Chalice

Morning sunlight filtered through the thin airplane shade as I gazed out the small crack between the window and fabric. Fluffy, aerated clouds sailed past on invisible air currents, drifting past like lost sheep. My red hair caught the golden shafts of light, creating a halo around my head. Sleeping businessman snored softly around me, humming along with the plane engines. A small girl ahead of me was scribbling frantically in her colouring book, moving the crayon around in the page in random movements.

My eyes wandered to a seat diagonal from mine, catching the eyes of a young man with perfect skin. His eyes were a mahogany, the color of old blood. A beam of sun sliced through the shade and illuminated a patch of his flawless skin. A thousand diamond-like sparks glanced onto the wall, looking like the man had hundreds of tiny jewel facets set into his skin. I couldn’t look away as he just stared back and let a friendly smile light up his face. But, he soon looked away to adjust the shade back into a position that blocked the sun. I dropped my eyes as the grandeur of the shimmers disappeared.

A voice crackled through the intercom overhead, alerting everyone that the aircraft was to land in about 10 minutes. I could feel the plane slowing down and descending from the baby-blue sky as it prepared to land back on solid ground. Vibrations filled the air as people woke up and hummed to other people, asking how the flight went for them, politely wondering where they were headed. An elderly lady smiled at me, showing me pearly white dentures glued to pink gums. I lifted the corners of my mouth in return, not opening my mouth at all. The perfect boy that I had spotted earlier was staring intently at me, his eyebrows furrowed into deep lines. His eyes seemed to grow darker and darker by the second, shifting colours before my very eyes.

All of the sudden, the plane lurched to the side, throwing everybody off balance, causing suitcases and bags to slide into other seats. I gripped the armrests of my seat, hanging on for dear life as the plane attempted to right itself. I stumbled over to the window and observed the land far below. Nothing looked dangerous or out of place. No black storm clouds hovering just out of reach, no tell-tale signs of turbulence or strong air currents. I could feel my face draining of blood, bone white and terrified.

“Please remain calm and take your respected seats.” the flight attendant instructed in a cool and collected voice.

Her voice was lost in the uproar of panicking voices and wails of kids and babies. I looked frantically around as the emergency oxygen masks came flopping down like spiders on thread and women tried to calm their crying children. Older people began to pray in their seats, couples held hands and hugged, whispering love into the others ear. The pale boy was calm, though, sitting with his hands clasped lightly in his lap. A lazy smile was set on his face, creating the appearance that he had been the bad guy in this terrible turn of events. I could only gape at his relaxed demeanor, and marvel at his worry free posture.

“Were gonna crash!” someone yelled hysterically, as the plane took a nosedive towards the jagged earth below.

I sat down heavily in my seat and buried my face in my hands. I was only 16 and I was already going to die. And what a way to go, strapped in a cheaply installed airplane seat listening to screaming passengers around me. The plane dove steeply downwards and my stomach seemed to be left up in my throat. The feeling of being on a rollercoaster flashed through my mind, but was gone when I remembered where I actually was. Papers, books and other assorted objects rose into the air as the plane spiraled down faster and faster. I grabbed my phone as it rose in front of my face. Speed dial flashed on it and I clicked speed dial for my mom. The voicemail came on and I clutched onto the phone like a lifeline.

My mothers prerecorded voice crackled over the small speaker, rolling over my ears and soothing my worry. The beep signaling that I could talk sounded, and I held the phone up to my mouth.

“I love you all. Tell dad that, too. Remember me, please.” I sobbed into the mouthpiece.
And with crushing finality, the aircraft smashed into the terrain below, shattering us all into oblivion.

Ambrose

I stepped over shards of bullet proof glass, the glittering pieces crunching like diamond leaves. Fire and snow mixed, creating steaming patches of heat. I walked through a wall of fire and came out on the other side feeling refreshed and cleansed. It was then that I heard it. The weak fluttering of a failing heart. Someone was still alive, still breathing in the precious, dirtied air. I stalked, predator like, across the uneven terrain. Metal stuck up from the frozen ground, looking like jagged, crooked teeth.

I saw her, at that moment. The girl, Chalice, I think was her name. We had shared a glance on the plane, before it crashed. Shrapnel punctured her tender, soft flesh, blood oozed, congealed from the edges of the wounds. It smelled fresh, citrusy, a mix of apples and grapefruit. It was mouthwatering. Hurriedly, I rushed over and pressed two fingers to her pulsing throat. A still strong thump moved the skin of her neck, making it look like a hammer was tapping on the inside of her skin. I inhaled her scent, breathing in the smell of blood.

Savagely, I bit down on her wrist, relishing the flesh that broke easily under my invincible teeth. The warm life giving liquid slid down my throat and dripped off of my chin. Red splattered onto the cold ground, sliding over the clear ice. I drew back, wiping my hand across my chin, smearing away any remaining drops of blood left hanging there. Her face was pale and washed of colour, nothing but a few pixels of blush left in her snowy-white cheeks. A deep, bass thumping starts pounding in my ears, and I lean down to listen closer. Her heart, once tired and laden with my poison, now pumps it through her body with manic frenzy. In a day or two, she would be one of us, a pale skinned beauty, frozen in eternal time, locked on this earth.

Silently, I sat down by her and held her trembling hand, as her first blood-curdling scream ripped through the still air. Her eyes were squeezed closed impossibly tight, her eyelashes disappearing under wrinkled eyelids. I covered her forehead in my cold palm, hoping to cool down some of the burning pain ravaging her insides. I watched over her, through the three days she was changing, guarding her as her screams blemished the days.