Landing

The people on the small plane felt both tormented and relieved.

Fortunately, there seems to be a solution. The agonizing part is that, just as Brian said, this matter isn't over until things are settled.

My emotions were fluctuating, and I was completely focused on the captain's voice coming from the cockpit.

It's as if the captain is informing ground air traffic control about the aircraft's current situation and procedures. In reality, he's instructing the person in the belly of the aircraft on how to control it. The captain calmly and meticulously describes each step of his maneuver and reports the data from the instruments as he goes.

Although Brian was responsible for interpreting the data, he would immediately alert Henry whenever the plane made any overly exaggerated movements.

However, upon closer observation, it became clear that Henry's every adjustment and change was precisely controlled by a precision instrument, perfectly matching the requirements previously put forward by Brian.

It's important to know that the captain had long since taken his hands off the rudder, handing over full control of the aircraft to Henry, who was only responsible for operating other instruments and equipment.

After all, certain operations are recorded in the black box. However, as long as the steering pod doesn't malfunction, it won't be recorded. It's like they've gone to great lengths to make it look real, paying attention to every aspect.

As the altimeter readings continued to decrease, everyone's tension grew.

When the altitude was down to 1,000 feet, Brian immediately shouted to everyone in the cabin, "Impact stance! We could land at any moment!"

But the expected turbulence and collisions did not occur. Everyone only felt that the plane was experiencing some kind of resistance, and its speed was rapidly decreasing. It was like a car braking until the plane came to a complete stop.

"Have we landed, or are we going to Hell without any pain?" Sam asked, lifting his head from his seat and looking around, as he gripped the back of the front seat.

A silence fell over the cabin. Everyone felt the plane come to a complete stop, and they all looked up, exchanging glances. But no one could give a definitive answer, not even the two people in the cockpit.

"Knock, knock!" The knocking on the hatch shattered the silence like thunder. Mark and Sam, the two younger veterans, tried to get up, but their seats buckled around their stomachs, reminding them to unbuckle their seatbelts.

Fortunately, Brian was relatively normal and acted faster than the others. He was the first to get from the cockpit to the tail door and open it.

The voice from outside was so familiar. "Hey, welcome to Saudi Arabia. You bunch of Madfaq stowaways, are you ready to face the interrogation of these white-robed, bearded men?"

Brian gave the other person a big hug and punched him hard on the back a few times. He was just overjoyed.

At that moment, several veterans inside the cabin cheered loudly! Some even jumped for joy.

Henry continued, "I don't know what time it is now, but it's definitely night. And I don't know the temperature outside either. It's very cold in the desert at night, so you'll need to wear a jacket. If you catch a cold, this flight will not be responsible."

Besides Brian, several veterans rushed out of the cabin to make sure they were really on solid ground.

Despite it being a desert, Mark excitedly knelt down and kissed the ground, then stood up in disgust, spitting out a mouthful of sand.

This action naturally drew laughter from everyone.

Sam went back into the cabin and patted the flight attendant, who had been completely drunk the whole way. After she opened her eyes, he said to her, "Hey, girl, wake up. We've arrived."

"What! We're in Hell!" The poor flight attendant fainted again from fright.

It's important to understand that "going to the ground" and "going to Hell" are completely different expressions in English. It's really suspicious how this girl misunderstood. It just goes to show how harmful alcohol can be.

Anyway, the flight attendant's attitude, without her knowing it, became the source of amusement for everyone.

Brian was equally pleased, but as the team leader, there were still some things he needed to explain. Back in the cockpit, he saw the captain, who also looked relieved, as if he had just escaped a close call.

He was probably the one among them who best understood the difficulty of those maneuvers. Perhaps at the moment of the accident, everyone was pessimistic, but still held onto a sliver of hope. Only he knew for sure that he was doomed!

Flying at night, running out of fuel, surrounded by third-world countries—survival would be a miracle!

Then a miracle really happened. Brian happily hugged the captain and said, "Luca, you have one last task to complete."

"What?"

"Report to air traffic control and ask them to send a rescue team. Or do you want to get out of this desert on your own?"

"Ha, you're not even giving me a chance to kiss the ground?"

"Some idiot just gave you a kiss, and now your mouth is full of sand. I regret having him as a colleague. Want to experience that too?"

"Never mind, I think what I need right now is a hot coffee and a bed where I can stretch out. I'd better call them over as soon as possible." Captain Luca put his headset back on and began making calls.

Henry then approached Audrey Hepburn and extended his hand, inviting her, "Madam, have you ever seen the starry sky in the desert? I think it's probably the most beautiful part of this trip. It would be a shame to miss it. But you should put on an extra layer; it's quite cold outside."

"Oh, child. You don't think I'd bring warm clothes on a summer trip to Africa, do you?" Audrey teased. "Shall I get you a blanket?"

"OK."

When Audrey Hepburn, wrapped in a blanket from inside the cabin, came outside the plane, she realized what kind of traces the landing process, which had left no discomfort inside the cabin, had actually left behind.

It was too dark to see in the distance, but the plane had carved a deep trench in the nearby yellow sand. Actually, this was a relatively straight runway created by the Henry blowing through the stern of the aircraft. Otherwise, given the sand dune terrain, it wouldn't have been so easy for the plane to make an emergency landing.

However, this deep trench doesn't seem to last long, as the yellow sand blowing in from all sides is burying it.

The small passenger plane lay flat and steady on the sand, showing no signs of impact. To the uninitiated, it would look as if it had been laid flat on top of the sand by a crane.

Looking up, I saw a crescent moon on a dark night, its light dim. Instead, the sky was filled with twinkling stars. And they weren't just silvery-white; there were red and blue stars too, their colors, though not deep, creating a vibrant tapestry of hues.

With the help of Mark and Sam, Audrey Hepburn climbed onto the wing, found a spot to sit, and joined everyone in gazing at the hard-won starry sky.

A moment later, the Italian captain, Luca, came out and said to everyone, "I have contacted air traffic control and reported the situation. The nearby U.S. military base will send a helicopter to pick us up. I have turned on the rescue transmitter to guide the rescue team. They will be here soon."