Sophia Nekane Batara Bernadino hovered her finger over her phone’s airplane mode button. The voice on the flight’s speakers warned her to keep it deactivated. Back in the Philippines, she would have listened. Now? Conventions be damned. She was going home.

“Say hi to your Ate!” said Mhona, Sophia’s sister-in-law. She was holding up a baby on the other side of the call. The young boy—barely nine months old—squealed when he saw Sophia.

Sophia’s heart could have turned to butter. Two years in Saudi Arabia was too long away from her nephew. If only her brother were still here to see his son, he would have been proud of his creation’s eagerness, his animated countenance, and zest for life unmatched by other boys his age. How all that personality could be stuffed inside a small body was beyond Sophia’s understanding. So, she did what she always had and attributed this to an act of God.

“He is such a great sleeper,” said Mhona. “Aren’t you?” She pinched his cheek. The boy yelped. “How’s the flight?”

Philippine Airlines (PAL) Flight 578 had been a 9-hour test of Sophia’s endurance. The last time she traveled that far was to Saudi Arabia for her current work. She doubted she would ever do anything like that again, even for leisure. She may as well have been cramped inside a box no larger than a sofa. With all the money she had made as one of four nannies for a wealthy emirate, she could have flown Business class.

But Sophia was a frugal woman who dared not spend more than she needed.

Because it was all for her nephew.

“It is… a new experience,” Sophia said. She would never be heard complaining, not even to her sister-in-law. “How is the balakbayan I sent you? The shoes?”

“They’re too big!” Mhona held up the glow-up Adidas that could have fit a five-year-old. “I know he’ll grow into them, but I don’t want him to. I want him to stay this way forever!” She wiggled him around like he was a puppy.

“Careful! That little man will grow up to be a doctor.”

“Or a lawyer.”

When Sophia had seen her brother on his deathbed, there was no other promise to make than to devote her life to this child. She could have worked in Dubai or Hong Kong and enjoyed the nightlife, soaking up the free single life as a sponge would with dirty water. Sophia, however, was a family woman. There was no point in existing unless she was a cog in the greater machine that was the family unit.

“Ladies and uh… gentlemen, this is your captain speaking.” The voice emanated from the speakers. “We are now beginning our uh… descent into Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila. The local time is about 3:15 PM, and the weather is a comfortable 29 degrees.”

Thank the Lord. Sophia made the sign of the cross, just as the passengers beside her did the same. She smiled timidly with them, united in their love for God.

“We expect to land in about 30 to 35 minutes,” the voice continued. “Please ensure your seatbelts are fastened, your seats are upright, and your tray tables are stowed away.”

Sophia’s seatbelt wasn’t fastened tightly, but the flight attendant said nothing. Her heart once again beat a little faster. These quiet acts of rebellion were the minuscule ways she tested God’s patience. Sometimes, she wasn’t sure if he was listening.

She peered out the window, taking in the sprawling view of home.

Manila. City of Commerce. City of Temptation. City of Pleasure. Terminus of the Philippines and yet the least representative place of it. That it was more like any other city in the world only made Sophia more embarrassed to be in it.

One day, she would relocate her sister-in-law and nephew to a comfortable life in the province. The specific province wouldn’t matter so long as they could own land. They would grow durian trees. They would own seven dogs and—one of the only lessons she took from foreigners—not chain them up. They would run free, along with her nephew, Mhona, cousins, aunts, and uncles. She didn’t have enough money to fulfill that dream, but she would one day.

Just as the flight attendants finished inspecting the passengers, the plane shuttered. A long groan ran up its frame, and Sophia was suddenly aware of how brittle the aircraft was. These new electric models were state-of-the-art, but every plane had limitations. They were flying cylinders in the air, and at that exact moment, Sophia became aware of how far she was off the ground.

“Folks…” said the captain. “We are-”

The plane dipped forward, G-forces churning Sophia’s insides. People screamed. Someone behind kicked her seat. She felt like she had been dropped from a tall building.

The sensation vanished just as quickly as it came.

“Folks,” the captain started again. “We are experiencing a minor technical difficulty with one of our engines. We are investigating the issue and are continuing with our landing.”

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

“Minor, huh?” screamed one of the passengers. “Didn’t feel so minor, eh?” He was an older Filipino man, turning around as if everyone deserved to know he had spoken.

Sophia made the sign of the cross again. She held her hands together in prayer. Was this punishment for not fastening her seatbelt or turning on airplane mode? She swore never to always behave on flights.

She was sitting in the aisle, but the person in her row at the window side opened the flap and looked outside. They pointed. “What the fuck!”

