The Langoliers is one of four novellas published in the Stephen King book Four Past Midnight in 1990.

On a red eye flight to Boston from LA 10 people wake up to a shock. All the passengers and crew have vanished. When they try to contact the ground they make no connections. They land the plane only to discover that things haven't changed. But its like the world is dead. No one is there, the air is still, sound doesn't echo, the food is tasteless. And a distant sound is heard coming closer. A race of monstrous beings bent on their destruction is heading for them, eating everything in sight. Written by Anonymous

A blind girl, a teacher, a machine worker, a musician, a stoner, a mystery writer, a businessman, a mysterious Englishman, and a raving psychopath in a business suit on a flight to Boston find themselves utterly alone when the rest of the passengers and all of the crew vanish. Diverting the plane to Bangor, Maine, they discover that they seem to be the only people left on the planet, and that time and the Langoliers are catching up with them all too quickly... Written by Anonymous

When a plane passes through a mysterious time warp, all but a few onboard vanish. The survivors manage to land, and discover that time seems to stand still--and the mysterious Langoliers are in hot pursuit. The Langoliers' job is to erase moments in time that have already passed into history. The survivors still exist because they were asleep when the plane passed through the warp, and they determine that if they can all be asleep once again when the plane returns, they will survive. However, one passenger must remain awake--and doomed to die--to pilot the plane on its return through the warp... Written by Brian Barjenbruch

When Flight 29 flies through a strange aurora in the sky, all but 10 on the plane mysteriously vanish. Among the survivors are a schoolteacher, a blind girl, a machine worker, an airline pilot, a British secret service agent, a mystery novel author, a musician, a drug addict and a raving lunatic. Fearing a dangerous situation in Boston, the airline pilot lands the plane in Bangor, Maine, where they discover to their great surprise that the rest of the planet is also deserted. Now, it's a race against time to refuel the plane and take off, because the Langoliers are coming and they're hungry for some human flesh.... Written by Mathew C.