On my way to Surfers Gate

Plane Ride

Even weeks before the trip I was scared of flying. I've always been terrified of airplanes. I don't really know where the phobia came from; I just never really flew when I was little. But maybe that was it. Most kids would fly to places like their grandparents or Disneyland and if they were lucky, Hawaii. Me, well my family was always too busy to do any of those things. My parents were always fighting and when they eventually broke up neither of them wanted me so they sent me away to live with my mom's mother, my grandma. Conveniently she lived only half an hour away from my old house but when she died soon after, I was forced to move in with my mother who now lived hours away. The only way I could get to her on my own would be through air travel and that brings you up to today's date; the day that I take my first plane trip alone.

I knew straight from the get go that the plane I was to be taking would be a small propeller plane, about eight passenger seats big plus the pilot and co-pilot seats in the front. I am okay with that. If the plane is smaller than we have a less chance of hitting a bird or another plane or anything like that. The smaller the better, right? As of yesterday I lived in a small town called Ocean Front. Just as the name implies it is right by the ocean and that's where we'll be flying, right over the ocean. My mother has moved to a small island in the neighboring area of Hawaii but it is a bit lower south towards Mexico. The island is called Surfers Gate.

Once my parents split up and got rid of me I tried to forget them. I literally pretended that they died. When people asked about them at school I just told them that they had passed on and they all felt bad for me, which was a nice change compared to everyone picking on me. Once Gran really died I had some people from the government take me to the airport so I could live with mom. When mom and dad were fighting I would almost always take her side but when both of them said that they didn't want me I was horrified. I've never heard of parents who would treat their kid so horribly.

I never even knew Surfers Gate was an actual place until yesterday. I basically spent all of today doing some research on the place and I found out that there's not much to do there. Obviously you can surf (if you're able to and of course I can't) and there are a few little shops on the east coast and like three restaurants. The school on the island is an elementary school, a middle school and a high school all in one.  There are only about 25 kids in total that are enrolled there. Why on earth would my mom move to a stupid little place like this?

"Now boarding flight 36-G" screams one of the workers over the intercom. That's my flight. Immediately I start shaking and my anxiety kicks in. Just the thought of being up in the air, where no human should be, without any control of when we take off or land just scares the crap out of me. A small group of people, including me, follow one of the airports workers to the small propeller plane. Well, this is kind of cool. I've never walked on the runway to get on a plane before. My spirits lift the tiniest bit but sink again once I figure out who I am sitting beside. I had sit down next to the window, where my ticket said my seat was and suddenly a big tough, biker looking guy sits beside me. His eyes glaring at me while his mouth snarls at me.

"What's your problem guy?" as soon as the words slip from my mouth I regret them.

The next series of events happen so quick that it's almost a blur. The scary biker looking dude curls his hand into a fist and tries to hit me but I move my head out of the way too fast. Instantly the guy on the isle opposite of him and the lady behind me grab him and hold him back. The pilot hears the ruckus and removes him from the plane. My heart is racing and I can hear him screaming down on the runway. "My wife. My wife. I need to see my wife! Let go of me! Their going to call the cops again. Let me go!

The pilot closes the door and gives us the important safety message as we take off and I hang on his every word. I need to make sure that just in case we crash I will be prepared no matter what. once it's over I let the information sink in then I take a deep breath and try to sleep. This plane ride will be just over six hours. A flight attendant comes around in the first twenty minutes and offers the guy in the isle across from me, the lady behind me as well as her daughter and me some pretzels and drinks of our choice. I look around. Are there really only four passengers? I've never been on such a small plane. I ask for a water and once its in my hand I down it and ask from another on. A big smile etches its self on my face. Maybe this flight won't be too bad. *click* the pilot turns off the seatbelt sign but I'm going to try to stay in my seat just in case.

"Hey, you were really brave back there. Not all little girls could take on a big guy like that." Says the guy on the opposite side of the isle than me. I squint my eyes at him. Little? How young does he think I am?

"I'm not that young. I'm almost sixteen. And I wasn't being brave, I was just lucky that he got evacuated or I would probably be dead by now." He laughs and walks over to the biker guy's old seat and sits down.

"I'm Kyle by the way. And you are?" I take a short second to study his face before answering him. He has short-medium length brown wavy hair. His eyes are a beautiful hazel colour and he has braces. I remember when I had braces. My gums were always sore and the brackets would cut my lips and I couldn't eat hard food for days at a time. Kyle's pretty tall. I'm guessing he is about 5'11 and that's pretty tall considering I'm only 5'6

"My name is Lexi. Well actually it's Alexis but Lexi is fine. How old are you any way and what are you doing going to a small little place like Surfers Gate?" his big white smile disappears instantly. I didn't mean to make him upset.

"Well, I'm almost seventeen. Next week actually and I'm going to go visit my sick grandfather. I haven't seen him in a while so I figured I would give him a visit. My dad, once he got together with his new girlfriend, has kind of forgotten that he even existed and when I told him I was going to visit him he didn't even care that his own dad is possibly dying. Well I guess that's what it's like to have alcoholic Dad and step mom."

It is quiet between us for a few minutes and right before I dare to say something the plane starts to shake viciously. My anxiety kicks in again and I start hyperventilating. 'It's okay, it's okay, and you're going to be fine' I tell myself over and over in my head. Suddenly my stomach is in my throat as the plane starts to fall out of the sky. "Oh god!" I yell at the top of my lungs and I look over at Kyle but he's gone.

"Lexi, come here!" he yells from the cockpit at the front of the plane. I push all of my fear behind me and join him in the front. I push the curtain open only to be welcomed by the biker guy! What the hell? I break our eye contact for a quick second to peek at the pilot and co-pilot. They are both either knocked out or dead. Either way, no one is flying the plane. We keep descending quickly and I fling into action. "Kyle, take the guy, I got the wheel" he nods quickly and throws a punch right in the guy's face.

I can hear crying coming from the passengers section of the plane and I know it's the lady who was sitting behind me and her daughter. Suddenly I burst into tears too but I have to stay strong and fly this god dammed plane.

Lights flicker all around me and there are several switches and only about one third of them have labels. Oh god, what do I do? I quickly scan the control pad for anything that looks somewhat like an emergency button and I don't see one but I do see a radio! I pick it up with sounds of bone against bone in the background. I press the button and yell into the radio "HELP! Is anyone there? There is no one flying this plane." I wait a minute and no one answers. I try again several more time and yet, nothing. I don't understand why until I look down. The wires had been cut. The tears start again and they don't stop this time.

The planes steering wheel looks sort of like a car's but basically the whole top half is missing. We keep plummeting down and my ears are ringing. The pilot is heavy when I drag him out of his seat and throw him on the floor. I pull up on the wheel and the plane slows its decent dramatically but continues to fall down. The ocean is totally visible now and I am hyperventilating profusely.

"Move over!" yells Kyle and I get out of the way. The biker guy is knocked out on the floor and he's all bruised and bloodied up but then again so is Kyle. I stand beside him and I notice he has a black eye on the right side. I close my eyes and try to think of my old life with my grandmother. A few years ago she and I would go shopping and I would help her cook dinner and she would sing to me. We always dreamed about going to Hawaii one day (by boat, not plane, of course). She always used to tell me that she sung as a part of her job but she had never told me what she did. Maybe I can ask mom if and when I get there. *BOOM!* the plane finally makes contact with the ground. I hit the roof hard and on the way down my head makes contact with the control panel and my world fades to black.