Mike gathered the last of his belongings scattered around the hotel room and placed them into his backpack. On a whim he grabbed the complimentary tea bags from counter beside the single cup coffee pot. He stepped into the bathroom and picked up his tooth brush, "I almost forgot this," he said. The sound of his voice echoed on the white tiles of the bathroom. He picked up the extra shampoo, and soap off of the sink and threw them in the backpack as well. His personal belongings had already been shipped to the 'Stan that he was headed to. 

Glancing into the mirror as he walked out the door his perfectly shaved head and face glistened in the mirror. The tough set of his jaw gave off the perception that he was not someone to be trifled with. As he walked out of his room his movements were a bit stiff, he had woken that morning after having another flashback of being shot down. Some memories are too hard to get over and sadly only get clearer instead of fading in time. His usual routine after the nightmares was to go running. Unfortunately this morning he had tweaked his knee on the treadmill in the hotel's gym.

Mike boarded the plane headed for Europe, he sat near the back of the plane beside the emergency exit. It was an old habit to sit near the back where he could keep an eye on things, and being close to the door always gave him a small amount of comfort. After buckling himself in someone sat down beside him but he paid her no attention. He pulled the book Robinson Crusoe out of his pocket. The well worn pages opened easily and enveloped his attention like an old friend. 

The sudden turbulence shook Mike from his book. He put it back into the pocket of his cargo shorts and then held onto the arm rests. The plane shook violently as it descended. The quick loss of altitude caused a pressure in the back of Mike's skull, he forced himself to yawn and pop his ears to clear his head. The voices slowly raised into a loud, frightening crescendo as the plane splintered apart. Years of training kicked in and he instinctively tucked his head forward, he reach to the woman beside him and pulled her head down gently as well. Just as they ducked a chair from first class slammed into the back of plane. 

Mike woke still buckled into his seat, he couldn't remember the impact itself, he forced himself to stand his vision was slightly blurry and slowly came into focus. Stepping out into the aisle, he began hollering for survivors and helping them out of the aft fuselage.