It’s 7:53 PM, and I’m soaring over the Pacific Ocean on a plane to Honolulu, Hawaii. The medium sized airliner is full of tourists excited to visit Hawaii. I look out the window at the ocean and the gorgeous sunset. There is an island coming up. The waves and tide make a lulling pattern against the shore. It’s all so beautiful. I rest my head back on the seat, but suddenly I feel some thumps and my seat starts vibrating. It starts as a small shake, but turns into bumping. The old lady beside me looks worried. “What’s happening? ” “Do you feel that? ” “What’s that shaking? ” is what I hear throughout the plane.
The thumping gets louder. “Please buckle your seatbelts, we are experiencing some engine problems. Do not panic,” says the loudspeaker above us. All of a sudden, a whirring noise starts. Louder and louder it gets until everybody on the plane is covering their ears. BAM! Everything goes silent. Nobody talks, but we all know what just happened. The loudspeaker goes on and I hear the pilot nervously clearing his throat. “Passengers, please do not be alarmed. Pull the life jacket out from under your seat and put it on immediately, in case of our plane dropping. Our engines have stopped. Luckily we are almost to an island.
We have enough force from the flight to safely land. ” My heart is thumping so loud and I can hear it echoing in my head. There are families, and children on this plane. There is screaming, shushing, and the sounds of life jackets being taken from under the seats. I bend over and look under my seat. I pull out the life jacket and help the passengers sitting next to me. I look out the window. We are right above the shore of the island, but it is getting dark and I can’t exactly tell if there is a flat place to land. All of a sudden the plane drops out of the sky. Honolulu International Airport, Tracking Center Darick Uh, sir?
I think we may have a problem. ” I turn my head and swivel my chair. I roll over to Burt’s computer screen that tracks all flights arriving in the Honolulu International Airport. Every dot on the world map is a plane traveling. If the dot is green, it is right on schedule. If it’s red, it’s off schedule, and if it’s black, it is out of its travel path. Burt points to a black dot. It is in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, almost to Hawaii, and coming from California. I grab the mouse and click on the dot. Burt speaks up. “It’s Airliner 3407, sir. They’ve been off track for about fifteen minutes. I just noticed. “Thanks, Burt.
I’ll call the flight and figure this out. ” I say. Burt keeps looking at the screen, so I roll back to my desk. Burt speaks up a moment later. “Hey Darick, I’m gonna keep my eyes on this plane. Something’s not right. ” “Ok, thanks. But I really think it’s ok. I’m sure they’ll be heading back on track in a second. I’m calling them now. ” I respond uneasily as I find the flight’s number and click the call button. It rings. I wait and wait. Five minutes I wait for someone to answer, but no one, not even the flight attendant, picks up. I glance behind me at Burt, who is still watching the plane on the racking screen.
I turn back and call the head of the plane tracking section of the airport. “Please check the system on Airliner 3407. ” The head of the tracking section says he will, so I try to get back to my original work, but I am so stressed out because of this plane. A few minutes later, Burt shouts nervously. “Darick! Sir! The plane, plane 3407, it’s gone! It, it disappeared! ” I jump out of my chair and sprint to Burt’s computer. “Oh my God, oh my God, this can’t be happening” | say, “Rewind the screen! ” Burt presses the rewind button and we watch as the black dot reappears.
He lets go of the rewind utton and the black dot disappears, as if it was never there. Burt quickly calls the head of the airport, and I dash over to my computer and send messages and alarms. When I’ve done all I can do to help, I sit back in my chair and sob. This is a special plane, Airliner 3407. My daughter and wife are on that plane. Ruby My eyelids flutter open. Grains of sand are in my eye, so I close them again. I lie there for a few minutes, until the pain kicks in. “AHHH! ” | scream. My eyes burst open and I writhe in pain. I sit up and scream some more. I’m on a beach. There are people lying around me.
