MILO


You sit in your seat uncomfortably. You don't really like flying – the seats are too cramped and there's no leg room, and the attendants won't give you a drink whenever they come by. It's annoying, but you can handle it. You're awesome at handling things. Plus, looking out the window, you see the wing move up and down, as if waving to the clouds. You wonder if the people sitting on top of it can feel it through the wall of the plane. The plane bumps again and you wonder why you have to sit so far back, you're nearly in the last row!

There's a third, very violent bump, and you can hear something break. You hope it's the glasses on that cart the attendants wheel around – serves them right for not giving you your Coke! But when the plane shakes a fourth time, and a fifth, sending people sprawling down the isle, you start to worry. You look out the window and notice that you are descending quickly. Way too quickly, even you, at eight years old, know that. You stare at the wing, which now looks like it's trying to do a high five with the clouds.

There's a metallic snapping noise that shakes through the whole plane and you watch the wings snap off like it's a piece of cardboard. It disappears from your sight just for a split second, and then there's a shattering noise as it hits the plane, scraping off the roof from the middle of the plane all the way to the tail section right over your head. You see the seats ahead of you launch into the air, disappearing out of the plane, and you start to feel faint.

The last thing you remember before you black out is…

You blink.

You're not moving anymore, which is a relief. For a brief moment you think the crash must've been a bad dream, but then you really start to look around. You're at an awkward a angle, almost falling out of your seat. The plane or at least the part of the plane you're in, is facing the jungle, trees and vines snaking in. You're just glad you're close to the ground now, but then you look again. You're not even close, a fall from here… it might kill you. You're great at almost everything, but falling… not so much. Landing isn't your best quality either, and for a moment, you see yourself bouncing on the seats, falling out of the plane and landing –

You're shaken out of your daymare when your skin feels unbelievably itchy. You look down and realize you're clutching the armrests with your hands, you're that afraid of falling out. You watch, thinking this must still be a night mare, because red flakes are growing on your skin and spreading all over the place. For some reason, you're more afraid of the flakes than falling, but you can't get yourself to let go of the arm rests to try to brush them off. You close your eyes as they spread up your face, and you feel something falling from your head. You open them to see strands of your hair falling to the ground. You give a small cry as you realize you can't feel your penis… your eyes widen. It wasn't possible, was it? You gently take your arm and reach a hand, shaking, while you keep yourself in your seat with the other hand. You reach your hand, covered in the red flakes, towards the crotch of your pants. Your fears are confirmed at the same time as a large crashing sound is heard and the plane shakes. You scream as the plane shudders for a moment, then all is still. There's a ringing in your ears and you sit still, frightened that everything will roll over and you'll fall. The ringing in your ears slowly fades away, and the sounds of the jungle return to you.

Suddenly, hear voices.

"Hey! I found someone!" You hear a girl's voice shout. You hear a few footsteps run farther away, and you stay frozen. It sounds like other people, but how do you know that they're from your plane? You decide that you'll just have to hide the fact that you're a girl, and you shout for help.

"Everyone! Quiet!" A woman shouts. "Just, be quiet for a moment, okay?" Then there is silence. You shout again.

"There's someone in the wreckage!" She shouts, and you can hear someone running around towards you. "Someone in the plane is still alive!" You hear, and continue shouting, thankful that someone can get you out of here. Soon, a figure appears below you, and you realize that even though you're covered in red scales, she's covered in orange fur, and you don't really want to fall into the arms of a monster.

"Hey!" The monster shouts. "Are you okay?" You shake your head, and the monster pauses. "What's your name?" It shouts.

"M-Milo," You call back down.

"Milo, we're going to get you out of there, okay?" The monster says, looking around. It runs towards the front of the plane, and you sigh in relief as it disappears from view. That is, until you look and see that your section of the plane has broken off and the monster is now climbing down the seats towards you.

"Milo, my name is Keegan," The tiger-woman monster says. "I'm going to climb up to help you, okay?" It says, standing on the sides of two seats, looking up at you. You shake your head fearfully."Milo, I'm not going to hurt you, okay? I promise, we'll get you down safely." You shake your head again. You don't know how to deal with this, and that makes you afraid, for some reason. "If I don't come after you, you're going to fall," Keegan says softly. You don't say anything, and once she starts to climb towards you, you don't stop her. Soon, she's staring at
you in the face.

"Okay, no, Milo, I need you to put your arms around my neck," She tells you. "Like a piggy back ride, okay?" Nervously, you quickly cling to her, not wanting to slide out. "Okay, now, when I tell you too, you need to do the same with your legs." She instructs you. "Ready?" You feel her hand around the seat belt and know she's going to unbuckle you. Suddenly, you're loose, and she says "Now!" you wrap your legs around her waist and hang on. There is a thumping sound as you realize your shoes have fallen off and land on the ground. Something hangs from your back and you and you look down.

You have a tail, and then you look further and it's a long way down and you don't want to fall and you're starting to panic so you hold onto Keegan tighter, forgetting she's a monster and you don't want to fall you don't want to fall –

"Hold on," Keegan says as she starts to slowly climb down. You close your eyes, wanting this to be over as soon as possible. After what seems like hours of feeling Keegan climb, you hear her say, "We're down now." You open your eyes and see you're now on a beach. The plane is behind you, but you don't care. You just jump off Keegan and start running away. You're the best at running, but you stumble because of that tail thing and there's something wrong with your feet, so you land in the sand. Someone grabs your arm and helps you up, and you see it's a cat-woman, another monster like Keegan.

"Please," She says. "You need to stay here with us, there are... scary things in the jungle."

"I can watch her," Another voice says. "Lost can help you and Keegan search through the plane." You look and it's a fox-lady. You look between the two of them, and wonder if maybe they aren't monsters after all? They seem to be concerned, but you don't need their help, you're awesome at... well, you don't know if you're the best at surviving. This is your first plane crash... you will need help this time. Next time, though...

The fox-woman kneels down next to you.

"I'm Callum," She says. "What's your name?"

"Milo," You say softly. Callum nods, and sits.

"Where are your parents, Milo? Were they on the plane?" You shake your head.

"Mom was in Los Angeles, waiting for me," You say. "I... I want to see her again." Callum doesn't say anything, but puts an arm around your shoulder.

"You will," She says softly. "I promise."

Then, you turn towards her and for the first time in forever, you begin to cry.