Michael Vorbes looked up from the paper he had been reading as the audio system overhead played the message he had been waiting patiently to hear.
"Attention, attention. Flight 313 to Baltimore, Maryland now boarding, please have your boarding pass ready at the terminal."
Michael quickly rose from his seat while fumbling through his pockets for the pass. Los Angeles had been nice, but it was still a business trip and he could not wait to return home. He folded his paper, placed it under his arm, and proceeded to the terminal with his briefcase. He handed the slip to the attendant at the gate, who glanced over the pass before smiling and handing it back to him.
"Have a pleasant flight." she said as he walked past her. On his way down the boarding hall, he bumped into a young lady, presumably in her mid twenties. She had been keeping her gaze to the ground, almost intentionally avoiding eye contact with the passengers. After the collision she circled around and looked at Michael startled.
"Oh, oh my goodness, I-I am so sorry." she excaimed quickly. "I-It's just that... I just realized that I was getting on the wrong flight. I'm just so embarressed that I didn't look where I was going."
He laughed and assured her it was alright. She looked very nervous, but he couldn't blame her, nearly leaving on the wrong flight. The lady at the gate was barely reading the boarding passes anyways, it was more the airlines fault than hers. The young woman smiled and hurried back to the gate, placing a small object into her purse as she did. Michael thought nothing of it.
The actual flight went rather smoothly. There was a short delay due to some confusion on the runway, but that was all. The plane leveled and the flight attendants stood and began passing out beverages to the passengers. One attendant walked to the front of the plane and grabbed the microphone for the audio.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the captain has now turned off the seatbelt light, if neccessary you may get up from your seats, but we ask that you otherwise keep the walkways clear at all times. We will be serving drinks now, followed by the complimentary lunch for the flight. In a few moments I will be starting our in flight movie, I've Been Waiting, directed by Joanna Desmond and starring Luke Raymond and Franchesca Lee. The film is rated PG-13, still currently in theaters, and nominated for six academy awards next week, including best director and best picture. To view the film simply look at the main screen at the front of the plane, or one of the smaller screens located above your seats throughout the craft. To listen, use the headsets located in front of your seats, controlling the volume with the knob on the left earpiece. Please enjoy the film and thank you for flying United Air."
Michael put down his tray so he had a place to set the Dr Pepper he had just ordered, and picked up the headset. He turned the knob back and forth several times, judging the volume by the static he could hear. The lights dimmed and the screens lit up. Michael was sitting in the sixth row, next to the aisle, giving him a nice view of the front screen. He had heard much about the film, all of it good, but due to his busy life he never had the chance to see it.
The film that started though, was not I've Been Waiting. The company logo was one he had never seen before, or at least he thought it was a company logo. A bright circle of light shimmered against a dark backdrop, but no name appeared. Nor did any credits, instead the screen flickered to another scene, in black and white. To Michael's knowledge, I've Been Waiting was not film noir. The image was distorted like one of the old video tapes he used to own long ago. Michael had thought videos had long been phased out by now. The scene changed yet again. The only sound Michael could hear was a low, droning hollow noise. At this point the passengers started mumbling to one another. A pause symbol appeared in the upper left hand corner repeatedly, followed by the stop symbol. The attendant was attempting to stop the film to no avail. After a few moments, the circle of light reappeared and the film flickered off.
The lights turned on, and there was a commotion among the passengers, some of them clearly irritated by the disturbing images. A mother in front of him attempted to comfort her young child. The man in the seat next to him slowly sat up, awoken from a nap by the return of the lights.
"What'd I miss." his eyes squinting, not adjusted to the brightness yet.
The audio came on. "I apologize about this ladies and gentlemen. It appears someone has swi..."
The flight attendant kept speaking, but Michael was no longer paying attention to her. His cell phone began vibrating in his pocket, even though he had turned it off at the pilot's request at take off. Not only that a cacophony of rings, midi's, and mp3's began going off all over the plane. Confused, Michael pulled his cell phone from his pocket and looked at the caller.
UNKNOWN.
He flipped the device open and slowly lifted it to his ear. "Hello...?"