The following day at around noon, my roommate, Essie showed up with a selection of clothes for me that she’d brought from home.

My carryon, and most of my personal possessions had been lost in the impromptu demolition of the plane.

My phone had survived simply because I had it on me when I was called to the cockpit.

“Here we are, love. One set of fresh, clean clothes.” She proclaimed, laying them out on the bed for me.

“Thanks, Essie. You’re the best.”

She scoffed.

“Says the one who just saved a jam-packed plane from becoming a new statistic!” she replied.

“Please, Essie. I’m tired of hearing about it.” I muttered, slipping out of the hospital gown and into my familiar jeans, t-shirt and hoodie.

Essie turned and looked at me. She too gave a brief pause at the sight of my injuries. I hadn’t fully seen them myself yet, but wasn’t especially eager to either.

She seemed like she was about to say something, but then stopped, letting her gaze slide across the room.

“Yeah, I suppose I can see why…” she replied, regarding the gifts of flowers and cards displayed all around.

“But it wasn’t all bad, surely!”

“Of course it wasn’t.” I replied, glancing about the bedside, instinctually making sure I didn’t leave anything behind. Not that I had much to leave behind.

“It was simply overwhelming, is all. I never figured out what to say.”

“Well, you’re in for a nasty shock in that case… The media’s going mad about it!” Essie informed me as I stood contemplating what to do with the bouquets and cards. There was no way we could bring it all, but it seemed rather cruel to leave it behind as well.

“Ah, yes… Director Bromwich has already warned me.” I muttered. “Do you suppose Cato could do something with these flowers?”

“We haven’t got room to bring them all!” Essie exclaimed, and I couldn’t help a smile.

“No, of course not.” I replied, making a round about the room and picking a flower or two from each bouquet.

“But I’d like to save some of them, as a keepsake.” I held up my mismatched bundle of blooms, and Essie regarded them.

“I’m sure he could, that brother of mine.” She replied. “I’ll give him a call later and let him know. What did you have in mind?”

“A wreath maybe. Or a crown.” I gave a wan smile. “A crown might be cool.”

After wrapping up my affairs with the hospital, the two of us set off across the car park and found our way to Essie’s little bronze Fiat.

The interior was a certified mess of computer parts, tools and cables as I had come to expect by now, but the front seats were satisfactory cleared of clutter.

On our way to the car, we had been swarmed by a group of reporters, but Essie, bless her soul, had made short work of their borderline harassment.

“Off with you, you blood-sucking parasites! Git! If Captain Rhyse would like to give an interview, they will bloody well say so! Until then you leave the poor sod alone, you hear! Or I’ll have my way with all your networks!”

Once we were securely in the car and on our way homeward, I found the moment to properly relax.

“You’re not actually going to go after their servers, are you?” I asked, and Essie scoffed.

“‘Course I’m not!” she exclaimed. “But they’d do well in having the fear of God struck into them once in a while. How are you doing, Avey? Do you feel alright?”

She chanced a glance at me out the corner of her eye, and I sunk further back into the seat.

“I feel exhausted.” I replied. “It’s been a wild couple of weeks. And I’m afraid it’s only the beginning.”

“Really? In what way?” Essie gave a soft frown.

“Well…” I sighed, glancing out the passenger-door window. Tilled fields stretching across the landscape. I wondered if the one we’d used as a makeshift airstrip that night was close by.

“There’ll be this whole thing with the AHSAE and the airline, and honestly… I’m terrified.”

I tucked my knees up a little closer and wrapped my arms around myself.

“You’re scared of failing?” Essie asked and I shook my head.

“Actually it’s the other way around.” I muttered.

“You’re afraid of succeeding?” Essie said, and the confusion was clear in her voice.

“Why? Isn’t that what you want?”

“It is! More than anything, I just…” I sighed. “What if their trust is mislaid? What if I’ll jeopardize a flight somewhere down the line, and put everyone’s life in danger simply because I couldn’t let go of this job?”

“Avery…” Essie called me softly. “What’s gotten into you? I don’t think I’ve ever heard you this unsure of yourself!”

“Well, it’s the first time I’ve been genuinely unsure of my own abilities.” I replied. “If I’m cleared to fly and something happened down the line that I for whatever reason am unable to handle, every life lost, or ruined is my responsibility! With an injury like this, I should not be allowed to fly. Period. And I… I’m beginning to think it might be for the best if I don’t pursue the matter any further.”

The tears were building up behind my eyes. I hated to admit it. It felt like a betrayal to my very being.

For years I had trained to do this job, and I’d expected to keep doing it for years to come!

But now I wasn’t sure if I should even be allowed to.

My gaze slipped to my reflection in the wing-mirror where my face was partially visible.

