“I’m going to be late!” said Eleanor in a rushed tone. She was quickly walking down the corridors in the airport, searching for her flight. She finally found it, and in the Nick of time. The flight attendant was just about to close the gate when she saw Eleanor waving her hands to her. “Thank God you saw me,” she said, winded, “you’re a lifesaver.”

“Oh, your welcome,” the attendant said, “we were waiting on the Co-Pilot anyway.”

I walked into the plane and found my seat. First Class. How I spoil myself. Now I start my new life. Out of Iowa to Estatch, the most Prestigious country to date. I couldn’t wait. I sat there and though back to the day my life changed.

I had recently taken off as an interior designer and was starting to really make a name for myself. My father was out on his job as a scientific researcher when I found the letter. It was an invitation to join a group of other designers that had started to make it good as a cooperative business on Estatch Archipelago. I couldn’t believe it! I was jumping up and down, that kind of excited. Now it’s coming true, all of my hopes, they were really happening.

The Attendant from earlier had just finished her safety presentation that they have on all the flights. After a little bit, The pilot came over the intercom, “Attention passengers, this is your captain speaking. We will be taking off shortly, so please ensure you are buckled in, and all luggage is in a safe position.”

After he was done, that attendant from earlier took a seat next to me and fastened her safety belt. “Hey, it’s you again,” she said, “the stewardesses on this flight sit in first class normally rather than a chair in the back of economy class, haha.” I read her name tag. Her name was Misty. “That must be nice,” I replied. After takeoff, she sat and spoke with me for a while. Then she asked, “where are you heading anyway?” The flight was stopping at a place before it headed to Estatch, so it wasn’t a dumb question in this context.

“Halitite. I got a job offer there,” I said, “I’ve been reading, and I saw there’s a holiday going on when I get there.”

Misty kind of flinched when I mentioned the holiday. “What did it say on that phone of yours?” Misty asked.

“Says here it’s called Dysoterra, and is a festival lasting 13 days that consists of celebration and parades and stuff like that.” Misty smirked and let out a little giggle, “well, it’s kind of right.” She kind of twitched a little and then the pilot announced we reached cruising altitude. Misty immediately stood up, still kind of twitching, and went into the bathroom. I couldn’t care that much. She seemed a little off anyway.

Not even a second later, one of the other designers in the new group I was working for text me. It said, ‘if you can help it, maybe try to come back on the 26th of May instead of today. The shop is closed for vacation until then, so it wouldn’t be fun for you here.’ She must be talking about Dysoterra. I texted back, ‘wouldn’t it be fun to meet everyone while we aren’t at work? Plus, I already read about Dysoterra, it sounds like a blast!’ I put my phone away. I was kind of feeling a little sick, but it was probably because I was using my phone at this altitude. The new technology that’s been out for a while has allowed for the internet to be used virtually anywhere. It’s somewhat frightening if you think about it. Saves lives thought.

Misty came out of the bathroom, and kind of glared at me. Her eyes strained a little when she saw me. She approached me and spoke while she walked past, “Next stop, get off,” and kept walking. Her expression was somewhat remorseful. It wasn’t something I could shake off. I felt sick again and went to the bathroom just in case. The plane I was taking was more advanced than others. Working water and everything. It was actually a pretty nice bathroom for an airplane, complete with stalls and sinks. I was moving towards the back stall, and the sickness turned more into a headache. I got into the stall and the headache stopped. I was shocked. After a little bit, turned to leave and the headache hit me like a truck. I almost fell to the ground. Luckily, there was a sink nearby, so I steadied myself against it. When I opened my eyes, I saw my reflection in the mirror. All I could do for a moment was study myself. My long, think golden blonde hair, with my blue headband. My skin was a little pale, but nothing out of the ordinary. I moved back towards the stall, and the headache vanished. Instantly, I was back to normal. I shut the door of the stall and sat for a second. I needed to get it together.

