Pleasure. Mark’s smile touched his lips as she said she was traveling for fun. That meant that she wasn’t going home, where she would be reluctant to break out of her shell and do something (or someone) wild.<br/><br/>“Traveling for fun is always a good thing,” he said. He glanced to the side as another passenger walked by, heading to the forward loo. The low murmur of people talking all around them created a soothing lull, and the scent of dinner being passed out wafted down the aisles. Mark turned his attention back to Nora. “Would any of that fun include skiing?” he asked. The area they were going to was known for its outdoor sports. Hundreds of thousands of acres of wild, open mountains drew people all year to the area. Winter drew a ton of skiers. Some people came for the Winter Wonderland beauty. Hot chocolate never tasted as good as when you enjoyed it by a fireplace while the snow was falling outside.<br/><br/>Mark lowered his tray table and unbuckled his seat belt. Once they were at cruising altitude people had begun to take out their tablets and laptops, and others were getting up to pull their things from the overhead bins.<br/><br/>A moment later the mood on the plane changed when their entire world dropped twenty feet into a pocket of turbulence. Mark felt his abdomen slam against the tray, and pushed himself away from the chair before him. The lights dimmed, and people gasped in surprise and fear. Someone screamed.<br/><br/>Then the plane seemed to stabilize. Mark shut the tray and buckled his seat belt before looking at Nora. “You okay?” he asked. Then the plan suddenly dropped again, less far, as the pilot tried to pull the nose up and gain the lost altitude.<br/><br/>The flight attendants were walking down the aisle, hands on the back of the seats to stabilize themselves, and telling the passengers to put away their trays and buckle their belts. Then a horrible grinding sound boomed through the cabin as a wing clipped a mountaintop and was ripped off. People screamed, and a flight attendant was thrown to the floor.<br/><br/><i>‘Oh, fuck!’ </i>Mark thought. This was not just another winter flight. It wasn’t just air turbulence; they were in big trouble.