Rapid Descent

A Crash they won't forget. A Darkness they can't escape.

My husband is gone, and now Emily only has me. This trip was supposed to bring us closer, to let family mend the cracks grief carved into us. I promised her laughter, warmth, maybe even a new beginning.

When we board the plane, I tell myself the unease gnawing at me is nothing more than nerves-that the tightness in my chest is just the echo of mourning. For the first time in months, I've let myself believe in hope again.

But as the engines roar and the ground falls away, something inside me sinks deeper. The air feels wrong, too heavy, too sharp, as if the sky itself wants us gone.

Then the shudder starts. The lights flicker. Panic spreads like fire.

The cabin tilts. The screams rise. My arms lock around Emily as the world splits apart.

And I don't know if we'll ever touch the ground alive.