Age of Men Read online

but never checked out. According to the front desk clerk, Mr Smith was last seen in the dining hall on June 5th, having dinner with one of the other guests, but he was never seen returning to his room. When housekeeping entered his room on the morning of June 6th, they found a message on the bathroom mirror written in what seemed to be blood; “I was here. I used to exist.”

  A missing persons report was filed at the Haysville Police, but it would be the first in a string of bizarre disappearances at the hotel, but with no signs of foul play, the case became known as a cold case and speculation suggested that Mr Smith snuck out during the night in a bid to avoid paying for his room.

  On the evening of August 9th, 1980, Jeremy Clarkson called down to the front desk to enquire whether he was in possession of the only key card to the room that he checked into the night before. He claimed that he awoke during the night to find a woman with long white hair and a face as black as night standing at the foot of his bed, but when he switched on the bedside lamp, the woman was gone.

  The front desk clerk assured Mr Clarkson that he had the only key card, but offered to have the room searched by security. Mr Clarkson declined the offer, but called the front desk again later that night at 23:05 sounding terrified.

  “Front desk.” The clerk answered.

  “She’s back.” Mr Clarkson whispered.

  “I’m sorry?” The clerk asked confused.

  “Room 142.” Mr Clarkson uttered, “The woman at the foot of my bed… she’s back. I woke up and saw her standing there in the dark, but this time when I switched on the light she was still there.”

  “Is she still there now, sir?”

  “Yes.”

  “What is she doing?”

  “She’s just standing there.” Mr Clarkson whispered, “Standing in the corner of the room with her back to me… oh God…”

  “What?”

  “She’s walking towards the bed… backwards.”

  The call was disconnected and that was the last anyone ever heard from Jeremy Clarkson. The front desk clerk sent two security guards up to room 142, but it was unoccupied and the bed was made – there was no trace of Jeremy Clarkson or the woman he reportedly saw. Despite finding no Jeremy Clarkson in the check-in register, hotel management filed a missing person’s report. The Haysville police completed their investigation, but with no record of Jeremy Clarkson ever checking in, they simply closed their file and shipped it off to the archives.

  Samantha loved reading and read every chance she got when she wasn’t working or trying to spend time with her rebellious boy. When she looked down at her wristwatch she saw that she had been reading for about thirty minutes. She glanced down at the empty tray table in front of her and then over at Alex who had fallen asleep at some point during the flight with the game console lying on his lap; paused on the main menu. Samantha took the device, saved his game and switched it off.

  I wonder what happened to my coffee? Samantha wondered. She didn’t recall that the flight attendant returned with their drinks. Maybe she forgot? Samantha glanced around the plane and saw that most of the passengers were asleep. Some were still reading while others chatted in hushed voices to each other.

  She glanced down the isle to the kitchenette at the back of the plane, but couldn’t see any flight attendants, and so she pressed the call button.

  2

  The two pilots in the cockpit were chatting all the way throughout the flight; Keith was the chatty one while William listened and gave the occasional response. Keith was one of those overly excited people who were amazed by the smallest of things while William was more laid back and mature for his age, and though much younger than Keith, he had the same flying experience.

  “I can’t wait to land.” Keith said.

  He‘d been a pilot for almost twenty years and was looking forward to his retirement next month. He and his wife stayed in Sydney with their two dogs, Chop and Cop. They couldn’t have children so opted for dogs. They tried to get pregnant for years and then after seeing fertility specialists finally gave up on the hopes of ever having children of their own.

  “I have a surprise for my wife.” Keith said, “Tomorrow is our tenth D- Day.”

  “D- day?” William asked.

  “Divorce day.” Keith elaborated, “Ten years ago we decided to call a quits – you know because of the fertility issue, but our priest helped us get through our tough times. We decided to celebrate that day as the day our marriage grew stronger. We’ve been celebrating it like an anniversary ever since.”

  Keith chuckled at his little joke and thought of his loving wife waiting up for him at home like she always did. He couldn’t wait to see her, even though he saw her two days earlier.

