WEBVTT

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Nightmare at twenty thousand feet by Richard
Matheson. Seatbelt, please, said the

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steward as cheerfully as she passed him. Almost as she spoke, the sign

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above the archway which led to the
forward compartment lit up. Fastened seatbelt with

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below its attendant caution no smoking.
Drawing in a deep lungfull Wilson excelled it

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in baste, then pressed the cigarette
into the armrest tray with irritable stabbing motions.

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Outside, one of the engines coughed
monstrously, spewing out a cloud of

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fume, which fragmented into the night
air. The fuselage began to shudder,

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and Wilson, glancing through the window, saw the exhaust of flame jetting whitely

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from the engines in the cell.
The second engine coughed, then roared its

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propeller instantly a blare of revolution with
a tense submissiveness. Wilson fastened the belt

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across his lap. Now all the
engines were running, and Wilson's head throbbed

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in unison with the fuselage. He
sat rigidly staring at the seat ahead as

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the D seven taxied across the apron, heating the night with the thundering blast

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of its exhausts. At the edge
of the runway, it halted. Wilson

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looked out through the window at the
leviath and glitter of the terminal. By

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late morning, he thought, showered
and cleanly dressed, he would be sitting

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in the office of one more contact, discussing one more specious deal, the

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net result of which would not add
one jot of meaning to the history of

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mankind. It was all so damned. Wilson gasped as the engines began their

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warm up race preparatory to take off. The sound, already loud, became

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deafening, waves of sound that crashed
against Wilson's ears like club blows. He

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opened his mouth as if to let
it drain. His eyes took on the

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glare of a suffering man. His
hands drew in like tensing claws. He

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started, legs retracting as he felt
a touch on his arm. Jerking aside

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his head, he saw the stewardess
who had met him at the door.

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She was smiling down at him.
Are you all right? He barely made

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out her words. Wilson pressed his
lips together and agitated his hand at her,

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as if pushing her away. His
smile flared into excess brightness, then

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fell as she turned and moved away. The plane began to move a face

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lethargically like some behemos, struggling to
overthrow the pull of its own weight,

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then with more speed, forcing off
the drag of friction. Wilson, turning

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to the window, saw the dark
runway rushing past fire, faster and faster.

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On the wing edge, there was
a mechanical whining as the flaps descended,

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then imperceptibly, the giant wheels lost
contact with the ground. The earth

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began to fall away. Trees flashed
underneath buildings, the darting quicksilver of carlights.

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The DC seven banked slowly to the
right, pulling itself upward toward the

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frosty glitter of the stars. Finally, it leveled off, and the engine

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seemed to stop until Wilson's adjusting ear
cut the murmur of their cruising speed.

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A moment of relief slackened his muscles, imparting a sense of well being.

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Then it was gone. Wilson sat
a mobile, staring at the no smoking

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sign until that winked out, then
quickly lit a cigarette, reaching into the

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seat back pocket in front of him, he slid free his newspaper. As

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usual, the world was in a
state similar to his friction in diplomatic circles,

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earthquakes and gunfire, murder, rape, tornadoes and collisions, business conflicts,

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gangsterism. God's in his heaven,
All's right with the world, thought

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Arthur Jeffrey Wilson. Fifteen minutes later, he tossed the paper aside. His

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stomach felt awful. He glanced up
at the signs beside the two lavatories,

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both illuminated read occupied. He pressed
out his stated cigarette since take off and

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turning off the overhead light stared out
through the window. Along the cabin's length,

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people were already flicking out their lights
and reclining their chairs for sleep.

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Wilson glanced at his watch, eleven
twenty. He blew out tired breath.

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As he'd anticipated, the pills he'd
taken before boarding hadn't done a bit of

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good. He stood abruptly as the
woman came out of the lavatory, and

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snatching up his bag, he started
down the aisle. His system, as

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expected, gave no co operation.
Wilson stood with a tired moan and adjusted

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his clothing. Having washed his hands
and face. He removed the toilet kit

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from the bag and squeezed a filament
of paste across his tooth brush. As

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he brushed, one hand braced for
support against the cold bulkhead. He looked

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out through the feet Away was the
pale blue of the inboard propeller. Wilson

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visualized what would happen if it were
to tear loose and like a tribe bladed

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cleaver come slicing at him. There
was a sudden depression in his stomach.

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Wilson swallowed instinctively and got some past
stains saliva down his throat. Gagging,

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he turned and spat into the sink, then hastily washed out his mouth and

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took a drink. Dear God,
if only he could have gone by train,

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had his own compartment, taken a
casual stroll to the club bar,

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settled down in an easy chair with
a drink in a magazine. But there

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was no such time or fortune in
this world. He was about to put

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the toilet kit away when his gaze
caught on the all skin envelope in the

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bag he had. Then, setting
the small briefcase on the sink, drew

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out the envelope and undid it on
his lap. He sat, staring at

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the ore gloss symmetry of the pistol. He'd carried it around with him for

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almost a year now. Originally,
when he'd thought about it, it was

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in terms of money, carried protection
from hold up, safety from teenage gangs

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in cities he had to attend.
Yet far beneath he'd always known there was

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no valid reason except one, a
reason he thought of more every day.

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How simple it would be here now. Wilson shut his eyes and swallowed quickly.

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He could still taste the toothpaste in
his mouth, a faint nettling of

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peppermint on the boyds. He sat
heavily in the throbbing chill of the lavatory,

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the oily gun resting in his hands, until quite suddenly he began to

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shiver without control. God, let
me go, his mind cried out,

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abruptly, let me go, Let
me go. He barely recognized the whimpering

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in his ears. Abruptly, Wilson
sat erect, lips pressed together. He

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re wrapped the pistol and thrust it
into his bag, putting the briefcase on

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top of it, zipping the bag
shut. Standing, he opened the door

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and stepped outside hurrying to his seat
and sitting down, sliding the overnight bag

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precisely into place, he indented the
armrest button and pushed himself back. He

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was a business man, and there
was business to be conducted on the morrow.

