Chapter 38: Death Knocks (Part One)
Alex had a bad feeling.
He shook his head, telling himself he was probably overthinking.
On his way back to the group, he glanced up casually—
Only to see a flash of lightning illuminating the distant sky.
Storm clouds were gathering; the wind and rain were coming.
---
On the plane,
Gideon Black put down his bag and fastened his seatbelt.
"Sir, is this child traveling with you?" a gentle voice asked.
Gideon turned his head and saw a pair of slender legs clad in skin-tone stockings.
He followed the gaze upward with a respectful nod and realized it was a blonde flight attendant smiling at him.
"Yes, that's right," he replied affirmatively.
The flight attendant then pointed toward Emma.
"Sir, this isn't allowed."
At that moment, Emma's hands were tied with ropes.
"Oh, I specially prepared pink ropes she likes; see, she's quite happy," Gideon said, catching Emma shooting him a sideways glare. He quickly pinched her cheek and forced a smile.
The flight attendant nearly choked on her breath.
She took a deep breath and smiled again.
"Sir, I mean this is dangerous. If you insist on this, I'll have to ask the security staff to talk with you."
"Sorry, I'll untie her right away," Gideon said immediately, helping Emma free her hands. The attendant nodded and walked away.
"Missed that one—I should've just covered her with clothes," Gideon thought to himself.
Though he and Emma had a verbal agreement, they were tens of thousands of feet in the air. If she suddenly acted up, it wouldn't be a joke.
He would regret it deeply.
That's why he had tied her up in the first place.
---
After the minor incident, the plane's doors were quickly closed.
While waiting for takeoff, the cabin suddenly erupted with noise.
"I swear I saw it! This plane's going to crash!"
Alex shouted and jumped into the aisle, drawing attention from other passengers.
Gideon turned his head, noticing that the troublemaker was surrounded by young people—likely high school students.
Flight attendants quickly rushed over.
"Hey, sir, you can't joke about that!"
"Alex, calm down!"
But Alex was oblivious to their warnings, his emotions running high.
---
At another row,
A young man in a white T-shirt stood up, unable to bear it.
"Carter! Don't go," a woman beside him pleaded.
But Carter shook off his girlfriend's hand and strode over to Alex, shoving him hard.
"Shut up! You want us all kicked off this flight?"
The two quickly started fighting.
Flight security arrived and separated them.
"Hey, you two, if this continues, I'll have to ask you to leave."
"You don't have to ask—I'll go myself!" Alex pushed past the crowd and walked toward the cabin door surrounded by security.
Carter, still furious, immediately followed.
Soon, a few others joined in.
Among the group of young people, there was a woman in blue who seemed to be their lead instructor.
Gideon waved his hand, and the flight attendant from earlier quickly approached.
"Excuse me, what were they arguing about just now?"
The flight attendant hesitated for a moment, then leaned close to Gideon's ear.
He was met with a gentle scent, followed by her whispered words.
"A passenger experienced a psychological episode. To avoid disrupting the flight, we had to ask him to disembark."
Gideon raised an eyebrow.
Psychological issues? That sounded like his specialty!
He shared his thoughts with her.
"Thanks for your concern, but the passenger seems to have a fear of flying—he claimed he foresaw the plane crashing."
The flight attendant chuckled softly, flashing her pearly white teeth.
"Our plane has flown safely for fifteen years—there's no way that could happen."
Hearing this, Gideon instinctively reached for his waist.
Click.
He unbuckled his seatbelt and helped Emma do the same.
Then he took her hand and stood up.
"Sir, what are you doing?"
"I just remembered something important!" Gideon replied with a smile.
Ignoring the flight attendant's calls, he hurried down the aisle.
Hearing her ominous words, Gideon didn't hesitate to leave immediately.
Saying such things before takeoff, in a world full of spirits and horrors, was a recipe for disaster.
His instincts told him to act fast.
At the same time, the scene felt oddly familiar.
Gideon walked while pondering.
As he neared the cabin door, a girl suddenly bumped into him from behind.
Seeing her about to fall, Gideon reached out and caught her.
"Thank you, I'm fine."
The girl thanked him briefly and quickly left, clutching a book.
But that brief encounter was enough for Gideon to recognize her face.
---
At the boarding lounge, Gideon and Emma stepped out of the gate.
The girl who bumped into him was seated there.
If he wasn't mistaken, she was Clear Rivers—the heroine of Final Destination 1.
Looking around, he saw the other main characters: Alex, the lead teacher Lewton, and the American boy Carter...
This was exactly the scene from the beginning of the original story.
"Such terrible luck..." Gideon muttered.
"I also remember their destination was supposed to be Paris?"
---
Elsewhere, teacher Lewton tried to negotiate with the flight security to give them some leeway.
But the officer was firm: Alex and the others could not board the plane again.
With no other options, Lewton instructed another chaperone to proceed while she stayed behind to accompany the students, waiting for the next flight.
"Alex, what exactly happened?" Lewton asked, sitting down.
"I—I really saw it. The plane shook violently…"
According to him, he had a vision aboard the plane.
The image showed the aircraft experiencing a malfunction shortly after takeoff—one wing tearing apart, causing a fire.
"The plane exploded midair, and we all died."
Alex looked visibly shaken.
By the window, Carter and his girlfriend watched the plane taxi to the runway.
Hearing Alex's words, their hopeful vacation plans were instantly shattered.
Carter's anger flared; he turned and stormed towards Alex.
---
Meanwhile, Gideon kept recalling details.
He remembered the original story started with a plane crash, where only a few survived.
But in the following days, these survivors kept dying from bizarre accidents.
It was as if they were on Death's list.
In the end, only Clear survived.
Among horror stories, this series had one of the highest mortality rates.
Gideon also recalled that these deaths stemmed from overlooked, everyday dangers.
For example, being crushed by a falling construction material while walking under a building site…
Or accidentally starting a kitchen fire at home and burning alive.
Because such accidents are common, many joked about this series:
"After watching it, you wouldn't dare step outside for three days."
Yet Gideon remembered that each accident was foreshadowed in the story.
If one paid attention, it was possible to avoid death—if only briefly.
As he pondered these details…
Bang!
The glass in the boarding lounge suddenly shattered.
Gideon spun around.
In the distant night sky, a fireball blazed, painting the sky a deep red.