[Chapter 110: Horror Movie on the Plane]
Daniel walked back to the female passenger he had previously helped using a Seal. Scarlett and the Air Marshal followed closely behind him. The two flight attendants returned to their duties for the moment but would be called on again when needed.
Although Scarlett wasn't very famous yet and few people recognized her, among the many passengers on the plane, some still did. Normally, they would have swarmed her immediately. But right now, the atmosphere on the plane was strange and oppressive -- so no one was in the mood for chasing a star.
The woman Daniel had awakened was dark-skinned with a head full of dreadlocks. Her boyfriend stood nearby, comforting her. When she saw Daniel approaching, she turned her head, looked at him, and said, "Thank you."
Daniel asked, "Can you tell me what you saw just now?"
The woman glanced at the Air Marshal standing beside Daniel.
"Go ahead and speak. We believe you," the Air Marshal said.
Only then did the woman begin: "I was about to take something out of my bag, but as soon as I opened the overhead compartment, I saw a terrifying woman inside. She looked right at me, so I left that spot and went somewhere else. There were a lot of bags there -- I think it must have been the Cargo Hold below.
Down there, I saw a woman holding a baby. Her stomach had a huge hole ripped open, and inside was a bloody mess. It was horrifying. She said she wanted revenge and wanted to kill people. I screamed and ran away."
The Air Marshal found her story too bizarre to believe at first. Before all this, he would have dismissed it outright. But now... he looked over at Daniel. "Mr. Cross, what do you think?"
Daniel said nothing, his brow furrowing slightly. The woman's description triggered a sense of familiarity.
A haunting on an airplane. A woman with a torn stomach holding a baby. Pulling people down into the Cargo Hold.
It all pointed to a horror movie Daniel remembered.
Could that horror movie have come true?
Flight 666 -- undoubtedly one of the worst horror movies ever made. Anyone who watched it usually cursed it for being garbage. But now that it was manifesting in reality, whether it was a bad film or not didn't matter.
Still, if it really was that horror movie, the situation might be easier to handle.
The plot was simple: several female ghosts snuck onto the plane to take revenge on the person who killed them -- and that killer was on this very flight.
"Thank you for your answer," Daniel said to the woman and prepared to leave.
"Can you solve all this?" she asked.
"Let's wait and see," Daniel replied.
He left with Scarlett and the Air Marshal and rejoined the two flight attendants from earlier.
...
"I want to go down and check the Cargo Hold," Daniel said.
After a brief hesitation, the flight attendants agreed, but they insisted that one accompany Daniel since the area held passenger luggage. If anything went wrong, they'd have to explain it.
Since ghosts were involved, Scarlett didn't want to stay alone and insisted on following Daniel.
With Scarlett and one of the flight attendants named Riley, Daniel went down to the Cargo Hold. The Air Marshal and the other flight attendant stayed upstairs to provide support and prevent any further incidents.
The lighting in the Cargo Hold was dim, but the space was large. Most of it was taken up by luggage, leaving only small empty areas.
As soon as Daniel stepped down, he felt a dense wave of dark energy. Yet within his sight, he saw no sign of any undead spirits. The ghosts were hiding somewhere else.
Scarlett and Riley followed nervously behind Daniel.
After searching the space thoroughly with no sign of anything, they all secretly breathed a sigh of relief. But because they couldn't find the source, their worries returned.
"There seems to be nothing here," Riley said.
Daniel replied calmly, "If nothing's here, then I'll summon them."
He pulled out a Bell carved from ashwood. As he shook it, no sound came -- so Daniel made a hand seal and chanted:
By sealed authority, let hidden command go forth in silence.
Warden of Seizure, traverse all bounds and leave no refuge.
From every quarter, let the unclean be named and brought to account.
Let the bell of judgment sound — no spirit may conceal itself.
By mandate, seize and present them. So ordered.
This was a minor summoning spell recorded in the Essentials of Exorcist Magic. Because it was minor, it wasn't even listed on Daniel's Spell Panel. He had used it before with mixed results, but now, as an Archon of Mandate, the effect was completely different.
As Daniel shook the Bell while chanting, the faint sounds of wind and thunder echoed through the Cargo Hold. A mysterious power radiated from his position, spreading in all directions.
Suddenly, a figure appeared -- a woman in her thirties wearing a dress soaked in blood. The blood came from a huge, fresh wound on her neck, flowing into the dress with none dripping to the floor.
"Ah!"
Scarlett and Riley jumped in fright, screaming before quickly hiding behind Daniel.
But this was just the beginning.
Another figure appeared out of thin air -- a woman holding a baby, her stomach ripped open with bloody mess inside, looking utterly terrifying. It matched the woman with dreadlocks' description perfectly.
Scarlett and Riley stiffened, trembling uncontrollably.
More figures appeared -- six in total, all female and all looking agonizingly miserable.
One had obvious stitches where limbs had been sewn on. Another had two grisly holes where her breasts should have been. One had a large hole on the top of her head with white fluid bubbling out.
Scarlett and Riley shrank back behind Daniel like startled quail, utterly terrified.
The six ghostly figures bowed in unison toward Daniel. "Please, Sir Exorcist, help us take revenge."
At that moment, Daniel was certain this was the horror movie Flight 666 manifesting in reality. It just so happened their flight wasn't Flight 666.
Daniel nodded. "I know you were all brutally murdered by the same person -- and it's only right I help you get justice. But you must not trouble the other passengers again. You could cause a panic and lead to an accident. I already know who your killer is. Now you just need to follow my instructions."
The female ghost holding the baby said, "We are willing to follow your instructions."
From behind Daniel, Scarlett asked, "Mr. Cross, were they all murdered?"
"That's right," Daniel replied. "They were killed by the same person using extremely cruel methods. Look at the wounds on their bodies -- that's how they died."
*****
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