when they called.
Guiltily, I hope someone catches them. I can't bring myself to report them, but I don't want them to get hurt down there.
"Weird that someone from the crew is going into the cargo hold like that," Angelina is saying off in the distance of my mind.
The pilot comes on over the intercom and announces that we will be taking off in 10 minutes. During that 10 minutes, we drive to the runway we're scheduled to take off from, and await our turn. I never saw Guad get off, and it's too late to change anything about it now, for we climb into the sky at an exhilarating speed.
The 14 hour ride has been brutal, and we're only four hours into it. I can't sleep knowing there are illegal immigrants in the hull of the plane, and that I'm the only one who knows it. This is probably the most significant knowledge I've ever held in my average life. Reading usually makes me forget whatever is going on around me, but I can't shake Guad out of my mind.
A man clad in black, maybe around 35, walks down the aisle of the plane. He heads for the cockpit.
"Buddy the bathroom is the other way," Angelina says and some girl laughs from a few rows behind me.
He glares at us viciously, but chooses to ignore the comment. The man must work for the airline, because he doesn't think twice before he stations himself at the cockpit, grabbing a large packet labelled "parachute." What the heck?
For the first time in this flight, we hit major turbulence. I drop my phone and lean down to pick it up before it slides away. The plane levels out and my head hits the bottom of the seat in front of me in the process.
The plane jerks again and it doesn't level out nearly as fast as before. In fact, it doesn't really level out at all. The nose of the plane tips as we begin to fall out of the sky. I've never been afraid of flying before, but now I know why so many people are; this is freaking terrifying- just horrifying.
Diana! I think, whipping my head around to search for her. The only thing scarier than me dying on this flight is her dying with me. Goodness, I'm supposed to be her bodyguard and I almost made it to the end.
All those little breathing masks pop out of the ceiling like we never thought they would. Anyone who wasn't previously panicked is panicked now. Screams fill the air. I look out the window and see that the engines aren't even on.
The plane's taking a while to fall however (which I guess is a good thing), for the engines flash on every second or so and the plane tries to pull itself up.
The man standing by the cockpit opens the emergency exit and jumps out with that parachute. With the opened door, the force of our free fall is literally pulling the few people on this flight out of the plane and into the sky, where their doom is inevitable.
Next to me, Angelina's green eyes are bright with terror. I realize that I'm her bodyguard too. It's time to do something, White.
I kick underneath my seat and a parachute bag is loosened. Angelina does the same with her seat and we both strap them on. With all the winds ripping through the plane, this is a lot harder than it sounds. We might make it out of this. You've just got to find Diana.
As I stand we're thrusted up again and my feet leave the ground for a second, causing my stomach to be even more unsettled than it already is.
My heart sighs in relief when I see Diana and Lisa frantically moving towards us, both wearing parachute bags.
None of us say anything as I lead the way to the emergency exit door. Lisa grabs Angelina's hand, Angelina grabs Diana's, and my sister grabs mine. Hers is shaking violently and she stares at me, green eyes filling with tears. More fear pangs through me with the responsibility.
I've never used a parachute before, I think anxiously. Maybe when I use it it's a Perrychute. I almost smile, but don't when I wonder if I'll ever be able to tell anyone that joke.
"We're jumping on three!" I shout. This is a common stall tactic I'm not ashamed to take part in. I've never jumped out of a plane before, nor have I ever wanted to.
Angelina counts to three. I bend my knees and we jump out into the open sky. Somehow still holding hands, through strong willpower I guess, we form one of those skydiving shapes as we plummet towards the ground. The world is admittedly beautiful from this angle, the mountains and plains stretch on for miles and far away I can see thick jungle. It would only be prettier if it weren't about to kill me.
The air tears through me the same way the fear does. It rips me apart. My hand clutches tight to Diana's as we free fall, getting ready to activate our parachutes. That's when I notice Lisa's missing.