Prisoners of the Williwaw by Ed Griffin Read Free Book Online Page B

compartments above the seats began to vibrate.   Latisha put her head back on her seat and clutched the armrest.   A crosswind slammed into the plane as it flew lower and Judy wailed, "Oh Jesus God, Oh Jesus God, save us!"
    The plane went up, then down; up, then down.   Latisha's oxygen mask fell into her face.   One of the children in the front threw up.   Even above the roar of the engines Latisha could hear the walls and the ceiling creaking with stress.   She glanced out the window and saw the wing tip vibrating up and down.   Suddenly the pilot banked into a deep, sharp turn and she saw the rough water of an ocean bay right below her.   A child screamed.
    The plane wobbled from side to side.   Latisha imagined the pilot fighting for control.   Never was she on a flight like this.   She felt cold and she dug her nails into the material of the armrest.Her heart beat rapidly.   Was this the end?    Had she come all this way to die in a plane crash without ever seeing Gil again?
    Out the window she saw the rain-slicked runway ahead.   The pilot was circling toward it.   She closed her eyes and waited.
    A whirling, mechanical noise - a clunk below her - the landing gear was down.   The engine noise changed pitch and suddenly the plane tilted sharply left, then right.
    There was a thud, followed by another thud.   Then she felt the plane start to skid down the runway.   She raised her head and looked out the window.   Her eyes opened wide in terror.   She watched the whole runway grow longer behind her as the plane slid sideways.   She turned and looked out the other window and saw the barrier at the end of the landing strip coming at her.
    "Jesus God, we're going to die!" Judy screamed.
    The plane shuddered and swerved back and forth, eventually slowing down.   Rain pelted the fuselage.
    There was silence for a moment, then Judy's sobs filled the plane.   Latisha unfastened her seat belt and hugged her. "It's okay, we're down now."
    "Oh Jesus.Oh Jesus.   Look at this place."   Judy gestured toward the windows, obscured by sheets of rain.
    "Adak. We're on Adak," the pilot said over the public address system.   He sounded surprised.   People applauded, but one woman in the back yelled out, "You lousy bastard, when you gonna learn how to fly?"
    "We're taxiing in to the Pat Kelly Air Terminal," the pilot continued.   "The temperature's 41 here, it's raining, and the wind's running between 35 and 50 miles an hour.   That puts the wind chill around 15 degrees Fahrenheit.   So bundle up out there!"
    The plane came to a stop on the runway near the terminal and she watched four federal soldiers roll steps up to the door.   Two of them, one male and one female, climbed the steps, came into the plane and began searching everyone as they got off.   She watched as woman after woman was searched and then left.   She could see the bottom of the stairs as each woman descended and her man struggled across the tarmac to greet her.   Was it the fierce wind and the driving rain that made them act like strangers to each other - or was it that they were almost strangers?
    And then, there he was, James T. Gilmore himself, walking across the runway, neat prison pants, an expensive looking parka, dignified, important looking, dressed to perfection even as a prisoner, but looking quite annoyed with the force of the wind.
    Her stomach fluttered.   She wanted him. She wanted to ride the wild whirlwind with him. She stood up, got her carry-on and walked forward to be searched.

 
    Chapter 7
     
     
    Frank put his parka on and started to open the door to the runway. He wanted to wait outside for Judy's plane.   The wind yanked the door from his hand, blew it open and then sent it hurtling back at him, nicking his elbow.   He walked out into the rain, rubbing his elbow.   How can I get control of these convicts, he thought, when I can't even control a door?
    The biting, shifting wind fit the day.   "When do we eat,