A Story I Wrote

This is a story I wrote last year in creative writing.


The Crash
On Board Flight 1867
Kristin sighed in relief. The eleven hour flight was nearly over, only about two hours left to go. She looked out the window but quickly turned her head back, for the sun on the horizon had stunned her dilated eyes. The sunlight now streamed through the windows aboard the airplane, looking more like beams of gold than actual sunlight.
She looked over at her husband who was giving Avery the last of her milk. “That tastes good doesnt it?” he muttered softly to her, tickling her chin. Avery nosily sucked the little bit of milk that was left in the bottle and pushed it away with her tiny hands. Kristin, for she loved to do this, reached over picked up little Avery, raised the infant over her shoulder, and began to pat Averys back. After about thirty seconds she let out a gurgling burp and relaxed.
Kristin and her husband, James, had taken a cheaper airline to save up money. It would be useful for paying the bills for a couple weeks till Jamess paychecks started to roll in. James is going to work at some law firm; Kristin didnt really care which one because it was a well paying job and kept food on the table.
Kristin swiveled in her seat and looked up the aisle. Breakfast should be here soon, Kristin thought. The flight crew had been very nice, but the stewardess seemed a bit discombobulated. Meals coming at the wrong time, her giving the wrong drinks to people, and walking back and forth the aisle for no reason. So, it surprised Kristin not to see her prowling up and down the aisle.
“I have to go to the bathroom,” Kristin murmured to her husband.
She got up and walked down the aisle till she reached the bathroom. It was unlocked so she stepped inside. When she was done she hopped out and looked at the cockpit door; it was wide open. She was surprised at the casualness of the pilots. Even though she knew that Asian crews often did this it still struck her as inappropriate, too informal. After a year in China, she started to admire the attention to detail the Chinese had. But for some reason this whole flight made her nervous.
“Hey babe,” James whispered in Kristins ear when she sat back down in her seat. Kristin knew that he was just trying to distracter her; he must have seen her worried face.
“What is the first thing you want when we land in America?” he asked.
“A cheeseburger,” she blurted out with out thinking, “I definitely want a cheeseburger.”
“With some Chinese hot sauce,” he said with a grin.
“God no, Just a cheeseburger. With tomatoes, lettuce, pickles, onions, and a lot of ketchup.”
“That does sound good,” James agreed his eyes deep with longing.
“Oh, James get the video camera out you have to record this,” Kristin said smiling. Avery was now laughing hysterically; it was the cutest thing you could imagine. Her little body vibrating from the giggles that rippled down her petite body. James grabbed the camera and started to record Avery.
“Do you want a cheeseburger too,” James asked her, laughing himself.
Avery grabbed her foot, dragged it to her mouth, and began to gnaw on her little toes.
“Not waiting for the stewardess to bring breakfast Avery?” James asked.
Then Kristin heard a lower rumbling, similar to a vibration, which seemed to be coming from the wing. She whipped her head around and exclaimed, “What was that?”
“Calm down Kristin, its probably just some wing adjustments,” James glanced at his watch still laughing, “Were almost there.”
But as he said it, the plane shuddered and the front of the plan began to dive down. Everything was tilted at crazy angles. Kristin felt Avery begin to slide, so she instinctively snatched her baby up and held her against her chest. The plane felt like it was going straight down. But the moment this thought crossed her mind the plane violently pivoted upwards.
Abruptly Kristin was lifted out of her seat and was slammed against the roof. She cursed at herself for not wearing her seatbelt. Why the #@$% didnt I put my seatbelt on after I got back from the bathroom? Kristin lurched for the seat belt with one arm, still clutching Avery in the other, and managed to grasp the seat belt. She slipped into her seat and looked at the scene around her.
Kristin saw James get slammed into the luggage compartment. He was unconscious and had blood all over his face. The camera must have left Jamess hand because and instant later it flew in front of Kristens face. She heard an automated voice call out, “Engine Failure, Engine Failure.” Kristen watched as yellow plastic oxygen masks dropped down, but she could not reach one because she feared she might leave the seat again if she tried.
All of the sudden the plane went into another abrupt dive and she was pressed back against her seat. Then a teenage boy rocketed down the aisle toward the cockpit and an elderly Chinese lady followed close behind him. Briefcases and purses bounced of the back of her seat and every so often a body would hit the back of Kristens seat with a cold, muffled thud. Kristen lowered her head onto her infant daughters and for the first time in her life she started to pray.