Adaptation (2 page)

Reese’s stomach dropped, and the crowd around the TV monitor erupted with questions.

“What do you mean? Is my flight canceled?”

“This is bullshit!”

“What is going on? How could birds possibly do this?”

“It can’t be birds—it must be terrorists.”

“That’s insane. Terrorists can control birds now?”

As the questions piled one on top of another, louder and louder, Reese’s heart began to race. The birds that had smashed onto the runway. Three plane crashes.
Three.
One is unusual; two is a coincidence; but three… how could it be an accident?

People were bumping into her, craning their necks at the TV, talking over the anchorwoman. Reese shoved her way out of the
crowd, her skin crawling as disbelief warred with growing panic inside her.
What is going on?
She halted in front of a bank of monitors displaying the flight departure times. One by one, those times blinked out and were replaced by a single word, repeated over and over:
CANCELED
.

Reese couldn’t get through to her mom; the call went
straight to voice mail. She checked her watch; it was 3:38 in San Francisco. She knew her mom was probably still in court, but Reese was stiff with anxiety. If terrorists were behind these plane crashes, how safe was her mom in a courthouse? David paced nearby, talking to his parents on his phone in Chinese.

Mr. Chapman lowered himself into the seat beside Reese, frowning, and pushed up his black-framed glasses. “This is a mess,” he said. Behind them, dozens of travelers were clustered around the podium, trying to rebook their plane tickets. CNN was still droning in the background, but Reese had stopped watching after the fourth plane crash in Colorado. She was filled with a kind of paranoid helplessness, and she kept glancing out
the windows as if she were waiting for more birds to plunge from the sky.

“What are we going to do?” she asked, sounding more frightened than she intended.

Mr. Chapman gave her a thin smile. She thought he was trying to be reassuring, but he didn’t quite succeed. “We just have to wait. You’re too young to remember 9/11, but at first it was just a bunch of waiting. Waiting to hear from the president, waiting to find out who was behind it.” He shook his head and pushed up his glasses again, a nervous tick that betrayed his own tension. “Hopefully, there will be some news soon.”

David ended his call and walked back to them. “My parents are freaking out.”

“Do you want me to talk to them?” Mr. Chapman offered.

“No, they’ll be okay. They’re just shocked like everyone else. My dad’s company shut down for the day, and he’s driving home now.” David pocketed his phone, then looked behind Reese at the gate area. “Hey, something’s happening.”

Reese twisted around. The cluster of people at the podium had turned back to the TV monitor. She couldn’t see the whole screen from where she was sitting, but as the crowd quieted, the speakers in the ceiling could be heard clearly. A reporter said, “In a moment, President Elizabeth Randall will make a statement from the Oval Office. We’re about to—hang on, I believe we’re going to that feed now.”

Reese jumped up to get a better angle on the TV. President Randall was seated at the desk in the Oval Office and looking directly into the camera through her trademark wire-rim glasses.
Not a hair was out of place, though she wore a look of grave concern on her face.

“As you know by now, we’ve been struck by tragedy today in our nation and in Canada and Mexico.” The president’s Midwestern accent was stronger than usual. “I want to reassure you that we are working around the clock to determine the cause of today’s crashes, as well as coordinating with the Canadian and Mexican governments to analyze whether there is a pattern in these tragic accidents. At this time, we have suspended all flights in the United States, and Canada and Mexico have done the same in their territories. As of tonight, we know of seven crashes across North America, and we hope that by grounding all flights, we will avoid further tragedy. I know that many of you are frightened and confused by the conflicting reports coming out in the news about the causes of these crashes, and I urge you to remain calm and refrain from speculation. You can rest assured that I have ordered a thorough and complete investigation into these crashes, and I will make sure that you are informed of our progress as things develop.”

The president paused and a look of maternal solicitude swept over her face. She even tilted her head slightly. “If you’ve been inconvenienced in your travel plans because of the flight ban, I’m sure you understand that this is in the best interests of our nation and your safety. As soon as it is safe to fly again, we will lift the flight ban. In the meantime, please join me in praying for those whose lives have been affected by these tragedies, here and throughout North America.”

The feed from the White House ended, and the news analysts reappeared. Reese sat down heavily, shaken by the president’s
words. Seven plane crashes due to bird strikes? It sounded insane.

Mr. Chapman’s face was pale as he said, “I guess it’s a good thing our plane was delayed.”

Reese almost dropped her phone when it suddenly vibrated in her hand. The caller ID read:
Catherine Sheridan
. Relieved, she scrambled to answer it. “Mom! Did you hear the news?”

“Are you all right?” Her mom sounded both terrified and relieved. “Where are you? You didn’t get on the plane, did you?”

“No, it was still delayed when the flight ban started.” Reese rubbed a sweaty palm over her jeans. “I’m fine. I’m still at the airport.”

“Good. Is your coach still with you?”

“Yes.” Mr. Chapman had walked a few feet away to phone his wife. “And David’s here too.” He was trying to watch the news, though it was hard to hear over the din of travelers attempting to rebook their flights.

