- Unloading of passengers only.
No parking.
Do not leave your car unattended.
She's just an innocent bystander.
So, what's new?
Tell them I won't do it.
It has to be done by next Thursday, Nick.
And make sure it happens in Boston where he lives.
I'll see you in London on Saturday.
We'll have a pint to celebrate.
The white zone
is for immediate loading and unloading of passengers only.
No parking.
Do not leave your car unattended.
Mr. Toomy, Mr. Toomy! Thank God I caught you.
I checked over the figures on those foreign bonds you bought,
and as it turns out, you haven't made $43 million, you've lost it.
- I know. - You know?
Of course. I'm the head of the Bond Department.
- Talk to you from Boston. - Mr. Toomy, you can't go to Boston.
All of these transactions were personally authorised by you.
The board of directors will crucify you.
I know, that's why I have to go.
Now, I suggest you just relax, because everything's gonna be fine.
In fact, it's gonna be wonderful.
There's something strange inside that man's head.
Later, Dinah.
Now that I've given you a lift to the airport,
do you wanna tell me why you're going to Boston?
Stop it, Doris. I'm not gonna tell you and you know it.
Yes, but this is just so unlike you.
Flying off to some strange city for no reason,
not even telling your best friend why.
AP Flight 29 to Boston.
Oh, gosh, that's my flight.
- I gotta go. Bye. Bye.
This is to announce the boarding of...
I'm sorry.
- Departing from Gate 51.
- Bye. - Bye.
Damn these gauges, they don't tell us anything.
That pressure leak could have been anywhere.
Don't worry about it. It's the engineers' problem now.
How can I not worry about it?
You know what a pressure blowout can do.
We were all damn near human pâté.
Oh, man.
Maybe I've been doing this for too long.
- Captain Engle? - Yeah,
but I don't know what to tell you. We couldn't find that pressure leak.
This isn't about the leak, captain.
Could I talk to you outside, please?
Why? What's wrong?
Outside, please.
You wanna tell me what's going on?
It's about your wife.
My wife? Oh.
You mean my ex-wife. We're divorced. Why, what about her?
There's been an accident.
Perhaps you'd better come up to my office.
What about Annie?
How badly has she been hurt?
Is she dead?
Yes. I'm afraid she is.
There was a fire in her apartment.
Are you all right, captain?
Yeah.
It's just a shock, that's all.
There's a redeye leaving for Boston now.
You can deadhead back on it if you want.
Yeah, I guess I'd better.
Ladies and gentlemen,
American Pride Flight 29 to Boston
is now boarding passengers in all rows. Please...
Looks like a full flight.
Yeah, I guess. What's the weather like?
Clouds at 20,000 feet from the Great Plains all the way to Boston.
Oh, and we've had sightings of the aurora borealis over the Mojave Desert.
Northern lights? Over California at this time of year?
Who knows? The weather's been really freaky this year.
I asked for a window seat and that's what I'd like.
- See right there? Yes.
It says where your seat is. I want a window seat.
- Why don't you talk to the...? - No,
why don't you talk to the ticketing agent?
I only wanna talk to you.
- I don't wanna be her problem. - One on every flight, isn't there?
Always.
And since we have a very full flight this evening,
we ask that you kindly place all bags and carryon articles
securely in the overhead luggage compartments
or under the seat in front of you.
If you are interested in assistance,
the flight attendant will come by to help.
Well, I guess this is it, captain.
Have a nice trip.
And my condolences.
Thank you.
Pardon me.
Excuse me.
Roger, American Flight 29,
you're clear for takeoff. Have a good flight to Boston.
Our flight tonight will take us
over the Rocky Mountains and Denver,
past Des Moines and up over to St. Louis,
then on into the Boston area.
So, folks, relax and enjoy the flight,
and thank you for flying American Pride.
Aunt Vicki, could I have a glass of water, please?
Aunt Vicki?
Aunt Vicki.
Would somebody speak to me, please?
I'm sorry, but my aunt's gone and I'm blind.
Hello? Is anybody here?
Anybody?
Dear God, please let someone be here.
Anyone, anyone at all.
It's all right, it's all right, it's all right.
- What's wrong? - Where is everybody?
They've gone, they've all gone.
What do you mean, "Where's everybody?" They're all right here...
What happened? Did we land while I was asleep and let the others off?
Where's my aunt? I want my aunt.
- Please, I want my aunt. - You're gonna be all right.
- What's your name? - Dinah.
I can't find my aunt. I'm blind and I can't see her.
I woke up and her seat was empty.
Who was screaming?
- Is the plane in trouble, mister? - Where is everybody?
What's going on?
Are we in Boston already?
I want my aunt now.
Aunt Vicki. Aunt Vicki?
Hey. What the hell is going on here? Will someone shut this brat up?
You're not alone. There are other people here. Can you hear them?
Yeah, I can hear them. But where's Aunt Vicki?
- And who's been killed? Killed?
Has someone been killed? Have we been hijacked?
- No one has been killed. I felt her hair.
Someone cut off her hair.
- One, two, three, four, five, six... There's 10,
counting yourself and the bloke asleep in first class.
What about the crew? Anybody know about them?
Not yet, I was just about to find out.
Will you stay with the girl?
Yeah, all right, but what's happening?
Come back with some answers.
