The gap between me and the world

Donna gasped.

Pinned from behind, I had no room to dodge.

Ashley slammed into my back with the full force of her weight, sending me stumbling forward. The meal tray in my hands flew loose, snatched by the violent airflow and whipped out through the broken window.

*Rip!*

Without support, the crack around that small hole abruptly expanded—the tear widening into a vicious circle.

The wind’s sharp whistle became a deafening roar.

Everything in the cabin was violently sucked toward the breach. Even the passengers felt themselves dragged toward it.

"Ashley! What are you doing?" Donna rushed over and slapped her across the face, furious.

"I… I didn’t mean to… I was only trying to help…" Ashley covered her cheek, tears streaming down in a pitiful display.

Help?

I looked at her, my eyes cold.

The angle of her fall, the force of her lunge—it was all too convenient.

She had done it on purpose.

She hated me for making her kneel, for humiliating her. In the chaos, she had seized her chance to retaliate, to try and get me sucked out of the plane.

Hopelessly stupid. Irredeemably malicious.

"Everyone, stay calm!" I roared over the panic. "Unbuckle a few seatbelts—now!"

Several passengers snapped into action, unfastening their belts and passing them to me.

I knotted several together tightly and handed one end to the men. "Hold this tight! Don’t let go, even if I die!"

Without a glance at the weeping Ashley, I gathered an armful of pillows and blankets, clutched them to my chest, and charged again toward the now-significantly-larger breach.

This time, I used my own body, along with the padding in my arms, to plug the hole.

The gale slashed against my back like countless knives.

Powerful suction pulled at me, threatening to tear my insides apart.

"Quick! Duct tape! Tape me and all this stuff to the fuselage!" I shouted with everything I had left.

Donna and the other flight attendants grabbed rolls of tape and frantically wrapped them around me and the padding.

One layer, two, three…

They wrapped me up like a mummy, layering me and the bedding over and over against that gaping hole.

Gradually, the howling wind subsided.

The cabin pressure finally stabilized, at least for now.

Everyone slumped in relief, collapsing into their seats, breathing heavily.

I felt like my bones were coming apart. My back burned with a raw, searing pain.

"Stephanie, are you okay?" Donna’s voice was choked with tears.

"I’ll live," I gritted out.

Just then, that damned Ashley "accidentally" drifted over again.

"Stephanie, are you alright? It’s all my fault, I…" She reached out a hand as if to steady me.

But her hand landed with perfect precision on the valve of a nearby secured oxygen tank.

*Bang!*

The valve broke loose.

High-pressure oxygen erupted with a sharp, hissing roar.