A spindly network of pale scars lay spread about a milky white eye. Every sound was muffled off to my left.

“Do you feel less alert?” Essie asked. “How much has this affected your ability to observe, or communicate with others?”

I gave the question some thought. There had been moments in the hospital where I’d had to ask people to repeat themselves. Mostly because they’d been standing to my left when they spoke. And in the beginning my vision had suffered, but in time my mind adjusted to the new conditions and my eyesight somewhat settled.

“I’d like to say it hasn’t but I’m sure I am biased.”

“Well, you seem alert and present to me.” Essie said. “Look. It won’t hurt to go through with these examinations, or whatever, and by the end, if you still feel uncertain, you can just end it there! But I do think you should go through with it and see for yourself how it feels before making a decision. It could just be shock or nerves speaking, you know?”

I gave a shaky smile.

“Yeah.” I said. “I suppose you’re right.”

“Well, try to get some rest along the way, and when we get home, I’ll order some takeaway and we can have a good, old fashioned sleepover.”

I nodded wearily.

“That sounds nice, Essie. Thank you.” I muttered.

I must have dozed off at some point.

When I came back to, rain was falling hard across the windshield. Essie had put the radio on low volume and was silently humming along to whatever song was playing.

“Sorry.” She said, when she noticed me stirring. “I didn’t mean to wake you up.”

“No worries.” I yawned and sat up in my seat. “I don’t think you did. Where are we?”

“We’ve just crossed into England.” Essie replied. “There’s still a ways to go if you want to catch more sleep.”

“No, I think I’m good, thank you.” I stretched myself the best I could within the cramped space of the car.

“Sorry to leave you on your own on this dreary drive.”

“Please, Avey. It’s no big deal.” Essie passed me a sidelong glance. “You look like death’s doormat, if you don’t mind my saying, and I don’t mind long drives in silence.”

I laughed and shook my head.

“Thanks for the compliment, I appreciate it very much.” I muttered, casting my gaze out the window.

With the heavy cloud cover overhead, it was difficult to discern what time it was and I pulled my phone from my pocket and checked the display.

“How long ‘til we’re in London?”

“Couple of hours, maybe?” Essie replied. “Depends on what traffic is like. Which, by the way…”

I glanced over at her again.

“I think we’re being tailed.”

“For real?” I sat up a bit straighter and looked in the rear-view mirror.

There wasn’t really much to see, since it was angled towards Essie and not myself.

“Yeah.” Essie replied. “See that car back there? Not the white one, the dark one behind it.”

I shot a glance past my shoulder and identified the car in question. A sleek black thing. Both standing out and blending in at the same time. The rain made it hard to make out the driver.

“It’s been on our tail since the hospital.” Essie explained. “I noticed it when we were driving out of town.”

“Weird…” I muttered, turning back.

“Of course it could just be a coincidence, but I dunno…”

“Maybe it’s reporters looking to get a scoop.” I said, sinking back into the seat.

“If it is, we’ll lose them in London’s backstreets.” Essie noted. “If those buggers want to harass you, they’re gonna have to work for it.”

I gave a sigh and tilted my head back.

“God, what a mess…” I muttered. “Let’s hope the hype dies down in time.”

“I’m sure it will.” Essie replied. “There’s always a new sensation to chase.”

“So how’ve you been holding up?” I turned in my seat and looked at her. “Anything exciting happen while I was gone?”

“Well, after shock of hearing about the plane crash on the news wore off… Thanks for the head’s up, by the way.”

She passed me a stinging sideglance, and I held up my hands.

“Sorry.” I said. “I was out for a few days and it took some time to get my phone back.”

“I forgive you this time, but only because you survived.” She said promptly. “Anyway, there hasn’t really been anything…”

She paused for a moment, thinking.

“There’s this event over at 1Up Barcade this weekend… Some StreetFighter tournament. Though I might give it a go. Do you want to come?”

“I’ll give it some thought.” I said. “How’s work?”

“Oh, nothing special…” Essie replied. “Had a few people DMing me, thinking I’ll work with them for free. That’s always fun.”

I scoffed.

“Sounds hilarious.” I replied. “But it’s not all freeloaders, I hope?”

“No, I’ve got some serious requests too. A couple of internet celebrities reaching out for editing jobs, and some local businesses wanting a hand on their new TV ad. Some of the things they come up with, I swear to god…”

I snickered.

“It’s bad?” I asked.

“It’s bonkers!” Essie exclaimed. “I honestly wish I could share some of it with you! I need someone to share in the madness!”

“Stay strong, Essie. The media and communications business needs you.” I said.

“I’m not sure it’s worth my sanity, Ave.” Essie yammered in reply, though it was clear she was just laying it on thick.

“If I’m not allowed to call it quits without a fight, then neither are you.” I noted.