Stranded With a Stranger - Chapter One

Chapter One
“Ladies and gentleman, this is your captain speaking. We’ve now reached cruising altitude. I’m switching off the fasten seat belt sign.” It seemed to Chastity Worth that every person in business class was happily unfastening their belts and leaping up to wander up and down the narrow aisles. The only ones staying seated and buckled were herself, and the man in the seat beside her who was fast asleep.
Not me. She thought fiercely, clutching the belt across her lap. Far, far below her, she saw the undulating surface of the impossibly vast Pacific Ocean. Oh God. She squeezed her eyes shut and inched away from the small window. She had specifically asked for an aisle seat, but no. Of course she’d be sat by the window. Chances were the man beside her, with the aisle seat, had requested the window. That’s life for you. She eyed his seat and wondered if he’d switch with her.
Chastity hated to fly. She hated the taking off, when it felt like the world had crumbled and left her suspended in midair. She hated turbulence, every lurch bringing visions of twisted steel and mangled flesh. She hated airplane food, which she refused to eat, and airplane restrooms, which she refused to use. She hated the fact that everyone seemed to take it for granted that flight was a necessary thing, as if preferring to drive or float to a destination was somehow unreasonable and old fashioned. Only one thing in this life could have gotten her on a plane, and that was her sister Prosperity.
Peri was older, by about a year, and had always been Chastity’s best friend. Through an unstable, frightening childhood, they had been all the other had. They had shared everything- secrets, toys, a single dirty bed, food, a chaotic and uncertain life. No matter what, Peri was the one person Chastity could count on to be there, to be hers, her only real family.
And now Peri was getting married.
When they’d been at cruising altitude for some time, the man beside her started awake and lurched to his feet, making his way unsteadily down the aisle. Chastity resolved to ask him to switch seats with her when he came back. She didn’t like talking to strangers, which was why she hadn’t broached the subject earlier. Now, however, her discomfort was greater than her reluctance.
It was with a funereal mood that Chastity had packed her bags to fly home, to fly back to California from her hotel in Italy, to fly back to say goodbye to her sister. She felt her eyes watering anew at the prospect. No longer her confidante or midnight accomplice, no longer her one call or lifeline, Peri was going to become someone’s wife. And I’ll have nobody. No one to belong to.
The man in the aisle seat returned and sat down heavily with a long sigh. Chastity chewed her lip for a minute, the anxiety she always felt before addressing a stranger stirring in her stomach. “Excuse me?” she ventured. The man glanced at her briefly. “Yes?”
“I was wondering… would you switch seats with me?”
“What?”
“Seats. You see, I really don’t like being by the window. I thought maybe you’d like to switch.”
“If I wanted to switch, wouldn’t I be the one bringing it up?” he asked sardonically, arching one jet-black brow.
“Oh, please-“
“Sorry, miss. Any other time, I’d switch with you. But it just so happens that I need to be in the aisle.”
“You need to be in the aisle?” she asked doubtfully, raising her own eyebrows.
“Yes.” He answered curtly, his tone making it clear that he would not welcome any further discussion. Chastity shrank back against the side of the plane, seething with frustration. What a jerk! She frowned, trying to draw every molecule of her body as far away from the man as possible. It wasn’t easy. He was a big man, a muscular man with wide shoulders and large hands with short nails and veins that practically popped out of his skin. Too much testosterone pumping through them. Chastity thought resentfully. Exactly the type of man she hated and looked down on, the muscle-bound, unenlightened macho type. He flexed his large hand on the arm rest and Chastity flinched, remembering all too well what being a strong man meant. Power. The power to beat and slap those smaller into submission, the power to use fear to control. Half of her mind scoffed at such caveman techniques, and half of her still feared strength as much as she disdained it.
A heavy sigh made her glance reluctantly at the chiseled, unhandsome profile of her stern seatmate. “Look, lady, I’m not trying to make your life difficult. I really do have a good reason for needing this seat.”