I look at the source of the pain and taste bile when I see the wound. A large gash is all down my thigh. I scream some more. There is dried blood all around the cut. I must have been unconscious for a long time, because the blood flow has stopped. When I finally find the energy, I slowly try to stand up. I can, but it hurts. A lot. I limp over to the plane wreckage. There are metal sheets and nails strewn around the plane, as if somebody tore the plane apart. There is a large open gap in the ceiling of the plane, and one of the wings has broken off. Windows are gone, and it looks like some passengers were trewn out of the holes in the plane.
Also, suitcases have been flung out of the cubbies and are clothes are tossed around the plane. Thank goodness I am alive. I wonder if these people on the sand are dead. I hope not. When I reach the door of the plane, or what’s left of it, I hobble inside. There are bodies everywhere. Some are alive, some aren’t. I think I am the first person awake, but what if I am the only passenger alive? “Does anybody need help? ” I shout throughout the plane. Nobody answers. There is metal everywhere, and it looks like there might have been a fire, because some seats are burnt to a crisp. Suddenly I hear wailing. A baby, I think. Oh my God, a baby.
I walk further into the plane ruins, trying to find the source of the wailing. I reach it. Oh no, the baby is under metal that fell from the ceiling. I rummage through the mess and find the baby. She is in a baby carrier, with a blanket wrapped around her. I pick her up, and hug her to my chest. She cries in my arms. I’m guessing she’s about a year old. I wonder where her parents are. Darick My world is on Airline 3407. My daughter, Sophia, and my wife, Ana. If Airliner 3407 really went down, I know Ana will do anything to save Sophia. We wanted to take Sophia to San Diego, California, to surprise my parents on their anniversary.
I couldn’t miss work, so Ana took Sophia. They stayed for a week, and were supposed to get home tonight. I can’t bear the thought that something might have happened to Ana and Sophia. My thoughts are interrupted as the door opens. It is the head of the tracking section of the airport. “Men, there are signs that Airline 3407 has gone down. It has been confirmed, and we expect few survivors. ” He pauses, and sighs. “There will be a briefing in meeting room 3. Please be down there in twenty minutes. ” Burt and I both nod, but inside I am screaming. The an leaves, and my thoughts start controlling me.
How is it possible that out of the hundreds of flights Ana and Sophia could’ve taken, this one went down? I should have bought tickets for a different flight, or a different day. Oh God. Ohhh, God. I start imagining the worst. Burt calls my name. I rub my eyes and turn towards him. “Darick, are you okay? You look a little, uh, sick. ” Burt looks genuinely worried. “My family is on Airline 3407,” I say, my voice shaky. Tears blur my vision. Burt looks shocked. He awkwardly pats my shoulder, trying to comfort me, but it makes things worse. Burt speaks up. “Maybe ou shouldn’t go to that briefing, sir.
I think it’s best if you go home and try to relax. ” I shake my head, and stand up. “I wouldn’t leave if my life depended on it. I need to know the details of the plane crash. ” I push Burt out of my way, and immediately feel bad. But I keep walking, out the door, out my office, out the security doors, and into the terminal. I sit down on a bench and my vision gets shaky. I break down and start crying. How silly I am, a grown man crying in the middle of a bustling airport. But sometimes it’s okay to break down. Especially when your whole family is probably dead. Ruby I cradle the baby as she cries and screams, and I hum to her.
She licks her lips, and I notice how dry they are. I set her down and hobble around the plane, looking for survivors, and am glad to find that a lot of people are breathing, although some are not. I go to the refrigerator, to the food that will spoil first. There are some brownies and cake, but it is mostly full of beverages. I look in the cupboards, and am happy to see there is plenty of food. Chips, canned food, other snacks, and water, which I am the most glad to see. I grab a water and limp back to the baby. I bring the water bottle to her lips and she swallows a little bit, ut won’t accept anymore.
I sigh, and take a drink. I should probably start rationing. “Is anybody alive? ” I yell again. No answer. I have no idea what to do until people wake up. There has to be some survivors. There were probably sixty or so people on this plane. They can’t all be dead, can they? I leave the baby again and look for a first aid kid. Thank god. In the front of the first-class area, there is a large first aid box. I open it and find a variety of bandages, creams, and everything in between. I take an ointment cream bottle and rub the cream on my clotted gash. It stings, but feels good all the same.
