To kill time, she thought of reasonable explanations. Flight overbooked, maybe. A crew mix-up. Passenger profiling for someone dangerous. A simple mistake blown out of proportion, most likely. Her mind clung to logic when fear offered too many darker options. Alyssa straightened in her seat, determined not to overreact.
Alyssa’s mind slipped back to earlier that day, to the moment her original flight was canceled. No weather alert. No clear reason. Just a brief message and a generic apology. At the time, it felt inconvenient. Now, it felt deliberate, like the first move in something she hadn’t noticed unfolding.