The cabin of Flight 782 was quiet, save for the low hum of the Boeing 777 crossing the Atlantic.

I adjusted my uniform collar and knocked on the flight deck door.

There was no answer.

I entered the emergency security code on the keypad.

The heavy door clicked and swung open.

Captain Owen Pierce was slumped forward over the control yoke.

His forehead rested against the cold glare of the primary flight display.

Beside him, First Officer Danny Cole was leaning against the side window, his eyes rolled back.

My breath caught in my throat.

I stepped inside the cramped space and touched the captain’s neck.

His skin was cold and damp, but a faint pulse beat under my fingers.

“Captain Pierce?” I whispered, shaking his shoulder.

He did not move.

I turned to Danny and shook him harder.

The first officer groaned, his eyelids fluttering open for a brief second.

“Grace…” he mumbled, his voice thick and slurred.

“Danny, what happened?” I asked, kneeling beside his seat.

“The… the air,” he whispered, his hand twitching toward the overhead ventilation dials. “Not… the food…”

His eyes closed again, and his head fell limp against the window.

I grabbed the cabin interphone and called the forward galley.

“Sarah, I need the medical kit in the cockpit immediately,” I said, keeping my voice as low as possible. “And check if we have a doctor in first class.”

Within two minutes, Dr. Aris Thorne stepped through the cockpit door.

He was a tall man with sharp features and very calm, dark eyes.

Right behind him stood Gerald Whitmore, the wealthy passenger from seat 2B.

“What is going on in here?” Whitmore demanded, his face flushed with anger. “The flight path on my screen is drifting.”

“Sir, please return to your seat,” I said, pushing the cabin door shut to block his view.

Dr. Thorne immediately knelt beside Captain Pierce, checking his pupils with a small penlight.

“Their reflexes are completely gone,” Thorne said, his voice flat and analytical. “It looks like a severe toxic reaction.”

“Can you revive them?” I asked.

“Not with what I have here,” Thorne said, shaking his head. “I need to know exactly what they inhaled.”