The silence was deafening. It twisted and congealed in lumps around her head and ears, whilst her eyes tried to slice a path through the smoke and gloom. Across the aisle the monotonous wail of the man's incessant praying had halted abruptly, alongside the insistent screams of the woman in the seat by the window who remained grinning inanely, her jaw perched comfortably on her shoulder.

Slowly she undid her seatbelt, amazed at the lack of tremble in her fingers yet conscious of their wetness. A man's head lay at her feet, rocking gently as she felt around feeling for her left shoe. Locating it and bending awkwardly her fingers scrabbled for purchase as her loafer remained trapped by the head's left ear, the shoe's decorative tassel tangled with the diamond crucifix earring that was gripped firmly by its lobe.

‘Too old to be wearing an earring, it made you look stupid,' she announced as with a heroic twist she prised her shoe away, slipping it on sedately before turning to her right and smiling at the man next to her. ‘Yours I believe,' she said as hoisting the head by its hair, she gently placed it on his lap before squeezing past.

The plane began shuddering as she made her way down the central aisle. Stepping gingerly she followed the emergency exit lights, trying to avoid slipping on a floor that was littered with debris and body parts, making it more like an assault course than a gangway. As she stumbled towards the pocket of light that she assumed was an exit, first one then both of her ears popped and, as more of her hearing returned, her ears began to be assailed by the sounds of the distressed plane. Stopping, she shook her head to clear it then stumbled as with a screech of metal the plane listed heavily to the left. Grabbing hold of an empty overhead compartment, the lid open but intact, she held on desperately until the plane ground to a halt with the tortured sound of metal on rock, the cacophony underscored by a crisp rustling and the low hum of persistent sobbing.

‘Hello?' she called, her voice quavering at first then gaining in strength. ‘Hello, who's there? Can anyone hear me?'

The crying stopped then started again as she swung her head around, carefully seeking the source of the sounds. The rustling was coming from beneath her. Stepping tentatively towards where the noise was loudest, she pulled back quickly, almost falling as she realised that it was caused by tongues of fire, licking through the undercarriage. Moving with her, the weeping persisted and it was only after she had negotiated the doorway to clamber into daylight, before precariously traversing the half inflated ramp and lowering herself onto the ground below, that she recognised the source. It was coming from her. Her face and throat were soaked in tears.