Chapter 2

A Chapter by Rasheem

A massive airplane flew high in the sky its shadow covered the clouds from below. On the side of it was Luther’s trademark symbol a golden capitol L with a lowercase red s. On the plane were a hundred prisoners and twenty guards with weapons. The prisoners sat two in each seat. Their hands and ankles were handcuffed. There were small round windows on the edges they could look out of and enjoy the view. The prisoners wore red jumpsuits with a number on the right side of their chests. The guards wore red uniform button up shirts with a black bullet proof vest on their chest. They walked up and down the plane monitoring the prisoners. The fly to the prison was mostly quiet; chains rattled occasionally when the plane hit some turbulence.

“This isn’t happening. This isn’t happening. This isn’t happening.” The young boy rocked back and forth in his seat chanting those words. He and the old man were placed on the very back of the plane. “Could you keep it down? I’m trying to sleep.” Said the old man. His eyes were closed with his head resting on the window. “Keep it down!?” How dare you say that to me!? It’s your fault I’m on this plane headed to my doom.” “My fault? How is it my fault?” The old man asked. “Don’t play dumb old man! If you would have just got on your knees for a few f*****g seconds I wouldn’t even be here right now!” The old man sat up in his seat realizing the young boy wasn’t going to be quiet while he tried to sleep.

“I’m still not seeing how it is my fault why you’re here. I was just having a drink and taking a walk.” The young boy stared at the old man with eyes that wondered if he were crazy. “Do you not know the law!? Have you been living under a rock? When the golden bell rings you get on your knees and worship our god Dagon!” The old man turned his head facing the young boy. “You still haven’t answered my question how is it my fault that you are here?” “I’m here because my dumb a*s got up while the bell was ringing to get your old a*s down! You were hammered so you probably don’t remember. I tried several times to pull you down but you wouldn’t budge.”

The old man chuckled. “So, you blame me for an action that you made?” “I was trying to be a good citizen I noticed you were drunk. I never imagined you would resist getting down.” The old man broke eye contact slumping back down in his seat. “It not my fault I didn’t make you get up, you did that out of your own impulse.” The young boy eyes began to water up. “Why didn’t you just get down!? It was so simple. Ishar only has the bell ring for thirty seconds. Now I’m going to spend the rest of my life in prison.” The young boy lay back in his seat and started to weep loudly. Other prisoners began to get annoyed from the noise and a big commotion arose.

Two guards rushed from the front. “Everyone shut the f**k up now or I will shoot you in your seat.” The guards waited to see if anyone would make a noise. The young boy fought back tears, the other prisoners had their mouths shut looking forward. After a few minutes the guards walked back to the front. The young boy wept silently to himself, the old man looked at the weeping kid with a frown on his face.

“What is your name kid?” The young boy wiped the tears from his face. For a while he just sat there not answering the old man. “Gabriel.” “My name is Gabriel.” “Gabriel that was a brave thing you tried to do. You don’t know me at all but you stuck your neck out for me.” Gabriel didn’t say anything he just looked down at the floor. “Never regret anything you do Gabriel. What’s done is done, there are no such things as mistakes.” The old man waited to see if Gabriel had anything to say before continuing to speak. “My name is Ezekiel. Now we are no longer strangers.” Ezekiel laid his head on the window and closed his eyes. “Wake me when we reach the prison.”

Gabriel looked over at Ezekiel and sighed. “I can’t believe this.” He said to himself. An hour passed by then a voice from the intercom startled the prisoners. The voice echoed through the speaker. Out the window to your left is sky lee Were you will be spending the rest of your miserable lives!" In front of the plane was some very large land. There was green grass on top and dirt on earth at the bottom. It was mysteriously floating in the air. The earth below the grass did not fall off. It clamped to the surface as if it were burrowed under it in the ground. The field above also had crops growing on the grass they were neatly aligned throughout the front of the island.

In the center of the floating island stood a tall steel building. The building was massive and on top of it was Luther’s flag blowing in the wind. The flag was red with a gold crown on the middle of it. On the center of the crown was Luther’s trademark symbol. The building stood tall almost 400 feet off the ground. Prisoners could see the cell walls on the side as the plane flew down. The plane landed on a runway outside the front of the building. It skidded then came to a complete stop. Guards stomped down the aisles ordering prisoners to stand up. One by one the prisoners stood. Then the guards told them to step off the plane one behind the other.

Gabriel shoved the old man with his shoulder a little harder than necessary. "We’re here.” Gabriel said. Ezekiel yawned then stretched his body the best he could. “Oh, this is a nice-looking building, well built.” Ezekiel said while rubbing his white beard. Gabriel looked at the old man and shook his head. “I hear that no prisoner has ever left from this place.” Ezekiel said still looking out at the tall building. “That’s right.” Gabriel said, “And thanks to you this is our home now!” “I wonder why this island is floating so high up. Ezekiel said ignoring Gabriel’s comment.

“What does it matter!? The fact of the matter is we are stuck here! And when the plane leaves we will have no way off the island.” “The island does not seem to be floating but rather sitting still in one spot.” Ezekiel said while stroking his beard. “This island is defying gravity somehow.” Ezekiel continued pulling on his beard he still had his head out the window admiring what he saw. “There is always a way to do what you want.” Ezekiel said. "After I am done with this place I will leave, but first I want to know why it floats."

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© 2018 Rasheem

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Reviews

barleygirl

Once again, brilliant storytelling & the mechanics of your writing are strong. I really like the way this ordinary story about daily business has turned into a fantasy now. The island in the sky is a nice touch of imagination, while the rest of your story still sounds like everyday life in a realistic way. I also like the role that the old man plays of teaching life lessons to the kid -- well done. I felt the dialogue awkward in a couple places, so I'll note it below (((HUGS))) Fondly, Margie

“Everyone shut the f**k up now or I will shoot you in your seat and you will be in a great deal of pain the rest of the flight.” ---- This sounds dumb from the word "and" to the end of the sentence. It's too obvious a thing to say to someone.

“We are here!” the voice echoed through the speaker. If you look out your window you will see sky Lee! Were you will be spending the rest of your miserable lives in!" ---- This does not sound like how airplane flight attendants speak to their passengers. "We are here" is dumb becuz where the hell is "here"? It would be more realistic to start with something like this: "We will be landing soon, so buckle your seatbelts and prepare to deplane" . . . and the next part just sounds clumsy, here's a possibility: "Out the window is Sky Lee where you will be spending the rest of your miserable lives."

"What does it matter!? The fact of the matter is we are stuck here!" ---- the phrase "the fact of the matter is" is a phrase that's toooo overused everywhere & I'm sick of it. Find new ways to say things, don't use clichés.

Thanks for considering my comments.