Con-West Flight 217

[They]

It's only a snippett, but what do you think so far??

Con-West Flight 217

The white zone is for loading and unloading of passengers only. The Airport recording droned on as Sarah sat waiting to board. She tapped her foot to the beat of the music she listened to on her headphones. She watched the other passenger’s shuffle around and talking to each other. She took one of the speakers off her ear and listened to the repeating announcement. “Now boarding flight 217 to Los Angeles.” Sarah picked up her carryon and headed for the gate.


“That’s my flight.” Jim said as he hugged his daughter and kissed her on the forehead.” I’ll be back in a couple of weeks. He hurried toward the terminal shouldering his small bag. It’s going to be a great day. He said to himself with a smile.


Arni sat in first class as the people flying coach boarded behind him. His small bottle of Cognac sat unopened in his cup holder. The small beads of water slowly dripped down and settled at the bottom. He wiped it gently and put his finger on his temple.


Sarah sat in her window seat waiting for takeoff. He visit with her grandmother went pretty much the way she expected it to. She scolded Sarah for not doing more with her life. What did she want from her? Sarah was only fifteen. So what if she had ten grand in her own account from that savings bond she cashed in. It’s not doing her any good if she doesn’t have time to spend it. Between school and cheer practice her week was filled up.

Her grandmother wanted her to get a job and save up for college. “College won’t do me any good if I don’t have any experience.” Sarah objected. Of course her grandmother would go on and on about how she worked all her life doing this or that and look where it got her. Nowhere. Without a college education, experience means squat. After a while Sarah began to regret her visiting her grandma. “We always argue. I’m tired of coming to see you when all we do is fight.”

Now she sat on the plane, impatiently waiting for takeoff. The flight to L.A. would arrive just in time for her to check in for the cheerleading competition. Why couldn’t her grandma be proud of her for that? She worked hard to make it to the competition. She was one of a hundred high schoolers to make it to nationals. She might be able to meet people who can get her some experience. Right now she sat watching as the luggage was loaded into the belly of the plane.


Jim shuffled pas other passengers on his way to the back of the plane. He found his seat and shoved his bag into the overhead compartment. Most people would complain about having a seat just in front of the lavatory, but Jim was pleased. No one would be kicking the back of his seat. He smiled at the young lady next to him and sat down. After he fastened his seat belt he leaned back and rested his eyes. He smiled as he thought back at the visit with his daughter. She had just turned sixteen and her only birthday wish was for him to come and see her. Since the divorce he hadn’t been able to spend much time with her. She had grown so much since he had last seen her two years earlier. She talked about the past two years. Since he had seen her last she had made the honor roll at school and was taking computer classes at the “Y”.

When he asked about her boyfriend she smiled shyly. “Dad,” she said, “I’ll have plenty time for boys when I’m older. Right now I want to get educated so I can take care of you and mom when you’re old. You know moms seeing somebody.” Jim nodded. He knew his ex-wife was looking at getting married again. He hadn’t met her new boyfriend but had heard that he was a good man. He wished his ex-wife well and said his good bye’s. At the airport eh and his daughter just held each other for a little while. He promised her that he would be back in a couple of weeks. His trip to California was only supposed to be an initial meeting that may get his Construction Company into the big time. The engines roared to life as he nodded off to sleep.


The fasten seat belt light came on and the captain made the standard announcement about take off and landing times, points of interest, blah, blah, blah. Arni wasn’t really listening. He held his empty bottle of Cognac and pushed the button for the stewardess. Almost immediately he realized that they were in the middle of take off. His head began to swim as the alcohol took affect. It had been a while since he had enjoyed a good strong drink. Now that he was retired he would do the things he never had time for before.

Being a doctor had its strains but now he could enjoy some of the financial rewards. He looked forward to his vacation in Hawaii before heading back to Missouri. His retirement estate would be the perfect place for him to start on his memoirs. He seldom dwelled on the fact that he never married or had any children, but as his head swam Arni’s thoughts brought a tear to his eye about what he missed out on. When the stewardess finally came by he ordered another Cognac and decided to take a nap. It was a two-hour flight from Chicago to L.A.X., then another hour or so to Hawaii.


Sarah screamed as the man next to her jumped up and grabbed the flight attendant putting a knife to her throat.

“No one moves and no one gets hurt.” He shouted. Some screamed while others turned to see what was going on. The man pushed the stewardess to the front of the plane. Everyone stayed seated except Sarah. She stood up screaming. “We’re going to die. We’re going to die.” Jim opened his eyes and watched as the young girl stood hysterically on her seat. It seemed as though no one was paying attention to her. He cautiously walked up to her and smiled.

“Take it easy.” He said. “No one is going to die. Now let’s sit down and breathe okay.”

“No it’s not okay. The plane is being hijacked and they’re gonna fly us into a building and we’re all gonna die.”

“We’re not going to die.” Jim repeated. He took Sarah’s hands into his own and sat down. Sarah reluctantly sat next to him.

“I don’t wanna die.” She said, tears rolling down her cheek. She pressed her face into Jim’s chest and cried.

“It’s going to be alright.” Jim said over and over again.


Arni sat with his eyes half opened. He watched as two blurred figures walked towards the cockpit. It looked like one of them had a knife. Reality sank in and Arni sat straight up. Was the plane being hijacked? He thought. They guy didn’t look like an Arab. Bah, what was he thinking? Crazy people come from everywhere. He stood up and slowly made his way to the front. A steward tried to tell him to sit back down but Arni ignored him. When he got to the cockpit door he pressed his ear against it. He heard muffled conversation and one of them swore.

The plane took a nosedive, which threw many passengers over the seat in front of them. Jim and Sarah slammed into the seats in front of them.
“What’s happening?” Sarah whispered. Finally calmed down but still shaking.

“I don’t know.” Jim answered. He peered over the seat and watched people scampering to get strapped in. The curtain separating coach from first class was opened. He saw an older looking man on the floor next to the cockpit door. The shifting plane tossed him back and forth.

“I’ll be right back.” He said to Sarah without looking at her.

“I’m going with you. I don’t want to be alone.” She gripped his hand as the two staggered forward towards Arni.

....to be continued.....maybe.....