Peter and his henchman got to their feet and made a run for their seats. ‘You’re a fucking dead man!’ I heard Peter mumble from beneath his gas mask.
I strapped myself in and held onto the armrests as tightly as I could. The pathetic little seatbelt was hardly designed to keep passengers in their seats as a vampire pilot made a nosedive towards the sea below. I resisted the usual instruction of assuming the brace position, knowing that it’s only designed to break your neck and finish you off quickly. After all, if I could now call myself a vampire then a broken neck would only make my existence more painful in the short term, not end it.
The noise around us became excruciating as the cabin rattled furiously. Louder and louder it shook, with loose objects rolling down the aisle. The engines outside added to the cacophony by struggling with all their might to deal with the unnatural strain that was being put on them.
My insides were rising inside my body, a similar feeling to the drop from the top of a roller coaster, but this was going on and on, far longer than our bodies were designed to cope with. The force of our descent made it difficult for me to even attempt to adjust the seating positions of Poppy and her father, who were violently shaking and flailing in unison with each movement of the plane.
I knew the situation I was in was almost impossible. Even if I survived the impact, I would have to make my escape as soon as we hit the water if I was to stand a chance of surviving the night.
But I had to get in touch with Skinner to make sure Jonnie and Poppy weren’t put in any danger. I hadn’t managed to stop Jonnie being injected with vampire blood but I was relieved that his daughter had been spared. However, I knew her fortune may not last very long if I couldn’t find a way to stop her being used as food for the batch of new vampires she would soon be packed in with and transported to God knows where.
When I thought I couldn’t take any more of our descent, I felt the plane start to level off. The respite from our fall only lasted for a split second before my ears rang with an almighty bang. Everyone on board was thrown forward in their seats, some of which dislocated from the weak bolts that held them onto the floor, flying forward and crashing into the other passengers.
The doors to the overhead lockers flew open and a shower of bags and cases rained down into the aisles. Flying debris hit the unconscious passengers from all angles. I heard the crack of breaking bones all around me.
As soon as the dishevelled contents of the plane started to come to rest, blood rushed to my head and I knew exactly what I had to do. The warmth flowed back down my body, into my arms and legs and I tore myself free of my seatbelt. I pushed the seats in front forward just enough to make room for my escape and made a run for the emergency exit just across the aisle.
As I took three long steps to reach the door, I was already working out how to open it. In one move I smashed the glass panel and pulled on the handle inside, cutting my hand deeply on shards of broken glass.
I thought nothing of it. I heard the shouts of Peter and members of his team but before they could get to me, I threw the door out into the darkness ahead of me and leapt into the cool black night.
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