Welcome to Endo the night. I'm Narri your guide on today's excursion down a
twisted path. Be careful not to get lost. Be it dark or light,
It's easy to lose your way. Are you ready? Then let's begin
the Stowaway Part one. Turbulence jostled the plane to and fro as passengers gripped
their seats and worried about those peanuts they'd eaten earlier. The flight attendants offered
words of encouragement to the people, now giving each other frantic looks. Prayers
were whispered, and a few curse words were shouted. This is your captain
speaking. I apologize for the rough ride. We've encountered some turbulence thanks to
the thunderstorms moving into the Cincinnati area. We should be out of this sin
but remaining your feet. Thank you. Ryan Taylor closed his eyes for a
moment to calm his roiling stomach. All I wanted was a quick business trip
to Cincinnati with a chance to catch a Reds game. I hate flying.
Why didn't I just drive? The flight attendant placed a gentle hand on his
shoulder. Are you doing okay? Do you want to lie or the truth?
She chuckled, whichever makes you feel better. Looks like you get a
lie, then I'm great. The rocking of the plane forced the attendant to
stagger and cling to the seats still, she almost toppled over her name tag
said Cheryl. There's an empty seat right here, Cheryl, here, sit
by me. It's not safe for you to be standing and you could get
hurt. She hesitated, but then another jolt of turbulence nearly sent her to
the floor. Maybe taking a seat is a good idea, after all.
He moved his briefcase from the empty seat. It's nice to meet you.
My name is Ryan Taylor. I'm Cheryl Lawson. It's nice to meet you
too. This flight is a lot bumpier than usual. Can you fly this
route often? Yes, it's my regular assignment. After the way this flight's
been, I'm glad to have a three day break once we get to Cincinnati.
I'm going to be there for three days too. Say do you like
baseball? I love baseball. You couldn't grow up in my house without loving
baseball. My dad practically had a shrine set up of Red's memorabilia. Ah,
my family is a huge baseball family too. I swear my mom would
have left dad if Johnny Bench had winked at her. She said she'd had
a crush on him since she was a little girl. Oh, back in
the Pete Roast days, my mom said she had posters of him up in
her room. Those were definitely the glory days, weren't they. My company
gave me two box seats to tomorrow's game. Would you want to go with
me? Cheryl didn't hesitate. I'd love to go. I'll give you my
number once we land and we can make arrangements. How about we go to
dinner tonight too, let's the captain interrupted them. Ladies and gentlemen, we
are through the worst of the turbulence. I apologize for the rough ride.
We are preparing to make our descent for landing. Remain buggled in the flight
attendants will assist you with anything you need before we land. Thank you for
flying with us today. Looks like I'm back on duty. Wait for me
by the baggage claim. Oh, I only brought a carry on, He
pointed at the overhead bin. Oh, then, if you don't mind wait
for me at the gate. It will take me about a half an hour
to get off the plane. I don't mind at all. I'll see you
there. Cheryl was called by a passenger who needed her to take the pillow
she'd provided earlier, so she smiled at Ryan and hurried down the aisle.
After the turbulence fright, passengers breathed a sigh of relief when the plane touchdown
without incident. Cheryl smiled at Ryan as he exited the plane, and he
gave her a wink. Half an hour later, she met him at the
gate. Is it okay if I take a few minutes to change clothes.
I didn't bring anything fancy, but I'm ready to wear something other than this,
She pointed at her attendant uniform. Of course, while you're changing,
think of where you'd like to go to dinner. I don't know Cincinnati that
well, that's easy. I know a great Italian restaurant not too far from
here. Italian is my favorite. See you in a few My rental car
should be waiting for us. The two spent dinner talking and laughing. I
can't believe how much we have in common, or that we met through turbulence.
Cheryl's green eyes sparkled when she laughed. Talk about a rough start.
Right. He held her hand and the sparks weren't just in Cheryl's eyes.
They both felt them when they touched her. Cheeks flushed enough that Ryan noticed,
even in the low light of the restaurant. She squeezed his hand.
I feel like I could talk with you for hours and never get tired of
it. But it's getting late and you have your business to take care of
in the morning. They made plans to see each other the next day after
Ryan's business meeting. I have some places around town I want to show you,
and then we can go to the game. That sounds perfect. I'll
drive you home and then head to my hotel. Ryan paused and looked at
her. I can hardly wait to see you tomorrow. He drove her to
her apartment and walked her to the door. The night ended with a long
kiss good night. The next day, the moment he finished with his meetings,
he called Cheryl, I'll need about a half an hour to get to
my hotel and change clothes. Should I pick you up? I was thinking,
since I know my way around town, I should drive. Your hotel
is actually close to where I grew up. I can start by taking you
around my old neighborhood. I'll see you in half an hour, I'll be
waiting in the lobby. Ryan liked the way this trip was going, and
I thought the highlights would be securing this new account and going to tonight's game.
Now, well, she's one heck of a girl. In exactly thirty
minutes, he met Cheryl in the lobby. He liked her sense of timeliness
and assumed it came with her having to keep such a tight schedule as a
flight attendant. Where to first? How about the high school I went to.