All right, everybody, just calm down.
Hello, you guys, open up.
Hello.
So, what do you think happened?
Do you think the plane landed and let the other passengers off?
I don't know. I was asleep.
You're a teacher, aren't you?
That's right, sweetie. The 5th grade.
How did you know that?
It's in your voice.
Miss Lee, my teacher at the blind school,
sounds just like you.
If you'll excuse me, I think I'm going forward to join our friend.
I want to know what is going on here
and I want to know right now.
Nor am I a bit surprised.
You said before that you had felt someone's hair.
- What did you mean by that? - Over there on one of the seats,
I felt someone's hair.
This? This is a wig.
It's not a human scalp. Is that what you felt?
What do you see?
Nothing, just mountains and darkness.
Hello?
Hello. Hello?
What's wrong? The flight crew disappear with everybody else?
Yeah. No. I don't know. They're not answering my calls
- and the door's locked from the inside. - I was afraid of that.
Sorry to get your wind up. Nick Hopewell.
I am praying, sir, that the pilot's cap
I noticed on one of the first-class seats belongs to you.
It does. Captain Engle.
But under the circumstances, you can call me Brian.
I'll call you saviour if we find what I expect to find
on the other side of that door.
Well, let's try and get it open, shall we?
Okay.
All right, let's see.
How could someone disappear and leave their hairpiece behind?
That's quite a mystery, don't you think?
- God. Yeah,
you're not kidding.
Somebody's bridge work.
I was afraid of that.
What's going on here?
Hello, excuse me.
Come out from back there. Who's back there?
- Hi. Yeah.
I'd like to know what's going on, please.
Currently, we're about to break the cockpit door.
It seems our crew have abdicated along with everybody else.
But we're in luck all the same.
My new acquaintance here just happens to be a pilot.
Do you work for American Pride, friend?
Yes, I do.
- But I think what's important... - No, I'm gonna tell you...
Excuse me. - I'm gonna tell you what's important.
You know what's important?
I have a meeting at Boston's Prudential Center at 9:00 this morning.
Promptly at 9:00.
That's what's important.
Now, I booked a seat on this conveyance in good faith,
and I have absolutely no intention of being late for that appointment.
Wait, wait, wait.
Now, I have three questions for you:
Number one, who authorised
an unscheduled stop for this airliner while I was asleep?
Number two, where was that stop made?
And number three, why? Why was that done?
You ever watch Mr. Spock on Star Trek?
What the hell are you talking about?
Just that if you don't shut your cake hole, you bloody idiot,
I'll be happy to demonstrate his Vulcan sleeper hold for you.
Don't you talk to me like that. Do you know who I am?
Of course I do.
You're an obnoxious twerp who likes to hide fear behind aggression.
No harm in that, but you are in the way.
Listen to me. Listen... Aah!
- Aah! - Whoa, a nose hold.
I can break it. Easiest thing in the world, trust me.
Aah! - I said I could break it.
Do you understand? Signify if you understand.
Ow!
You listen to me,
I haven't got time to discuss your business appointments,
therefore I'm gonna send you to the cabin
with this gentleman in the striped shirt.
Don Gaffney.
Mr. Gaffney will be your escort.
Once you arrive in the main cabin, you will sit down in your seat,
strap your seat belt firmly around your middle and keep your mouth shut.
Do you understand?
Please favour me with a thumbs up if you understand.
Jolly good.
Now, I'm gonna let go of you and your nose now.
And when I do, if you so much as utter a word,
a syllable, you will be investigating hitherto unexplored realms of pain.
- You son of a... - I wouldn't, mister.
This guy means it.
You better come on back with me.
- I'll be... - Oh! Bad idea.
Come on, now.
Hey. Come on.
Come on.
Let's see if we can find something for that nose.
Right, then,
let's get the cockpit door open, shall we?
Come on...
Whoa.
No one's driving the plane.
It happened fast, whatever it was.
Look there.
I mean, look here.
If you want watches, take your pick.
There are tons of them back in the main cabin.
Are there indeed?
Watches, jewellery and glasses.
Also purses.
But the weirdest thing is,
there's stuff that we're pretty sure came from inside of people.
Like surgical pins, pacemakers.
You know, I've been going on the same assumption as our rude friend...
You know, the one I used the nose lock on?
- That the plane had landed somewhere for some reason
and most of the passengers and crew were somehow offloaded and then...
No, there couldn't have been a takeoff while we were sleeping.
You can fly that plane on automatic
but you need a human being to take one up or land.
So where are the passengers and crew then?
I don't know.
But I plan on finding out.
You wanna hand me that paper, please?
Well, the altitude is right, 37,000 feet.
We're on course.
What are you doing?
Figuring out our closest major airport.
Denver Center, this is American Pride Flight 29, do you read me? Over.
Denver Center, come in, please.
This is American Pride Flight 29, we have a problem.
- A big problem. - What's going on?
I'm not getting anything.
Anything at all.
Mayday, mayday. This is American Pride Flight 29,
requesting emergency aid. Come in, please.
UNICOM, this is American Pride Flight 29,
requesting immediate radio contact. Over.
Denver, come in.
Come in, please.
This is AP Flight 29, you answer me, damn it.
Easy, mate.
That dog won't bark either.
What are they doing down there, having nuclear war?
