CHAPTER 214

Dianna leapt to her feet and sprinted toward the runway. By the time she had made her way around the trommel the plane was already passing by with its front wheel off the ground. Dianna sprinted through the shrubs and grass and ran onto the airstrip.

Dr. Johnson's feet pounded the pavement as she followed after the plane. She was screaming at the top of her lungs, "no! No!" Her arms flung in the air. "Wait! Wait!"

The plane's back wheels came off the strip as its wings carried it up into the air.

"Stop, god damn it!" Dianna was still chasing the plane. "Come back, you son of a bitch!" She stumbled and fell to her knees.

The plane was drifting higher into the sky, and all she could do was watch it fly away from her.

"You son of a bitch! God damn you!" Dianna let out a furious scream until there was nothing left in her lungs, then she buried her face in her hands and cried.

Dr. Johnson could hear the plane engines slowly fading, and she didn't want to look. She didn't want to believe it. She kept her face in her hands until she got the sense that someone was behind her.

Looking back she saw Kyra standing at the foot of the fill dirt pile. Seth was laying at her feet. Kyra met eyes with Dr. Johnson. Even from a distance they could both read the feeling of utter hopelessness on each other's face. Kyra shifted her gaze and continued to watch the plane depart.