Part 9

By Dee

Slowly but surely, the plane started to rise off the ground.

"Wait, I know more about planes than he does," Kevin offered, his natural fatherly instincts stepping in. He felt if anyone should be flying the plane it should be him.

“Look," the man said. They could almost feel his anger vibrating from his body. "Maybe you don't understand." He shot four times at Kevin, each time barely scraping past him to hit a chair or to ricochet of the floor and into a wall. "IT'S NOT WHAT YOU SAY... it's what I say," the man finished.

Kevin's heart had skipped ten beats nearing death so closely. Think, Kevin, think, he urged himself. Then it hit him. The gunman's vulnerability. But it had to be timed.  Kevin stared at the gunman intently, who was pacing back and forth, searching for any other arms. Nothing on the outside, he concluded. Kevin decided now was as good a time as any. The gunman made another turn to walk back down the aisle. He was a few steps past Kevin and in front of   AJ, Nick's and Howie's row when Kevin jumped up and wrapped his arm around the gunman's neck. "Move! Move! Move!" Kevin yelled to the others.

The three other guys were up and trying to maneuver past Kevin and the struggling man when they felt the plane start to descend.

"What the hell is Brian doing?!" AJ demanded. "We're over water!"

Then they all knew. Brian was falling asleep.

***