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It was as simple as that.
The body needed sleep. He would

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give it sleep. Twenty minutes later, Wilson reached down slowly and depressed the

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button, sitting up with his chair, his face a mask of vanquished acceptance.

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Why fight it, he thought it
was obvious he was going to stay

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awake. So that was that.
He had finished half of the crossword puzzle

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before he let the paper drop into
his lap. His eyes were too tired.

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Sitting up, he rotated his shoulders, stretching the muscles of his back.

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Now what he thought? He didn't
want to read? He couldn't sleep,

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and there was still He checked his
watch. Seven to eight hours left

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before Los Angeles was reached. How
was he to spend them? He looked

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along the cabin and saw that except
for a single passenger in the forward compartment,

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every one was asleep. A sudden, overwhelming fury filled him, and

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he wanted to scream, to throw
something, to hit somebody teeth jammed together

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so rapidly it hit his jaws.
Wilson shoved aside the catns with a spastic

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hand and stayed out majeously through the
window. Outside, he saw the wing

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lights blinking off and on, the
lerid flashes of exhaust from the engine cowlings.

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Here he was, he thought,
twenty thousand feet above the earth,

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trapped in a howling shell of death, moving through polar night toward Wilson twitched

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as lightning bleached the sky, washing
its false daylight across the win He swallowed.

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Was there going to be a storm? The thought of rain and heavy

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winds of the plane a chip in
the sea of sky was not a pleasant

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one. Wilson was a bad flier. Excess motion always made him ill.

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Maybe he should have taken another few
drama means to be on the safe side.

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And naturally his seat was next to
the emergency door. He thought about

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it opening accidentally, about himself sucked
from the plane, falling screaming. Wilson

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blinked and shook his head. There
was a faint tingling at the back of

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his neck as he pressed close to
the window and stared out. He sat

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there, motionless, squinting he could
have sworn. Suddenly, his stomach muscles

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jerked in violently, and he felt
his eyes strained forward. There was something

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crawling on the wing. Wilson felt
a sudden nauseous tremor in his stomach.

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Thee god had some dog or cat
crawled onto the plane before takeoff, and

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in some way managed to hold on. It was a sickening thought. The

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poor animal would be deranged with terror. Yet, how on the smooth,

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wind blasted surface could it possibly discover
gripping places? Surely that was impossible.

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Perhaps, after all, it was
only a beard or The lightning flared and

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Wilson saw that it was a man. He couldn't move. Stupefied, he

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watched the black form crawling down the
wing, impossible Somewhere cased in lays of

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shock, A voice declared itself,
but Wilson did not hear. He was

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conscious of nothing but the Titanic,
almost muscle tearing, the leap of his

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heart and of the man outside.
Suddenly, like ice filled water thrown across

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him, there was a reaction.
His mind sprang for the shelter of explanation.

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A mechanic had, through some incredible
oversight, been taken up with the

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ship and had managed to cling to
it, even though the wind had torn

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his clothes away, Even though the
air was thin and close to freezing,

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Wilson gave himself no time for refutation. Jarring to his feet, he shouted,

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Stewardess, Stewardess, his voice a
hollow, ringing sound in the cabin.

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He pushed the button for her with
a jabbing finger. Stewardess, She

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came running down the aisle, her
face tightened with alarm. When she saw

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the look on his face. She
stiffened in her tra There's a man out

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there, A man, cried Wilson. What skin constricted on her cheeks around

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her eyes? Look look and shaking. Wilson dropped back into his seat and

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pointed out the window. He's crawling
on the word. It's ended with a

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choking rattle in his throat. There
was nothing on the wing. Wilson sat

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there, trembling for a while before
he turned back. He looked at the

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reflection of the stewardess on the window. There was a blank expression on her

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face. At last, he turned
and looked up at her. He saw

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her red lips part as though she
meant to speak, but she said nothing,

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only placing the lips together again and
swallowing an attempted smile, distended briefly

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at her features. I'm sorry,
Wilson said, it must have been a

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He stopped as though the sentence were
completed. Across the aisle, a teenage

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girl was gaping at him with sleepy
curiosity. The stewardess cleared her throat.

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Can I get you anything, she
asked? A glass of water, Wilson

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said. The stewardess turned and moved
back up the aisle. Wilson sucked in

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a long breath of air and turned
away from the young girl's scrutiny. He

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felt the same. That was the
thing that shucked him most. Where were

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the visions, the cries, the
pummeling of fists on temples, the tearing

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out of hair. Abruptly, he
closed his eyes. There had been a

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man, he thought, there had
actually been a man. That's why he

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felt the same. And yet they
couldn't have been He knew that clearly.

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Wilson sat with eyes closed, wondering
what Jacqueline would be doing now if she

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were in the seat beside him.
Would she be silent, shocked beyond speaking,

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or would she in the more accepted
manner be fluttering around him, smiling,

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chattering, pretending that she hadn't seen
What would his sons think. Wilson

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felt a dry sob threatening in his
chest. Oh God, here's your water,

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sair twitching sharply. Wilson opened his
eyes. Would you like a blanket,

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inquired the stewardess. No, he
shook his head. Thank you,

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he added, wondering why he was
being so polite. If you need anything,

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just ring, she said. Wilson
nodded behind him as he sat with

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the untouched cup of water in his
hand. He heard the muted voices of

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the stewardess in one of the passengers. Wilson tightened with resentment. Abruptly,

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he reached down, and, careful
not to spill the water, pulled out

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the overnight bag, unzipping it.
He removed a box of sleeping capsules and

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washed two of them down. Crumpling
the empty cup, he pushed it into

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the seat pocket in front of him, then, not looking, slid the

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cat and shut there. It was
ended. One hallucination didn't make insanity.