  “I bought her a rose pendulum.” Keith said, “She has this thing for roses. Not real roses mind you, but anything that has a rose on it. She is allergic to roses and I think that is why she loves them so much – Some people love what they can’t have.”

  William seemed distracted and was barely listening as he stared out through the window at the darkness out ahead. The darkness concerned him a bit, but he tried to stay calm as one of the first things you’re taught as a pilot is to always stay calm – even if you are flying right into hell.

  “We should see the airport by now.” William said concerned.

  Keith glanced out and realized that William was right. They should’ve spotted the airport lights in the distance by now, but there was nothing except darkness outside. Where were the inviting runway lights of the airport? Did they steer off course without even realizing it? Was that even a possibility with the technology of today?

  “That’s odd.” Keith said, “Do you think we steered off course?”

  Keith checked the CDI Course Deviation Indicator, but everything seemed normal and they were on course – something that raised even more concern and questions.

  “Radio Ground Control.” Keith said to William.

  William switched on the radio and broadcast his message.

  “Control, this is Australian Airways Flight 19.” William said, “Please respond.”

  They both listened with anticipation for any sort of response on their headsets, but there was nothing – only static. Hearing static on a radio while trying to make contact with the Ground Control was something concerning. William shook his head and tried again.

  “Control, this is Australian Airways Flight 19.” William said, “Please respond.”

  Still no response. Keith was getting worried. Maybe the airport had a power failure? But they should have backup generators for emergencies. Why were they unable to make contact with control?

  “I spoke to them less than ten minutes ago.” William assured Keith, “They cleared us for landing.”

  “I know.” Keith said, “I was here, remember?”

  “What do you think is going on?” William asked concerned, “Do you think it is terrorists?”

  “Anything is possible.” Keith said, “It could be terrorists, it could be nothing. We won’t know for sure.”

  The two of them looked out at the darkness ahead of them. They were on course according to their navigation and there was nothing wrong with the auto-pilot. It was a frightening situation. Keith looked down at their fuel gauge – they were close to empty. Upon hearing the Flight Attendant punch in the code for the cockpit door, Keith glanced over his shoulder just as she entered and then turned back to the control panel.

  “We don’t have enough fuel to reroute.” Keith said.

  “Is something wrong?” The flight attendant asked concerned.

  Keith and William looked back at the stewardess. She could see they were in dire trouble from their facial expressions; she didn’t need any words to tell her that they were in serious trouble.

  “What do you suggest?” William asked Keith.

  “Water landing, perhaps?” Keith asked.

  The flight attendant gasped, “What’s happening?”

  Keith looked over his shoulder at the flight at
tendant and tried to stay as calm as possible. If he seemed calm she would stay calm – that was also one of the first things a pilot it taught; keep everyone on the plane calm in case of emergencies.

  “Prepare the passengers for a water landing.” Keith instructed.

  3

  Samantha spotted a flight attendant hastily coming out of the cockpit and calling her colleagues to a small meeting. She desperately wanted to know what was going on, but she hated prying people and never wanted to become that person. Though she couldn’t hear what was happening, she could see distress on their faces. She rocked Alex until he woke up. He was grouchy when he woke up.

  “What?” Alex moaned and rubbed his eyes.

  Alex could see his mother’s attention was transfixed on something at the front of the plane and when he glanced in the same direction he noticed the group of flight attendants talking amongst each other.

  “Something is happening.” Samantha whispered.

  “When are we landing?” Alex asked and yawned.

  “I think we were supposed to have landed already.” Samantha said, “Something is wrong.”

  “Are we going to crash?” Alex gasped.

  Samantha hushed him and looked at him. Her boy seemed like a frightened little boy – like the boy he was years ago before the teenage years. She took his hand and squeezed it. She was thinking the same thing, but had to stay strong and focused for his sake.

  “We’ll be alright.” Samantha hushed him.

  Samantha stared back at the group of flight attendants. They all seemed pale in their faces. The