My knuckles turn white from the force of my grip on the armrest. I squeeze my eyes shut as the plane shudders. A short wave of static erupts from the intercom and then the familiar soothing voice of the pilot comes on; he’s saying something about unexpected turbulence and an electrical storm, but I tune him out to focus on breathing evenly. I release my grip on the armrest to search for his hand, and then turn my head to the right in order to study his expression. His shaggy brown hair shifts into his eyes as he turns is head to meet my gaze. He tries to give me a reassuring smile, but his eyebrows are knit together and I can see his jaw muscle at work beneath his slightly sunburnt cheek. I then turn my attention to his icy blue eyes. I peer into his dilated pupils and in their reflection I can see a small wide-eyed figure with stray locks of flame red hair falling over her face. The fear is obvious on my face and is reflected on his. A sudden boom of thunder and jerk of the aircraft flings me into the window on my left sending a jolt of pain through my body. The pilot’s monotone voice stopped abruptly in midsentence, leaving only the wail of a child coming from somewhere in the front the plane. My stomach drops as the plane plummets, heading straight down into the black night. I look up at him one last time, his mouth is moving but no sound is coming out. I opened my mouth to reply