|
"My God!!!" Frank exclaimed. In a daze he turned to Melanie, then putting Fiona on the floor he shouted to Melanie to come and get her, while he ran upstairs to the observation deck. "Come quickly kids! Dick, hurry...!" he yelled furiously at the kids, to make them move. As they came running, he pointed to a gate where there had been a boarding lineup. "Run for your life kids, gate 92 is open, run, run! Quickly!" he shouted to them, "There had been a boarding call at Gate 92 five minutes ago!"
Dick responded instantly. Reluctantly Robert started to run, to catch up. The rest followed him.
"You must get on that plane," Frank shouted after them.
Melanie had picked Fiona up and had gone ahead some way. At the gate the children hesitated. They looked back, uncertain, waiting, waiting for Melanie.
"Go kids!" Frank shouted as loud as he could. "Don't wait for us! Get on that plane, that's your chance to stay alive!"
Robert burst into tears, but responded and moved down the ramp while Frank and Melanie followed, carrying Fiona. Frank was in tears as the children disappeared down the ramp, following Robert.
He had taken Fiona from Melanie, but the children were able to run faster. As he reached the plane with Melanie, the door was still open. What a glorious sight! But the crowd had become stalled. People pushed, shouted.
"At least let the children on," shouted Frank.
Melanie began to cry. She and Frank were near the end of the line.
"At least give the children a chance...," said another woman, repeating Frank's plea while her voice gave way to tears. Frank noticed someone actually struggling to get back out of the plane. "I must get out to my babies," a woman cried, "I must go... Please let me...!" She struggled in vain against the relentlessly pushing crowd that forced her still deeper inside.
Soon all were on board, and the door was shut. Frank heard the engines start to wind up. And even then, people were coming through the food service entrance. Mechanics, supervisors, baggage handlers, traffic officers, whoever on the field was near came climbing up over the service vehicle. A food module, quickly thrown down from the plane had become a stepping stone. People pushed and pulled each other up onto the service platform, and hung onto the plane. No one was prepared to move the service vehicle off. As the plane started to roll, under reverse thrust, miraculously everyone cleared the service vehicle railing. Not one stayed behind. They hung on for dear life, like a living clump while the plane was already on the taxiway. The plane sped forward under a burst of full power, racing to compete with others for takeoff.
Frank shook his head as the pilot pushed the throttles wide open while still turning onto the runway. Some people fell, and the rest at the door where thrown in, while the door fell shut behind them. "That guy has gone mad!" remarked Frank to Melanie. "But I love him, he is beautiful."
Frank could appreciate the pilot's struggle against the clock. "I must congratulate that glorious cowboy," he said. But Melanie held him back; "Later!" she urged him. "We must find the kids first!"
Frank agreed. But finding them was easier said than done. There was no order on the plane. People were stumbling, crying, praying, swearing, some were quietly looking for empty seats. Frank said he thought he had recognized Robert in the next cabin, but it seemed hopeless to get there. A steward shouted to Frank from a corner across the center row, to sit down, pointing to two empty seats in the middle. Frank was still holding Fiona. "Keep the kid on your lap," the steward demanded.
Reluctantly Melanie gave up on locating the kids and sat beside Frank.
Next Page
|| - page index -
|| - chapter index -
|| - Exit -
||
|