Look, easy. Tell me what you mean, "the dog won't bark. "
I mean Denver Control. That dog.
I mean FAA Emergency, that dog.
UNICOM, which gives advisories at small airports, that dog too.
This is a medium shortwave band.
People should be jumping all over this like frogs on a hot sidewalk,
but I'm not even picking up static.
And the VOR beacon out of Denver, that's not working either.
- What does that mean? It means we have no radio.
It means we have no Denver navigational beacon,
and my board here says everything is peachy keen.
Which is crap. It's gotta be.
Hey, kid, would you run back there, look out the left side of the plane.
Look behind us, tell me what you see.
My equipment says we're less than 50 miles south of Denver right now.
Well?
There's nothing out there,
nothing at all.
Denver's blacked out, isn't it?
Yeah.
Either that or it's gone.
All right, back to your seats. We need a little peace and quiet.
We are being quiet.
Come on, my young friends. Let's go sit in the back.
The captain has a lot of work to do.
What are you doing?
Using the military aircraft band.
Strategic Air Command is never off the air.
What's going on?
The captain and that British fellow are trying to raise an airport on the radio.
Um...
I suppose that we should introduce ourselves.
I'm Bob Jenkins, I'm a mystery writer.
I've written more than 40 novels.
None as strange as this.
Um, my name is Laurel Stevenson
and I'm a schoolteacher in the San Fernando Valley.
And this is the first vacation I've had in eight years.
What's the matter, Dinah?
My name's Dinah Bellman
and I'm on my way to have an eye operation in Boston.
Afterwards, I'll be able to see again.
Probably be able to see again.
The doctors say there's a 70 percent chance I'll get some vision
and a 40 percent chance I'll get all of it.
Albert Kaussner, I'm on my way to the Berklee School of Music.
I play violin.
I'm Bethany Simms.
I was gonna spend a couple of days with my aunt in Worcester, Mass.
But now...
And you, sir? What's your name?
How about you, what's your name?
I'm Don Gaffney.
And what do you do?
I'm a tool-and-die worker for Hughes Aircraft.
I'm on my way to Boston to visit my first granddaughter.
Well, okay, at least we've met.
That leaves us with the $64,000 question.
Where did everybody go? And why didn't we go with them?
Air Force Control, this is American Pride Flight 29, do you read me? Over.
That dog won't bark either.
We're all alone up here.
Completely,
totally
all alone.
Now, you listen to me, my friend.
We don't want a panic on our hands, do we?
You've got 10 people on this airplane and your job's the same as it ever was:
To get them down in one piece.
You don't have to tell me what my job is.
Well, I'm afraid I just did.
You look a damn sight better now.
What do you do for a living, Nick?
And don't tell me you're an accountant.
Uh, junior attaché, British Embassy, old man.
My aunt's hat.
Well, that's what it says on my papers.
And if it said anything else, I suppose it would be Her Majesty's Mechanic.
I fix things that need fixing.
Right now that means you.
Thank you, but I'm fixed.
Good enough, then.
What do you intend to do?
Can you navigate without these ground-beam thingies?
Can you avoid other aircraft?
I can navigate just fine with the onboard equipment.
As for other planes, this thing right over here,
that says there are no other planes.
Well, we don't have to worry about running into anybody then, do we?
So, what do we do now? On to Boston?
Logan? At dawn?
One of the busiest airports with no idea what's going on
in the country below us? No way.
No, we're heading to Bangor, Maine.
I think it's time to tell the passengers.
The few that are left anyway.
Would one of you gentlemen kindly tell me
what's happened to all the service personnel?
I've had a lovely nap,
but where did everybody go?
But it doesn't make any sense. Where did everybody go?
I don't know, but perhaps...
Ladies and gentlemen, this is the captain.
- Captain, my butt. - Hey, shut up.
As you know, we have an extremely odd situation
on our hands here.
We have no cockpit-to-ground communication.
And about five minutes ago, we should have been able to see
the lights of Denver clearly from the airplane.
We couldn't.
Now, all of that is bad news. The good news is this:
The plane is undamaged, we have plenty of fuel,
and I am qualified to fly this make and model.
The last thing I wanna pass on to you is that our destination
- will now be Bangor, Maine. - What?
Our in-flight navigation equipment is in five-by-five working order,
but I can't say the same for our navigational beams.
Under the circumstances,
Bangor International Airport will be our safest bet.
I have an important business meeting in Boston this morning at 9:00!
And I forbid you
to fly us into some whistle-stop Maine airport!
- Do you hear me? - Would you please be quiet?
You're scaring the little girl.
Scaring the little girl?
Lady, we're diverting to some tin-pot airport in the middle of nowhere,
and I've got better things to think about
than scaring the little girl!
Why don't you just sit down and shut up,
or I'm gonna pop you one?
I don't think you could do it alone, bud.
He won't have to.
I'll take a swing at you myself if you don't shut up.
I'm real scared now.
I'll help them if you don't stop it, mister. I really will.
Okay.
Okay, fine.
You're all against me.
That's fine.
It doesn't have to be this way, mister.
You should just relax and take it easy.
Anyone here know how to work this little oven up in the galley?
I didn't think so.
That man was just upset, you know?
He's better now.
We all look like monsters to him.
No, I'm sure we don't.
