Crash Land Read online

  A middle-aged couple were in front of them getting their boarding cards checked. They’d turned up in a fluster just after the delay was announced, complaining in Yorkshire accents about their taxi driver. They relaxed when they realised the plane was late, getting iPads out to play Candy Crush and Sudoku. They had matching fleeces and backpacks, the man placing his hand at the woman’s waist now as they went through the gate, guiding her to the runway.

  There was a hold-up on the tarmac. A guy in a yellow hi-vis jacket held his hand up for them to stop at the steps of the plane. He spoke into a radio then angled his head to listen to the reply. The evening was blowy but Finn felt hemmed in, the fog damp on his face. They were only a few hundred yards from the sea, over to the north behind the plane, but he couldn’t see much past the tail of the aircraft. He loved flying on these little twin-props, the informality so different from the herding of package holidays. With eight passengers in a twenty-eight-seater there would be plenty of room to spread out. He and Maddie could sit together despite their allocated seats being six rows apart, no one cared about that up here.

  ‘What now?’ Maddie said to Hi-Vis, then looked behind her.

  Finn followed her gaze and saw the oil workers coming out of the terminal. He chewed the inside of his cheek.

  ‘Come on, mate.’ It was the tallest oil worker, the knock-back guy, approaching Hi-Vis. ‘We’re freezing our tits off here.’

  The guy turned away and spoke into the radio. Finn thought he heard something like ‘fuel cap’. He imagined a car’s fuel cap dangling loose as it drove away from a petrol station. Ridiculous, this was a small flight but it had all the same safety regulations as bigger planes.

  Maddie looked past the oil workers, at the terminal. Hi-Vis gave them the all clear and the middle-aged couple started up the steps. Maddie put her holdall down on the tarmac, opened it and rummaged inside. She lifted her head and spoke to the oil workers.

  ‘On you go.’

  They bustled up the stairs.

  ‘Everything OK?’ Finn said.

  ‘Just pretending. Let those pricks go in front so we don’t end up sitting next to them.’ She zipped up the holdall, slung it over her shoulder and stood up. ‘Let’s get out of here.’

  3

  They sat near the back like a childish conspiracy, the bad kids on the school bus. The middle-aged couple were in the front row like swots, the oil workers spread across rows E and F. The weekend before Christmas, the last flight off the island, and the alcohol made Finn feel loose and edgy. Charlotte the stewardess had greeted them as they boarded. She was about the same age as Finn, with hipster glasses, braided blonde hair and no make-up, and she somehow managed to make the Loganair purple and blue uniform seem cool.

  Maddie sat at the window with her bag under the seat in front. Finn offered to throw it into the overhead locker with his rucksack but she shook her head. There was something about her Finn couldn’t fathom, her mood could be thrown between sunshine and darkness in a few moments. A minute ago she’d giggled with him about the hole in the back of Charlotte’s tights, but now she stared out the window at the wisps of fog feathering the plane’s wings.

  Finn sat in the seat next to her. ‘Nervous flyer?’

  ‘Sometimes.’

  He put his hand on hers. ‘I’ll take care of you.’

  He made a goofy face, tried to undermine his cheesy line again, but Maddie didn’t go along with it this time.

  ‘You’re a sweet boy.’

  ‘I’m twenty-one.’

  ‘Exactly.’

  He play-punched her arm. ‘I’m a man.’

  She punched him back. ‘Ug, me big man, get woman.’

  ‘Is that what you think I’m trying to do?’

  She laughed. ‘We both know what’s going on.’

  Finn shook his head. ‘I don’t.’

  ‘Yes, you do.’

  Engine noise flooded the cabin, overhead lights flickering for a moment. Charlotte pulled the collapsible steps up from the doorway into the cabin and folded them away behind her seat, then sealed the hatch. A voice came over the intercom but the only thing Finn made out over the propeller noise was ‘seventeen thousand feet’. Charlotte stood at the front of the plane doing the actions, emergency exits here and here, oxygen masks and life jackets. She blew into the tube to reinflate the life jacket. What was the point of that? If you crashed in the sea up here you’d freeze to death in seconds, no time to puff up your life jacket.

  ‘What are your plans when we land?’ he said to Maddie.

