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That night I have the night as I can re

I’m on a plane We haven’t taken off yet I’m by thebut I don’t look out In the dream I never look out

There’s a woman next toalone, strapped in by a norht - they have special straps for babies on planes - but in the dreae

The wo nonsense noises The baby ignores her It’s staring straight ahead I don’t know if it’s a boy or a girl - it’s dressed in white clothes

We taxi down the runway The engine roars The plane tears free of the ground and whines like a dying dog I shake inbut I hate takeoff We go abroad most years, Costa del Sol, Cyprus, Ibiza Each tiine will stall, that the plane will drop sickeningly, that I’ll die from an explosion or burn to death slowly The fear passes e level out, but for that first minute or two absolute terror

It’s no different in the drea worse than a crash is coine is always ry

The woman starts to cry She doesn’t raise her hands, just sits upright, sobbing, tears strea but struck dumb by fear of what’s to come

Then the baby speaks

"don’t cry mummy"

Its voice is tinny, barely a whisper, but it carries above the roar of the engine The wo

"don’t be frightened mummy," the baby says "we’re with you we’ll always be with you"

The baby’s head turns But it’s not looking at itsat me It has no pupils, just balls of white for eyes

"you’re yummy mummy," the baby whispers It should be funny but it isn’t The unnatural infant has a full set of teeth, all sharpened into fangs Drops of blood drip from the sides of its mouth as it speaks

The baby stands (I don’t knohat happened to the belt) I stare at it and it stares at me The woman between us has vanished The baby looks like a doll, not , white eyes, sharp teeth, blood