This was the first essay I wrote for the Young Writer's Programme.. we were supposed to submit at least five pieces of work, and I'll be uploading the rest when I figure out how to get the images to show here.
Oh well, enjoy.
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Dark, ominous clouds filled the sky as Sean looked out
of the plane's window just minutes before takeoff. A storm was predicted to hit
the islands of Hawaii later that evening. Lady luck was on Sean's side as his
parents managed to book a last minute flight back to Singapore. After what
seemed an eternity of waiting, the loudspeakers crackled to life and the
announcements were made, "Ladies and gentlemen, we request that all mobile
phones, pagers, radios and remote controlled toys to be turned off..."
They had been flying for about half
an hour when the captain announced over the loudspeaker that they had reached
their cruising altitude. All that turbulence they had encountered before had
vanished, and the ride was smooth. Sean settled back in his seat and felt his
eyelids droop, seemingly weighing a ton. He had lost much sleep the previous
night, staying up late playing on the computer at the hotel. After a few moments
of trying to stay awake, he nodded off to dreamland.
Down in the hold, the temperature was
plummeting. The bumpy takeoff caused by the turbulence has tossed the man
around like a plush toy, bruising him badly. The man clambered to the front of
the plane, noting that the turbulence had stopped and that it should be safe to
proceed. Within a few quick minutes, he came along the trapdoor leading to the
plane's cockpit. With a screwdriver in the rucksack he brought along when he
sneaked on the plane, dislodged the panel and climbed into a small chamber.
From the looks of it and the rounded nose of the plane, he could tell he was
just below the cockpit. He readied his tools that would break the trapdoor and
put his plan in action...
All of a sudden, the plane nosedived
and Sean jerked awake. Screams of terror and cries of children resounded
throughout the plane as the plane lost altitude. Sean, with a look of terror on
his face, shouted, "What's happening? What's happening?" The cabin
was in chaos as terrified passengers and crew members were running about,
alerting the others that the plane was hijacked. In the cockpit, the two pilots
were taken by surprise as a masked man pushed two guns against each of their
heads and said in a menacing tone, "You will land the plane at Changi
International Airport and announce my demands on the radio when I order you
to."
Just then, the plane stabilized and
the pilots announced that everything was alright and that was just the storm.
The effect of those words were tremendous. The entire cabin, which had
dissolved into chaos minutes ago was now calm and joking about it. From then
on, the flight went on as normal and in an hour the plane was losing altitude
in preparation for landing at the airport. The plane landed and grinded to a
halt, but the doors remained locked. The crew members were baffled as they
tried to calm the passengers down who had once again begun worrying. Then, the
PA systems crackled to life, "This plane is now under my control. I advise
you not to attempt to break down the door or I will execute the pilots. I
demand that the U.S. government release my fellow comrade terrorists whom they
have arrested in Pakistan, or I will set off the bombs I have planted on this
plane." At the mention of the "bombs", all hell broke loose. The
crew members tried to calm the passengers down, but their efforts were futile.
Sean was dazed, shocked that the "miracle" of just now had turned out
to be a fluke.
Looking out of the window beside his
seat, Sean saw armored police officers surround the perimeter of the plane,
guns trained on it. Then, a negotiator, using a loudspeaker, began to negotiate
with the terrorist. The negotiation was not going well. The terrorist denied
each offer, insisting that all their comrades be released unconditionally. Time
seemed to be crawling, and once again, the terrorist spoke to the cabin over
the speaker, "Kill one of them." Frantic eyes darted around the
plane, knowing too well what these words meant. Out of the corner of his eye,
Sean saw movement and within seconds, gunshots rang out and a patch of red
appeared on one of the passenger's shirt. He stared at his chest, the patch
spreading with every second as he collapsed, dead. Everyone in the cabin
started screaming, running away from the man. Once again, the speakers
crackled, "My men will kill one hostage every thirty minutes until we have
a deal." The negotiator spoke nervously but firmly as he negotiated with
the terrorist as the passengers on board waited in terror...
The police commissioner stood in the
control tower, continuously contacting the ministers, discussing their next
move. Finally the order was given to storm the plane and give up the
negotiation. He spoke quickly into the officer in charge below, giving orders.
Sean was back to his seat, trembling in fear, glancing out of the window ever
so often. The officers began to move quickly, drawing their guns and preparing
to blast the door. There was a loud bang as all four emergency exits of the planes
were destroyed and police officers stormed the plane. They did not know,
however, that the terrorist had other accomplices. The two accomplices in the
cabin got out from their seats and began firing at the officers, and the
officers returned fire.
Shortly after, the two terrorists
were down - one was wounded while one was dead as they were not wearing
bulletproof vests and did not expect any conflict. Two gunshots rang out from
the cockpit as the door opened and the third and final terrorist made a run for
it, opening fire at the officers while using the passengers as human shields.
The officers could not risk it. At that moment, Sean was grabbed off his seat,
a gun pointed at his head. His parents screamed and started crying as they
pleaded with the terrorist, who showed no emotion. He was in shock, not knowing
what was happening as he was brought out of the plane, walking towards one of
the buggies which airport staff used to travel around the airport.
At the top of the airport terminal
building, sunlight reflected off the sniper's scope as he adjusted his gun. The
sudden flash stunned the terrorist, blinking his eyes as he realized it was a
sniper. Sean bit down hard on the terrorist's arm while he was blinded, making
him yell in pain. There were several gunshots from the officers in front of him
and the sniper on top of the building. Within seconds, it was all over.
The police arrested the wounded
terrorist and brought the passengers to safety while a bomb squad was on scene
to defuse the bombs. It took a long time to calm most of the passengers down,
apart from those who were emotionally shattered from the loss of their family,
the hostage which had been shot and the two pilots. Sean was shocked at the
close shave he had and at a loss for words. Soon, all was well again after the
officers had taken their statements and the passengers began leaving the
airport.
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COPYRIGHT WAYNE NG 2012
COPYRIGHT WAYNE NG 2012
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