End Of Innocence - Chapter 5
"Thank you all for coming," Vince said as he addressed his employees. Chase was slightly startled by his appearance as was most of the others in the room. Vince's hair looked as if it had barely been combed, he wore warm-up pants and a sweatshirt instead of his usual suit and tie. His eyes were puffy and bloodshot, most likely from crying.
"Last night we were all struck by tragedy. Many of our beloved friends, family and co-workers were taken from us when their plane went down right outside the California border. My wife Linda McMahon, Trish Stratus, Matt Hardy, Shane Helms, Terri Poch, Glenn Jacobs, Michael Cole, Peter Senerca and Oscar Gutierrez. I would like to take a minute to recognize those lost with a moment of silence."
The entire conference room was silent except for the occasional sob or sniffle. Chase was still in shock. Her worst fear had always been dying in a plane crash and then here it was happening only she wasn't the one who had died, although she was supposed to. She had originally been booked for the WWF New York promotion, but had been sick with food poisoning the night they left. She could have been on that flight with her best friend Trish and her other close friends Matt and Shane. The thought scared her more than anything.
Wiping the tears from his eyes and cheeks, Vince finally broke the silence. "I have called this meeting to announce a brief hiatus of both companies. It will be much too difficult for any of us to work for a while, including myself. I ask that you stay here until Thursday, when we will hold a memorial for those we have lost and their families. From there you are all free to go home or wherever. JR or myself will contact you when we decide to get back to work. If it is too soon for you to return we will understand, all you need to do is let us know. Thanks again for coming, please get some rest and take care of yourselves and each other during this difficult time. You may all head back to your rooms now."
Chase slowly stood up from her chair and looked around the room for her friends. Adam was helping a grieving Krissy out of the room, followed by Jason and Samantha. Amy, Sasha and Amber were nowhere to be seen. Chase wasn't even sure if they had attended the meeting.
"Hey sis you ready to head back upstairs?" Her brother asked from behind her.
"Yeah I was just looking for Jeff and Laurel."
"I think they already left. Jeff was helping her up to her and Amber's her room. She is in pretty bad shape, losing Matt is taking its toll on her, especially since he was the one who helped her through their mother's death."
"I know and then poor Jeff. He had no idea Sarah was even coming with Matt. What's worse is that he was planning on breaking up with her when he saw her in two weeks," Chase told Andrew as they headed to the elevator.
"That's horrible. This whole damn thing is horrible. When I think about the fact that you were supposed to be up there in that plane, I go crazy. I don't know what I would have done if I lost you Chase. You are the only family I have left. I am so glad you were too busy puking your guts up to go to New York. Is that wrong of me to be happy when so many people are miserable?" Andrew asked as the tears began to fall from his eyes.
"No Andrew, it isn't selfish. I know how you feel though. I am devastated by all of this, yet happy at the same time because I am still alive. I have a second chance at life in a way because of that good old food poisoning. Now I just have to figure out why I was the lucky one."