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Wilson turned on to his right side
and tried to set himself up against the

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fitful motion of the ship. He
had to forget about this, That was

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the most important thing. He mustn't
dwell on it. Unexpectedly, he found

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a wry smile forming on his lips. Well, by God, no one

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could accuse him of mundane hallucinations anyway. When he went at it, he

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did a royal job and naked mind. Crawling down a D seven's winger twenty

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thousand feet there was a chimera worthy
of the noblest lunatic. The humor faded

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quickly. Wilson felt chilled. It
had been so clear, so vivid.

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How could the eyes see such a
thing when it did not exist? How

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could what was in his mind make
the physical act of seeing worked at its

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purpose so complete? He hadn't been
groggy in a daze, Nor had it

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been a shapeless, gauzy vision.
It had been sharply three dimensional, fully

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a part of the things he saw
which he knew were real. That was

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the frightening part of it. It
had not been dreamlike in the least.

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He had looked at the wing,
and impulsively Wilson drew aside the cairtain.

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He did not know immediately if he
would survive. It seemed as if all

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the contents of his chest and stomach
were bloating horribly, the excess pushing up

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in his throat and head, choking
away, breath, pressing out his eyes.

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Imprisoned in this swollen mass, his
heart pulsed strickenly, threatening to burst

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its case. As Wilson sat pared, only inches away, separated from him

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by the thickness of a piece of
glass, the man was staring at him.

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It was a hideously malignant face,
a face not humor. Its skin

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was grimy of a wide, poured
coarseness, its nose a squat, discolored

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lump, Its lips cracked, forced
apart by teeth of a grotesque size and

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crookedness. Its eyes recessed and small, unblinking, all framed by shaggy,

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tangled hair, which sprouted two in
fairy tufts from the man's ears and nose,

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beared like down across his cheeks.
Wilson sat riven to his chair,

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incapable of response. Time stopped and
lost, meaning, function and analysis ceased.

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All were frozen in an ice of
shock. Only the beat of heart

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went on alone, a frantic leaping
into the darkness. Wilson could not so

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00:22:15.119 --> 00:22:23.119
much as blink. Dull eyed breathless, he returned the creature's vacant stare abruptly.

204
00:22:23.160 --> 00:22:27.799
Then he closed his eyes, and
his mind, rid of the sight,

205
00:22:29.359 --> 00:22:33.160
broke free. It isn't there,
he thought. He pressed his teeth

206
00:22:33.200 --> 00:22:38.839
together, breath quavering in his nostrils. It isn't there. It simply is

207
00:22:38.960 --> 00:22:48.319
not there. Clutching at the armrest
with pale knuckled fingers, Wilson braced himself.

208
00:22:48.440 --> 00:22:55.000
There is no man out there,
he told himself. It was impossible

209
00:22:55.119 --> 00:22:59.519
that there should be a man out
there, crouching on the wing looking at

210
00:22:59.599 --> 00:23:04.359
him. He opened his eyes to
shrink against the seat back with a gagging

211
00:23:04.400 --> 00:23:11.119
inhalation. Not only was the man
still there, but he was grinning.

212
00:23:14.319 --> 00:23:19.640
Wilson turned his fingers in and dug
the nails into his palms until pain flared.

213
00:23:21.839 --> 00:23:26.119
He kept it there until there was
no doubt in his mind that he

214
00:23:26.359 --> 00:23:33.359
was fully conscious. Then slowly,
arm quivering and numb, Wilson reached up

215
00:23:33.400 --> 00:23:38.640
for the button which would summon the
stewardess. He would not make the same

216
00:23:38.720 --> 00:23:45.079
mistake again, cry out, leaped
to his feet, alarm the creature into

217
00:23:45.160 --> 00:23:51.240
flight. He kept reaching upward a
tremor of a ghast excitement in his muscles.

218
00:23:51.279 --> 00:23:56.880
Now, because the man was watching
him, the small eyes shifting with

219
00:23:56.960 --> 00:24:06.160
the movement of his arm. He
pressed the button carefully once twice. Now

220
00:24:06.240 --> 00:24:11.640
come, he thought, Come with
your objective eyes and see what I see.

221
00:24:11.880 --> 00:24:18.359
But hurry. In the rear of
the cabin, he heard a curtain

222
00:24:18.480 --> 00:24:26.000
being drawn aside, and suddenly his
body stiffened. The man had turned his

223
00:24:26.119 --> 00:24:33.519
caliban head to look in that direction. Paralyzed, Wilson stared at him.

224
00:24:33.519 --> 00:24:40.319
Hurry, he thought, for God's
sake, hurry. It was over in

225
00:24:40.359 --> 00:24:45.720
a second. The man's eyes shifted
back to Wilson across his lips a smile

226
00:24:45.799 --> 00:24:52.079
of monstrous cunning. Then with a
leap, he was gone, Yes,

227
00:24:52.160 --> 00:24:59.559
sir. For a moment, Wilson
suffered the fullest anguish of madness. His

228
00:24:59.680 --> 00:25:04.039
gaze kept jumping from the spot where
the man had stood to the stewardess's questioning

229
00:25:04.160 --> 00:25:10.480
face, then back again, back
to the stewardess, to the wing,

230
00:25:10.920 --> 00:25:17.680
to the stewardess. His breath caught
his eyes stark with dismay. What is

231
00:25:17.759 --> 00:25:22.960
it? Asked the stewardess. It
was the look on her face that did

232
00:25:22.000 --> 00:25:30.039
it. Wilson closed a vice on
his emotions. She couldn't possibly believe him.

233
00:25:30.519 --> 00:25:37.559
He realized it in an instant.
I'm I'm sorry, he faltered.

234
00:25:37.599 --> 00:25:42.960
He swallowed so dryly that it made
a clicking noise in his throat. It's

235
00:25:44.079 --> 00:25:51.160
nothing, I apologize. The stewardess
obviously didn't know what to say. She

236
00:25:51.279 --> 00:25:56.039
kept leaning against the erratic yawing of
the ship, one hand holding onto the

237
00:25:56.079 --> 00:26:00.599
back of the seat beside Wilson's,
the other staring limply along the seam of

238
00:26:00.599 --> 00:26:07.160
her skirt. Her lips were parted
slightly, as if she meant to speak

239
00:26:07.799 --> 00:26:14.359
but could not find the ways well. She said finally, and cleared her

240
00:26:14.400 --> 00:26:22.640
throat. If you need anything,
yes, yes, thank you. Are

241
00:26:22.680 --> 00:26:29.960
we going into a storm? The
stewardess smiled hastily, just a small one,

242
00:26:30.480 --> 00:26:36.839
she said, nothing to worry about. Wilson nodded with little twitching movements.

