Once Sally was back in her flat, she got organised. She found as many candles as she could, and stacked them together with a box of matches on the kitchen bench. She really didn’t want to be without lights when the sun went down. The next thing was food. She took all of the perishables from the refrigerator and stacked them tightly into the freezer. She didn’t know how long the electricity would be out, but figured she could keep the food fresh for a couple of days, even with the power off. Then she went to the stove and tried the gas burner. She turned the knob and was relieved to see a perfect ring of blue flame spark on the stovetop. At least she could cook! Her stomach rumbled at the thought and she suddenly realised that it was mid afternoon, and she hadn’t eaten a thing all day. She rummaged around in the fridge until she found some leftover fried rice, made herself a cup of herbal tea, and went out onto the little balcony to eat.
As she ate her cold rice Sally considered her options. She had different choices depending on whether she was thinking short or long term. In the short term, she knew that she had to stay put to see what eventuated out of this crazy situation. Longer term, though, she had much more to think about. If this disaster didn’t resolve itself in the next few days, she would need to explore the city and try to find someone that could help her. She stared down at the street where a cat crept around in the shadows of an alleyway opposite her apartment. At least there were still animals, she thought bleakly, as she stood up and headed back inside. Then she heard it - the low hum of a plane in the distance. My god! She leaned over the edge of her balcony and peered into the clear blue sky. There it was, just visible above the skyline, heading towards the city. As she watched, the tiny speck grew in size, as it headed towards the airport. Her suburb was on the flight path of scores of international flights every day, yet she was just realising that this was the first plane she had seen or heard since she woke up. Sally prayed that this was the first sign of a return to normality, but in the pit of her stomach she had a sick feeling that an alternative explanation was more likely. She watched and waited. The plane continued to grow in size as it sailed towards her. It was also decreasing in altitude, which gave Sally some hope that it was in a normal flight pattern, and would be landing routinely. She checked the sky. There was nothing else in the air.
The plane was close enough now for Sally to tell that it was a Jumbo jet. It seemed to be heading to the airport, but Sally realized with horror that something wasn’t right. The plane was not slowing down or doing any banking that would be usual at this stage of it’s landing. It was coming in straight and fast. It seemed as if it were coming straight at her. Each second that passed saw the jet grow in size as it thundered towards her. The giant jet screamed overhead, so close that she could read the words on the undercarriage. The noise was deafening. She noticed that the wheels had not engaged, as the backdraft from the giant engine blew her off her feet. A second later, as she cowered on the floor of her balcony, it felt like an atomic bomb had exploded as the plane crashed into the nearby city streets.