Now, what made you say that?
I hear things sometimes.
People's thoughts.
I always have.
But just now, for the first time,
I saw what that man was seeing.
It was dark and fuzzy, but I still saw.
Sweetie, that's just your imagination, that's all.
That's what my aunt used to say too.
But it's not.
Why don't you get some sleep? You'll feel a whole lot better.
No, I won't.
Besides, I was asleep and now I'm all slept out.
Do you see anything?
I didn't think so.
May I ask you something?
Did you happen to hear anything the little girl said earlier?
- No. - Well, she was telling Miss Stevenson
she didn't think she could go to sleep
because she had already been asleep.
I also had been asleep.
What about you, dear boy?
What about me what?
Were you sleeping? You were, weren't you?
- Well, yeah. - Yes.
We were all asleep. Everybody.
- Well, maybe. - Nonsense, "maybe. "
I'm a mystery writer, deduction is my bread and butter.
Don't you think if someone had been awake
when all those people were eliminated,
that that person would have screamed bloody murder
and awakened the rest of us?
- Well, I guess so. - Of course.
So I deduce that everyone was asleep,
including all those people that were subtracted,
along with the flight crew, of course, dear boy.
Could you call me Albert, please, Mr. Jenkins?
- That's my name. - Oh, I'm sorry. Yes, of course.
Yes, I'm upset, and when I'm upset, I tend to get a little patronizing.
Please, forgive me. It's just that I'm trying to figure this thing out.
Well, do you have any ideas?
Well, if it were just the plane, I could easily come up with a scenario.
What scenario?
Oh, well, let's say, for instance,
that some shadowy government organization
decided to conduct an experiment and we were the test subjects.
And the purpose of such an experiment,
given the circumstances, would be to document the effect
of serious emotional stress on a number of ordinary Americans.
And the scientist who designed the experiment
loads the oxygen system of this plane
with an odourless hypnotic gas.
After this is released into the air, everyone falls asleep,
with the obvious exception of the pilot,
who is breathing uncontaminated air through a mask.
Then the captain lands the plane at a secret airstrip,
in Nevada, let's say,
whereupon, with the exception of the nine randomly chosen test subjects,
all the sleeping passengers are carefully carried off the plane
and placed aboard another identical plane.
The captain then gets Flight 29 airborne again
and returns it to its original altitude and heading.
He activates the autopilot, he disables the radio systems.
And then as the effect of the gas begins to wear off,
the captain hears on his intercom
the voice of the little blind girl calling for her aunt,
and he knows that this will wake the others.
The experiment is about to begin.
Captain Engle is one of them?
Well, in this scenario he is.
If Captain Engle is one of the people who did this,
we're gonna have to capture him as soon as we land.
You, me, Mr. Gaffney and perhaps that British fellow.
But it doesn't hold up, you know?
- What? - The scenario I just gave you,
it doesn't hold up.
- But you just said... - What I said was,
if it were just this plane, I could give you a scenario.
But unfortunately,
it's not just this plane.
The city of Denver is probably still down there,
but all its lights were off if it was.
And it's not just Denver,
I can tell you that.
Omaha, Des Moines, St. Louis,
there isn't a trace of any of them down there either.
Now, what has happened
has not just happened on this plane.
And that's where deduction breaks down.
St. Louis Center, come in, please.
This is American Pride 29, heavy.
Repeat, American Pride Flight 29, heavy. Do you read me? Over.
Nothing anywhere.
Not on the ground or in the air.
It's like the entire country has suddenly ceased to exist.
I don't suppose you ever read science fiction, do you?
Well, I was crazy about it as a kid. You?
Yeah, until I was 18 or so.
I've been sitting here running all these old stories through my head.
You know, time warps, space warps, alien raiding parties.
I mean, we really don't know if there's anything left down there, do we?
Not with all this cloud cover.
No, we don't.
No, and it might hold all the way to Bangor.
With Air Traffic Control out of commission,
there's no way of knowing.
Suppose you just took us down for a little look-see?
No, too dangerous.
With no ATC and no other planes to talk to.
You can laugh at me if you want.
I'm not laughing, matey.
I'm far from laughing.
Well...
...suppose we have slipped...
...into another dimension,
like in a science fiction story.
How do we know what's down there?
I mean, this Earth could have the Rockies in upstate New York.
Well, we seem to have the sky pretty much to ourselves.
Up here, that's true. Down there...
...who knows?
And "who knows" is a very dicey situation for an airline pilot.
- So for now we just go on? - Right.
- And wait. - Right again.
Well, you're the skipper.
That's three in a row.
What do you see?
The sun's up, but that's about it.
What about the ground?
I can't see it, it's all clouds down there.
Perhaps it's just as well.
Maybe.
Feeling better?
A little.
I don't mean to pry but...
What? You can ask me what you want.
Why did you lie about why you were going to Boston?
How did you know I lied?
I could hear it in your voice.
I can hear lots of things.
Maybe because I'm blind.
I don't know. But I know you don't lie.
Otherwise, I wouldn't have heard the difference.
I'm going...
No, I was going to meet someone.
A man named Darren Crosby.
How did you come to know him?
Well, that's the embarrassing part. And that's why I lied.
I've never actually met him before.
We started corresponding through a personal ad in a magazine
and I liked him.