243
00:26:37.480 --> 00:26:42.480
Then, as the stewardess turned away, breathed in suddenly, his nostrils

244
00:26:42.519 --> 00:26:48.200
flaring. He felt certain that she
already thought him mad, but didn't know

245
00:26:48.240 --> 00:26:52.720
what to do about it, because
in a course of training there had been

246
00:26:52.759 --> 00:26:59.799
no instruction of the handling of passengers. We thought they saw small men crouching

247
00:26:59.799 --> 00:27:07.880
on wing, thought Wilson turned his
head abruptly and looked outside. He stared

248
00:27:07.920 --> 00:27:12.799
at the dark rise of the wing, the spouting flare of the exhausts,

249
00:27:14.559 --> 00:27:22.240
the blinking lights. He'd seen the
man to that, he'd swear, How

250
00:27:22.279 --> 00:27:27.640
could he be completely aware of everything
around him, being always sane and still

251
00:27:27.680 --> 00:27:34.880
imagined such a thing. Was it
logical that the mind in giving way should,

252
00:27:36.440 --> 00:27:42.240
instead of distorting all reality, insert
within the still intact arrangement of details,

253
00:27:44.000 --> 00:27:52.440
one extraneous sight. No, not
logical at all. Suddenly Wilson thought

254
00:27:52.480 --> 00:27:57.519
about the war, about the newspaper
stories which recounted the alleged existence of creatures

255
00:27:57.519 --> 00:28:03.240
in the sky who plagued the ally
pilots in their duties. They called them

256
00:28:03.960 --> 00:28:11.519
gremlins. He remembered, were there
actually such beings? Did they truly exist

257
00:28:11.599 --> 00:28:18.319
up here? Never falling, riding
on the wind, apparently of bulk and

258
00:28:18.400 --> 00:28:26.599
weight, yet impervious to gravity.
He was thinking that when the man appeared

259
00:28:26.640 --> 00:28:33.039
again. One second the wing was
empty, the next, with an arcing

260
00:28:33.200 --> 00:28:38.359
descent, the man came jumping down
to it. There seemed no impact.

261
00:28:40.119 --> 00:28:45.759
He landed almost fragilely, short,
hairy arms outstretched as if for balance.

262
00:28:48.160 --> 00:28:53.480
Wilson tensed. Yes, there was
knowledge in his look the man. Was

263
00:28:53.519 --> 00:28:57.799
he to think of it as a
man? Somehow understood that he had tricked

264
00:28:57.839 --> 00:29:03.880
Wilson into calling them stewardess in vain. Wilson felt himself tremble with alarm.

265
00:29:04.839 --> 00:29:11.759
How could he prove the man's existence
to others? He looked around desperately that

266
00:29:11.839 --> 00:29:17.039
girl across the aisle. If he
spoke to her softly, woke her up,

267
00:29:17.839 --> 00:29:22.079
would she be able to know?
The man would jump away before she

268
00:29:22.119 --> 00:29:27.119
could see, probably to the top
of the fuselage where no one could see

269
00:29:27.200 --> 00:29:33.640
him, not even the pilots in
their cockpit. Wilson felt a sudden burst

270
00:29:33.759 --> 00:29:41.160
of self condemnation that he hadn't got
that camera Walter had asked for, Dear

271
00:29:41.279 --> 00:29:44.839
Lord, he thought to be able
to take a picture of the man.

272
00:29:45.960 --> 00:29:51.799
He leaned in close to the window. What was the man doing? Abruptly

273
00:29:52.640 --> 00:29:56.640
darkness seemed to leap away as the
wing was chalked with lightning, and Wilson

274
00:29:56.720 --> 00:30:03.319
saw, like an inquisitive child,
the man was squatted on the hitching wing

275
00:30:03.599 --> 00:30:10.559
edge, stretching out his right hand
towards one of the wailing propellers. As

276
00:30:10.559 --> 00:30:18.119
Wilson watched fascinatingly appalled, The man's
hand drew closed and closer to the blaring

277
00:30:18.240 --> 00:30:23.039
gyre, until suddenly it jerked away, and the man's lips twitched back in

278
00:30:23.079 --> 00:30:30.839
a soulless cry. He's lost a
finger, Wilson thought, sickened, But

279
00:30:32.039 --> 00:30:38.279
immediately the man reached forward again.
Gnalled finger extended the picture of some monstrous

280
00:30:38.319 --> 00:30:44.440
infant trying to capture the spin of
a fan blade. If it had not

281
00:30:44.519 --> 00:30:49.400
been so hideously out of place,
it would have been amusing for objectively seen,

282
00:30:51.160 --> 00:30:56.480
the man at that moment was a
comic sight, a fairy tale troll,

283
00:30:56.960 --> 00:31:00.200
somehow come to life, wind whipping
at the hair across his head and

284
00:31:00.279 --> 00:31:07.160
body, all of his attention centered
on the turn of the propeller. How

285
00:31:07.200 --> 00:31:14.160
could this be madness? Wilson suddenly
thought, what self revelation could this farcical

286
00:31:14.240 --> 00:31:21.079
little horror possibly bestow on him?
Again and again, as Wilson watched,

287
00:31:21.720 --> 00:31:30.319
the man reached forward again and again
jerked back his fingers, sometimes actually putting

288
00:31:30.359 --> 00:31:36.880
them in his mouth as if to
cool them, and always apparently checking.

