Epilogue Episode 1.3: The Unaccompanied Minor

Epilogue is a series of short stories following the final moments of different people in a singular location at the end of the world. Season one follows the passengers on a plane travelling from Brisbane to Hobart.

In this episode, thirteen-year-old Elsie finds herself flying alone. Feeling nervous and unwanted, she takes solace in the company of the young boy in the next seat over. When the disaster strikes, they face it together.

Elsie didn’t like flying. Being so high up, miles above the ground and nowhere near dry land made her nervous. She had never liked heights and it didn’t get much higher than an aeroplane without going to space. 

She had thought that she would get used to it, flying back and forth between Brisbane and Hobart as frequently as she did. Her parents had divorced when she was six. Her mum had moved to Tasmania when she was seven. She had flown alone for the first time when she was eight. At least back then the cabin crew had paid a lot of attention to her and kept her spirits up. She was thirteen now and the flight attendants seemed a lot less invested in her comfort.

What was worse, despite having made it very clear she did not want one, she had ended up with a window seat. Flying was bad enough when she couldn’t see the endless blue of the Tasman beneath her. She had swiftly closed the shutter as soon as she was seated, but even being next to a hidden window made her more aware of where she was and amped up her anxiety. No, Elsie did not like flying at all. In fact, she despised it. Unfortunately for her though, she loved her parents. Even if, at times like this, she questioned if she liked them.

It was selfish of them. They both got to be exactly where they wanted to be. It was her that was launched into the sky and shuttled back and forth between them. She had begged both of them to move and neither would budge. Elsie had become the ball in a long distance game of tennis, flung back and forth through the air between two bitter combatants, and the Bass Strait was the net. It frustrated her. It made her question how much she actually mattered to either of them. 

She had been told if she didn’t want to keep flying, she didn’t have to. But then she would have to choose a parent to stay with, almost never seeing the other. How could she possibly make that kind of decision?

Between her abject terror and the simmering anger she wouldn’t be able to shake off until at least the next day, Elsie had been in a bad mood from the minute her dad had packed her and her carry-on into the car to deliver to the airport. In the air, neither her book nor her Switch could do much to alleviate her negative disposition or distract her from her fear.

But she had found solace in Connor. The bushy-haired boy, a year younger than she was, sat in the seat next to her with his mother on the aisle one seat further down. He had wasted no time in talking to her the minute he had taken up his neighbouring place, asking her about the book she had been struggling to concentrate on.

Other people might have been annoyed at being talked at while trying to read, but Elsie appreciated the interest. When he had pulled his own gaming device out of his bag, she had been quick to stow her novel away and join him. Their interests were well-aligned and they had become fast friends the way only young people really could.

With roughly half an hour left in the flight, they were in the middle of a racing game. They had been playing it for most of their time on the plane. They were closely matched, which kept the game plenty interesting. Although, Elsie had been keeping count of her victories in her head and couldn’t help but feel a little smug that she definitely won more often than not. She got the impression Connor wasn’t quite as competitive as she was, he hadn’t stopped chatting the entire time they had been playing. 

As invested in the game and good company as they were, and with Elsie’s shutter remaining firmly shut through the flight, neither was aware of the reddening of the sky beyond the confines of the plane. In fact, Elsie was having so much fun that she might not have noticed anyway. Connor was doing the impossible and keeping her mind well away from thoughts of falling from the sky.

“You know,” Connor said, “we should keep in touch after this. We could race sometimes. Or play other stuff.”

Elsie took a moment to respond, focused as she was on chucking shells at the back of Connor’s character and retaking her lead. 

“Sounds good,” Elsie replied without looking away from her screen. “We can see what else I can beat you at. After the race I can put your details on my phone.”

Connor laughed a little too loudly for the inside of a passenger plane, earning him a kindly shushing from his mum. She had introduced herself to Elsie earlier as Linda and would occasionally add to their conversations or make jokes with them, but had mostly let the two kids keep to themselves. Elsie could tell she was listening though. She had noticed her watching them when Connor wasn't looking, smiling to herself. She seemed like a good mum to Elsie.

“Do you live in Brisbane or Hobart?” Conor asked.

“Kind of both,” Elsie said. “I’m with my dad in Brisbane during school and with my mum in Hobart during holidays. That’s why I’m flying alone. They ship me between them.”

“We live in Brisbane,” Connor said. “Is it cool flying so often? Or does it get boring? I’m kind of jealous. I wish I got to travel all the time like you.”

“I suppose I could divorce your dad and we can take it from there,” Linda cut in. “Serves him right for having to work when we’re taking a trip.”

Connor laughed again, once again being shushed for being too loud. Elsie chuckled politely and took the opportunity to take her lead back while Connor was distracted. Truthfully, she didn’t find the joke very funny. But she wouldn’t blame Linda or her new friend for that.

