Everyone concurred. Grateful tears ran from Slim’s large brown eyes though he could find no words to express his gratitude.
“The engine has enough power,” Jennings continued. “The only question is the length of the pond. If we can get her in the air before we reach those trees at the end we’ll be golden.”
“If we don’t we’ll be toast,” Laura said deadpan.
“You do have a way of turning a phrase,” Jennings retorted. He got in and the engine kicked over like a champ. Slim took the seat beside him, while the two married couples took the seats in back, crammed in, all legs and arms. Jennings taxied to the end of the pond, turned the plane around and gunned the engine. The plane started moving, sluggishly at first, not used to the excess weight, picking up speed gradually. No one uttered a word. Half the pond had passed before the tail lifted. Still no one spoke. Three quarters had passed before the floats came off the water. A sweat-soaked Jennings held the yoke back and prayed as the Cessna cleared the treetops by mere inches. A collective sigh came from the cabin area behind him. Jennings’s white knuckled hands relaxed on the yoke as he began a slow, steady climb, southward toward whatever destiny awaited them.
And when the bright burning death-wand came and lit up the wilderness the small airplane wasn’t even a speck on the distant horizon.
THE END
Down through the Ages (Ariel’s Song) Words and music by Danny Wolf
First Verse
Behind some door a newborn baby cries, another soul has awoken,
Fall down on your knees and close your weary eyes, the prophecies have been spoken.
I wonder why we learn so slow, the ones we care about the most, we sacrifice for gold,
First Chorus
Right down through the ages, greed has always come and reared its ugly head,
Right down through the ages, man has been too willing to be led.
Second Verse
Come on, treat this day like a lifetime, what else are we supposed to do,
Watch your back, don’t dare think about tomorrow, it’s what the whole world’s going through,
Why do so many of man’s achievements, find their roots in history, in the instruments of death?
Second Chorus
Right down through the ages, war has always come and reared its ugly head,
Right down through the ages, man has been too willing to be led.
Third Verse
Come walk beside me for a little while, we must live and love while we can,
Hold me close, don’t ever let me go, say a prayer for the destiny of man,
And so we’ll live for the moment, being frightened of the end, and the consequences,
Third Chorus
Right down through the ages, fear has always come and reared its ugly head,
Right down through the ages, man has been too willing to be led.
Repeat last chorus
Song of Ariel: A Blue Light Thriller (Book 2) (Blue Light Series) Page 41