  ‘I might just hop on another plane.’

  ‘You really are escaping.’

  ‘You have no idea.’

  ‘Then tell me.’

  She touched his hand on the armrest. ‘Maybe when I get to know you better.’

  ‘So you do want to get to know me better.’

  ‘Can you say anything without it sounding like a come-on?’

  ‘I can’t help it, I’m half drunk on a plane with a mysterious, beautiful woman.’

  ‘Mysterious,’ Maddie said. ‘I like that.’

  ‘Don’t forget beautiful.’

  Maddie smiled. ‘What are your plans when we hit Edinburgh?’

  ‘Train to Dundee.’

  ‘You don’t look too happy about it.’

  ‘Let’s talk about something else.’

  ‘I’m not the only one who’s mysterious.’

  She looked out the window again. Finn was sure there was something here. He’d always been a serial monogamist, devoting himself to a girl then, when it ended, falling straight into another relationship. But this was different with Maddie, this was a game and he didn’t know the rules. Smoke and mirrors, innuendo and suggestion. He wasn’t sure of anything.

  And then there was Amy. He’d never been unfaithful before, always thought he couldn’t deceive a girlfriend. Yet here he was with someone else, hardly giving Amy a thought. But there was no excitement back home, it was comfortable and boring for both of them. They were only still together because of inertia, because neither of them had the courage to admit they were sleepwalking through it. He’d needed someone reliable after his mum died, a rock to be anchored to, and Amy had been that. If he was honest, it was disgraceful the way he’d let it drift this far, the way they both had.

  Charlotte walked down the cabin checking seatbelts. She looked put out that she had to walk to the back to check on Finn and Maddie, but she didn’t say anything.

  Maddie was still gazing out the window, her hand fiddling with the pendant at her throat.

  Finn glanced past her. ‘Is the fog getting worse again?’ He had to raise his voice over the propeller noise shuddering the plane.

  ‘Do you really make jewellery?’ she said.

  ‘Yeah.’

  ‘Will you make something for me?’

  ‘I’d love to.’

  ‘Not a freebie, I can pay.’

  Finn shook his head. ‘It would be an honour to create something for such a beautiful neck.’

  Maddie mimed sticking her fingers down her throat.

  ‘You don’t have much experience with women, do you?’

  ‘This is my tactic, make an ass of myself then take the piss out of myself for it.’

  ‘Don’t, you sound like all the rest.’

  ‘Who?’

  ‘Players,’ Maddie said. ‘Guys who think they’re it. Pulling techniques and strategies, targeting women with low self-esteem, conquering the opposite sex.’

  ‘I’m not like that.’

  ‘Good.’

  The plane taxied across the airfield, engines racing. One of the oil workers unbuckled and headed for the toilet but Charlotte put out a firm hand and made him get back in his seat. His mates laughed as he squirmed.

  Finn felt a buzz and pulled his phone out of his pocket. Amy again. He sucked on the tip of his tongue and stared at her name on the screen. There was a feature on his phone where you could add a picture to incoming calls, but he’d never got
round to it. Maybe if Amy’s face had popped up he would’ve felt worse about what he was doing. Thinking of doing. He pressed cancel.

  ‘Should be on airplane mode,’ Maddie said.

  ‘Have you ever heard of a plane crashing because someone kept a phone on?’

  ‘And you’re the expert.’

  ‘Fair enough.’

  ‘Give it here, while you’ve got it out,’ she said, taking the phone from him. She got her own phone out and punched his number into her contacts.

  Finn smiled. ‘Why do you want my number?’

  She handed it back. ‘You never know.’

  The plane turned and stopped at the end of the runway. Finn knew from previous flights that they were next to the sea now, but he couldn’t see anything in the haar.

  The engines roared and he felt the thrust of the plane as it began take-off. Maddie’s hand found his and squeezed at his knuckle. He placed his other hand on top but the look in her eyes wasn’t afraid, just relieved to be going.

  The rumble of the wheels on tarmac grew louder then stopped as the plane lifted into the air, beads of wet fog flung from the wing, smearing across the window like tears. The cabin juddered and rolled as a crosswind hit, and Finn saw the wing bend. The flexibility of aeroplanes always amazed him, giant metal constructions that submitted to the elements, moved with the weather, allowing them to slip through unmolested.