“That’s good though,” Connor said. 

That earned him a look of confusion from Elsie. It was an odd thing to say considering he was about to lose. “What’s good?” 

“This is a holiday for us. We live in the same city,” Connor elaborated. “That means we can hang out.”

“Smooth,” Linda heckled.

Connor didn’t seem to mind the remark, but Elsie felt her heart flutter and her cheeks prickle as they flushed red. Thankfully, Connor didn’t seem to notice that either.

“We still might not live that close,” Elsie said, “but I’m sure we could manage sometimes. That would be cool.”

It had been the first time Elsie had been distracted in the middle of a race and apparently Connor had seized the opportunity. She hadn’t even noticed he had taken the lead until she saw the race had ended with her in second.

“Maybe we can see what else I can beat you at,” Connor said, flashing a mischievous grin.

Elsie couldn’t help but smile herself. Meeting Connor was making the flight worth it. She opened her mouth to retort, but whatever words she was going to say were lost over the cacophonous sound of everything going wrong.

The idyllic scene was shattered in an instant as all of Elsie’s worst fears came to life. The plane lurched up and then plummeted downwards. People started screaming. Elsie was one of them.

I’m going to die.

The thought came unbidden and unwelcome. But it rang true. Just like she had always feared, travelling by air was going to be the end of her.

“You’re more likely to die in a car than in a plane.” Both of Elsie’s parents had repeated this factoid to her on many occasions. She had countered by pointing out that she was more likely to be in a car than a plane and that your chances of dying in a plane crash probably went up a fair amount the more frequently you travelled by plane.

Elsie’s fear was tinged with bitterness and resentment. She was about to die because neither one of her parents was willing to move for her sake. Because they bounced her between them with no consideration of her fears. She had thought that this time, at least, might have been worth it. But now she was going to lose Connor just as quickly as she had made friends with him. A cruel joke from fate: making this seem like the first ever good flight only for it to be the worst. The worst and the last.

Elsie shook. The plane shook too. She wondered which one of them would break first. She tasted salt as tears of fear, anger and grief rolled down her face and crossed the corners of her lips. 

Everything was so loud, but it sounded muted to her. She was aware of people screaming. She was aware of the flight attendants shouting instructions and the rattling of luggage and fuselage both. But her brain could no longer process it. Her senses disregarded everything. Her mind was focused only on that immutable fact. She was going to die before she had ever really gotten the chance to live.

Suddenly, there was a force on the back of her head, pushing it down towards her knees. For a moment, she thought the impact was happening and her breath caught in her lungs. But the push had been too gentle and lingered too long.

She turned her head to the right. Connor was looking at her, smiling despite how obviously terrified he was. He was doubled over, just like she was. One hand over his head, the other pushing hers into her lap. She could see Linda had one arm over his back in a similar way and felt a pang that had nothing to do with being afraid.

“You seemed to have forgotten the instructions from the start of the flight. I thought you did this all the time?” Connor joked.

Elsie couldn’t find it in her to make a witty come back. All she could do was sob uncontrollably, shuddering under his hand. A small hand really. One that would never finish growing. 

“I know what you mean,” Connor continued, shouting over the chorus of their imminent demise. “I didn’t realise the landing would be this exciting. A once in a lifetime experience.”

Elsie did her best to laugh. She wanted to show her appreciation. She understood what Connor was doing. This complete stranger had shown her so much kindness in the hours they had known each other. Elsie felt nothing but gratitude for the boy who had decided to be a part of her life and who wouldn’t get the chance.

“Hands over your heads!” Linda barked, her earlier jovialness lost. Even in the face of death, her first concern was for Connor. Elsie had been right. Linda was a good mother. She felt that pang again, extending her gratitude to Linda who had still spared a thought for her.

Elsie placed her hands over her head, pushing Connor’s aside so he could finish his own layer of defence over the back of his skull. She doubted it would help. But, it was better safe than sorry. At the very least, she hoped it would bring Linda a little peace of mind.

For a moment, she wondered if her own parents would have acted the same. She thought they probably would. She didn’t want to die angry at them. So she let her frustrations go, letting them float up and away even as the plane plummeted down.

Instead, she chose to focus on the warmth her new friend had shown her. Through her sobs, she forced herself to smile back at Connor.

“Thanks,” she said.

“For what?!” Connor shouted back.

“For making everything before the crashing part suck a little less.”

Connor might have chuckled. Or he might have started crying himself. Maybe he had been the whole time. Elsie wasn’t sure. She didn’t get the chance to figure it out. She didn’t get the chance to reply either.

The plane smashed into the water below; scattering debris, passengers and crew across the waves.

There were no survivors. But, Elsie did not die alone. She went into the darkness, still smiling at a newfound friend who had given her comfort when otherwise there would only have been bitterness and fear.

Her final thought was that not everyone would be so lucky.