~~~ Prologue ~~~
I had graduated college and had accepted a position at the engineering firm where I'd completed my internship over the course of the previous year.
To celebrate, I had scheduled a safari trip to Africa. I love traveling and taking pictures and it had always been a dream of mine to photograph elephants, giraffes, and other wild animals in their natural habitat.
When my younger sister - who had just finished her freshman year of college - learned of my plans, she begged me to tag along. How could I tell her 'no'? She loved my hobby almost as much as I did. Sharing this opportunity with her would make it even more fun.
~~~
It had been an amazing two weeks. Our guides were terrific and we'd gotten some spectacular photos that I couldn't wait to get home to share with our family and friends.
My sister and I boarded our flight and sat towards the back. At some point in my life - I had heard that the back of the plane was safer during a crash - so that's where I'd always sat. It seemed like fewer people chose those seats - so it was usually less crowded as well. Also - with everyone facing forward - most of the noise should be projected in that direction. Although it may have just been my mind playing tricks on me, it always seemed like it was quieter in the rear of the plane.
My sister and I were exhausted. She had laid her head on my shoulder and fallen asleep. I looked out of the window for a bit but then laid my cheek against the top of her head and nodded off as well.
About halfway through the flight, there was some kind of excitement at the front of the plane, but it seemed to subside fairly quickly and I closed my eyes again and went back to sleep.
It wasn't until we had landed and were taxiing to the terminal that we learned that some woman had died. The pilot informed us that we would all need to stay in our seats until the medical team arrived to assess the situation.
Sis and I gathered our things but sat, waiting.
As the medical team came in, I heard a gasp from the woman sitting on the aisle next to my sister. I followed her eyes to the front of the plane and discovered that all of the medics were clothed head-to-toe in hazmat suits.
The medics lifted a body onto a narrow gurney and took the person from the plane. The captain told us that it would be a few minutes, yet, and thanked us for our patience.
Several minutes went by. Another white-suited person came in and talked with the head stewardess. She knocked on the cabin door and the pilot stepped out. The three of them talked for a bit and then the medical person left again.
The pilot came back on the intercom, told us that the stewardess would be dismissing us by rows and asked us to remain seated until she got to us. He warned us that there were towels on the floor at the front and that we should be careful to avoid tripping on those as we made our way out of the plane. He then said that we were deboarding to a special terminal and warned us that we would have to be released by the medical team before we would be allowed to leave the airport.
Upon hearing that announcement, several passengers began loudly voicing their displeasure. The stewardess attempted to calm everyone and then stuck her head into the pilot's cabin. The pilot announced that there was a customer relations team available to handle questions and a security team to deal with anybody who had problems with how things were being managed. The outbursts quieted some, after that, but there was still a lot of murmuring going on.
Mom and dad were working - so I had just planned to grab a taxi or something - so there was really nobody waiting on us. That being said, I could see how some people might be upset with what we were being told.
The stewardess began working her way up the aisle, helping people collect their things, guiding them around the towels, and seeing them off of the plane. The way each of them kept looking out of the exit, I could tell that the medical team was processing the passengers as soon as they disembarked.
When my sister and I made our way down the aisle, I (like every person before me) looked at the towels - not because I thought I might trip over them - but to see why they were needed. The rags (which had originally been white) showed stains that were red, yellow, brown, and black. I really wasn't sure what I was seeing but then it was finally our turn to step to the exit.
When we rounded the corner and looked out of the door, I was stunned. Every person who was not a passenger was wearing a hazmat suit. We were being unloaded into a large room. Passengers were clustered into small groups that I assumed were those with whom they had been traveling. Others stood by themselves - or mingled with other singles nearby.
A medical staffer greeted me and my sister and led us to an empty space. She took out a clipboard and began taking our information. She asked our names, our ages, our health status, where we had been in Africa, and when we had arrived there. She asked a bit about our medical history and asked if we had noticed any changes in our health since boarding the plane. Once she had finished collecting all of our information, she told us to stay where we were, and she headed over to some person who appeared to be processing all of the clipboards.
Once everyone had deboarded - including the pilots and the stewardesses - and we had all been interviewed, we were told that we should be patient but that we would be released as soon as possible.
After 15 minutes of standing around, I sat down. I squeezed my sister's knee and pulled her onto my lap. I wrapped my arms around her.
"What do you think is happening?" she asked.
"I'm just going to guess but I would say we are in the middle of some kind of Ebola outbreak or something."
"What?!"
I shushed her and said, "Those towels looked bad and every person who wasn't already on that plane is acting like we're in a life and death situation. I think the person who died might have had some virus or disease and these folks are trying to wrap their brains around it before they can figure out what to do with us. We could be here for a while."
"Overnight?"
"Honestly?" I said. "Probably longer. Probably until people start dying - and then they won't release us until nobody else is dying."
"Shit!" she whispered.
I nodded and said, "I love you."
"Stop that," she ordered.
I pressed my forehead to her temple and kissed her cheek.
"You're freaking me out!"
"I think this is super serious. If something happens to me, I don't want you to doubt for a minute that I love being your brother. You're super smart, beautiful, kind,..."
"Seriously. Knock that shit off," she growled.
I kissed her cheek again and wrapped my arms around her.
She looked into my eyes, sighed heavily, and wrapped her arms around me.
"I love you, too," she said.
We sat like that for several minutes, watching those around us, as more and more of the groups grew quieter and more serious. The significance of what was going on was becoming more and more apparent to larger numbers of the passengers.
Seeking to distract my sibling, I said, "I told you nice things about you. What nice things can you say about me?"
My sister looked from my hair, to where she was seated on my lap, to my feet, and then smirked and said, "Your cologne's not bad."
I snapped my teeth at her cheek and growled.
She started giggling, squeezed me a little tighter, and kissed my cheekbone.
"It's bad, huh?" she asked, growing more serious again.
"Every minute we sit here - to me - means that they are still trying to figure out what they're going to do with us. I'd be really surprised if they don't start bringing tents in, soon, so that we can start setting up our personal spaces."