289
00:31:37.599 --> 00:31:44.839
He kept glancing back across his shoulder, looking at Wilson. He knows,

290
00:31:45.640 --> 00:31:51.799
thought, Wilson knows that this is
again between us. If I am able

291
00:31:51.839 --> 00:31:56.880
to get someone else to see him, then he loses. If I'm the

292
00:31:56.920 --> 00:32:01.759
only witness, then he wins.
The sense of faint amusement was gone.

293
00:32:01.799 --> 00:32:10.119
Now, Wilson clenched his teeth.
Why in hell didn't the pilot see now?

294
00:32:10.200 --> 00:32:15.759
The man, no longer interested in
the propeller, was settling himself across

295
00:32:15.759 --> 00:32:22.640
the engine, cowling like a man
astride a bucking horse. Wilson stared at

296
00:32:22.720 --> 00:32:28.720
him. Abruptly, a shudder plattered
down his back. The little man was

297
00:32:28.759 --> 00:32:34.359
picking at the plate that sheathed the
engine, trying to get his nails beneath

298
00:32:34.400 --> 00:32:40.920
them. Impulsively, Wilson reached up
and pushed the button for the stewardess in

299
00:32:40.960 --> 00:32:45.119
the rear of the cabin. He
heard her coming, and for a second

300
00:32:45.839 --> 00:32:52.119
thought he'd fooled the man, who
seemed absorbed in his efforts at the last

301
00:32:52.160 --> 00:32:57.640
moment. However, just before the
stewardess arrived, the man glanced over at

302
00:32:57.680 --> 00:33:02.720
Wilson. Then, like a marionette
jerked upward from its stage by wires,

303
00:33:04.519 --> 00:33:10.200
he was flying up into the air. Yes, she looked at him apprehensively.

304
00:33:12.640 --> 00:33:19.559
Will you sit down, please,
he asked? She hesitated, Well,

305
00:33:19.839 --> 00:33:28.400
I please. She sat down gingerly
on the seat beside his What is

306
00:33:28.440 --> 00:33:35.319
it, mister Wilson, she asked. He braced himself. That man is

307
00:33:35.400 --> 00:33:40.960
still outside, he said. The
stewardess stared at him. The reason I'm

308
00:33:42.000 --> 00:33:46.119
telling you this, Wilson hurried on, is that he's starting to tamper with

309
00:33:46.200 --> 00:33:52.920
one of the engines. She turned
her eyes instinctively towards the window. No,

310
00:33:52.920 --> 00:33:57.920
no, don't look, he told
her. He isn't there now,

311
00:33:58.920 --> 00:34:06.119
he cleared his throatly. He jumps
away whenever you come here. A sudden

312
00:34:06.240 --> 00:34:10.719
nausea gripped him as he realized what
you must be thinking. As he realized

313
00:34:12.199 --> 00:34:17.119
what he himself would think if someone
told him such a story, A wave

314
00:34:17.159 --> 00:34:22.280
of dizziness seemed to pass across him, and he thought, I am going

315
00:34:22.440 --> 00:34:29.440
mad. The point is this,
he said, fighting off the thought.

316
00:34:30.480 --> 00:34:35.960
If I am not imagining this thing, the ship is in danger. Yes,

317
00:34:36.880 --> 00:34:40.599
she said, I know, he
said. You think I've lost my

318
00:34:40.760 --> 00:34:47.960
mind? Of course not, she
said. All I ask is this,

319
00:34:49.840 --> 00:34:54.760
he said, struggling against the rise
of anger. Tell the pilot what I've

320
00:34:54.920 --> 00:35:00.840
said. Ask them to keep an
eye on the wings. If they see

321
00:35:00.920 --> 00:35:06.440
nothing, All right, But if
they do. The stewardess sat there quietly

322
00:35:07.079 --> 00:35:13.159
looking at him. Wilson's hands curled
into fists that trembled in his lap.

323
00:35:13.920 --> 00:35:20.039
Well, he asked, She pushed
to her feet. I'll tell them,

324
00:35:20.840 --> 00:35:24.360
she said, turning away. She
moved along the aisle with a movement that

325
00:35:24.639 --> 00:35:30.840
was, to Wilson poorly contrived,
too fast to be normal, yet clearly

326
00:35:30.920 --> 00:35:37.199
held back as if to reassure him
that she wasn't fleeing. He felt his

327
00:35:37.360 --> 00:35:42.920
stomach chaining as he looked out at
the wing again. Abruptly, the man

328
00:35:43.000 --> 00:35:50.679
appeared again, landing on the wing
like some grotesque ballet dancer. Wilson watched

329
00:35:50.719 --> 00:35:53.840
them as he set to wake again, straddling the engine casing with his thick,

330
00:35:53.960 --> 00:36:00.039
bare legs and picking at the plates. Well what was he so concerned

331
00:36:00.079 --> 00:36:07.519
about, thought Wilson. That miserable
creature couldn't pry up rivets with his fingernails.

332
00:36:07.159 --> 00:36:12.679
Actually, it didn't matter if the
pilot saw him or not, at

333
00:36:12.760 --> 00:36:16.400
least as far as the safety of
the plane was concerned. As for his

334
00:36:16.480 --> 00:36:24.039
own personal reasons. It was at
that moment that the man pried up one

335
00:36:24.159 --> 00:36:32.039
edge of a plate. Wilson gasped. Here Quickly, he shouted, noticing

336
00:36:32.119 --> 00:36:38.440
up ahead the stewardess and the pilot
coming through the cockpit doorway. The pilot's

337
00:36:38.440 --> 00:36:44.280
eyes jerked up to look at Wilson. Then abruptly he was pushing past the

338
00:36:44.360 --> 00:36:51.199
stewardess and lanching up the aisle.
Hurry, Wilson cried. He glanced at

339
00:36:51.199 --> 00:36:54.480
the window in time to see the
mango leaping upward. That didn't matter,

340
00:36:54.559 --> 00:37:01.880
now there would be evidence. What's
going on, the pilot asked, stopping

341
00:37:01.960 --> 00:37:08.159
breathlessly beside his seat. He's torn
up one of the engine plates, said

342
00:37:08.199 --> 00:37:15.519
Wilson, in a shaking voice.
He's what the man outside, said Wilson.

