Chapter Text
The passenger flight from Paris to London was progressing without complication. The aircraft was flying on autopilot, slowly descending for its landing at London Luton. One of the pilots was asleep, whilst the other monitored the plane. Suddenly, the aircraft began to shake so violently that passengers who were not buckled into their seatbelts fell from their seats. The plane banked to the side, still shuddering. The pilot checked the systems, which indicated a failure in one of the turbines.
The experienced pilot could not recall turbulence this severe. They needed to land immediately before a tragedy occurred. Thankfully, after a moment, the turbine began operating properly again. Perhaps some unfortunate bird had been sucked into it. Poor creature…The aircraft stabilized, and the passengers were recovering, assisted by the anxious flight attendants.
Suddenly, the pilot who had miraculously slept through the entire emergency woke up - or rather, bolted upright from his seat - just as his senior colleague switched on the microphone to inform the passengers that the situation was under control and that it had merely been a spot of minor turbulence.
“Pilot? Oh… I’ve never flown a plane before” the pilot chuckled to himself and looked at his colleague, amused. A deathly silence fell over the plane. Everyone exchanged glances, unsure of how to react. Was that definitely a joke? A rather… inappropriate one, at that.
“Well. There’s always a first time for everything, isn’t there?” The pilot, as cool as you like, stood up from his seat with a smile and surveyed the cockpit as if seeing it for the very first time. He stepped out of the cockpit and looked at the passengers, who were staring at him wide-eyed.
“Er… sorry for the inconvenience. Nothing personal” the pilot shrugged, leaning his side against the cockpit door.
“What are you doin’? What is wrong with you?” Suddenly, one of the flight attendants grabbed the younger pilot’s arm. She thought her colleague was having a stroke. He had never acted like this before. It was scandalous, and the only thing that could possibly explain it was a medical emergency. A serious one.
“Bad day” the pilot grunted back and returned to the cockpit. He sat in his seat, crossed his legs, and shot a meaningful look at his senior colleague, who was regarding him with a worried gaze.
“Is everything all right, Clark?” the pilot asked, concerned for the younger man, who was now closely inspecting the controls in the cockpit.
“Nothing is all right…” Clark replied in a strange voice, sighing heavily as he stared blankly ahead.
The senior pilot decided to take the controls. He had no intention of handing them over now to a colleague who was acting so strangely. Throughout the entire landing, the younger pilot, Clark, didn't utter a single word. He sat in his seat, not even buckled in, with his arms crossed over his chest as though he had a grievance against the whole world.
For the remainder of the flight, the attendants had to explain to the passengers that one of the pilots had been taken ill and that it was no fault of the airline. By way of compensation for the distress caused, they had to offer passengers complimentary tea and coffee to ensure no formal complaints were lodged with management.
Once the plane had landed safely at London Luton and the passengers had disembarked, Clark looked at his senior colleague and smiled to himself.
“Tell you what… Nick, isn't it?” Clark narrowed his eyes, trying to read the name badge on the senior pilot's shirt. The pilot looked at him, even more bewildered now. They had known each other for years. What was going on with Clark? “Word of advice… never try getting into a turbine.” Clark stood up and patted the shoulder of the shocked Nick, who merely followed him with his eyes as he walked towards the exit.
Clark paused at the exit and looked back at the senior pilot, who was at a complete loss as to how to comment on his younger colleague's behaviour.
“A turbine… isn't pleasant thing, Nick.” Clark offered a faint smile and left the aircraft, tossing behind him the headset intended for flights.
(Clark) retrieved the luggage under his name from the locker and tried to find any car keys inside. He hoped the pilot named Clark owned a car. He wasn't particularly keen on a walk around London after being put through an aircraft turbine. It hadn't been a pleasant experience… he grimaced to himself at the mere memory. He had to cross it off his list immediately. He needed to find something else… aircraft turbines were out. Just as everything previous was out…
(Clark) finally located the keys and tossed the rest of the luggage into a corner, not giving a damn about it. He was about to walk away, but stopped mid-stride.
“Ugh… keep these for me. I’ll collect them tomorrow” Clark muttered casually under his breath to the woman behind the counter by the lockers, and headed towards the airport exit. Now he was going to have some fun. How was he supposed to find the pilot Clark's car in a car park this large? It was like looking for a needle in a haystack… but where was he rushing to? Nowhere. Because nobody was waiting for him. Nobody. He could spend an eternity looking for the car and no one would notice he was gone.
When he had first started doing what he was doing, he used to feel sorry for people like the pilot Clark. They were… incidental. They were just in the wrong place at the wrong time, that was all. It was nothing personal… But now? He didn't care. He wasn't actually hurting these people, after all. He left them in peace. After a while… they didn't even remember it. And he needed them.
Suddenly, the pilot woke from his nap on the plane and was… in some countryside village? What on earth? He looked around, completely at a loss. How had he ended up here? He felt strange. He couldn't explain why… suddenly, he noticed a teenager standing in front of him. He shot him a questioning look.
“Easy now. I know you don't understand any of this, Clark.” The teenager shrugged. “Don't panic, though. Your job is safe, people won't remember. You won't either. Sorry about… that.” The teenager gestured behind Clark, and before Clark could even turn around… he woke up in his own bed in his flat.
The pilot named Clark concluded that he had had a completely twisted dream. As did the passengers and crew of that unfortunate flight.