I mean, I liked what he wrote and what he looked like in his picture.
So I agreed to fly to Boston to meet him.
That's strange, isn't it?
To fly all the way across the country
to see someone you've never even met before.
Yeah.
But I just realised it didn't have anything to do with Mr. Crosby.
It was really about me.
I didn't wanna play it safe anymore.
I was trying to break out of the confines of my life
and have an adventure.
Now I guess I got more of an adventure than I bargained for.
You're very pretty, Laurel.
I'm sure you'll find what you're looking for.
Do you think we're gonna be all right?
I think so.
I hope so.
I'm kind of scared what might be under those clouds.
But then I was scared anyway about Boston.
My mother all at once decided how it would be a great idea
if I went to spend a couple of weeks with my Aunt Shawna.
I think the idea was for me to get off the plane
and then Shawna pulls a string on me.
What string?
Do not pass go, do not collect $200,
go directly to the nearest rehab and stay there until you've dried out.
Everything just seemed so weird before
that this just seems like more of the same.
This is really happening, isn't it? I mean, I'm not just imagining it, am I?
No, it's real enough, all right.
Do you need a rehab, Bethany?
I don't know.
I guess I might.
I used to just think it was party time, you know?
All the booze and drugs I could get, but now, I don't know.
But getting shipped off
just makes me feel like a pig in a slaughterhouse chute.
I'm sorry.
Yeah.
I'm sorry too, but I guess this is the wrong time to worry about it, huh?
Well...
...I think it's time to fish or cut bait.
Hello, ladies and gentlemen. This is Captain Engle speaking.
We are currently over the Atlantic Ocean
about 30 miles off the Maine coast.
I'll be commencing our initial descent into the Bangor area very soon.
I want you all to make sure your seat belts are snug and secure.
I'm beginning our descent now.
I want you all to be calm.
My board up here is green across
and all procedures on the flight deck remain routine.
Well, that's very comforting, that is.
You should have been a politician, mate.
Well, I doubt they're feeling very comfortable right now.
I know I'm not.
Thirty thousand feet, still descending.
I don't mind telling you, Brian, I'm scared stiff.
Part of me wants to grab you and make you take us back up again.
Well, it wouldn't do any good.
- We can't stay up here forever. - I realise that.
But I'm still afraid of what's under these clouds.
Or not under them.
Well, we'll find out together.
I figure we might as well all be together on this one.
Would you mind stopping that? It's driving me crazy.
Well, at least we'll be able to get some chow when we land.
- You know something, Dinah? - What?
I really don't wanna go down there.
I mean, I really don't.
Well, if it'll make you feel any better,
- you're not the only one. - I'm scared.
I mean,
very scared.
I think I'm gonna pass out.
- It's going to be all right. - I hope so.
This is just ordinary turbulence, folks.
Most of you have been through this before,
so just remain calm.
What's wrong? Is there something wrong?
- Are we gonna crash? - No, I don't think so, sweetie.
I hope not.
Is it gonna be all right? Is it really gonna be all right?
I hope so, honey, I hope so.
God help us all.
Look, maybe this wasn't such a good idea, Brian.
Maybe we should climb back up again and think about it, eh?
Not enough time and not enough fuel.
Hang on. Going in.
Bethany? Bethany?
Bethany, are you all right?
- Oh, God, what the hell was that? Bethany.
There's a drink trolley loose up front.
It probably rolled into the galley wall or something.
It's all right, Dinah.
Please, I don't wanna die.
- I just don't want to die. - Shh. It's okay.
You better quit it right now, you worm,
or I'm gonna take what's left of that magazine
and stuff it right down your throat.
Try it, you little jackass.
Three thousand feet?
- How low is this ceiling, Brian? - I don't know.
- Lower than I'd hoped, that's for sure. - That makes me feel a lot better.
I'll take us down to 500 feet,
if we haven't broken through the cloud cover,
I'll take us back up and we'll fly to Portland.
Maybe you should take us that way now.
No, the weather down there is almost always worse than the weather here.
This is starting to look like a bad decision, mate.
We haven't struck out yet.
But we are running out of room, aren't we? I mean, 2,000 feet.
Somewhere underneath this greyness,
the ground's rushing up to meet us, isn't it?
Yeah, it is, but we still got...
There we go. We're coming through.
It's all right. It's all right.
We have broken through the ceiling, ladies and gentlemen.
In a few minutes, you're gonna hear a thump from below.
That will be the landing gear lowering into place.
I am continuing our descent into the Bangor area.
- Wish me luck, Nick. - Oh, I do, matey, I do.
What do you see, Laurel? - We're over land.
I see a field and a forest and what looks like a pond.
It's there, Dinah.
It's all there.
I'm sorry, miss, but you're completely wrong.
I can see the airport. My God, what a beautiful sight.
Buckle up, we're coming in.
Bangor Tower, this is AP Flight 29, heavy.
I am declaring an emergency.
If you have runway traffic, get it out of the way. I am coming in.
- The runway lights are dead, Brian. - No time to worry about that now.
Routine landing.
Nothing to it.
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Bangor.
Yeah! Whoo!
Thank you for that welcome, my friend.
My deep appreciation stems from the fact
that it appears you're the only one who is going to extend one.
This place is utterly, totally deserted.
No, it can't be.