343
00:37:15.920 --> 00:37:21.960
I tell you, he's mister Wilson. Keep your voice down, ordered

344
00:37:21.960 --> 00:37:27.719
the pilot. Wilson's jaw went slack. I don't know what's going on here,

345
00:37:28.440 --> 00:37:35.119
said the pilot, But will you
look, shouted Wilson. Mister Wilson,

346
00:37:35.719 --> 00:37:40.760
I'm warning you, for God's sake. Wilson swallowed quickly, trying to

347
00:37:40.800 --> 00:37:46.519
repress the blinding rage he felt.
Abruptly, he pushed back against his seat

348
00:37:47.000 --> 00:37:52.360
and pointed at the window with a
palsied hand, will you, for God's

349
00:37:52.639 --> 00:38:00.920
sake? Look, he asked,
drawing in an agitated breath. The pilot

350
00:38:00.039 --> 00:38:07.679
bent over in a moment. His
gaze shifted coldly to Wilson's well, he

351
00:38:07.800 --> 00:38:15.679
asked. Wilson jerked his head around. The plates were in their normal position.

352
00:38:17.199 --> 00:38:22.000
Oh now, wait, he said, before the dread could come.

353
00:38:22.760 --> 00:38:30.480
I saw him pry that plate up, mister Wilson. If you don't,

354
00:38:30.039 --> 00:38:37.440
I saw him pry it up,
said Wilson. The pilot stood there looking

355
00:38:37.480 --> 00:38:44.599
at him in the same withdrawn almost
aghast way as the stewardess had. Wilson

356
00:38:44.639 --> 00:38:51.079
shuddered violently. Listen, I saw
him, he cried. The sudden break

357
00:38:51.159 --> 00:38:55.079
in his voice appalled him. In
a second, the pilot was down beside

358
00:38:55.159 --> 00:39:01.480
him. Mister Wilson, please,
he said. All right, you saw

359
00:39:01.559 --> 00:39:07.280
him, but remember there are other
people aboard. We mustn't alarm them.

360
00:39:07.920 --> 00:39:14.920
Wilson was too shaken to understand at
first. You mean you've seen him,

361
00:39:14.960 --> 00:39:21.199
then, he asked, of course, the pilot said, but we don't

362
00:39:21.199 --> 00:39:25.280
want to frighten the passengers. You
can understand that. Of course, of

363
00:39:25.360 --> 00:39:30.039
course I don't want to. Wilson
felt a spastic coiling in his groin and

364
00:39:30.119 --> 00:39:37.360
low stomach. Suddenly, he pressed
his lips together and looked at the pilot

365
00:39:37.400 --> 00:39:44.599
with malevolent eyes. I understand,
he said, the thing we have to

366
00:39:44.679 --> 00:39:53.360
remember began the pilot. We can
stop now, Wilson said, Sir Wilson

367
00:39:53.400 --> 00:40:01.320
shuddered. Get out of here,
he said, mister Wilson, what will

368
00:40:01.360 --> 00:40:07.159
you stop? Face whitening. Wilson
turned from the pilot and stared out at

369
00:40:07.159 --> 00:40:14.800
the wing, eyes like stone.
He glared back suddenly, rest assured.

370
00:40:14.880 --> 00:40:21.239
I'd not say another word, he
snapped, mister Wilson, try to understand.

371
00:40:21.519 --> 00:40:27.360
R Wilson twisted away and stared out
venomously at the engine. From a

372
00:40:27.440 --> 00:40:31.480
corner of his vision, he saw
two passengers standing in the aisle looking at

373
00:40:31.599 --> 00:40:40.239
him, idiots. His mind exploded. He felt his hands begin to tremble,

374
00:40:40.719 --> 00:40:45.440
and for a few seconds was afraid
that he was going to vomit.

375
00:40:45.599 --> 00:40:50.760
It's the motion, he told himself. The plane was bucking in the air

376
00:40:50.800 --> 00:40:55.039
now, like a storm tossed boat. He realized that the pilot was still

377
00:40:55.079 --> 00:41:00.119
talking to him, and refocusing his
eyes, he looked at the man's reflection

378
00:41:00.239 --> 00:41:09.800
in the window beside him. Mutely
somber stood the stewardess blind idiots. Both

379
00:41:09.840 --> 00:41:15.960
of them thought Wilson. He did
not indicate his notice of their departure.

380
00:41:17.159 --> 00:41:22.800
Reflected on the window, he saw
them heading toward the rear of the cabin.

381
00:41:23.280 --> 00:41:28.840
They'll be discussing me now, he
thought, setting up plans in case

382
00:41:28.880 --> 00:41:35.480
I grow violent. He wished now
that the man would reappear, pull off

383
00:41:35.519 --> 00:41:40.440
the cowling plate and ruin the engine. It gave him a sense of vengeful

384
00:41:40.519 --> 00:41:47.280
pleasure to know that only he stood
between catastrophe and the more than thirty people

385
00:41:47.280 --> 00:41:53.119
aboard. If he chose, he
could allow that catastrophe to take place,

386
00:41:54.400 --> 00:42:00.880
Wilson smiled without humor. There would
be a royal suicide, he thought.

387
00:42:01.159 --> 00:42:07.079
The little man dropped down again,
and Wilson saw what he'd thought was correct.

