"What the hell?" the girls scream in unison.
"Look who's cursing now." Gregor snickers.
"Shut it!" they both snarl in unison. Again.
"Looks like turbulence," Noah says quietly. Deva! Nothing appears to ruffle his feathers. On the other hand, Luca looks fully awake and is turning a little green. I have had a very bad feeling about this trip. Deva, please let everything be alright!
"Everyone please put on your seatbelt. Meanwhile, I'll go check what seems to be wrong, Mr Montgomery." my bodyguard, Benjamin Carter St. Laurent says in his usually stoic and emotionless voice while I barely resist the urge to correct him to call me just Swastik. He gets up from his seat and sets off for the pilot's cabin while everyone hurries to do their seatbelt. Every single one of us has a private bodyguard but he is the only one who accompanied us during this trip upon our insistence. We didn't want a herd of bodyguards babysitting us since we were already 18, except Luca, Anya, Grace and Noah but our parents might agree otherwise.
"Shouldn't there be some kind of announcement? And where are the flight hostesses? I state.
All of a sudden, Luca says, "Shit! Guys, I think I might-" and puts a hand on his mouth, undoes his seatbelt hurriedly and runs off to find the bathroom, I think.
In the middle of all this, even Noah seems a little worried but I think I'm imagining it while Gregor is grinning maniacally. I think he has lost his mind.
"Why are you grinning, dimwit?" I cry out and panic like everyone else on board. Suddenly, the two flight attendants who accompanied us on board come out with Luca and seats him. One of them gives him a glass of cool water to drink while the other tries to calm us all down.
"It feels like a ride from the amusement park," Gregor replies.
Now I'm sure he has lost his mind. I even tell him so. To this, he replies, "Nah! I'm just enjoying and living in the moment."
"Psst!" I hear from Noah's direction. I whip my head towards him and raise my brows.
"I don't think this is normal," Noah says.
"What- the calm the girls are displaying or the way the Sokolov brothers are acting?" I shot back.
"Neither, Swastik. I don't think the turbulence is normal. Open your window shutter and take a look outside."
Curious, I opened my window shutter, only to shut it again.
Aghast from what I saw, I took a look around me. Greg, Noah and I are sitting in one row while the girls and Luca are in the row in front of us. Both the Sokolov brothers look immersed in their world- Luca is trying to control nausea while Gregor is behaving like he is on an amusement ride. Noah is worried, really worried and looks like he is going to raise alert only to settle in his seat when I put a finger over my mouth and command him to stay silent. I don't want to panic the girls.
"What are you two talking about, Swastik?" says the angelic voice of Anya.
"Nothing," I replied. No, I'm not living in denial. I'm fully aware of the danger I'm in but alarming the others is not going to help. Plus, I don't want to worry Anya. It's not like we aren't to survive this.
"Don't lie to me, Montgomery." she shoots back. Although she isn't looking at me, I can thoroughly discern the haughty and demanding yet concerned look on her beautiful face.
"What Mr. Montgomery is trying to hide from you, Miss. Sokolov, is the fact that we are stuck in a storm." Carter says. I glare at him. Did he seriously have to break it down for everyone to hear? I can see Anya baby blue nails dig into the cushion of the seat. The jerkface. I might just kill him if he terrorises Anya anymore right now.
He flinches a little when he sees my glare. Yeah, I don't get angry often. Still the emotionless jerk continued, "I have good news and bad news for you Mr. Montgomery. The bad news is that the storm has damaged one of our engines. The good news is- the other engine still seems to be in a good position."
Great. Now I'm the one feeling nauseous. Still, I gather my courage and ask, "What percentage of the remaining engine is good?"
"Mr. Montgomery, you don't need-"
"Mr. St. Laurent, do I need to repeat myself?" I say in a firm voice. The jerk didn't bother to protect sweet Anya from the terror and now he is trying to pamper me. No thanks.
"40%, Sir" he replies.
"What?"-"No"-"Oh my God"-"Jesus" came multiple responses to the terrifying news.
Suddenly, Anya and Grace scream.
Guess, we are freefalling now.
Enjoy that, Gregor.