Unfortunately, I'm afraid it is.
So, what do we do now, Brian?
We get out of the plane
and we see what's what.
After you, squire.
Mm-hm. Okay. Yes.
What is it?
It's the pilot. It's the pilot that landed us safely.
Ladies and gentlemen, I assure you, it was a very routine landing.
Oh, shucks, man, it weren't nothing.
We made it down alive? That's great.
If I could just have your attention.
Now, I know you've all looked out the windows,
so you know as much as I do.
Uh...
Not only have the passengers and the crew on this flight disappeared,
but it appears the people on the ground have disappeared as well.
But logic suggests that since we survived
whatever it was...
...that others must have survived it as well.
False logic.
I think the best way of dealing with this is just to take things one step at a time.
And the first step is exiting the plane.
I bought a ticket to Boston and Boston is where I'd like to go.
Shut up.
We're gonna have to use the emergency slide
so I wanna review the procedures with you.
Now, listen carefully and then form a single-file line behind me.
Well, here we are at last.
You know, there's something wrong with the air here, Brian.
- It's... - What do you mean?
I don't know. Poisoned?
No, at least I don't think so. Just no odour, no smell.
What? Is there something wrong?
I mean, I'm not sure I really wanna know, but if there is...
Honey, honey, there's nothing wrong here.
But there is.
This place smells wrong.
Really badly wrong.
Honey, we have to investigate.
We don't have any choice. You understand that, don't you?
Why? Why do we have to? There's no one here.
Well, we really won't know that until we check, will we?
I know already. Listen.
There's nothing to smell and nothing to hear.
No birds singing, no motors revving, no nothing.
But...
But what?
Never mind.
Well, what now, captain?
You tell me.
Us.
I suspect this is more your territory than mine.
You realise I can turn you in for this, don't you?
You realise I can sue this entire airline for $30 million
and name you as primary respondent.
- Well, that's your privilege, Mr... - Toomy. Craig Toomy.
Mr. Toomy.
Mr. Toomy, are you aware of what has happened to us?
There are no excuses.
- Mr. Toomy? - Just terrible.
Mr. Toomy? - Stop wasting time!
Mr. Toomy?
This is terrible. Just terrible.
An A- and a B, a B, for God's sake.
What? You gonna dig ditches for the rest of your life?
- But, Daddy, I... - There are no excuses.
Look at this. That's a B, that stands for "bum. "
Now, what happens to lazy bums who lie down on the job, Craig?
The langoliers get them?
They do more than get them. They get them and they eat them.
They tear into those lazy little boys with their dry, hungry, chomping teeth.
No, Daddy, don't let them get me.
They will get you unless you get with the programme and stop wasting time.
They will eat you alive.
Alive and screaming.
Mr. Toomy? Mr. Toomy?
Stop wasting time, Craig.
Mr. Toomy, are you listening to me?
Of course I'm listening, and I know what happened here.
These stupid, lazy people.
- The langoliers got them. Pardon me?
Do you know how important my meeting
at the Prudential Center in Boston is?
Do you understand that the economic fate of nations
may hinge on this meeting?
A meeting from which I shall be absent.
That's very interesting, but really, I don't have the time...
Time. What the hell do you know about time?
Ask me about time. Ask me. Time is short, sir!
Now, what do you reckon the best way is inside the terminal, Brian?
Well, I guess that would be through the luggage conveyor.
All right, then.
Now, let's hike on over. Ladies and gentlemen, shall we?
Sure. Let's go.
All right.
Let's go. Mr. Toomy?
Let's keep together, please.
Why don't we get something to eat?
See the opening there?
See if there's a restaurant in here.
You don't have to worry so much, Dinah.
It's just that the situation is strange, therefore everything seems strange.
Including the sound your heels make hitting the concrete?
You're right.
- They sound... - Weak?
That's right. Weak.
Almost as if they don't have any strength.
Coast's clear.
It's really wrong here.
Watch your head going through here. That's it.
Yeah, just wait for me over here.
All right, then.
Let's try the telephones, shall we?
What's going on?
What, I scare you?
A little.
God, at least that's better. I didn't dare do it on the plane,
I thought I might blow something up.
Uh, excuse me, but I quit those, oh, 10 years ago.
No lectures, please. I've had enough to last me a lifetime.
No. No, no, no. I was gonna ask if I could have one.
Thank you. Thanks.
Uh, Albert. What...?
God, you have been away.
Here. Now I know why I quit them.
God. Albert, what time's your watch say?
- Quarter to 9. Yeah, so does mine.
But I don't trust it. It feels much later than that to me.
You know, it does. It feels like it's almost lunchtime.
- Isn't that nuts? - It's not nuts. It's just jet lag.
No, I disagree with you, young lady.
We travelled west to east, and any temporal dislocation
that west-to-east travellers feel works in the opposite direction.
They feel it's earlier than it really is.
I wanted to ask you about that exact thing on the plane.
When the captain told us that there must be other people here
you said, "False logic," but it seemed straight enough to me.
We were all asleep and we're here.
And if this happened at 4:07 Bangor time,
well, then almost everybody in town must have been asleep.
Uh, yes. Yes. So?
Where are they?
It's a washout. They're all dead.
No dial tone, no operator, nothing.
You can add the sound of no phones ringing
to that of no dogs barking, Brian.