  They were pushed back in their seats now, the cabin at a steep angle as the pilot climbed to get above the fog. Finn imagined being in the cockpit in this weather, flying blind, just the radar and a voice from the tower to reassure you that there was nothing looming in the darkness.

  He remembered a thing he’d done with his mum when he was about six years old. She’d told him to walk as far as possible along the pavement with his eyes closed. He’d lasted twenty steps before the tension became unbearable. Even though there was no one about and the path was flat and straight he still couldn’t go on without knowing what was ahead. Maybe he just wasn’t a risk taker. Sally had laughed then tried it herself and got five times further than him. ‘Maybe you’ll do better as you get older,’ she said. ‘There’s less to surprise you when you’ve been around for a while.’

  The angle of the cabin levelled out. The seatbelt sign went off and he felt pressure on his bladder, as if his body had been waiting for the signal.

  ‘I’m just going to the toilet,’ he said.

  Maddie turned from the window and smiled. ‘Hurry back.’

  4

  He pulled the folding door closed and slid the lock over. His phone rang. He hadn’t put it on airplane mode. He pulled it out of his pocket. Amy.

  He answered. ‘Hi, honey.’

  ‘I’ve been trying to get you.’

  He didn’t feel anything at the sound of her voice and he hated himself for that. ‘Sorry, I had it on silent.’

  ‘You OK?’

  ‘Fine.’

  ‘You sound different, that’s all. I was worried, with the anniversary of your mum and everything.’

  He cared about her of course, but it wasn’t love, there was no spark. He would have to end it. It didn’t matter if anything happened with Maddie, but in the hours he’d spent with her he’d felt more alive than he had done in the last year with Amy. That wasn’t right. But he couldn’t do it over the phone, that was gutless. When he got back to Dundee he would speak to her, make her see that they had drifted apart and it was over.

  ‘I’m OK,’ he said.

  ‘I saw that your weather wasn’t great.’

  ‘Fog delayed us for a couple of hours but we’re off now.’

  ‘You’re on your phone on the plane?’

  Finn looked at himself in the toilet mirror. The gin buzz was ebbing away but there was still a fuzzy edge to his reflection, a glow in his eyes. He wondered what Maddie made of him at the airport bar. An easy pick-up, a little bit of fun on the rebound? Or just a safe option compared to the meatheads hassling her?

  ‘We’re still on the runway,’ he said.

  ‘You’d better get off the phone.’

  ‘Sure.’

  ‘Finn?’ There was a tremble in her voice.

  ‘Yeah?’

  ‘Stay safe. I love you.’

  He paused, just a beat. ‘I love you, too.’

  He ended the call. He hadn’t thought of himself as deceitful, but here he was. He gripped the sink and looked in the mirror.

  He turned and began to piss. The plane lurched and urine splashed round the seat and on to the floor. He put a hand against the mirror to steady himself. He finished and zipped up, pulled out some toilet paper and wiped the seat, then washed his hands. There was a smudge on the mirror where his hand had been. The way he was standing it was right in the middle of his forehead, a smear across his mind.

  He left the toilet and stopped.

  Oil Guy was sitting in Finn’s seat. He was leaning into Maddie, his hand on her arm, speaking under his breath. Maddie tried to pull away, her body squeezed against the window. He stroked her cheek and she squirmed.

  ‘Excuse me,’ Finn said.

  The guy glanced round, hardly taking notice.

  ‘Fuck off, prick.’

  ‘You’re in my seat.’

  A wobble in the cabin made Finn place his hand on the headrest, a few inches from the guy’s head.

  Oil Guy turned, still holding Maddie’s arm.

  ‘Sit somewhere else.’

  ‘That’s my seat.’

  ‘We’re busy.’

  Finn looked round the cabin. The other three oil workers were smiling at him. The middle-aged couple were oblivious up the front, chatting to Charlotte, who was leaning over their seats.

  ‘I don’t think she wants to speak to you,’ Finn said.

  ‘It’s not about what she wants, it’s what she needs. And I know what she needs.’

  ‘That hurts,’ Maddie said. She tried to pull away but he held firm. Her skin where he gripped it was red.