“And that would be…?” Chastity asked stiffly.
“I can’t really tell you. You’re just going to have to trust me.”
Not likely. Chastity rolled her eyes. “Whatever. I’m sure it’s a matter of state security.” She snorted, her voice dripping with sarcasm and disdain.
“Look, it’s none of your business!”
“Fine! Why do you think I’d care, anyway?” Chastity snapped.
“I’m sure you wouldn’t!” the man replied with equal testiness.
“Well I don’t!”
They sat in silence for a few minutes, Chastity grinding her teeth in irritation. Part of her knew she was being unreasonably rude to this stranger. There was just something about him; something threatening that brought back old fears. So she sat stiffly, feeling resentful and slightly guilty.
“Damn it. I really can’t say anything.” The man broke the silence, making Chastity jump slightly.
“So don’t.”
“I’d tell you if I could.” He assured her.
“Look, I don’t CARE, ok? It’s not my business, like you said.” Chastity ground out.
“How about I buy you a drink to make up for it?” the man suggested.
“Oh, I don’t really-“
A sudden commotion at the front of the compartment distracted her for a moment, and when she looked back, the man had dashed off. “-drink.” She finished dryly. A short, wide man stood yelling at a flight attendant at the front of the section. “Take me to the captain! Take me to the captain!” The man was screaming. The tall, dark haired man who had been sitting with Chastity threw himself at the hysterical little man.
“No, take me to the captain.” A voice startled Chastity. She looked over her shoulder to see a man standing in the row behind her. He casually held up a gun. “If my demands are not met, I’ll start shooting passengers.” He lowered his gun to press against Chastity’s neck. “And I’ll start with this one.”
Chastity gulped for breath, her heart pounding. The barrel of the gun was cold, but not as cold as the casual confidence of the man’s tone. He would shoot her in a moment. She squeezed her eyes shut. I should have known it would end up like this. Her life had been nothing but a series of disasters and bad breaks. Why should her death be any different?
The man grabbed her by the arm and hauled her up. Her seatbelt jerked her back down and she fumbled to unbuckle it. “Stanley Carlston.” The dark-haired man from the aisle seat released the now-silent fat accomplice and stood.
“Of course. I can’t believe it took you this long to spot me. Really, your boys must be scraping the bottom of the barrel… sending a rookie out to face me.”
“I guess you don’t rank that high on our list of dangerously insane, Carlston.” The dark haired man replied steadily. “Just let the girl go and let’s talk about this calmly.”
“Like hell.” Stanley hissed. “Take me to the captain.”
The dark haired man led Stanley and Chastity slowly towards the cockpit. By now the panic had begun to ebb and Chastity was frantically looking for something, anything, any way out of this mess. Her eyes darted around the plane. A bag dragged down from an overhead compartment, swung to smack Stanley? A careful stomp-and-duck? A quick blow to the head with a bag of ice from the drink cart? Chastity couldn’t think of any solution that wouldn’t startle Stanley and fire off the gun.
The woman in red, sitting in first class, obviously hadn’t thought the whole situation through as thoroughly as Chastity had. She courageously threw her martini, glass and all, in Stanley’s face. He roared in anger and threw up his arm reflexively, catching Chastity on the side of the head and throwing her to the ground. Dizzily, she heard the gun go off. There was a gasp, and an explosion, and then everything went black.

New Story coming up

So I dropped the last story like a hot rock after certain assumptions were made (although there really wasn't that much similarity between the story and my life, that suggestion just killed the story for me.) Coming up soon is the first chapter of a new story, VERY corny, very silly, not serious in the tiniest degree and in no way my best work or related to my life. I have no idea if the details are correct or if it's a plausible plot and I don't care; taking care of details makes my writer's block worse. I'm having fun writing it and I hope you have a little fun reading it. Stay tuned for the first installment of Stranded with a Stranger. (Told you it was corny). This story is for my very good friend Christi, for her birthday. Luv you buttercup!