So, what do we do now?
Go upstairs. That's where the restaurant must be.
You know, you got a one-track mind, mister.
In the first place, my name is Rudy Warwick, not mister.
- Sorry. - And second,
people think better when their stomachs are full. It's a law of nature.
I agree with Mr. Warwick. I think we could all use something to eat.
Yeah, why not? - Dinah.
I'm starting to feel like Robinson bloody Crusoe anyway.
You know something, don't you?
I might. But then, I might not.
But I do have a suggestion. Young lady, save your matches.
Well, I don't get what you mean.
There's gotta be a newsstand upstairs
with tons of matches and disposable lighters.
I just still say save your matches.
Wait a minute. Where's Mr. Toomy?
Who cares? Good riddance to bad rubbish.
I'm sorry, mate. I didn't see him go.
Toomy.
Craig Toomy, where are you?
Something's wrong.
There's no echo.
What do you mean?
That's impossible.
Hello?
Is anybody there?
Hello?
Is anybody there?
They're coming, son. The langoliers are coming.
No, no one is coming.
They're coming for you.
You've been bad.
You had an appointment in Boston
and you skipped it.
No, it wasn't my fault. I was kidnapped.
There are no excuses!
Lying down on the job is lying down on the job.
- I don't want my job. - What?
I don't want my job and I don't want my life.
Since I was 5 years old, you've been... You've been loading on the pressure.
Seeing if you could make me explode.
Well, I am going to explode, Father, and I don't give a damn.
You know what I did? I bought $43 million worth of bonds
I knew were total garbage.
- You did what? - I pasted a target on my own head.
I want out. I want out!
Get ahold of yourself, for God's sake.
Now...
...are you ready to get with the programme?
Why can't you love me and leave me alone?
Love is not part of the big picture.
Now, are you gonna look at the big picture
or do I have to let them have you?
No. They don't even exist.
- No, no, no. They exist. - No.
They were here and they'll be back.
They'll be back for you, you lazy sack of dirt.
What can I do? What can I do?
"What can I do? What can I do?"
You do whatever you have to do, and you get to Boston.
Because if you don't, Craiggy-weggy,
they are gonna chew the eyes right out of your head.
Daddy, no. Make them go away.
Make them go away, please.
Just make them go away, make them go away.
Okay?
Toomy?
Craig Toomy?
Okay, let's go. - Wait.
What? - Shh.
There.
There, I feel the light.
The glass is wrong too.
- Dinah... - Shh!
I hear something.
There's nothing out there.
Dinah, it's your imagination, that's all.
Dinah, tell us what you hear.
I don't know.
It's very faint.
I heard it when we got off the airplane
and then I decided it was just my imagination.
Now I can hear it even through the glass.
It sounds
a little like Rice Krispies after you pour in the milk.
You hear anything?
Not a bloody thing. Mind you, she is blind.
I mean, she's used to making her ears do double duty.
I think it's hysteria.
"Do you hear anything?
Not a bloody thing.
Mind you, she's blind.
She's used to making her ears do double duty.
I think it's hysteria. "
Hm. - Dinah, what are you talking about?
I was talking to Nick.
And she heard us. From over there by the window.
You've got great ears, hon.
I hear what I hear.
And I hear something out there. In that direction.
And it's awful.
A really terrible, scary sound.
If you could just tell us what it was, little miss, it would really help.
I don't know.
But I know it's closer than it was.
We have to get out of here, and soon.
Because something's coming.
The something making that horrible cereal noise.
Dinah, the plane we came in on is almost out of fuel.
Then you have to put some more in it! It's coming, don't you understand?
It's coming! And if we haven't gone by the time it gets here,
we're all going to die.
I don't wanna hurt anyone.
Don't forget, Craiggy-weggy, the langoliers were here.
And they will be back.
You'd better be gone when they get here,
or you know what will happen.
Oh, I know what will happen.
They'll eat me.
They'll eat me all up.
Well, look, this is an airport.
There must be other planes with fuel in them.
- If we find one, can you fly it? - Yes.
There's just one little problem.
Where exactly should we go?
Away. Away from that sound.
Is it closer now than when you first heard it, Dinah?
I don't know. I think it's still far, but I can't be sure.
Then I think we should do what Mr. Warwick has suggested.
Let's find the restaurant, have a bite to eat,
and then we can figure out what's gonna happen next.
Who elected him leader of the group?
We'd better go along. I think he really knows his stuff.
- What kind of stuff? - I don't know exactly, but...
Well, I think it's worth finding out.
- Well, come on. Right.
I'm starving.
Let's see what they've got.
See, told you I didn't need to save my matches.
You were right.
- But let's try one of these, okay? - Sure, but why?
Well, that's what we're going to find out.
Hmm.
Son of a bee. Looks like we've discovered yet another problem.
Can I borrow your book of matches?
Wait a minute, matey. Exactly what is it you do know?
Only that this situation has even wider implications than we thought.
What's happening, folks?
I'll be damned if I know, but I don't like it much.
Huh.
- Even that's more than I expected. - All right. Tell us about it.
I know you...
It's spoiled.
- Damn, I hate that. - Spoiled?
No. No, I doubt that.
Well, you can tell from the clocks that the power in the cold case
must have gone out less than five hours ago.
