Her own low air indicator had gone on, she could only imagine that Owen’s was near empty.
She watched Tom get ready to help Owen change when Gary waved from the door of the plane.
Like an overprotective father, Tom rushed from the car, holding up the cannister to Gary.
Again, Gary waved and after indicating they should go first, Delaney stepped aside for them to go up.
She was on the third step when Gary yanked Owen inside. When she got to the top and inside, Owen was already in the cockpit. She peeked around Tom and Owen wasn’t wearing the SCBA. It looked like he was holding his breath.
He just had that look.
It was hard to see everything or how exactly Gary ejected it. But after reaching for the control panel, from the side of the copilot’s chair, Gary pulled out a full face oxygen mask and placed it on Owen.
It looked like it conformed to his face with suction, like the masks on the SCBAs. Owen’s shoulders dropped some in relief and he gave a thumbs up to her and Tom before sitting down.
Delaney and Tom inched their way from the cockpit area to the main cabin.
Gary checked both their tanks.
“You’re still good. I’ll be back,” Gary said muffled. “Have a seat.”
Delaney nodded. The plane was different, smaller than Flight 3430. It had a first-class, where the other plane didn’t. The first-class cabin had three seats in a row. A single seat on one side of the aisle, two on the other. Delaney sat in the first row cushy aisle seat and Tom sat in the row next to her in the solo seat. It was hard to sit back with the small tank on her back. That would change once they switched tanks, the replacement cannister wouldn’t be put in the harness, they would just switch the hoses to the full tanks they held. Tom still carried the canister he intended to use on Owen. Delaney clutched her own like a security blanket.
Arms wrapped around it, holding it against her chest.
She kept replaying the fast instructions Gary gave on how it was easy to change. They had what was called a snap connection, for a fast, easy switch. It was a safety feature. Although doing it alone, meant she had to hold her tank.
Gary had left the plane again, down the air steps. The other door, the one connected to the airbridge was closed. She wished Gary hadn’t left. But he did. He returned only briefly to bring up the black bag with the remaining cannisters, then he left again.
Sitting there, she thought about how he and Gabe boarded the plane first and for a few minutes. She supposed it was to check and make sure it was clear of bodies. She didn’t see any. Smelling them would come when they took off the mask.
That would happen when they were off the ground and high in the air.
It was an invisible killer so it was hard to believe that a threat even existed.
She leaned to the right, to peek out the window. She saw the fuel truck and assumed Gabe was filling the plane. Moving back to her seat, she tilted her head to try to see into the cockpit and see Owen. She saw his head, it moved left to right like he was looking at things.
The alarm on Delaney’s air picked up pace and she looked down. She was at five percent. She breathed a lot faster than Tom did, so his probably hadn’t gotten that low yet.
It was time to change her cannister, she couldn’t take a chance.
She leaned over and peeked out the window. Saw Gabe returning the fuel line. Was he done? Was there a problem? She wondered. Maybe the plane had already been fueled. More than likely, if the plane was at the gate, it was ready to go.
Reaching to change her tank, Gary and Gabe returned.
Gary must have seen her reaching for her tank, because he immediately came over and stopped.
“I got it,” he said. “Relax.”
“How’s Tom’s?” she asked.
Gary tilted his body and peered. “He’s at twenty percent. He has about eight minutes. Let’s change you first.”
Delaney nodded, relieved, she really didn’t want to change her own canister. Gary was the professional and she’d rather trust it to him.
Owen could have turned around and looked, but it was easier to watch the tiny eight inch camera monitor on the control panel. Only after he calmed down and knew he was okay. After he realized they’d be off the ground and out of danger soon enough, he saw it.
The image on the screen was directly outside the cockpit, but a simple turn of a knob brought in the galley and then the main cabin where he saw his father and Delaney in first class.
He kept switching views.
Gabe securing the door, then Gary changing Delaney’s canister.
He watched Gabe stand with their father, before stepping away. They spoke briefly, Owen hadn’t a clue what was said.
In the midst of Gary changing Delaney’s tank, his dad began to change his own. Owen could see Gary trying to help, but Tom signaled he was fine.
Then Gary took a seat a couple of rows behind his dad and Delaney grabbed for a canister.
Owen slightly panicked.
Gary was changing his own, was Gabe okay? Should he have changed his air. Maybe he did outside and Owen didn’t see.
Just as he had panicked thoughts of his brother running out of air, Gabe entered the cockpit.
He released the pilot’s oxygen, then removed his SCBA mask, sat down and placed on the pilot’s oxygen.
Reaching to Owen, Gabe lifted the headphones from the arm of Own’s chair and showed them to Owen.
Owen placed them on.