The bathroom door opened, and I heard footsteps. I got nervous, so I put my feet up, not wanting whoever it was to know I was in there. It was super embarrassing just sitting in the bathroom like an idiot. The woman was kind of shuffling around outside the stalls for a minute, but then turned to the stall next to mine. She started talking in a soft tone, “Single Service Entry.” It sounded like Misty, the flight attendant from earlier. There was a sudden sliding sound. It sounded like it wasn’t natural, either. I peeked a little under the stalls, and saw Misty’s feet walk towards the back of the stall, then she seemed to just walk through the wall.

What the hell? Am I going crazy, or did she just go through a solid object? There was another sliding sound, and then what sounded like a sealing sound. I got up and slowly opened the stall door. I hesitated to exit, but when I did, there wasn’t a headache. I felt a wave of relief, and stared toward the neighboring stall. I thought for a minute, the said out loud, “That’s not my problem,” then started toward the door of the bathroom. The headache returned after I got close to the door. “Never mind,” I said as I spun on my heel, “I guess this is my problem, for some reason.”

I slowly opened the stall door that Misty when into and looked around. It was literally the exact same as mine. I was losing hope of ever getting out of this damn bathroom until I remembered the words she said. “Single Service Entry,” I stated out loud. Nothing happened. “I’m hallucinating or something, I’ve got to be,” I said, irritated. As I turned to leave, There was that sliding sound again behind me. I spun around, and the toilet had lowered into the floor, and an entrance had appeared. A doorway, to somewhere else, on a plane. No way. There’s no way there are secret doors to a dark-looking area on a plane flying to an island. I backed up a little, and the headache started creeping up on me. I took a deep breath in, and entered the secret room cautiously. As soon as I was through the doors, I turned around, and looked back at the stall. The headache had gone, but then the door shut me in, and I was in total darkness. This couldn’t have been a dream. If it had been, it would never have worked the way it had.

There was a strange cold draft in front of me, and I turned around again, facing forward. What’s happening to me?, I thought. And then I heard a voice in the dark saying, “To you left.”

“Oh hell no,” I said, “This isn’t funny, let me out.”

The voice said again, “To your left, there are lights. Lower your voice, or she’ll hear you.”

This was dumb. Why, out of anyone in the world, did I have to be the one in a dark room behind a bathroom stall on a plane, talking to gods knows who? I decided to go to the left, and there was, in fact, a light switch.

“Who is ‘she’?” I said before I flipped the switch.

“Turn the lights on first.” The voice was deeper and a little scary if I’m being honest.

“Fine,” I said, flipping the switch. Now, I could see about seven foot high fluorescent lighting illuminating the small chamber I was standing in. It gave a very dim view at the moment. The room was completely gray and techy, with metallic walls. I towards the center of the room. There was a glass doll-like case with metal edges, which appeared to be full of a dark gaseous thing, on a shelf in the middle area, which seemed to be a point of interest, as there were several desks like things surrounding it. There was a lot of papers and other scientific research material scattered around the desks.

I whispered to that voice I heard, “Hello? Where are you?”

“Open the case,” it said quietly.

“Do I look stupid to you? I’m not releasing the Black Death on myself!” I rushed quietly.

“Never been called that before,” it said.

I flinched, “What! Wait, wait, wait, are you saying…”

“Yes, I’m the Black Death,” the gas started forming into a shadowy hand inside the case, urging me towards itself, “I promise I’m not going to hurt, I just want to get out of here.”

I was frozen. I was thinking rapidly about my options. It appears to be knowledgeable, but it’s also a mass of dark energy.

“You’re running out of time Eleanor,” it said, “She’ll be back soon, and if she sees you here, you’ll be the next one in the case, alright? You don’t exactly have anything else to rely on here.”

So now it knew my name, how did it– Wait… Misty! I was going to have to confront her eventually, so why didn’t I just go to her? That would solve all my problems. But, what if the ‘she’, was Misty. In a panicked motion, I quickly moved towards the case. There was a little piece of metal that was slotted into a simple sliding lock, like on a bathroom door. How ironic. As I slid the lock open, I asked, “You’re helping me get out of here, right?”

“Yes, but I need your help as well,” the shadowy gas responded ad the case door was unlocked. I opened the door, and the shadow morphed into a large, human-ish shape, until it started materializing into a physical person. Only it wasn’t human. It was a tall, red skinned, demon