AUTOPILOT

How would you feel if you are the person who was always lat in the line? How would you feel to be left out?

The house was full of people; it’s James’s brother’s graduation. He is a Summa Cum Laude from UP High School. He will be taking up Law at the same school. Everybody would love to have geniuses for brother but not him.

Their father is a marine biologist while their mother is a university professor. James’s older sister is a Prima Ballerina in Philippine Ballet Institute, she’s taking ECE at Mapua Institute of Technology, she is also a part-time dubber and DJ but most of the time writer. Well… that is my family.

James loves scale modeling, he once wanted to be a pilot but when he learned that it consists of many math thought of it afterwards so he thought of bungee jumping instead. James was a lil’ impatient and he admits it. But above all this, he wanted to be an artist. James hands are gifted. He once told his pals that he draws even when he was still in his mom’s womb.

He wanted to be an artist but he never withdraws his love for planes. When he was hanging out with the boys, he was reading about planes and flying them. Sometimes, he surfs the net for plane models.

Those times are his relaxing moments but aside from those times, his life is miserable... and today is one…

People were buzzing all around but James was bored. He wasn’t allowed to bring his friends over because his parents didn’t like them. They thought that they were all but some turfs in the streets who were reckless and bad influenced. His parents thought that his friends will only make the guests feel uncomfortable. If your guest was the president of a prestigious school, who wouldn’t be uncomfortable.

Large is expected of James, they want him to be a doctor particularly a surgeon which he refuses. But James was not the kind of person to be told what to do., he don’t want a boring life. He is curious and adventurous. He tried smoking at the age of twelve, tried weed and pot but he stopped, even though he was a little out of hand, he still knew what was right and wrong.

James can be a good student if he sets his mind on it but never the best. He never wanted to be the top of the class.

He had made up his mind that he is going to live in Alabama with his Grandma and decided to fly next week. His grandma is a fine lady and he is her favorite grand child.
James sat next to the window near the cockpit. It was not his first time on a plane but he was excited. When he told his parents that he wanted to go, his mother claimed that he just wanted to go to his grandma’s so that he could do all his mischief. She then taunted him of being a “spoiled brat.”

His father stared at him as if reading his thoughts but didn’t say a thing. His sister wept so hard like they were close but he knew better than to believe his own dream. His brother just asked him when his flight was and went to the library.

James sighed. The long flight was nearing its end but he was still enjoying the ride when he heard a rumbling sound, almost a vibration that seemed to come from the wing. James wondered what the sound was when the plane shudder, the nose of the plane falling down. Suddenly, everything tilted at a crazy angle. James was lifted off his seat, his seatbelt cutting into his thighs. He felt a sudden sickness in his stomach.

From the cockpit, James heard alarms “stall, stall!” and everything went quiet. James saw two blue steward suited men walked out of the cockpit as if nothing happened. The men went to the back and gone to the business class suite. James felt sick but his instinct told him to go to the cockpit, he was sure that what happened was a mild turbulence.

Inside the cockpit, James gasped. Two stewardesses were sprawled at the wall. The first officer was cramped up on his seat so was the captain. They were all shot at the heart by a gun. James felt light-headed and he gasped for air. If somebody told him this would happen in his flight, he could have just stayed at home enduring his boring family.

James saw that the captain is holding the lever that discharged the slats. The slats of the airplane created the turbulence but why the captain did that, James was not sure. Nobody would want damage or turbulence. James checked the systems and everything was normal. He had to see where the plane’s other officers where to control the plane.

James ran to the last cabin but all he saw were more dead bodies of the crew, eleven in all. The two he saw earlier were gone and one of the emergency doors was open. “What the… we were ambushed!” he told himself and knew that no one would be able to fly the plane anymore. He ran towards the cockpit again, when an old man called him.

“Hey kid, what just happened and where are all the stewardesses?” the old man asked.

James didn’t know what to do so he said that he would call one. He went to the cockpit and locked the cockpit door. He pushed the dead captain away. If anybody can, he can…

Everything was still in fine condition except for the shouts for help James could hear outside that cockpit. James picked up the radio and called the nearest Air Traffic Control. He requested an emergency landing to LA and for ambulances.

“How many ambulances do you need?” asked the control personnel.

“I don’t know… a full force of twenty. I think…” James hesitated.

“Who are you?”

“Don’t ask just do what I said. It’s a very long story,” James said and cut the line. He told the passengers to fasten their seatbelt and he concentrated on the controls. He used the plane’s autopilot mode until they reach the airport. This helped assure that everything went well.

James was greeted by an admiral after he went out of the hospital; they checked him up for any injury from the turbulence. He was a hero.

The next day, his family arrived at his Grandma’s house. His mother hugged him. He felt all emotions poured into him. His eyes shadowed, tears poured out of him. It’s the first time James was hugged by his mother. His sister was still crying. For the first time James felt the presence and the love of his family.

A month later, he was informed that what happened in the plane was a terrorist attack. They killed the crew then escaped leaving the plane to crush but James was there and saved the day.


James smiled at me. “People are like planes, Seline. We need a pilot to direct us but we have our autopilot. We can control our own decisions so we can go on life smoothly. We should not be handled steely or we’re gonna’ suffer turbulence.”