Falling Out the Sky (Black Female Lead)

Chapter 1

"Get your hands out of your pocket, all of you out of your pockets!" The hijacker nudged a sleeping man with the butt of his gun. "Wake up old man! Get the fuck up!"

Sitting only a few feet from one of the hijackers, the only thing that was coming to mind was if they would crash the plane and kill us all. They were American though, I couldn't understand what their qualms could be. The older lady next to me, Rolanda, continued to grab at my arm trying to hide her face. She cried into my shoulder. "I want to see my grandchildren Autumn, I want to see them." Autumn, that was me. I was Autumn Johnson, twenty- five year old grad student. Working toward getting my Masters in Social Work, we do a lot of training with individuals with guns, but it's always harder when it's happening. And usually they tell us to hide, run, and fight as a last resort. I couldn't hide or run, and now I realized I wasn't prepared to fight. 

"It's going to be okay Rolanda," I spoke, rubbing her for comfort. But I was scared, shit I was terrified. 

Two more hijackers came from first class joining the two here in coach. Now I'm counting four, four grown men with knives and guns and mask to conceal their identities. Shit! I tried to look around at the gentlemen on the plane, lots of men of all ages, no one tried to conspire though, we all looked at one another desperately looking for a hero. The man on our row patted at Rolanda's legs, but he was older. No fit to fight men with weapons. Especially four men and however many else there are. 

Ladies and babies cried, children screamed bad words at the men, at which the men ignored until now. "Shut your kids up! Shut them up! You want me to blow your brains out? I will, make your kids shut up!"

"I will, I will." Cried the father and mother.

"You're a bad man! Meany!" yelled the children. 

"Shut them up!" responded the hijacker. "They have no idea what's going on here, none!"

I watched, trying to develop a plan in my head. Perhaps the children could serve as a distraction? I wasn't able to gather a better thought process than that. Too much was happening at one time. I simply wanted to make things better, safer. Free us. These men, they had to die.

"Everybody and anybody who acts up is going to get shot," spoke another hijacker. "I won't tolerate retaliation. We will shoot you, my men are trained to shoot first and ask questions later."

Your men? I thought. So, there's a leader. Now if only I could find a way to isolate him and attempt to steer him from such endeavors. Ugh, highly unlikely. Especially with Rolanda still crying on my shoulder.  I had to think of something though. We were sitting ducks just waiting to be slaughtered. In my mind, I was trying to accept that I might die today. That they may crash the plane into the ground and kill us all for some type of political or religious gain. They wouldn't do that though, right? They're American. If that even means anything anymore.

"Excuse me!" I caught myself yelling with a raised hand. All their guns pointed my way as they stared me over.

"Put your fucking hand down lady! Now!" 

"No, please. I'm terrified, I need to use the restroom or I'm going to piss all over myself and it's going to stink because I take anti-depressants." All of which fell out my mouth like a rehearsed song. It helped that it was true. Rolanda shifted in her seat uncomfortable at the attention I drew us. She cried softer trying to keep herself hidden. 

"What the hell are you saying lady? Shut the fuck up! Now!"

"No! I can't, I need to pee. Please!"

"Autumn," spoke Rolanda. "Please, please stop."

But at this point I truly needed to pee, and I needed to think of a plan. Something that would turn the leaders attention. Simple seduction wouldn't work in this case, he was too business and mission minded. They're trained to not be seduced or tricked into anything. Military style they were, some sort of military.