“The passengers didn’t hurt you. If you have a grudge, just take it out on your wife. Why drag innocent people into this?”

Lucas stopped walking. His face twisted with anger.

“The man she cheated with is on this plane. I want him to pay. Why do I have to suffer so much while all of you get to live happily? I want every last one of you to die with me!”

He then smiled and sneered.

“Young man, I’ve been watching you. You got beaten black and blue, and you’re still desperate to save people. But did anyone care about you? They’re not worth saving. They all deserve to die.”

After saying this, he left.

I sat on the stool and struggled with all my might. I estimated that we had about five minutes remaining. Time was running out.

A sound came from the storage locker. I hooked my leg around it and pulled it open.

To my surprise, I saw the co-pilot, Edward Fisher. His face and body were beaten bloody.

“I’m Edward, the co-pilot. Quick! Go stop Lucas. He’s going to destroy the plane.”

Finally, I had found a witness.

I quickly let Edward untie me.

His hands were broken. He could only use his teeth to bite the rope to untie me.

With that, the two of us helped each other. We were both injured. We made our way to the cockpit to stop Lucas.

However, the cockpit door was locked tight. There was no sign of Lucas inside either.

“Go find the flight attendant. She has the spare key on her.”

Edward and I walked back toward the cabin. Along the way, we saw that the emergency hatch had been opened. One parachute was missing.

Edward yelled, “Lucas is a coward! He went on and on about all of us dying together. Then, at the last second, he got scared and bailed.”

Passengers around us saw us walking over, covered in blood. They looked like they were watching a show.

Edward stopped the flight attendant.

“Give me the cockpit keys. Lucas jumped off the plane to escape what he did. I need to contact dispatch immediately and make an emergency landing.”

The flight attendant was shocked. She was about to pull out the keys when Simon snatched them away.

He pushed both Edward and me to the floor. Then, he said viciously, “You’ve got some nerve. Where did you even find an actor to help you pull this off?”

Edward shouted, “I’m not an actor. Give me the keys. There’s no time!”

“Yeah, right.”

Simon spat onto Edward’s face. Then, he turned to the flight attendant.

“Are you sure he’s a pilot?”

The flight attendant leaned in for a closer look. Then, she quickly shook her head.

“I’ve never seen this man before in my life. He must be an imposter.”

Edward quickly explained, “Kevin took the day off. I was scheduled to cover his shift. Of course, you don’t recognize me.”

The flight attendant looked conflicted.

“How do you know the co-pilot’s name? Wait… Are you actually his substitute?”

Brooke grabbed the flight attendant’s hand.

“Don’t let them trick you. Anyone can look up a name. I think these two are just crazy and putting on a show.”

Simon smirked and snapped the key in half.

Edward let out a hoarse, desperate scream. At that moment, he felt the same despair I had felt.

I did not give up. I tried to persuade the passengers who were just watching everything play out.

“Come on, a few of you. Let’s ram the door open together. If we take control of the plane before it self-destructs, we can still survive!”

No one paid me any attention.

“Didn’t you just say the plane would crash in fifteen minutes? It’s been over eighteen minutes now. The plane is still flying fine. That means you’re a total liar.”

“Yeah, exactly. Are you a terrorist? Are you trying to cause a panic so you can rob everybody?”

“That’s right. The guy next to him has to be his partner in crime. He ran off after the captain taught him a lesson. Everyone, grab them both and beat them to a pulp!”

The crowd’s indifference, mockery, and sarcasm plunged me into complete despair.

Their fists rained down on us like a sudden storm. They beat us with reckless abandon.

Just then, the cabin intercom came on.

“Warning. Self-destruct initiated. Vertical descent from ten thousand meters. Survival probability: 0.00001%.

“Countdown: Five. Four. Three. Two. One—”