"Ladies and gentlemen this is your captain speaking, it is 3:20 am on september 11th 2001. We are about to depart on our flight from Keflavik international airport to SeaTac airport. Thank you for flying Icelandair and please enjoy your flight" I set my tray table up, clipping it into place, doing the same for my brother. He was fussy, he didn't like to be on a plane for very long.

"It's only 7 hours Gabie." He responded with a sigh as he slumped down in his seat. I leaned over and fastened his seatbelt as the engines roared to life.

"Gabe! You hear that? The engines are on! That means we're taking off soon!" That sparked a bubble of interest, he turned towards the window in anticipation. I smiled and pulled a magazine out of the seat pocket. I was gonna be there a while.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking." I awoke to the sound of an announcement. I rubbed my eyes as the captain spoke.

"We will be making an emergency stop at the Gander International Airport. Please remain in your seats as we begin our descent." I sat up. What was wrong? Did something happen to the plane? The cabin grew loud as people began worrying. Gabe looked at me, his eyes wide in fear.

"Is the plane gonna crash?" He asked.

"No Gabe, everything's fine…. they probably just need, uh, fuel or something."

"Ok" He sat back in his seat clutching his plush duck. I put my arm around him as we started descending on a barren forestland. It looked so remote.

A half hour later we were about to land. Gabe was restless and everyone seemed to be in shock. Rumors were floating around the plane, a helicopter had crashed, chemicals leaked, bomb threats, acidic rain. I heard everything. I was resting my eyes when everyone gasped and started panicking. I sat up and looked out the window to see a runway with planes lined up all the way down. There must've been at least twenty! Gabe sat staring, his eyes wide. We approached the runway with people leaning across seats to get a better view. The plane was loud as more tuners were tossed about. As soon as we landed everyone was up, scrambling for the cockpit for answers. A swarm of people crowded the door until the captain came on with an announcement.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please return to your seats until we have reached a complete stop. Once the seatbelt signs are off you may move about the cabin, we will remain on the plane until further notice." This got everyone spooked. Something had to have happened, why'd we have to land? Why did all these other planes have to land? What was happening? Not many people owned mobile phones, but those who did were desperately trying to get through to family and friends. I could hear the man behind me dialing over and over. He was a business man, mid-forties I'd guess. Finally he got through to someone. All I could hear was him repeating 'I'm okay, I'm okay' over and over. As soon as he hung up I stood and begged him to let me use his phone.

"Please I have to call my brother in New York and tell him where I am"

"Alright, but if you don't get through don't kill my phone battery."

"Thank you, thank you" I cried. I dialed my brothers number and I got through, but he didn't pick up so I left a message.

"Hey Kyle it's me Sidney, um Gabe and I are fine, but the plane had to make an emergency stop in Newfoundland, I don't have a phone number for you to contact, I'm borrowing someone's mobile phone, but I'll get a number to you as soon as I have one. Please call me back as soon as you can and let me know you're alright. We have no idea what happened and we're scared, so please stay safe. Love you bye." I hung up and gave the phone back to the man, thanking him. I turned to Gabe and saw that he was crying.

"Gabie, what's wrong?" I asked

"I'm scared."

"Oh Gabie, everything's going to be just fine. We're gonna be okay." I put the armrest between us up and pulled him into a hug. He fell asleep on my lap and I let myself drift off.

I woke up a few hours later, still on the plane. Most people were in their seats sleeping or watching a movie. Some were pacing or stretching in the aisle and a few had even gone so far as to lie down on the floor. I groaned and pulled Gabe closer. We went through every movie. I enjoyed Legally Blonde, but Gave thought it was 'too girly' we watched Dr. Doolittle 2 at least three times. Eventually the sun began to set and we started to worry. Would we ever get off? Suddenly the intercom came on, I recognized the president's voice as the radio played for us all to hear. The plane turned deathly silent, the only sounds were the president's speech and the hum of the intercom. We all listened intently, but we still had no answers. And so we sat, and waited.

We were on that plane for what seemed like an eternity until out of the darkness came a long row of headlights.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we will soon be exiting the plane. You may bring your carry on items only the checked luggage will remain in the hold. Please take your blankets and pillows off the plane. You will head into the airport then be directed through customs and onto a bus that will take you to your shelter. Everyone started scrambling to get their carry on. I pulled my backpack out from above, grabbed my purse from under the seat, and strapped Gabes backpack onto his shoulders. He took his blanket and pillow in his arms and we start down the aisle. Soon they open the airplane doors and we are following a huge crowd of people into the airport. They lead us to a long line of busses. An old man stood by one calling out

"Flight 184, flight 184 over here!"

"We're this way Gabe," I told him, leading him over to the bus where we boarded with the rest of our flight. We sat in a seat in the back and I pulled him close to me.

"Look Gabe, you can see the stars from here!" I pointed at the sky filled with stars, the only light around. As the bus drove away those stars were all I could see in the darkness.