Chapter 7 - Static Over the Atlantic
Static filled the cockpit between every instruction.
It sounded like the ocean beneath them.
Endless.
Cold.
Invisible.
Malachi imagined the North Atlantic below and immediately wished he had not.
He forced his eyes back to the glowing panels.
He could not think about water.
He could not think about falling.
He could not think about his father’s name shaking the controller’s voice.
He could only think in pieces.
Yoke.
Altitude.
Heading.
Breath.
Checklist.
Grace.
Radio.
The controller spoke again.
“Malachi, you are not alone in this cockpit.”
Malachi’s eyes flicked toward the unconscious pilots.
The controller corrected quickly.
“You have Grace. You have us. And you have training.”
Malachi swallowed.
“I only practiced in simulators.”
“Simulators teach procedures. Procedures matter.”
Grace looked at the passengers.
Some were praying silently.
Some were crying.
Some stared at Malachi with desperate trust that no child should have to carry.
One teenage boy near the doorway whispered, “He’s twelve.”
His mother pulled him back.
Malachi heard anyway.
Grace saw his face tighten.
She turned.
“And right now, he is the one listening.”
The cockpit went quiet again.
The controller continued.
“We’re going to keep you stable and prepare options. Do not ask about landing yet.”
Malachi nodded.
“Because we’re not there yet.”
“Exactly.”
Grace admired the controller for that.
No false promises.
No dramatic reassurance.
Just the next task.
She reached for a flashlight clipped near the side panel and angled it briefly toward the floor near the pilots.
The cup.
Residue.
A small smear on one control-side surface.
She turned the light away quickly before passengers saw too much.
Her face must have changed, because Malachi whispered, “What?”
“Nothing for you right now.”
“That means something.”
“It means fly first.”
He accepted that, but his eyes darkened with understanding.
He was twelve.
Not stupid.
The aircraft trembled again, but this time his correction came smoother.
Grace looked at the altitude.
Still airborne.
Still fighting.
May you like
Still no answers.
Read Chapter 8 👉 Because Malachi had to ignore the mystery in the cockpit, even as Grace became certain the pilots’ collapse had a story of its own.
