Kami could feel the panic spreading through her body. The last thing she wanted to do was fall apart here. She stood up abruptly.

"I'm going to look for them," she said.

She dodged suitcases and travelers, walking the length of the corridor, checking lounges, bathrooms, every corner, every nook. Nothing. 

She saw a couple from the back that might be, no, wait. The man turned and his face was clearly too young.

She breathed deeply, trying to calm herself. It wasn't working. Her heart sped up. Fear spread through her body. 

It seemed as if everywhere she looked, people were staring at her. It was as if their eyes were boring holes through her. She was drawing too much attention with her frantic searching. She felt painfully self-conscious.

Kami jumped as the fluorescent lights flickered off and on above her, then settled into an eerie strobe effect with a faint hum. Dark corners seemed to stir, threatening to send out a host of frightening creatures to consume her. She tried to rein back her feverish imagination, but it was galloping at a pace too rapid to control. 

Her thoughts kept turning back to her grandparents. She wondered where they were, why they hadn't come. Wasn't she important to them? She thought of her mother as she last saw her, pale and weak and drunk, with hair plastered to her face. She wondered why she had come to Egypt anyway. She should have just stayed home. Maybe she should just go home, but the thought of getting back onto a plane after the "ride of terror" wasn't in the least appealing. That would be quite an experience to tell her friends when school started back up.

Kami felt a hand on her shoulder. She pushed it away as she whirled around and backed up. She saw Liam's face and relaxed, putting a hand to her racing heart.

"It's so late. You guys really ought to go," Kami said.

"Do you have anyone you can call? Your mum or someone?"

She thought for a moment. She could call her mom, but what then? Her mother had been so dead set against her coming in the first place. She wasn't really in the mood for an "I told you so" lecture. Maybe she could still avoid it. Maybe her grandparents were stuck in traffic in a place with low cell reception. There was no way her grandmother wasn't coming, not if she could help it. She shook her head and bit her lip. 

"They'll come," she said with a confidence she didn't feel. 

"What do we do now?" Liam asked.

"I'm going to just wait it out, I guess."

"Do you mind if I hang around? It would make me feel better. You never know what might happen if you're alone," Liam said. 

"If you want," she shrugged. 

"Why don't you just sit down and take a breather," Liam said. "I'll go talk to the information desk and see if we can page your grandparents. Don't worry, we'll figure this out."

Kami sank into a chair feeling utterly exhausted. 

"Thanks," she said belatedly, but Liam was already striding purposefully away and didn't hear her. Haji sat down a few seats away and pulled out a battered Physics book. She looked over at him.

"School?" she asked. 

"Pleasure," he replied, flashing her a quick grin and returned his gaze to the book. She studied him for a moment. He had been warm and friendly earlier. Now that Liam was gone, he seemed a little more shy around her.

After a few minutes, Liam returned.

"They said they will let us know if your grandparents come looking for you."

Liam walked over to Haji and talked to him briefly, then came back while typing on his phone. 

"Who are you texting?" Kami asked.

"My parents," he said. "I was supposed to meet them tonight for dinner, but they'll understand."

He sat down next to her.

"Sorry to interrupt your dinner," Kami said drowsily.

"Trust me, you did me a favor. I wasn't thrilled with the topic they would want to discuss anyway. Are you holding up all right?"

There was no answer, and he looked over to see she had dozed off.

* * *

Kami opened her eyes and squinted against the bright light. Her back was killing her from sleeping on the plastic seat.

"Morning, sunshine," Liam said way too cheerfully. 

She looked over at him with blurry eyes.

"They never came did they?"

"No."

"What time is it?"

"I'm not sure. I'm busy blowing up zombies at the moment," he said as his fingers flew over his mobile. 

She pulled out her phone and checked the time. Quarter after eight. She sat up straighter in the chair and took in the mob of people around her. They were clumped all around her—families with bored little children rolling around on the floor and teasing each other, business men in rumpled suits, couples, groups of teenagers. They were everywhere, filling every chair and almost every square inch of carpet. She felt the panic swell inside. She felt claustrophobic.

"What the? Why are there so many people?" she asked incredulously.

"Apparently, they are calling our little misadventure a possible terrorist attack. They've stopped all flights coming in and out of Cairo while they investigate."

Kami's heart thumped hard. 

"Do you think it was a terrorist attack?" she asked. Liam shrugged.

"No clue. All I can say was it was bizarre. I wish I knew what the pilot saw, and why they were screaming up in the cockpit."

Kami stretched her arms.

"Did you get any sleep?" she asked.

"If you haven't noticed, these chairs aren't exactly conducive to sleep. I don't know how you managed it," he said as his fingers flew over the screen of his phone. "Uh-oh. I'm dead." 

She glanced at his screen. Game over.

"I am positively knackered!" Liam said, yawning.

Kami pulled out her phone and checked. There was no message or text. She sent another text to her grandparents.

"What now?" Liam asked.

"First things first, I've got to change out of these pants."

Liam's mouth twitched.

"What?" 

"Nothing. Always good to change pants," Liam said, grinning widely.

She shook her head and rolled her luggage into the restroom. She groaned as she looked at her disheveled hair and the dark circles under her eyes. It was no fair Liam looked so good after pulling an all-nighter, in an airport no less. She brushed her hair and teeth vigorously, changed her clothes, and refreshed her makeup. 

Last night she'd been ready to throw in the towel and call it quits with her grandparents. Now that she had slept a little, she knew she would regret it if she went home without at least trying to find them. Besides, it appeared there weren't any flights out for several hours anyway. May as well try to find them before the airplanes were allowed back into the air. If she couldn't find her grandparents and needed to return home early, it would probably cost extra to change the airline ticket. She had no idea where she would come up with the money. Hopefully she would find her grandparents and everything would be all right. She ran her fingers through her hair to straighten it and left the restroom to meet Liam.

"I guess I'll get a taxi and see if they are at the house," Kami said.

"I don't mean to be intrusive, but I would feel a lot better if I knew you were safe. Can we drive you?"

Kami hesitated. She thought of the taxi fare potentially skyrocketing and losing a huge chunk of her precious spending money. It would be nice to not have to take a taxi, but would it be smart to go with Liam and Haji? Liam had seemed awfully interested in the necklace, and shortly afterward the funky smoky stuff had appeared.

She shook her head. This was crazy thinking. There was no way there could be a connection between Liam and the smoke. He had been helping the woman the whole time. Still, she barely knew the guy, and Haji even less. But it wasn't like she had many options. There were no flights out for several hours.

She looked over to see a rather seedy looking man leering at her. She shuddered. No, she didn't want to stay alone in the airport either.

Kami bit the inside of her cheek. She didn't know what to do. Should she stay, or go?

_____________

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If you took a trip to Egypt, what's the first thing you'd want to see? 

This dedication goes out to a girl I first discovered while reading another story. Her comments just cracked me up. Her book LoL So TrUe is basically funny little observations on life. Here's a few of my favorite gems - "My pillow is by far the most ridiculous hairstylist," and "I want to lose weight, but I hate losing..." So when you need a good laugh, check it out and get your Zulfaxxx fix! :)