Flight 666 to HEL left the tarmac. It was Friday the 13th, 13 minutes past 13 hours.
HEL stood for Helsinki and Maarika had no choice but to take this flight to get to the science conference in time. But as usual she laughed in the face of superstition.
Still, when the plane ran into a thunderstorm, she couldn’t help but be reminded of that Twilight Zone episode with William Shatner. She even checked the wing for a gremlin. Making things even more eerie was the fact that she was the only passenger on board. Clearly the average Fin was more apprehensive about omens then she was.
But alarm bells didn’t really go off in Maarika’s head until she realised she hadn’t seen an air hostess in over an hour. She unbuckled her seatbelt and made her way to the front of the plane. Still not an air hostess in sight. This was getting downright freaky.
Maarika knocked on the cabin door.
“Sir? Captain?”
It took a while for the door to open but eventually it did. Out stepped the captain, a debonair middle-aged man with plucky black eyebrows.
“I’m trying to navigate this plane through a storm, so can we make this quick?” he asked.
“Sure,” replied Maarika. “Why am I the only one on the plane?”
“The air hostesses are in secure positions. Standard protocol in heavy weather.”
He had a comforting smile. So Maarika returned to her seat, took a quaalude and didn’t wake until the seatbelt sign in front of her started flashing.
“We will soon reach our destination,” the captain reassured her over the intercom.
Below, Helsinki didn’t look nearly as icy as she’d remembered.
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300 stories 
The thing I HATE about flash fiction (and I write it myself) is that it almost always leave you wanting more.
Oh! I love this! In a scary horror kind of way.
I agree with KokkieH, I’m dying to know the rest of the story! Awesome
She’s going to Hell! Right?
DJ
Nice Twilight Zone reference.
Very nice. If there is one thing I’d recommend is add 10 – 30 words before the line “Still, when the plane ran into a thunderstorm”. Use them and build up a little suspense – maybe mention seeing the storm, an accelerated approach into the thunderhead or simply state the captain was surprised. But those are my ideas. And this story is certainly affective and entertaining!
BRILLIANT!
One word – cripes. Still, at least she had plenty of seats for that first-class-at-standard-ticket-price experience – one last luxury before she has to apply the factor 900. What I really want to know though, is where was the flight departing from that she was the only one having to take that trip?? If it was leaving from London it would have been standing room only…
Hi! This is great! I’m almost from Hel! x Teje
Shatner? I think it was John Lithgow who rode the plane and kept seeing a monster on the plane’s wing.
It was Lithgow in the 1983 movie remake, but in the 1963 tv episode it was Shatner.
Salamat for the info. Not familiar with the TV episode (1963! =) …. also can’t imagine “Captain Kirk” in that role. will check if it’s in YouTube.