388
00:42:07.920 --> 00:42:13.039
The man had pressed the plate back
into place before jumping away. For

389
00:42:13.159 --> 00:42:16.960
now he was prying it up again, and it was raising easily, peeling

390
00:42:17.039 --> 00:42:23.400
back like skin excised by some grotesque
sagent. The motion of that wing was

391
00:42:23.519 --> 00:42:30.519
very broken, but the man seemed
to have no difficulty staying balanced. Once

392
00:42:30.599 --> 00:42:35.880
more, Wilson felt panic. What
was he to do? No one believed

393
00:42:35.920 --> 00:42:40.239
him. If he tried to convince
them any more, they'd probably restrain him

394
00:42:40.280 --> 00:42:45.119
by force. If he asked the
stewardess to sit by him. It would

395
00:42:45.199 --> 00:42:52.079
be at best only a momentary reprieve. The second she departed, or remaining

396
00:42:52.159 --> 00:42:58.559
fell asleep, the man would return, even if she stayed a wig beside

397
00:42:58.639 --> 00:43:02.000
him. What was to keep the
man from tampering with the engines on the

398
00:43:02.039 --> 00:43:08.000
other wing? Wilson shuddered, a
coldness of dread misting along his bones.

399
00:43:09.239 --> 00:43:15.920
Do you God? There was nothing
to be done. He twitched as across

400
00:43:15.000 --> 00:43:21.079
the window through which he watched the
little man, the pilot's reflection passed.

401
00:43:22.360 --> 00:43:30.400
The insanity of the moment almost broken, the man and the pilot within feet

402
00:43:30.480 --> 00:43:36.079
of each other, both seen by
him, yet not aware of one another.

403
00:43:37.679 --> 00:43:42.400
No, that was wrong. The
little man had glanced across his shoulder

404
00:43:42.440 --> 00:43:45.360
as the pilot passed, as if
he knew there was no need to leap

405
00:43:45.400 --> 00:43:52.719
off any more, that Wilson's capacity
for interfering was at an end. Wilson

406
00:43:52.840 --> 00:43:59.800
suddenly trembled with a mind searing rage. I'll kill you, he thought,

407
00:44:00.440 --> 00:44:08.000
you've filthy, little animal. I'll
kill you outside the engine faltered. It

408
00:44:08.119 --> 00:44:14.320
lasted only for a second, but
in that second, it seemed to Wilson

409
00:44:14.480 --> 00:44:20.960
as if his heart had also stopped. He pressed against the window, staring.

410
00:44:22.400 --> 00:44:27.079
The man had bent the cowling plate
far back and was now on his

411
00:44:27.199 --> 00:44:34.519
knees, poking a curious hand into
the engine. Don't. Wilson heard the

412
00:44:34.519 --> 00:44:42.639
whimper of his own voice, begging
don't again. The engine failed. Wilson

413
00:44:42.679 --> 00:44:47.079
looked around in horror. Was everyone
deaf? He raised his hand to press

414
00:44:47.119 --> 00:44:52.320
the button for the stewardess, then
jerked it back. No, they lock

415
00:44:52.440 --> 00:44:57.280
him up, restrain him somehow,
and he was the only one who knew

416
00:44:57.320 --> 00:45:02.920
what was happening, the only one
who help God. Wilson bit his lower

417
00:45:02.920 --> 00:45:08.400
lip until the pain made him whimper. He twisted around again and jolted.

418
00:45:09.480 --> 00:45:15.719
The stewardess was hurrying down the rocking
aisle. She'd heard it. He watched

419
00:45:15.719 --> 00:45:20.519
her fixedly and saw her glance at
him as she passed his seat. She

420
00:45:20.639 --> 00:45:25.440
stopped three seats down the aisle.
Some one else had heard. Wilson watched

421
00:45:25.440 --> 00:45:32.360
the stewardess as she leaned over,
talking to the unseen passenger outside. The

422
00:45:32.400 --> 00:45:37.400
engine coughed again. Wilson jerked his
head around and looked out with horror,

423
00:45:37.480 --> 00:45:43.960
pinched eyes. Damn you, he
whined. He turned again and saw the

424
00:45:44.000 --> 00:45:49.880
Stewardess coming back up the aisle.
She didn't look alarmed. Wilson stared at

425
00:45:49.920 --> 00:45:54.599
her with unbelieving eyes. It was
impossible. He twisted around to follow her

426
00:45:54.679 --> 00:46:01.360
swaying movement and saw her turn into
the kitchen. Know Wilson was shaking so

427
00:46:01.559 --> 00:46:07.760
badly now that he couldn't stop.
No one had heard, no one knew.

428
00:46:08.400 --> 00:46:13.880
Suddenly, Wilson bent over and slid
his overnight bag out from under the

429
00:46:13.960 --> 00:46:19.920
seat. On zipping it, he
jerked out his briefcase and threw it on

430
00:46:20.039 --> 00:46:24.760
the carpeting. Then, reaching in
again, he grabbed the Orskin envelope and

431
00:46:24.800 --> 00:46:30.800
straightened up. From the corners of
his eyes, he saw the Stewardess coming

432
00:46:30.920 --> 00:46:37.039
back and pushed the bag beneath the
seat with his shoes, shoving the Orskin

433
00:46:37.199 --> 00:46:43.599
envelope beside himself. He sat there
rigidly, breath quavering in his chest as

434
00:46:43.639 --> 00:46:49.199
she went by. Then he pulled
the envelope into his lap and untied it.

435
00:46:50.000 --> 00:46:54.480
His movements were so feverish that he
almost dropped a pistol. He caught

436
00:46:54.519 --> 00:47:00.199
it by the barrel, then clutched
at the stock with white knuckled fingers and

437
00:47:00.280 --> 00:47:06.039
pushed off the safety catch. He
glanced outside and felt himself grow cold.

438
00:47:07.159 --> 00:47:14.360
The man was looking at him.
Wilson pressed his shaking lips together. It

439
00:47:14.400 --> 00:47:19.800
was impossible that the man knew what
he intended. He swallowed and tried to

440
00:47:19.840 --> 00:47:23.800
catch his breath. He shifted his
gaze to where the stewardess was handing some

441
00:47:23.960 --> 00:47:30.280
pills to the passenger ahead, then
looked back at the wing. The man

442
00:47:30.400 --> 00:47:36.000
was turning to the engine once again
reaching in. Wilson's grip tightened on the

443
00:47:36.000 --> 00:47:42.599
pistol. He began to raise it. Suddenly he lowered it. The window

444
00:47:42.960 --> 00:47:46.800
was too thick. The bullet might
be deflected and kill one of the passengers.

