His eyes opened, cornflower blue. The first thing he realized was that the plane was not moving. It was very quiet. And then he heard someone outside, yelling.

“Mom?” The air was hard to breathe. There was a chemical smell, like gas, but worse. “Mom!”

He tried to stand up, in a blind panic, but the seatbelt and tray table stopped him. The tray table went up easily, and his shaking fingers eventually managed to undo the belt buckle. The plane was tilted at an angle, so that he had to climb up slightly to get to the aisle.

He ran to the bathroom near the front of the plane. Up here, the smoke wasn’t so thick. “Mom!” From outside, he can hear voices, a woman screaming. Not his mother.

At the same instant, he saw a man slumped in his own seat. The man’s eyes were open, but he did not blink.

Shay stood there, eyes wide, feeling something bad happening inside his stomach. He felt a lump in his throat and it seemed like he could only move in slow-motion.

He moved forward, pulled open the bathroom door. The small lavatory was empty. Beyond that, an area used by the flight attendants to prepare meals was exposed to the sun. The front part of the plane was missing. Blood was smeared on what was left of the wall.

Think. Where else could she be? She said she was going to the bathroom. How long was that before…

He saw smoke rising from the back of the plane. He eyed the open escape hatch. The sun outside seemed unnaturally bright.

He worried about the jump but the plane was tilted so he could slide down the wing. Halfway down, he realized his mistake. The metal was twisted and torn in a jagged edge, it sliced his leg. He watched as it began to bleed. It took a second for him to feel the pain. Then he felt the unnatural heat behind him, and realized that the plane was on fire.

“Mom!” To his left were piles. Some of them, he realized, were people. A shoe. Someone’s suitcase. He turned to the right. Burning luggage. There was a hand there, but it wasn’t hers. He felt himself beginning to shake.