You don't think it's spoiled, you try it.
It's not spoiled. It's just tasteless. Like chewing paper.
But I can understand why you might have thought that it was spoiled.
It was spoiled.
Try your beer, see how that is.
- I don't want it anymore. Here, give it to me.
I've drunk them warm before, don't cross my eyes none.
Mm. Mm!
Damn. Flat. Flat and tastes just like an old tyre.
Oh, good, that's good. Flat, that's something we can see.
Can you get some more beers and some soft drinks
from the cold case over there?
You can't dilly-dally any longer, Craiggy-weggy.
You have to get to Boston and you have to do it now.
I don't wanna shoot you, but I will if I have to.
Yes, I will.
You're out there, aren't you?
You ate up all the useless, lazy people and now you're coming back for me.
But I'll be gone by the time you get here.
I'm going to Boston.
So we're all agreed. The beer is flat.
- But why? - Well, I have an idea.
But before I say anything else, I'd like you all
to look around this place very carefully
and see if you can tell me what's different
about in here than on the plane.
The rings. The wallets. The purses. The surgical pins.
- None of that stuff is here. - Correct.
That's 100 percent correct.
As you say, there's none of that stuff here.
But when we woke up it was on the plane. Why isn't it here?
Maybe nobody was here when it happened.
No, that's nonsense.
An air terminal is like a police station or a fire station.
There's people there regardless.
- Watch out, I hear someone. Aah!
I don't wanna shoot her, but I will if I have to. Now take me to Boston.
- What's happening? - You hear me? Take me to Boston.
You're choking me. Stop!
What is he doing? What's going on?
- Steady on, old mate. - Stop moving around.
You're gonna make me do something I don't wanna. Stop moving.
Do as he says, Bethany.
I don't wanna shoot her, but I will if I have to.
Ow!
- No, Albert. No.
I think I've been shot.
Albert. It's all right, Albert.
Albert? Albert?
You all right, kid? You all right?
How bad am I hit? Were you able to stop the bleeding?
Oh, I think you'll live, old son.
Here, souvenir for you. Found it on the floor.
It must have hit you square in the chest and bounced off.
I was thinking of the matches. I sort of thought it wouldn't fire at all.
That was very brave, Albert. And very risky.
God, what if I'd been wrong?
You almost were.
A little more pop and Albert here would have had a bullet in his lung.
You okay?
All right. So here's what we do...
I thought it was really brave.
Would you pass me that rope? - I mean, incredible.
It wasn't much.
I don't want him moving at all.
All right.
Hold his hands for me.
Say,
I didn't kill that guy, did I? I hit him pretty hard.
He's out like a light, but he's still alive.
His pulse is strong and regular, he'll live.
He'll just wake up with a bad headache.
In the meantime, I think it might be wise to take a few precautions,
- don't you? Aah!
- Do you have to be so rough? - Yes.
If you want him safely secured. You do want him safely secured, don't you?
All right.
Just like one of Father John's Christmas turkeys, neatly trussed.
Now, where were we before we were so rudely interrupted?
Let me up. Let me up. Let me up right now.
Shut up. Aah!
- Stop it. - Hey.
What did you have to do that for?
Now, listen to me. You need waking up, fellows and girls,
and I haven't got the time to do this gently.
Dinah says something's coming towards us,
rather nasty, at a rate of knots, and I for one believe her.
Now, having a knowledge of what it is may not save our lives,
but I'm bloody sure that a lack of it's gonna put an end to us, and soon.
Anybody disagree?
Jolly good.
Mr. Jenkins, pray continue.
I'm sorry, but I write about these things.
I just haven't taken part in them. Until now, that is.
I think you're doing great, Mr. Jenkins, and I like listening to you too.
It makes me feel better.
Oh, well, thank you.
Thank you. That's very nice of you to say that, Dinah.
I think I found a fallacy in our thinking,
and it is this:
We all assumed as we began to grasp the dimensions of this event
that something had happened to the rest of the world.
But the evidence doesn't bear that assumption out.
What has happened
has happened to us,
and us alone.
I am convinced that the world as we know it
is ticking along as it always has.
But it's we,
the 10 survivors of Flight 29, who are lost.
Please tell us what you know, Mr. Jenkins.
I can't help but feeling that we're running out of time and fast.
Yes, of course.
There's no mess in here, but there's a mess on the plane.
There's no electricity in here, but there's electricity on the plane.
Neither of these are conclusive, of course,
but then there's the matches.
Bethany had her matches on the plane, they work fine.
The matches in here, they just fizzle. The carbonated drinks are flat.
The food is tasteless, the air is odourless,
and sound fails to reverberate.
Then we have a madman, he fires a gun,
and the bullet travels mere inches and it has no force.
- Then, of course, there's the weather. - What about it?
Well, there's a strong wind blowing out there in heavy gusts,
and yet there's a low cloud cover that doesn't move at all.
It's frozen in place.
I think the weather patterns are stopping
or they're running down like an old pocket watch.
Which brings me right to the very hub of the matter.
I said not 15 minutes ago that I felt it was lunchtime.
Well, now I feel it's a lot later than that.
I feel it's 3:00, 4:00 in the afternoon.
And I have a terrible feeling that we're gonna see it getting dark outside
before our watches tell us it's a quarter to 10 in the morning.