In Pursuit of a Diamond [On Hold]

In Pursuit of a Diamond (Chapter 11)

<P>Brief word from the author:</P>

<P>Dear Reader,</P>

<P>Before I do anything else, I would like to thank those of you who have been keeping up with my story to such an extent that you're here to read Chapter 11.  A lot of you have voted or commented; several of you have even become my fans.  All of this is duly acknowledged and greatly appreciated.</P>

<P>However, there remains something that I really need to get off my chest.  As much as this is a website for sharing and collaborating writing, this is my story.  I have no problem whatsoever with people pointing out grammar errors or plot inconsistencies, or anything that is necessary to fix.  What bothers me is when people try to tell me how to make my plot or characters better.  I wrote this story because I had an idea that I wanted to put down on paper and share, not to get it professionally published or critiqued.</P>

<P>So, if I want to give a character a personality flaw or trait that I like, but isn't popular with the readers, I'm not going to change it, because I put it there for my own reason.  If I decide to put romance into the story, it will be between characters and in the method of my own choosing.  And the plot is going to go wherever my train of thought decides to take it.</P>

<P>Basically, I want to encourage you, as my readers, not to focus on the small things that you dislike about the story, but to appreciate the story as a whole.  Take a break from thinking, and just sit back and enjoy!</P>

<P>Thank you again for choosing to give my story a chance, and thank you in advance for any feedback!</P>

<P>Yours in spirit,</P>

<P>RaeF1994</P>

<P>---</P>

<P>Compared to the journey from Norfolk to Germany, Leslie's flight home was extremely boring.  She loved looking at scenery when she was in a plane, but for awhile, whenever the plane dipped below the clouds, all she could see was a vast stretch of ocean, with nothing to break the monotony.</P>

<P>Leslie gave in and rented some airplane headphones a few hours into the flight, when she felt that she might die of boredom, and ended up watching an old romantic movie she had never heard of, although it was fairly interesting.  She began to feel extremely stiff after several hours, but didn't want to get up and walk around unless it was to go to the bathroom, which she ended up doing anyway; after absentmindedly eating some of the leftovers Berta had given her, it was to find the motion-sickness bag bearing the consequences.</P>

<P>All in all, it came as a great relief to her when the plane finally landed in Denver.  After absconding the plane as quickly as she could, she hired a car at the terminal desk to take her to Aurora.  It wasn't long before she was finally parked in front of her familiar apartment building, home.</P>

<P>She reached her floor and began fumbling through her clothes, trying to find her room key.  As she did so, her neighbor, a Mr. Johnston, came up through the stairwell carrying a load of groceries.  Leslie didn't pay him any mind until she heard him gasp and drop his groceries onto the floor.</P>

<P>"Well, if it isn't the damnedest thing," he said in an awestruck voice, "If I didn't know better I'd say Leslie Hawkins was standing here in the flesh."</P>

<P>Leslie turned to give him a curious stare.  Mr. Johnston's mouth was slightly agape, and he was looking Leslie up and down as though trying to determine for sure whether or not she was a hallucination.  "What do you mean, Mr. Johnston?" Leslie asked lightly, feeling a small sense of triumph as she found her key and inserted it into the lock.</P>

<P>"But you're dead!" Mr. Johnston said, still sounding shocked.</P>

<P>"Dead?" Leslie inquired, her tone heavier, and she couldn't help but wonder if Mr. Johnston had been drinking "What on earth are talking about?"</P>

<P>"Here, I'll show you!" he said.  He darted into his apartment, leaving his groceries on the hallway floor, then returned brandishing a newspaper.  "Take a look for yourself!"</P>

<P>Leslie took the newspaper into her hand and looked at the banner.  It was this morning's addition of the <EM>Kansas City Courier</EM>, a paper that was broadcast at large to the areas within the federal reserve district.</P>

<P>"It's on page two, I think," Mr. Johnston said, "Or page three."</P>

<P>She turned the front page over and scanned through the next two pages.  Then she spotted it:  A headline over a moderately-sized article on page three blared out: "Denver Flight Crashes on Kansas Plain."</P>

<P>"Mind if I take this?" Leslie asked of Mr. Johnston.</P>

<P>"Be my guest," he replied. "My name isn't in it anywhere."</P>

<P>"Thanks," Leslie said, hurrying into her apartment, leaving Mr. Johnston to pick up the haphazardly scattered groceries.</P>

<P>Once in her apartment, Leslie wasted no time.  She tossed her key onto the counter, turned on the kitchen light, spread the paper onto the table, and began to read.</P>

<P>"A twin-engine aircraft from Southwest Airlines was found crashed in an open plain on the outskirts of Stockton, KS, yesterday afternoon.  Upon its finding, the aircraft had already gone up in flame.  Officials report that they have not yet ascertained the cause of the crash.</P>

<P>"Spokesmen from the Southwest Airline terminals in both Norfolk, VA, and Denver, CO, report that they received no word from the pilot that any malfunctions were taking place in the aircraft's main system.  Engineers examined all the remaining machinery in the aircraft, and report that there does not seem to be any problem in the mechanics that would have caused the plane to crash.  It was also discovered that there was no trace of a body in the cockpit, leading officials on the scene to believe that the pilot had abandoned the flight.  There is speculation as to the possibility that the crash had been premeditated.</P>

<P>"Forensic scientists have been on the scene to identify bodies and the causes of the crash.  However, they have already received a good deal of help from friends and family of the passengers reporting the names of those they have lost.  A list has been compiled below of the fatalities."</P>

<P>There followed a lengthy list of alphabetized names.  Leslie scrolled down the list with her finger until, with a leap of her heart, it landed on a line that read in its small newspaper font: "Hawkins, Leslie.  Age 25, from Aurora, CO."</P>

<P>She looked further down the list trying to find Aubrey's name.  There was a "Rogers, Dwayne" and a "Thompson, Clarissa", but nothing in between.  Apparently no one had bothered checking that flight to see whether or not Aubrey had survived it.  This struck Leslie as odd.  Hadn't Aubrey said there were people awaiting his arrival at an Anti base in the Rocky Mountains?  Wasn't it a bit odd that the Drogo Norensis in whom Aubrey seemed to put so much faith, hadn't taken the time to see whether his messenger was dead?</P>

<P>She sighed and rubbed her eyes, only just realizing how tired she was.  She had spent enough time in the last day or two thinking about the sorcerers' world, and Aubrey and the Movement.  Surely it was time for a well-deserved break.</P>

<P>With that in mind, Leslie went to her bedroom and happily fell asleep, secure in her own bed.</P>