“I tried to call you earlier, but I couldn’t get through till now,” her mom said. “Everybody’s going home early; they think it’s a terrorist attack.”

Panic shot through Reese. “Mom, are you still at work? What if they attack government buildings? You need to get out of there.”

“It’s all right, honey. Don’t worry about me. I’m leaving soon. Are you staying at the airport tonight?”

“Yeah. Mr. C wants to wait till tomorrow morning to see what’s going on. The airline said they’d issue ‘alternative transportation
options,’ whatever that means, if the flight ban isn’t lifted by then.”

“All right. Just stay with Mr. Chapman and call me the minute anything changes.”

“I will.”

“Promise?”

“I promise.”

The line at the Wendy’s counter snaked back and forth unevenly across the polished concrete floor of the concourse. Reese guessed there were about twenty-five people ahead of her, which put her right at the edge of the seating area next to the overflowing trash bin. An abandoned Frosty was perched on its side and dripping onto the floor, forming a pool of beige liquid. Reese looked away from the mess, her gaze sweeping up toward the windows set high against the ceiling. The sky outside was dusky blue. She had been stuck in this airport since eleven o’clock that morning—almost nine hours.

Earlier, she had called her best friend, Julian Arens, to tell him she was stuck in Phoenix. He told her that all major airports in the United States were full of stranded passengers, and already some people were concerned the airports might run out of food. If the planes couldn’t fly, they couldn’t bring in supplies either.

“You’re freaking me out,” Reese said, only half joking. “Are you saying I should start hoarding those disgusting airport sandwiches?”

“They’re probably gone by now,” he answered. By the time she went to search out dinner, Julian was right. The deli cases that had once been full of sandwiches and salads were picked clean, and the only food left was the square-shaped burgers at Wendy’s.

The line was moving at about the speed of molasses, so Reese pulled out her phone to pass the time, touching the icon for the Internet. The Hub loaded right away, with feeds popping up one after the other, all about the flight ban. It was mostly people complaining about being trapped in airports, but there was a lot of chatter about possible causes for the plane crashes too. Terrorism wasn’t even the most outlandish one. She saw one feed declaring
Aliens did it, earthlings. Colonization is coming!
She let out a short laugh. Julian was always trying to convince her that E.T. had already visited Earth multiple times. One night in Dolores Park, while they were hanging out on the swings in the playground, Julian told her about meeting an alien abductee in Golden Gate Park the weekend before.

“He had an implant in his lower back—he totally showed me the scar and everything,” Julian said, gesturing with the stub of his cigarette.

Reese lit one for herself and said, “Yeah, I’m sure
that’s
what he was showing you.” She tossed the match down to the sand, watching as the flame sputtered out.

“You’re just jealous you didn’t get to see his ass.”

She remembered cracking up, almost choking on the smoke. Julian handed her the water bottle filled with vodka tonic, but she shook her head, wheezing as she laughed.

Her phone buzzed as she was scrolling through the feeds on the Hub; Julian had just texted her.

> Stuff is getting crazy out there.
U have 2 check this out:
www.short.349sy

She clicked on the link, which took her to a blog post on a website called Bin 42. The headline made her eyebrows rise:
Government cover-up of plane crashes continues with media blackout.

If you’ve been on the Hub today, you probably noticed that everyone around the world is freaked out about one thing: these bizarre plane crashes. But you might also have noticed that your feeds about them keep mysteriously disappearing. We’ve uncovered evidence that every 15 minutes, feeds relating to plane crashes, bird strikes, and the causes of such are routinely wiped.

Who has the power to do this? Only one entity: the US government.

Here is what we’ve gathered over the course of the day (and be forewarned: this report may soon be wiped, too, so if you want to keep this info alive, we suggest you mirror it immediately to your own site or download a copy for yourself. Better yet, revert to ancient technology: Print this out on paper!):

Official news and government reports state that only seven crashes have occurred in the US today, in New Jersey, Washington, and Texas. But continuous scanning of news feeds shows that at least 23 other planes have crashed today due to bird strikes within the continental United States alone.

Reports of these crashes are routinely posted online but removed shortly afterward. Caches of these news reports are eventually wiped as well. For a roundup of these reports (many now go to 404 pages), go here:
www.bin42.com/34092

Video of plane crash sites has been circulating on file-sharing sites but is also routinely being removed. Don’t be fooled! We have seen these videos and they are not doctored! A roundup of videos (some of which may no longer be online) are here:
www.bin42.com/34093

Mainstream news sources are being forced to adhere to a media blackout, so don’t go to the
New York Times
looking for confirmation—you won’t find it. The only mainstream account we have of any of the other crashes is from the
Chicago Tribune
; here’s a link to a screencap of that web page before it was taken down:
www.bin42.com/34094

What does this mean for you? If you’re safe at home, we advise you to check your emergency supplies and prepare
for the worst. If you’re a traveler stranded because of the flight ban, we suggest you find a way to drive yourself home. While there’s no evidence that airports are unsafe (yet), there is also no evidence that the flight ban will be lifted anytime soon. Meanwhile, check back here regularly; we will attempt to keep this site online as long as possible.