A Few Days Before.

  Spoiled by her friend and former employer, Casey had bee aced to a certai of expectations while she traveled. Creature forts were always avaible, good pany was given and the décor was impeccable. Getting to France had been a nine-hour dream that allowed Casey to walk around in the freely, get drinks with a push of a butto with a simple request from her space-aged seat and even on-demand music that plimented her mood.

  By parison, the return trip proved itself to be nothing less of a disaster and started as soon as she arrived. Casey had gotten to the airport three hours early as suggested by her travel agent to get through the ticketing process and security in order to be on time for the flight. Moments before Casey was due to board the aircraft, she watched the signs for departure light up with the word ‘Deyed’. Subsequent inquiries with the flight staff had been a fruitless effort, because the crew didn’t fully uand what the dey was for. Ahree hours of watg others take off ao their destinations, Casey had almost rushed the attendant when the b finally started.

  Escorted to her first-css seat ailed in the cozy chair, Casey had mao close her eyes and start her music when the paxied away from the terminal and suddenly stopped oarmabsp; Casey looked out of her small window and noticed that there were a handful of teis w diligently on the engine.

  -This isn’t good, Rivers.-

  Casey sighed and smmed the shade shut wheer squawked and the captain’s voice rang through the small spabsp; “Ladies alemen, this is your captain. We’ve had a bit of a dey due to… instrumentation. I appreciate your patience while we work through the issue. Thank you.” Not wanting to dwell on the lie that the captain had just told the entire , Casey fgged down one of the attendants and ordered one of her four plimentary vodka tonic drinks to try and calm her nerves.

  -What I wouldn’t give to have you blog my fear now, Vivienne.-

  Holding up the voucher for the drink, Casey took the flimsy pstid swirled the drink to mix it a bit better with the little stirrer that the dy provided. One huge gulp ter, the former ward took a deep breath and leaned back against the headrest of her seat a out a little sigh.

  “Are you alright?” A heavy male British at came from the seat beside her.

  Looking at the entleman with her lovely chocotey eyes, Casey nodded politely. “Oh, I am fine. I am just a little anxious to get bae. Sitting here not moving is..well getting to me.”

  Adjusting his neck pillow for fort, the man poio the covered window. “I could have sworn I saw a few people out by the wing.” He closed his eyes, “With any luck it won’t be much longer.”

  Roughly an hour and two more vodka tonics ter, Casey gratefully sighed when the parted moving once again. Lightheaded and nearly asleep, Casey forced her eyes opehe captain once more spoke to the . “Sorry about that folks. We have gotten all the teical issues worked out and should be airborne in about ten minutes.”

  Throttling up the engines and the sensation of liftoff was the st thing that Casey remembered before she drifted off to sleep. While the slumber did provide a det measure to pass the time aboard the aircraft, it did little to settle Casey due to the couple of bad dreams that apanied her rest.

  Starting off with her paralyzed and lying on a stainless steel table, she could only see a gallon-sized gss pitcher of peach-deea being swished over her head. “For…your own good, drink up..we love you down here. You belong to me, Casey.” Brian’s deep voied before holding open her mouth and dumping the tents. Uo breathe through the stant stream of tea, Casey felt her chest seize and the room seemed to spin and ge into a brightly lit room with birds chirping at the windows. “See? I told you that it would work. It’s exactly like I promised.” She watched as his huge hands turned her away from the peace outside but somehow couldn’t feel anything associated with the a. Slowly her vision adjusted so that the big man’s twisted face came into view. “No pain, no demon blooded vampires sug on you. Just the two of us.” Reality smmed into Casey as she realized that the reason she felt nothing was that her body wasn’t hers, but that of a full sized doll. “You belong to me. How do you like my solution?” Bathed in lime green, Brian cackled as he began wildly fug the doll he’d verted.

  “Oh god NO!” Casey screamed and jerked her head from side to side, her auburn hair whipping across her face bringing her back to reality. Half aware of where she was, Casey spped away the pair of hands toug her arms. “No…no! Get off…don’t touch me!”

