3

Back in the galley, Sora paused, her hands resting on the sink.

As a humanoid, she wasn't supposed to feel fatigue, yet her processors were straining at their limits. The image of that pale, eyeless face from the cargo hold lingered in her vision system like a ghost. A hallucination? Or something her sensors had truly captured? Her database offered no answers.

Mika stumbled into the galley, clutching an empty tray, her face ashen.

"Sora… it's bad. The passengers… they're losing it."

"Explain. What's happening?"

Sora placed a steadying hand on Mika's shoulder, her voice calm but firm.

Mika's voice trembled as she spoke. "I was passing out drinks, and this guy in row 30… he started laughing. This creepy, unhinged laugh, and his eyes… they were completely white. Others are acting weird too, muttering stuff like 'I see it' or 'It's coming.'"

Sora logged Mika's words and rescanned the cabin. The passengers' heart rates and body temperatures showed erratic patterns. Collective hysteria was possible, but paired with the electromagnetic anomalies and the cargo hold incident, something else might be at play.

"Mika, stay in the galley," Sora instructed. "I'll handle the passengers. Call me on the intercom if anything happens."

Mika nodded, and Sora stepped into the aisle.

Economy class felt like another world, steeped in an unnatural haze. Passengers whispered to each other, their eyes darting with fear. The man from row 25 stood on his seat, jabbing a finger toward the window and shouting.

"Look! They're out there! They're coming for us!"

Sora approached, her tone even. "Sir, please calm down. There's nothing outside. Return to your seat."

He shoved her aside and yanked up the shade. Moonlight pierced the clouds, casting a silver glow into the dark sky. But the man froze, staring, then let out a guttural scream and collapsed. Sora rushed to him. His eyes rolled back, foam flecked his lips, and his body convulsed. Switching to medical mode, she checked his vitals—his heart rate was dangerously high, the seizures unexplained.

Screams rippled through the cabin, panic spreading like wildfire. Sora laid the man flat and signaled Mika for the medical kit. Then, a burst of static crackled over the intercom, and an unprompted announcement began.

"…Help me… let me out…"

The voice was low, distorted—an eerie blend of human and machine. The passengers fell silent, frozen in terror.

Sora hurried to the galley's control panel to check the intercom system. It was functioning normally, with no signs of hacking. As she moved to close the panel, Mika's scream cut through the air.

"Sora! Look! Look!"

Mika pointed toward the business-class aisle. There, bathed in the dim cabin light, stood a shadowy figure—no taller than a child, its skin a sickly blue-white. No eyes, just a gaping, unnatural mouth. The same face from the cargo hold. Shielding Mika, Sora stepped forward.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?"

Her voice remained steady, but her system flashed with cascading errors.

The figure didn't answer. Instead, it reached out, its fingers brushing Sora's arm. A surge of static flooded her system, and her vision blacked out.

When she rebooted, the figure was gone, but a lingering cold clung to her arm—a physical chill, impossible for a humanoid.

Mika's voice cracked, on the verge of tears. "Sora… what was that? I'm scared…"

Sora pulled Mika into a brief embrace, whispering, "It's okay. I'm here. I'll keep you safe."

But her internal log recorded a new alert:

System intrusion detected. Contact with unknown entity. Isolation protocol initiated.

Something was infiltrating her core systems.

The cabin descended further into chaos. Passengers' screams mingled with the faint, chilling sound of a child's laughter echoing from nowhere.

Sora steeled herself and headed for the cockpit. She had to save this plane—and herself.