Author's Note: I am an American, and very proud of that fact. I was horrified on September 11th, 2001, when terrorists struck out at our country… and today, I still am. My heart goes out to each and every person who lost a family member or a friend in the Attack on America; and I truly hope that my story does not offend anyone.

To explain about my story- in English class this past year (I was a high school freshman), we were asked to write an essay. However, I asked my teacher if I could write a -fiction- story about the events that took place September 11th. She let me, and this is what I wrote. But, all characters in here are complete fiction, please remember that. I created characters and placed them on one of the planes that struck into the WTC. Again, these characters are complete fiction and I am truly sorry if this offends anyone.

Doomed

It started out like every other day. Sara woke up, and found that Michelle, her twin sister, was already awake and packed. Yawning, Sara said, "I'm going to take a shower, Shelly. Tell Mom if she comes in." She hurried with her shower, makeup, hair and clothes. She knew that her mother would already be up, as would her father. It was like that every morning.

When she was done, she walked into her parent's hotel room, where they were all waiting for her, as she thought that they would be. "About time, Sleeping Beauty!" her father said. It was a running joke in their family; Sara tended to sleep in and be late for things.

"I can't help it; my prince is late!" she said. "You're lucky I got up at all!"

They all laughed, and the twin's mother was the one who finally said that they better head to the airport.

After they arrived at the airport, they still had an hour before the plane left. Both Sara and Michelle bought postcards to send to their friends. They would arrive before the cards would, but they didn't care. They wrote that they couldn't wait to get home, they would seem them soon, and they loved and missed them all. After sending the cards out, they went back to their parents. A few minutes later, they heard the boarding call for Flight 11, and hurried to their gate.

Michelle loved heights, so she sat by the window, while Sara sat in the seat next to her. An Arabic man that neither of them knew sat in the aisle seat. Sara glanced at him, as did Michelle, but neither of them paid much attention to him.

About fifteen minutes into the flights, the man sitting next to Sara got up and headed toward the back of the plane. Sara thought that he was acting odd, so she watched him out of the corner of her eye. He headed in the direction of the bathrooms, but stopped and talked to a few other men in low whispers right before the entrance to the bathrooms. They too looked like Arabs, and a few looked very nervous and upset. Sara, trying not to look suspicious, turned and whispered to Michelle, "Something isn't right, Shelly… look at those men. No, not too quickly, but in a few seconds, and very slowly. "

Michelle did. She turned back to her sister, looking worried. "You're right, Sara. Something's wrong." She turned to a nearby flight attendant and said, "Excuse me, miss? Who are those men? Is something wrong?"

The flight attendant frowned, and asked, "Which men?" After Michelle subtly pointed them out, the attendant smiled and said, "Oh, I'm sure those men are just friends, discussing something. Nothing is wrong."

The attendant walked away, but Michelle and Sara still felt uncomfortable. After discussing it quietly, Sara suggested that they not to tell their parents. "They have enough on their minds, with Mom being pregnant and all," she said. "They certainly don't need our paranoid little worries added to it."

Michelle agreed. "It would just be stressing out Mom, and she doesn't need that."

Suddenly, they heard a lot of loud cursing. "What in the world?" Sara's mother said as they all turned toward the back of the plane where the cursing was coming from. Sara and Michelle were shocked to see the man that had been sitting next to Sara and the men he was talking to holding up knives to flight attendants' throats. They were even more shocked to see that one of the flight attendants was the one who had told them that nothing was wrong.

"Jesus…" Michelle said. "What…?" The twins were both trembling, and Sara started muttering the twenty-third Psalm under her breath.

While the passengers were still shocked as to what had happened, the men quickly broke into the cockpit and slit the pilots' throats. Everyone on board the plane realized what was happening, if they hadn't already. Those men were hijackers.

Sara noticed one person, a woman who was in the back of the plane, sneak way to the bathroom, holding a cell phone in her palm. Sara glanced at Michelle, and saw that she had seen it, too. Maybe they wouldn't die after all. The woman noticed them watching her, and nodded at them quietly -and reassuringly- before rushing away.

After what was really only a half hour or so but seemed like many hours after the hijackers took over the plane, Michelle noticed that they were heading toward what looked like New York City. She could even see the Empire State Building in the distance. "Oh my God, Sara, are they going to do what I think they're going to do?" she asked.

Sara started crying. "We're going to crash into one of those buildings!" she said, rather loudly. Both girls were becoming hysterical. One of the hijackers heard Sara, and, hitting her sharply, said, "You! Be quiet! America will fall, and we will make it happen!"

There were gasps and smothered screams as everyone on board realized that they were all going to die.

As soon as the terrorist that hit Sara turned away, Michelle squeezed her sister's hand. "Are you okay?" she asked quietly.

"Yeah…" Sara answered just as quietly, looking distant. "I love you, sis," she whispered suddenly.

Two tears slipped down Michelle's cheeks. "I love you too, sis," she whispered back.

They were silent after that, each leaving the other alone to her thoughts.

We're really going to die, aren't we? Michelle thought to herself. 16 years old, and I'm going to die. Never to fall in love, never to grow up, never to have children… oh God, I'm so scared right now…

Sara's thoughts, similar to her sisters, were on what could never be. God, I wish I could tell Will that I loved him just one more time… he knows I do, but I wish I could say it just one more time. But now we'll never get married, or have kids, or grow old together. God, protect the people in those buildings… help us all, Lord!

There was a sudden crashing sound as the hijackers ran the plane into what Sara thought was one of the World Trade Center towers. There was a blinding flash of light, and unbelievable amount of heat, and neither Sara nor Michelle was awake -or alive- to remember more.

Author's Note: OK, I know this story sorta sucks. I tried to fix it up a little… what changes do you think I should make? Please, be completely honest! (that especially goes to a certain friend or two of mine!) I know that there are probably some spelling errors/typos, but I had to type this up looking at the printed copy that I have, so I wasn't looking at the screen enough to catch everything. Email me (darkangel_326 ) if you see any errors.

Thanks to Lupin Wolf for pointing out a typo ('plane' wasn't right… I think I got them all, but I'm not sure, tell me if you see any more!), and to Mousie2003 for giving me an idea on what more to add to the story (you were really, really helpful!). And, of course, thanks to both of them for reviewing!

Again, I want to apologize if this story offends anyone. I am truly sorry; and I am truly sorry if you lost a loved one in the Attack on America.

"America was attacked, but America will not fall."