124: Too Much, Too Little; Just Enough. -Ben-

"Ben . . . what do we do?", Crystal could barely speak.

"Shit. Shit. Shit.", Nick was pacing up and down the aisles while the passengers whimpered loudly.

"Ben, just let me bust in and I'll show him exactly how I feel about what he just did." Carl growled, his eyes on the loudspeaker.

I couldn't think. I just kept running the situation over and over in my head, trying to see what I could have done differently to keep those innocent people from dieing. Instead, I kept rehearing that evil man’s voice and the sudden claps as Bob and Jim's lives were taken right out from underneath them. Too many noises filled my thought. People were crying, my own team was unsure of where to go next. Thoughts in my head betrayed me by assaulting me non-stop with; “What-ifs?” and, “How could yous?” If only I'd stopped Carl from boasting. If we'd just taken a different flight. If only I'd never found that book.

"Hey."

At the sound of that voice my mind cleared. I turned to look and found a kind looking, middle-aged man smiling at me. A young girl lay in his lap contently, sleeping as though the horrors around us weren't happening.

"My name is Gilfred Odephius Doorstop, and you seem to be the only person who can get us out of this mess."

"I just killed two people. I believe your faith may just be a little mistaken. You should probably start praying now."

The man chuckled as if enjoying a joke that only he understood, "I'm not mistaken, you're just distracted. So many people around you needing your help, and all you can think of is your mistakes."

I could feel the anger welling up, "Thank you for revealing my shortcomings."

"Shortcomings? No, no, knowing your mistakes is important. Letting them control you is not."

"This isn't helping at all and I know that's all you're trying to do, but you're rooting for the wrong team."

"Ben . . . you didn't kill those men. That evil bastard in the cockpit did. There was nothing you could do, they were going to die either way. Save these people, I know you can do it."

The world suddenly flooded back, the voices, the crying and my thoughts. I forced the thoughts of failure aside and looked at Nick.

"Nick, I need your magic."

"Why?"

"We're going to crash the plane."