A faint trickle of black smoke leaked from one of the engines.

“Sophia?” asked Mhona, still connected to the call. “What’s going on?”

Sophia didn’t know what to say. Something was wrong with the engines, but she wouldn’t worry Mhona. “I-I don’t know,” she stuttered. “There’s really bad turbulence.”

“I’ll call the police.”

What the hell can they do? Sophia thought, just as the plane rocked again.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” came another voice. It was an older woman who did not match the pilot. “Please be prepared for an emergency landing. At this time, please make sure your seat belts are securely fastened. Remove sharp objects from your pockets and place your feet flat on the floor.”

The communication line buzzed. “Hey!” the captain called. “That’s not us!”

“Ladies and gentlemen,” repeated the woman’s voice. It sounded like a talking tin can. “Please enjoy the show.”

The show?! Sophia turned to her seatmates. One was praying. The other clutched their armrests.

“Emergency procedures!” yelled one of the flight attendants over the looping announcement. “Assume brace position!”

It was just Sophia’s luck. It was the second flight in her lifetime, and they’d already have to make an emergency landing. She would die here. She swore to the Lord, then regretted it. Please spare me.

Her mind raced, and yet a tinge of defeat worked its way in. If this were the end, she would want to see the world from above before it happened.

The clouds were as white as heaven. Maybe they were dead and had passed through heaven’s gates already. Those could have been angels hovering in the clouds, a whole swarm of them. Yes, that’s precisely what they were. How else could you explain the sheer amount of black forms flying through the sky? They raced towards the plane, probably to escort them all to meet their maker.

Sophia began tallying her sins. She started with her earliest memory and ended at the present day. The airplane mode, the seatbelt, her sighs of exasperation in front of her employer, her willingness to move to another country and experience all it had to offer. She should have been happy in the Philippines. She should never have sinned.

“Brace!” called the captain over the strange woman’s voice. “Brace!”

Oxygen masks fell from the ceiling, dangling like nooses. That’s when Sophia knew all of this was real.

There was water below them. So much of it. Sophia thought they had taken a detour over the Pacific Ocean when she realized it was Manila Bay, and they were about to slam right into it.

“Brace!” called the captain again.

The angels—Sophia was sure that’s what they were—fell from the clouds and ran along the waves, shooting straight towards the plane. She should have kept her head down but dared not look away at the sight beyond the window. Heaven itself welcomes her.

One of the angels came close to the plane, unlike any angel Sophia had known. It was spherical shaped, a giant orb about the size of a beachball. It followed the plane as it descended, blotting out the window and looking inside. Its humongous eye focused on the passengers.

Another angel joined it, and another, and then dozens more until no one could see the world outside.

“Sophia!” screamed Mhona. “Talk to me! Please, God!”

Yes, this was an act from God. God was smiting Sophia and, by extension, her fellow passengers. Sophia had doomed them all. She would atone for their deaths, too.

The whole cabin fell into darkness as the angels surrounded it. Bright shades of pink, teal, and violet leaked into the interior. Sophia’s whole existence became neon. She couldn’t watch because she knew this wasn’t Heaven at all. It was Hell.

She pulled her head down and started crying.

And crying.

And screaming.

And then nothing.

Someone nudged her shoulder. “Ma’am?” said her seatmate.

No one spoke. Sophia became aware that she could talk, hear, and breathe. She saw nothing but bright lights filling the cabin.

“Folks,” repeated the captain. “Folks. We are… suspended in mid-air. Currently. Please remain seated and calm and wait for emergency evacuation procedures.”

“Am I dead?!” screamed a woman, voicing Sophia’s thoughts. At least she dared to do it.

But they weren’t dead. Certainly not. All Sophia could hear were the murmurs of people—the same ones she had flown that plane with. If they had passed on, they had done it all at once.

Over the voices, however, came a groaning. No one moved, saved for Sophia. Ever the curious. Ever the defier. Maybe this was a quiet rebellion, but everyone was too scared to do anything. She wouldn’t be as paralyzed as they were, damn it! She had flown halfway across the world to provide for her family and wouldn’t let a little stunt like death stop her. Never mind that she had just been sobbing.

The flight attendants exited their seats just as Sophia did. They urged her to sit back down but she didn’t listen. Instead, she found an emergency exit open. A flight attendant peered outside.

The captain stepped out of his cabin. He was a disheveled Filipino man who looked as confused as everyone else.

“What’s going on?” someone asked.

There was nothing but silence, and the emergency lights mixed with the neon coming from outside. Sophia let her curiosity take over and peered out the opened door.

And saw them.

They were not angels at all. They were capture drones.