  ‘Get your hands off her,’ Finn said.

  Oil Guy took him in. ‘It’s a bit late to grow bollocks.’

  ‘Just leave us alone.’

  ‘Or what?’

  ‘I’ll make you.’

  Oil Guy laughed and turned to Maddie. ‘Where did you find this guy?’

  ‘He’s a better man than you,’ Maddie said.

  The guy shook his head. ‘If you think that, you’ve never been with a real man.’

  ‘Just leave,’ Finn said.

  ‘Make me.’

  Finn put everything into it as he swung his fist at Oil Guy’s head, catching him high on the side of the cheek. The guy flinched but not much, then thrust his elbow into Finn’s gut, knocking the air out of him. Finn doubled over as the guy came out of his seat and launched at him, and the two of them tumbled into the aisle, bouncing off seats. The guy got an arm clear and swung a heavy punch at Finn’s face, catching his mouth, and Finn felt his jaw crack. He tried to get his arms out but the guy had him in a bear hug, squeezing his ribs. Finn jerked a knee up and caught the guy in the bollocks, and he loosened his grip. Finn brought both fists down on the back of the guy’s head but he just looked up and headbutted Finn in the face. There was a burst of blood from his nose and a metal taste in his mouth as his eyes watered. Through the tears Finn could see Maddie grabbing at the guy, trying to pull him off, and beyond that he could see the other oil workers clambering out of their seats and down the cabin. Charlotte and a guy in uniform who must’ve been the co-pilot were pushing past them as the cabin swayed through another bubble of turbulence.

  Finn threw his fist at Oil Guy’s stomach. The hit landed but didn’t have much effect and the guy grabbed Finn’s hair and pulled his head downwards, kicking at Finn’s legs at the same time. Finn lost balance and toppled to the floor, then felt the weight of the guy on top of him. He raised his arms as blows rained down on his chest and head. Finn lashed out when he could, catching the guy on the chin with one punch, but it was one hit agai
nst a flood sweeping over him. Three more blows to his stomach left him heaving for breath, then Oil Guy landed another one on his face and Finn felt a tooth loosen.

  He opened his eyes to see the co-pilot and Maddie hauling at Oil Guy, pulling him away. The guy got in a couple of kicks as he was dragged off, one on the side of Finn’s knee that sent pain knifing up his leg.

  The co-pilot pushed the guy back into a seat then pulled out plastic restraints and slipped them on his wrists. Before he could complain the co-pilot knelt down and secured his ankles together with more plastic ties.

  ‘What the fuck?’ Oil Guy said.

  ‘I’m performing a citizen’s arrest,’ the co-pilot said, ‘under the Civil Aviation Act.’

  ‘He started it.’

  Charlotte and Maddie put hands out to help Finn up. There was pain in his knee, his mouth, his nose. He gasped air into his lungs but couldn’t speak. He slumped into a seat then felt Charlotte pop restraints over his wrists and tighten them. He looked at her as she knelt and did his ankles.

  ‘What are you doing?’ he said.

  ‘I’m performing a citizen’s arrest under the Civil Aviation Act,’ she said.

  Maddie touched Charlotte on the shoulder.

  ‘Get your hand off me, miss, unless you want to be arrested as well.’

  Maddie stared. ‘The other guy started it, he assaulted me. Finn was trying to help.’

  ‘I saw this gentleman throw the first punch,’ Charlotte said.

  ‘That’s right,’ said Oil Guy, leaning forward in his seat. ‘Let me out of these.’

  ‘This is all a misunderstanding,’ Finn said. ‘Let me go and I won’t be any trouble.’

  ‘We’ll let the police decide,’ the co-pilot said.

  Oil Guy looked worried. ‘There’s no need for that.’

  His friends crowded round the co-pilot, who spoke over them.

  ‘Charlotte, go tell the captain what’s happened.’

  Charlotte strode up the aisle past the Yorkshire couple, who had left their seats to watch. She knocked and ducked into the cockpit. Finn saw banks of controls, the epaulettes on the pilot’s shoulder, blackness outside the glass.

  ‘This is bullshit,’ Oil Guy said. ‘You don’t have the authority for this.’