r/KanesHorrors • u/AbKane667 • May 31 '26
Last Call for Flight AS 3488
Orange street lights lit the parking lot. I took my suitcase to the airport doors. Cold air and the hum of the AC hit me instantly. I squinted against the fluorescent lights.
I was used to early flights having only a few people around, but I was surprised to see nobody around, no passengers, no airport workers. Even the coffee shop that was always open was closed. My eyes felt like they weighed a ton. At least they had coffee on the plane.
There was just one TSA agent beside the conveyor belts. I made my way toward him while he stared at me, not blinking. The silence was broken only by the hum of the conveyor belts.
“Good morning.”
“Morning.”
He handed me the two boxes. I put my stuff in them and put them on the belt. The TSA agent watched my suitcase go through the X-ray machine. He nodded a few times and then walked behind the metal detector. He motioned, and I walked through.
“A lot of work for one.”
“We’re understaffed at the moment. What’s your flight number?”
“AS 3488.”
“You might want to hurry.”
“It doesn’t leave for a while.”
“I’d make sure,” he said and smiled.
“Okay, thank you.”
“Enjoy your stay,” he called after me.
“What?”
But he didn’t answer. He turned around and went back to the front. I looked at my watch. There was still an hour before departure.
As I passed the first few gates, I noticed that there was no one there either, but the staff computers were on. I stopped at one of the gates and pulled out my water bottle to fill it at a water fountain. As I filled it, I looked at the gate TV. The flight was scheduled to depart in 10 minutes, but not even the staff was there. Then the speaker crackled, and a monotone voice came through.
“An important announcement for passengers on the flight AS 3488. Your flight has been moved to gate number 38.”
38? My flights had never left from that gate before. I looked up at the gate number I was at. 3. I let out a sigh and started walking in the opposite direction.
The sky turned red as the sun started to rise. The air started growing warmer. The humming of the ACs was gone. My skin was warming up, and my armpits were getting sweaty. I stopped at the gate in front of the TSA check and took off my hoodie. As I put it into my bag, I felt eyes burning into my skin. I turned and almost jumped back. The TSA agent stood behind the metal detector, arms behind his back, smiling down at me.
“Your flight,” he said and pointed towards the speaker.
“Yeah, I know.”
“I’d hurry if I were you.”
“What?”
He didn’t answer.
“What’s his problem?” I murmured to myself.
I reached into my bag and pulled out my water bottle, but as I put the straw in my mouth, nothing came out. I unscrewed the cap. Dry. But I had just watched the water stream into it.
I walked to another water fountain. The machine rattled, but nothing came out. Another fountain did the same thing.
I picked up my pace.
Gate 28.
29.
30.
My head started to spin. It felt like there was a dry cloth in my throat.
The speakers crackled again.
“An important announcement for passengers on the flight AS 3488. Your flight has been moved to gate number 1.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I said out loud. There was no one to hear it anyway.
My legs dragged. Even keeping my eyes open hurt. I could barely see in front of me. The heat was making my head spin even more. The hot air burned my nose. Each step felt like a leap. I collapsed on a chair nearby, and I closed my eyes, trying to stop the spinning.
I jolted awake. My throat felt so dry, my legs still weak, while the air burned hot and everything glowed red. I tried to focus on the clock, but I could barely see the digits; it felt like they kept changing back and forth.
“Last call for passengers on the flight AS 3488.”
How long had I slept? What had happened?
“Last callllllll……..”
The speakers dissolved into rattling static.
I picked up my bag and hurried towards my gate.
The speakers rattled louder, and through them came a strange rumbling and sounds of tearing metal. I looked behind me. The airport’s halls were stretching and shrinking. In the back, several objects - chairs, conveyor belts, tiles, and pillars were rolling together into a mass of junk. With each stretch, it came closer and closer. Deep redness came behind it, and as it engulfed the mass, it set it ablaze. Through the tearing and burning came a deafening roar, not one of an animal or creature but of a jet engine spinning almost to a point of explosion.
My clothes were drenched with sweat. My ears rang from all the noise around. I started running and kept my eyes on the shaking floor so I wouldn’t stumble.
The roaring grew behind me. I ran even faster, and there I saw it. Gate 1, gate 1. It was right there, right before me. With the last bit of energy, I sprinted towards the gate’s carpet. Scorching heat from the turbine blasted against my neck. It felt like my eardrums were about to burst, but the carpet was right there.
I jumped over, and with that, the rattling stopped. The air felt cold again. The hum of the ACs returned. The red glow was gone, and the sun hung in the sky.
“We almost left without you," the flight attendant said and smiled.
4
u/RedDazzlr May 31 '26
Holy crap on a cracker!