It's not very far. We haven't till the game to go. Wherever
you want lead the way. He took her hand and they walked out into
the summer sun. Her blonde hair glistened in the sunlight, and he was
pretty certain he'd found an angel. Cheryl drove him from one point of interest
to the next, and she usually had a funny story or two about each
stop. You're the most entertaining tour guide and the prettiest too. He leaned
down and kissed her. Well, you're the cutest guy I've ever taken on
a tour. We'd better get on our way to the stadium, though.
The traffic's going to be crazy down there. They held hands, cheered,
and even made it onto the big screen at the ballgame. A win by
the Reds only added to the evening. She drove him back to the hotel
and they walked along the sidewalk from the parking lot. I was wondering if
you wouldn't mind how much longer you have off before you have to leave for
work on another flight. I'm off until Wednesday. Why if you wouldn't mind,
I have some vacation time to use, and I'd like to stay here
in Cincinnati a while longer so I could see you. Hm, I do
have a busy social calendar for the week. Ryan's heart dropped. Oh,
it was just an idea. Cheryl playfully slapped him on the arm. I'm
joking, Ryan, I'd love for you to stay. He picked her up
in his arms and spun her around. You had me worried, No worries.
I'll come bye tomorrow morning and pick you up. You choose the time,
eight o'clock or is that too early? Not too early? I'll meet
you back here then. A few long kisses capped off their date. The
next morning, Cheryl greeted him at the doors of the hotel. She hugged
him, but it was tighter, more desperate than Ryan expected. He looked
down at her, Hey, are you okay. She let go of him
but trembled, her voice wavering when she answered him, not really. I
need us to go someplace where we can talk. Oh lord, this doesn't
sound good. I've read too much into this. She has a boyfriend or
worse, a husband. Ryan's head spun as they walked to Cheryl's car.
Are you sure you should drive? You seem shaken up. Yeah, I
can drive. We're going back to my apartment. There's something I have to
show you. They said few words during the drive, but Gryl's hand gripped
his the entire way. They reached her apartment complex and they climbed the stairs
to her unit. She stopped at the door before unlocking it. I don't
want you to think I'm crazy, Ryan, I won't just show me what
this is all about. The moment they entered the apartment, Ryan saw newspapers
spread open all over the living room. Now he really wondered what was going
on. Sit down and I'll bring them to you. Last night, when
I got home, I decided to go through the stack of newspapers that had
piled up while I've been gone. One by one, she carried the obituary
section of the newspapers to him. The photographs of the deceased stared up at
him from the pages she had circled. Some of the obituaries Martin Keller,
Harriet Barton, Lionel Case, Quentin McDaniel, Laura Renner. He quickly read
through each obituary. Cheryl, I don't understand. Why are you showing me?
These are these family members of you. No, I barely know them.
Then why are you so upset? They have one thing in common,
Ryan? She wiped a tear away with a trembling hand. Taking a jagged
breath, she continued. They were all on flights I worked, and they
all sat in seat three C, just like you. That's definitely a weird
coincidence. There's more. During the flight, each of them only had a
carry on bag that they stored in the overhead bin. I think it's connected
somehow. There's nothing strange about that. No, but I ran into each
of these passengers again. They'd come up to me at the airport and said
they remembered I've been their flight attendant. All of them asked me if anything
strange had happened on the plane, specifically with seat three C. I thought
it was an odd question for them to ask, but they seemed riled up
and scared. They even hugged me and told me to stay safe. I
had a really bad feeling after each encounter, but I don't know why.
I'm good with faces, and when I saw their obituaries, I knew they
were passengers from my flights. Ryan sat quietly while he processed what he'd heard.
You probably had a bad feeling because it's weird for strangers to come up
to you and hug you like that. Ryan, I'm scared. Each of
those people sat in the same seat as you, and they specifically asked if
something was wrong with that seat. I think it's just a strange coincidence.
I mean, I'm glad you're afraid for my safety, but I don't think
there's any connection. She sat on the couch next to him, holding him
tightly. You probably do think I'm crazy. He lifted her chin with his
hand and looked into her eyes. No, I don't think you're crazy.
I think you're sweet and caring, and I love that about you. Really
really. Now, let's go have a good day together. Maybe get out
of the city and take a drive into the country. I'd like that my
grandparents had a farm an hour away. It's beautiful in that area. Do
you want to head that direction. Let's get going, He turned to her
as they rose from the couch. It's going to be okay. He gently
kissed her and held her next to him as they walked out of her apartment.
Cheryl glanced once more at the scattered newspapers. He tugged at her hand.
Come on. The sun warmed their faces as they drove down the street
with the windows open, singing along to the radio. Their voices blended perfectly.
They neared the edge of the city when Ryan said, see, it's
a perfect day, nothing to worry about. A crash behind them made them
jump. The car they had just passed now sat as a crumpled mess of
twisted metal in the street. A chunk of concrete from the adjacent building crushed
the car and anyone in it. Cars came to a complete stop as onlookers
galked in horror. Thank you for joining me for this episode of the Into
the Night Anthology podcast. Written by Caroline Giamanco, narrated by Nariquak theme music
by Nico Rodriguez, all other original music, sound design and editing by Omenhawk
Studios. You can find our links in the show notes. Into the Night
is on your favorite podcatcher, so make sure to like, subscribe, and
leave a five star review to help other excursionists to join us. I'll see
you next time, and remember, whether in the shadows or in the daylight,
all twisted paths lead you into the night. Into the Night Anthology is
a creative typo entertainment production