Crash Chapter 18
"Trouble"
Randy's POV
I'm sitting on the couch, contemplating what to do next when the phone rings. I've already called mom, and have no idea how to get in touch with Lauren.
'Hello' I answer.
'Randy, it's me, Lauren' Lauren says on the other end of the line.
'Lauren! Are you alright? Did you get hurt in the explosion?' I blurt out.
'Yes, yes, I'm fine. I was on the plane before the bombs went off. Listen, about that, I kind of know something about it' she whispers, her words growing softer with each syllable.
'What? What do you know?' I demand, no less than a trillion different thoughts racing through my mind.
'I was sitting in the terminal, waiting for my plane to begin boarding, when I overheard this couple saying something about setting a bomb off in the airport. I tried to mention it to one of the attendants, but he didn't seem too concerned about it, and just said he would look into the matter' Lauren explains.
'Did you get the couple's names? What did they look like?' I ask.
'No, I didn't get any names. They were both maybe in their thirties or so, both Caucasian, the girl had short brown hair, and the guy had black hair, and he had one of those uh…crew cuts or whatever they're called. Um, they were dressed normally, just a long sleeve shirt and blue jeans. That's all I know' she recounts.
'I've got to call and tell somebody about this. Did you see where they went to?' I ask.
'Randy, I don't want you to start worrying now, okay? I'll be fine' she whispers.
'Lauren, where are they?' I say.
'They're both sitting at the front of the plane I'm on. It's Northwest Airlines flight number 557' Lauren answers.
'Okay, whatever you do, do not hang up. I'm going to call the police on my cell phone and tell them. They'll know what to do' I instruct Lauren.
I grab my phone off the table and dial 911.
'911, what's your emergency?' the operator answers.
'There was just an explosion at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, and my girlfriend is on board one of those planes. She overheard a couple talking about setting off a bomb in the airport, and she told an attendant at the airport, but the attendant apparently did nothing' the operator interrupts me
'So your girlfriend overheard this, then told an employee at the airport, who in turn did nothing' she says.
'He seemingly did nothing. She doesn't know for sure. Anyways, so the couple she heard talking about the bomb is onboard the same plane she is' I finish explaining.
'And what flight is that?' the operator asks.
'It's Northwest Airlines flight number 557' I tell her.
'Okay, I'm contacting the airline officials right now. They will have the plane land as soon as possible, and the couple will be detained' the operator tells me.
'How soon is "as soon as possible"?' I ask.
'It's only a few minutes to Willow Run Airport, which is the closest place to land' she says.
After a couple more minutes, I hang up, and concentrate 100 percent on Lauren.
'Lauren, are you still there?' I ask.
'Yes. Did you get through to anyone?' Lauren whispers.
'I did. You all are apparently going to land at Willow Run Airport, which is only a few minutes away by plane. Then the airport security will come on board and haul the Mr. and Mrs. Bob-omb off to jail' I tell her.
'Oh thank God. This is so terrifying, I don't think I'm ever going to set foot on an airplane again after I get off' she says.
'So anyways, yeah you want to make sure to give him one teaspoon of the cough syrup twice a day, and he gets two teaspoons of the other three times a day. And remember, the cough syrup has to be…' Lauren says rather loudly.
'What? What are you talking about?' I ask, confused.
'Randy, the man just walked right by me on the way to the bathroom. I had to make it seem like a normal phone conversation' she explains. The bathroom? Oh my God. Isn't that what the 9/11 terrorist guy did right before he tried to hijack Flight 93? I want to say something to Lauren about this so badly, but mentioning it will only make her more nervous, and that won't accomplish a thing.
'Hold on a second Randy, the pilot is making an announcement' Lauren says.
'He just announced that we are going to be landing at Willow Run in a few minutes due to mechanical difficulties' Lauren relays to me after a minute.
'Hold on again, the stewardess needs to tell me something' Lauren says again. I can still hear part of her conversation.
'Maybe you don't understand what's going on here' says Lauren.
'But I do understand. Some mechanical difficulties have occurred and we have to make an emergency landing, and that means you need to get off of the phone' the stewardess says.
'Randy, I'm sorry, the stewardess says I have to get off the phone in order for the pilot to make the landing. I'll call you as soon as we land, okay? And, Randy, I love you. I'm sorry I said no to you the other day. Maybe if I hadn't, I wouldn't be in this mess right now' she says.
'Don't go blaming yourself. None of this is your fault. You're not the one who set off all those bombs, and you're not the one who is going to try and hijack this plane' I say. Damn. I didn't mean to say that last part.
'Hijack? What are you talking about? I have to go now. I love you' Lauren says. Before she hangs the phone up, I hear a loud voice saying something. It doesn't sound like either a stewardess or pilot. It sounds very evil.
I hang up the phone, and turn the volume on the TV back up.
'We've just received word now from an air traffic control tower that Northwest Airlines flight 557, the flight that is believed to contain the bombers, is in the process of being hijacked…' I hear the news anchor say after a couple of minutes. He says something more after the word hijacked, but I don't hear a word of it. All I can think about is the fact that my girlfriend, my would be fiancée, is thousands of feet up in the air, and about to lose her life. And I can't do a damn thing to stop it.
I watch the CNN coverage a few more minutes. They bring up another screen that's showing an aerial view of Lauren's plane. After a few minutes, the plane starts zig and zag back and forth, and loses a little altitude. Then a few seconds later, it regains its lost altitude, and starts flying straight again. Something still doesn't feel right.
Then I hear the anchor say ten of the worst words I've ever heard. 'All contact with flight 557 has been lost.'
A/N: I'm sure I've gotten some information wrong in this chapter, but I tried to stay as accurate as I possibly could. So anyways, yeah, I know a lot of this is unreal, but it will all make sense when the story ends.
Please R&R for Lauren's sake. She doesn't want to be trapped on that airplane for the rest of her life. (However long that may be).
Thanks for reading.
-Yours truly, Randy Taylor