I go back to the baby and sit down in a smashed seat next to her. “This sucks. ” I say, and start to cry. When I am finished, I fall asleep. “Hello? Is anybody alive? ” I hear a voice crying out. I open my eyes and jump out of my seat, which makes my thigh burn. “I’m alive! ” I scream. I scan the plane, looking for the voice’s owner. There is a man, who looks like he’s in his twenties. His blonde hair is a mess, all tangled and dirty, and he is covered in wet sand. We make eye contact, and he looks so relieved. He sits down and cries out, “Thank goodness. ” I walk down the aisle, well, it’s not really an aisle anymore, and stand above him.
My heart shatters when I see him sob. “My name is Ruby,” I say, “And there is a baby over there, I found her in the plane and she’s unharmed. ” The man looks up at me. “My name is Ben, and we’re going to get help, okay? I know a bit about planes, and I know where the distress radio should be. ” He wipes his nose, stands up, and looks me up and down. “You’re a mess. ” He says. “Have you seen yourself? ” | reply. He shrugs and walks to the cockpit. “If you’re injured, there’s a first aid kit. ” I call after him. He keeps walking and enters the cockpit. When he sees the pilot, he groans. “Oh man, this is bad.
This is really bad. “|| reach the cockpit and follow him around as he searches for the distress radio. “I’ll move the pilot,” I say grudgingly. It’ll give him more room to search. He nods, and looks grateful. I move the pilot outside the cockpit and cover him with some loose fabric that was next to him. Thave just finished when I hear a cry of happiness from the cockpit, so I dash back inside. “I found it! The distress radio! ” Ben shouts. I whoop for joy. Ben starts pressing in signals and programs it. Thank god it works. He keeps pressing random buttons, and I wonder if he knows what he’s doing.
All of a sudden a beep comes on, and there is static fuzz. “Be quiet, I’m going to call S. O. S. “I hear a series of beeps, and then Ben starts talking. “Mayday, this is Airliner 3407. ” We wait for a reply, but nothing comes. He speaks up with a sigh, “I don’t know if someone is supposed to answer or not. ” We wait. I say, “Well, at least you got it to work, right? That counts for something. ” I go and get some chips. I hand him a bag. “I’m gonna go look around outside. ” I say. I leave the plane and look at the sandy beach. It is littered with bodies and metal, and pray to God that not all those people are dead.
If they are, I will feel like dying myself. Darick The briefing happened about ten minutes ago. I listened more intently than I ever have. I felt like I had to grasp every detail. By the end of the briefing, I had learned six important things. The plane definitely crashed. We don’t know the exact location, only that it was a few hundred miles off the east coast of Honolulu. Unfortunately, there are hundreds of tiny islands surrounding that area. If we search a five hundred mile diameter, we could easily overlook islands that the plane could have potentially crashed on.
Based on the area the plane went down, there are probably few survivors. There is enough food to feed the whole flight for one day, (without rationing). There is a distress radio, but it hasn’t been activated yet. My family is probably dead. Number six wasn’t actually said, but I know everybody was thinking it. Ruby I see birds in the sky and the sun is shining bright as I step around trash and metal on the beach. I look for people I could help. I notice some footprints in the sand that I definitely did not make, but they could be Ben’s footprints. I look up and view my surroundings. This island is definitely a small one.
Probably only a few miles across. Ahead of me is the rest of the beach. The beach eventually fades out into lush vegetation. There are palm trees, exotic shrubs, okra, hibiscus, and a variety of other plants I can’t recognize. I guess if we crashed on any island, this is a pretty good one, because I know from science class that hibiscus and okra are edible. Some of the shrubs are probably poisonous, so that cuts out a lot of potential food. This situation sucks, but it’s not like I’m going to die anytime soon, right? I have food, and my shelter can be the plane. Yeah, I know, I’m being really optimistic.
