PANEL 1

Morning. Inside a plane cabin. Economy class. The walls are a dusty teal color. The carpet and seats are a more merciful shade of blue.

In a row of three seats, CAT sits in the last space, next to the window. Her backpack leans against the wall.

CAT is already petrified with fear, staring ahead with dinner plate eyes. Her fingers clutch the ends of the armrests.

ATTENDANT: Your seat’s right over there, sir. Enjoy your flight!

CILLIAN: (off-screen) Thanks a million, ma’am!

PANEL 2

CILLIAN FOY claims the seat on the aisle side. A couple of years older than CAT, he sports some middle-age spread. His dark auburn hair is short on the sides but full on top. He has bright, friendly blue eyes to match his genuine smile. His face is squarish, with a rounded chin and a rounded nose.

He’s wearing a dark grey suit and a blue tie. His blazer is unbuttoned, showing his crisp, white shirt. Completing the ensemble is a silver briefcase. The perfect picture of an office worker.

CILLIAN: Long trip ahead! Better get comfy now!

CAT’s eyes slide toward him. She smiles, but the expression is too wide, brimming with nervousness. (Her speech bubble and text are warped to match her terror.)

CAT: Yep, comfy in our big seats that are firmly bolted to the floor!

PANEL 3

CILLIAN is sitting now. He appears relaxed but sympathetic as he speaks.

CILLIAN: Nervous flyer, I take it?

CAT looks heavenward, pupils dilated. Her left hand is in view; it clutches the armrest. (Her speech bubble is slightly wavy, but the text is legible now.)

CAT: No, no, no, I’m only shivering for joy at the prospect of being a mile or so above ground, that’s all.

CILLIAN: Ah, we’ll be fine! Just take a long nap and before you know it, we’ll be over Ireland!

CAT: Neeeee.

PANEL 4

A Celtic border frames the words “Half an hour later…”

PANEL 5

Behind the panel, an utter chaos of letters. The sound effect of a plane taking off.

SFX: VVVWWWUUUURRRR…

In their seats, CILLIAN and CAT sport opposite expressions. CILLIAN has his eyes closed, content with the action taking place around him. CAT tries to shrink into her seat. Her irises are ragged circles of terror.

CAT: (thinking) Remember… “My life begins now.”

PANEL 6

Behind the panel, the sound effects take over the white space. It’s nothing but the letter R repeated over and over, stretched and tilted to ridiculous proportions, losing meaning. It might as well not be the letter R, but formless sound.

CAT is crunched down. The plane vibrates as it takes off, making a juddering mess of the inks.

Her thoughts are repeated over in connected thought bubbles.

CAT: (thinking) My life begins now my life begins now my life begins now my life begins now my life begins now my life begins now my life begins now my life begins now

PANEL 7

Exterior shot of the Virginia Beach coast. The sky is a gradient of blues, tinged with lavender toward the top. Below, to the left is sprawling suburbia, a string of sand, and white waves; to the right is the endless, glittering ocean.

The airbus flies above it all. It’s an emerald green with a white underside.

CAT: (off-screen, thinking) My life…

CAT: (off-screen, thinking) … begins…

CAT: (off-screen, thinking) Whew!

PANEL 8

Back inside the plane cabin. CILLIAN and CAT both have their seat buckles unfastened. CILLIAN looks over at CAT, somewhat amused. CAT is leaning over an armrest as she stares out the window.

CILLIAN: You won’t be looking at anything but ocean for the next eight or so hours!

CAT: I know.

PANEL 9

Outside. Closeup of a porthole. CAT stares out of it and downward. Shreds of clouds fly by.

CAT: But I like to think that if I keep staring at the wing, the plane won’t go down.

PANEL 10

A row of dark portholes on the port side. Part of the wing is visible in the panel, but clouds obscure it. Below, the ocean.

CILLIAN: (off-screen) I’ve heard of stranger superstitions.

CILLIAN: (off-screen) No harm in it, I think.

PANEL 11

Close up of the wing. Hidden by a shield of cloud, three claws dig into the metal.

SFX: SHHHKREE