Watching the End of the World – 12
���This is your captain speaking. Can I have your attention, please?���
An unmistakable tension in the man���s tone cut through Nate���s sleepiness and he sat up, suddenly alert. Others in the cabin did the same. Tony was fast asleep and Nate leaned over and shook him awake. ���I think you want to hear this,��� he said.
Tony sat up, rubbing his eyes and looking around as if he���d forgotten where he was. The plane had now turned completely around. ���What is it? What���s going on?
���We will not be landing in Mahajanga,��� the pilot said. ���The airport there is closed. We are rerouting back to the mainland.��� The speaker cut off.
���What���s wrong?��� Tamara cried. ���Why is the airport closed?���
���The Republic of Madagascar has closed its airports,��� Kelly said. Her face was pale. She was still holding a towel from the galley and she twisted it in her hands as she spoke. ���We���re going to have to try and land in Mozambique.���
���Why?��� Nate demanded.
Kelly exchanged a look with Adam then looked back at the passengers. ���It���s the���the terrorist attack,��� she said. ���It���s worse than we thought.���
���But the captain said ��� ���
���You said you���d tell us if there was anything else we needed to know.���
���I know. But until a few minutes ago Madagascar was still allowing planes to land at its airports. The captain felt there was no need to disturb ��� ���
���That���s bullshit!��� Tamara exploded. ���He should have told us.���
���Listen. Everyone just calm down,��� Kelly said. ���It���s going to be all right.���
���You keep saying that,��� Tony said. ���But that doesn���t make it so.���
���Just tell us what happened,��� Jenna said.
���Get the captain out here,��� Santiago demanded. ���I want to hear this from him.���
���Please, sir, the captain is busy flying the plane.��� She took a deep breath and made a visible effort to control herself. Adam came out of the galley then, his face ashen.
���The guy they caught in Chicago wasn���t the only one,��� Adam said. ���There were dozens of them in major airports all over the world. They released some kind of biological agent, infecting travelers in the airports. Those travelers then spread out all over the world. The first wave of illnesses was reported about eight hours ago, the first deaths about four hours ago. Most nations have closed their airports to stop the spread of the disease.��� He looked like he was going to be sick. ���It���s too late. It���s already spread too far.���
���Adam!��� Kelly said sharply. ���You don���t know that. You���re scaring them.���
���So what? I���m scared. I don���t give a shit if they���re scared.���
���Shut up! You���re making it worse.���
���People are dying by the thousands and I���m making it worse? Really?���
The cabin erupted in a furor. Everyone started talking at once. Kelly tried to shout over them, to get them calm, but everyone ignored her. Finally she went to the phone, picked it up and talked into it. A moment later the door of the cockpit opened and the captain emerged.
���Everyone shut up!��� he yelled.
They fell silent and looked at him.
���Our first priority is getting this plane safely on the ground. In order to do that, I need to be in the cockpit helping fly this plane, not back here babysitting you. Is that clear?���
Excerpt from��Watching the End of the World