445
00:47:47.960 --> 00:47:53.440
He shuddered and stared out at the
little man again. The engine failed,

446
00:47:53.920 --> 00:48:00.800
and Wilson saw an irruption of sparks
cast light across the man's animal feet.

447
00:48:00.360 --> 00:48:07.079
He braced himself. There was only
one answer. He looked down at

448
00:48:07.159 --> 00:48:10.840
the handle of the emergency door.
There was a transparent cover over it.

449
00:48:12.440 --> 00:48:19.559
Wilson pulled it free and dropped it. He looked outside. The man was

450
00:48:19.639 --> 00:48:24.719
still there, crouched and probing at
the engine with his hand. Wilson sucked

451
00:48:24.719 --> 00:48:30.840
in trembling breath. He put his
left hand on the door handle and tested

452
00:48:30.639 --> 00:48:37.079
it wouldn't move downward, upward,
there was play. Abruptly, Wilson let

453
00:48:37.119 --> 00:48:42.159
go and put the pistol in his
lap. No time for argument, he

454
00:48:42.239 --> 00:48:46.360
told himself. With shaking hands,
he buckled the belt across his thighs.

455
00:48:46.840 --> 00:48:52.159
When the door was opened, there
would be a tremendous rushing out of air.

456
00:48:52.159 --> 00:48:57.679
For the safety of the ship,
he must not go with it now.

457
00:48:58.199 --> 00:49:02.239
Wilson picked the pistol up again,
his heart beat staggering. He'd have

458
00:49:02.400 --> 00:49:07.519
to be sudden accurate. If he
missed, the man might jump onto the

459
00:49:07.559 --> 00:49:14.840
other wing, wars on to the
tail assembly, wherein violet he could rupture

460
00:49:14.880 --> 00:49:21.280
wires, mangle flaps, destroy the
balance of the ship. No, this

461
00:49:21.519 --> 00:49:24.840
was the only way. He'd fire
low and try and hit the man in

462
00:49:24.880 --> 00:49:31.360
the chest or stomach. Wilson filled
his lungs with air now, he thought.

463
00:49:32.320 --> 00:49:37.639
Now. The stewardess came up the
aisle as Wilson started pulling at the

464
00:49:37.679 --> 00:49:44.760
handle for a moment, frozen in
his steps, she couldn't speak. A

465
00:49:44.800 --> 00:49:49.760
look of stupefied horror distended their features, and she raised one hand as if

466
00:49:49.800 --> 00:49:55.039
imploring him. Then suddenly her voice
was shrilling above the noise of the engines.

467
00:49:55.679 --> 00:50:01.840
Mister Wilson, No get back,
cried Wilson, as he wrenched the

468
00:50:01.920 --> 00:50:08.440
handle up. The door seemed to
disappear. One second it was by him

469
00:50:08.840 --> 00:50:14.559
in his grip, the next,
with a hissing roar, it was gone.

470
00:50:15.639 --> 00:50:21.559
In the same instant, Wilson felt
himself enveloped by a monstrous suction which

471
00:50:21.639 --> 00:50:25.599
tried to tear him from his seat. His head and shoulders left the cabin,

472
00:50:27.000 --> 00:50:30.440
and suddenly he was breathing tenuous,
freezing air. For a moment,

473
00:50:31.199 --> 00:50:37.159
ear drums, almost basting from the
thunder of the engine's eyes blinded by the

474
00:50:37.239 --> 00:50:42.000
Arctic wings, he forgot the man. It seemed. He heard a prick

475
00:50:42.039 --> 00:50:47.360
of screaming in the maelstrom that surrounded
him, a distant shout. Then Wilson

476
00:50:47.559 --> 00:50:53.960
saw the man. He was walking
across the wing, gnalled form, leaning

477
00:50:54.039 --> 00:51:00.760
forward, talent twisted, hands outstretched
an eagerness. Wilson flung his arm up

478
00:51:01.440 --> 00:51:07.559
fired. The explosion was like a
popping in the roaring violence of the air.

479
00:51:08.599 --> 00:51:14.400
The man staggered, lashed out,
and Wilson felt a streak of pain

480
00:51:14.480 --> 00:51:20.039
across his head. He fired again
at immediate range and saw the man go

481
00:51:20.199 --> 00:51:28.000
flailing backward, then suddenly disappear,
with no more solidity than a paper doll

482
00:51:28.079 --> 00:51:35.159
swept in a gale. Wilson felt
a bursting numbness in his brain. He

483
00:51:35.239 --> 00:51:42.719
felt a pistol torn from failing fingers. Then all was lost in winter darkness.

484
00:51:45.480 --> 00:51:51.920
He stared and mumbled. There was
a warmness trickling in his veins.

485
00:51:52.840 --> 00:51:59.880
His limbs felt wooden. In the
darkness, he could hear a shuffling sound,

486
00:52:00.679 --> 00:52:07.719
a delicate swell of voices. He
was lying face up on something moving,

487
00:52:08.440 --> 00:52:15.679
joggling. A cold wind sprinkled on
his face. He felt the surface

488
00:52:15.880 --> 00:52:21.559
tilt beneath him. He sighed.
The plane was landed, and he was

489
00:52:21.599 --> 00:52:27.559
being carried off on a stretcher.
His head wound likely plus an injection to

490
00:52:27.679 --> 00:52:32.079
quiet him. Nuttiest way of trying
to commit suicide I ever heard of,

491
00:52:34.039 --> 00:52:40.079
said a voice somewhere. Wilson felt
the pleasure of amusement. Whoever spoke was

492
00:52:40.119 --> 00:52:45.679
wrong, of course, as would
be established soon enough when the engine was

493
00:52:45.719 --> 00:52:52.920
examined and they checked his wound more
closely. Then they'd realize that he'd saved

494
00:52:52.920 --> 00:53:09.079
them all. Wilson slept without dreams. Nightmare twenty thousand feet by Richard Matheson,