Twenty-one year old Peter, who had been adopted when he was three years old, had planned this airplane trip for a whole summer. He loved his adoptive parents very much and had asked them why his birth parents did not want him, and they told him they were young and felt they could not raise him in a way they should. He had two brothers and two sisters who were also put up for adoption. His brothers were six, and his sisters were nine and twelve. He had no idea where his birth dad was but had found out where his birth mom was. A picture of her was on his living room wall. She was a beautiful woman with short brown curly hair. He looked a lot like her.

He was raised in California and was going to visit his birth mom, Rebecca, in Florida. He had the chance to talk to her on the telephone two weeks prior to his airplane trip. Rebecca was quite pleasant with him on the phone. She told him her relationship with his birth dad was very short. They didn't really love each other, but were infatuated with each other. Because of that, he didn't want to meet his birth dad, but he hoped to someday meet his four siblings.

Peter had learned how to shoot his rifle and felt he was ready to use it in case there were terrorists on the plane. Of course, he was required to put his unloaded gun in a locked container. He was picked on and bullied in elementary school because he spoke with a lisp and was smaller than kids his age. He often came home with bruises on his face and two black eyes . He didn't know how to fight back and often came home crying. His teachers would not do anything with the boys that bullied him so he got trained in karate. He also ate a lot more and ate food that helped him grow taller. After he got trained in karate, whenever he was laughed at for speaking with a lisp, he used karate to give the boys who bullied him bruises and black eyes. Of course, they no longer bullied him.

It was a sunny autumn day. There was no clouds in the sky. The Boeing 737 plane was filled with 550 passengers. It would be a five hour plane ride for Peter. Everything seemed to be going smoothly. All of the passengers seemed to be enjoying the plane ride. Some were laughing and engaged in conversations, Many of them were listening to music, some were sleeping, and some were reading a book. At the beginning of his trip, he had listened to songs for an hour then he read a book for an hour. Then he decided to take a nap.

It was halfway through his plane trip. The plane was 36,000 feet in the air. It seemed he had just closed his eyes for a nap, but it had been thirty minutes. Suddenly, he heard a scream, then another, then three or four more. Many of the passengers were agitated and panicked. When he looked up, he saw three masked men with dark hair and dark skin facing the passengers and holding loaded rifles. Two others had taken control of the plane. They had forced the pilot and the co-pilot to take some kind of poisonous pills that killed them.

Many of the passengers around him were terrified. He listened to the flight attendants who told them not to panic. He tried to calm the passengers down. Many were afraid to face terrorists.Several were trying to call their families and tell them terrorists had taken over his plane. He called his adoptive parents too. They were glad he got hold of them and told him to remain calm. It was hard for Peter to remain calm, but he knew he had to. He didn't look at the hijackers and kept his head down. He had no idea if there were other hijackers hiding among the passengers.

The airplane seemed to be headed toward the ground. Peter knew he needed to act fast. Somehow he was able to page a flight attendant and had her unlock the container his rifle was in. Then he loaded up his rifle. Suddenly he heard a gun shot, then he heard a bunch more. Several passengers were killed. He used his karate skills to knock the other three other hijackers cold, then he killed them. Very discreetly, he went to the cockpit and stayed in the bathroom there.

Peter had never learned how to fly a plane before, but he always wanted to. When he was in the bathroom, he tore up his shirt. He got on his knees and calmly told the two terrorists they would not longer be able to take over the plane He tied the co-pilot's hands together together, then he shot him in the heart and killed him. He had a struggle with the pilot who pointed his rifle at him. He shot Peter in the right leg, and the bullet lodged there. Peter shot the pilot in his torso and killed him. He now had taken over the plane.

The weather had suddenly changed drastically. There was smoke and fog in the sky. Peter flew the plane at 300 miles per hour. There was also engine failure. He had no choice but to crash the plane. The plane crashed after it descended for thirty minutes. All of the passengers were killed. Somehow he was the only survivor. He had major burns on his hands, feet, and face.

A passerby saw him and removed him from the fire. He called 911. Peter was taken by a helicopter to a burn center where he had surgery. He was there for two months. One month of that time he had therapy to help him walk again because it was painful for him to walk. The bullet that was lodged in his leg was removed at a hospital.

Peter was a hero in his hometown and received a medal for his bravery. He called his adoptive mom and told her all about the hijackers who took over his plane, how he was the only passenger to face them and kill them, and how he received major burns in the crash. She asked him to meet her the following spring.

The next spring Peter took the five hour plane ride to Florida. This time the weather was pleasant, and he had an uneventful trip. He spent two weeks getting to know his birth mom. He forgave her for giving him up for adoption, and they gave each other a warm hug. He asked her to move to California and be closer to him which she did the following summer. She helped Peter find out where his four siblings lived. They actually lived three hous away from him. His two brothers were adopted in one family, and his sisters in another. They had a very happy reunion the following winter.

Soon after that Peter was able to meet a woman who did not judge him for all of the scars he had from the burns. He also told her about his experience with the terrorists. They got to know each other quite well and got married when he was 25. His four siblings also found husbands and wives.