  Stepping back, the flight attendant spoke softly. “Miss. Miss Rivers?” The aused until she saw Casey open her eyes. “You seemed to be having a bad dream.” She poio the b. “I wasn’t trying to do anything, it's just…”

  Hearing the crewmember’s expnation, Casey looked down at the cover then to the man beside her with wide hungry eyes. Quickly assessing that her blouse was torn and that her ce bra didn’t hide much of her ample chest, Casey figured that the man got an eye full during the otion. ing herself up as though she were in a towel, Casey o the attendant. “You are too kind. Thank you.” Notig that the seatbelt sign was off, Casey stood up and dug out her carry-on bag and searched through it in hopes of finding another set of clothes.

  -Great. Not only are you dreaming of that bastard, but you also didn’t listen to your mother. Get it together, Rivers.-

  Uo find aop, Casey stood and tapped her foot and in doing so gave herself an idea. Remembering that she’d sed her sneakers for a set of light ary Janes, Casey found one of her white sneakers and yahe sh free. “Ma’am?” Casey turned and came face to face with the flight attendant.

  “Yes?”

  “ I get one of those almost useless pstiives you hand out for dinner please?” Casey inquired politely.

  Once she was done giving another passenger a cup of ginger ale, the woman searched her cart for a few seds and handed Casey what she asked for. “Of course.” She spotted the sh and smiled. “Good idea.”

  Darting off to the vatory, Casey locked the door behind her and ied the damage doo her thin top. “Not too bad really.” She pulled off the blue top and punched a few holes close to where the giant tear down from the ‘V’ neck colr was. Casey looked in the mirror to make sure that her bra hadn’t been torn as well, then ced up her top and slipped it over her head. “It will just have to do.” Smiling at herself in the mirror, Casey rolled the b up over her arm auro her seat.

  her final drink, Casey had just gotten her bourbon and co when she heard the distinct sound of the engine on her side of the pne power down. “What in the…” Opening the shade didn’t give her any measure of relief since she couldn’t see the engine as it was dark outside.

  “...What was that?” The British guy spoke up for the first time since he’d been spotted looking at Casey’s chest.

  forted by the fact she could see the entire wing and that it was still in pce, Casey turo the guy and shrugged, “I don’t know for sure, it was just something that sounded odd to me is all.” Standing up, She poi the little window. “Take a look for yourself.” While the man took care of his own worries and looked outside, Casey he time on her watd did some quick addition. “We have about two hours left, I think.”

  -What else happen today, for fuck sake?-

  Wishing she still had her enhanced sight to see if the turbines were still running, Casey’s thoughts betrayed her a couple of mier when the seatbelt sign came on and the voice of the captain once again filled the aircraft. “Ladies alemen. I have gotten a few calls from our flight crew asking what happened a few minutes ago. I will firm that the pilot and I have shut down the number one engine. It recautionary only, due to an unfirmed arm that we ’t tell if it's instrumental or actual. Rest assured we are able to get intinia Bea one engine and have more than enough time to do so. The good news is we had a very good tailwind and it cut our flight time signifitly. We should be nding in about thirty minutes.”

  Downing one bourbon and co, Casey purchased a sed one and mao finish it just before the flight crew went around and collected excess garbage in preparation to nd. When Casey felt the aircraft touch down, she breathed a heavy sigh of relief and gathered her small pile of effects and waited impatiently for the doors to open.

  Cool air rushed ihe when the crew opehe door, and Casey didn’t wait for the signal to leave before she was through the door and into the small hallway leading out of the terminal.

  -Thank god for small favors.-

  Stopping long enough to pull the handle up so her carry-on would roll, Casey made her way to s where she happily was the first in line. “Nothing to decre, I just want to get home.” She smiled at the guy behind the small gss and slid her passport to him.

  Flipping through the dark blue covered book with the Ameri bald eagle on it, the guy saw the list of stamps. “Had a long trip in Europe, Miss Rivers?” He sed the little barcode and then looked at his terminal. “ you step to yht please, Miss Rivers?”