It was tough for Lori to adjust without Jeff, and it took years for her to even accept a new life on Mars without him. With the help of her friends, she moved on to a somewhat normal transition on the planet of her birth.
The years passed, and Major Thomas Walker became Colonel Walker and head of the Martian Space Academy, just as he was supposed to do.
He married Elizabeth Laurie Kepple, who since passed, and had a son named Michael, and a grandson named Jeff.
One day he sat in his kitchen with his grandson, and fixed him a cup of hot chocolate. He handed it to him, and smiled. "Did I ever tell you the story about my early days in NASA on Earth, before I met your grandmother?"
"No," Jeff said. "I don't think so."
"Well," he explained. "If it weren't for a man named Jack Barkley, we may have never came here. He saved mankind."
"How?"
"The how is less important than the why. He did it to save us from
ourselves, and our selfish ways. I remember those days well, and the woman I left behind."
"What was her name?"
"Angelica."
"Was she pretty?" the boy asked.
"Next to your mother, she was the most beautiful girl I've ever seen, and she was one of the smartest as well."
"What about Barkley? What was he like?"
"A lot like you.," his grandfather said. "His story is a story of aliens and space travel."
"Aliens? There are no such thing as aliens. If there were, we would have found them by now."
Colonel Walker laughed, and put his hand on the boy's head.
"Did I ever tell you I've seen one myself."
"You did?"
"Yes, but that's another story, and it's time for bed."
"Already?"
"I'm afraid so."
He hugged his grandfather. "Good night, Grandpa."
"Good night, Trooper."
The boy went to his bedroom, and Walker grabbed himself a cup of coffee. He looked out the large window at the barren Martian landscape. He wondered about the beings his grandson spoke to years before here, what became of them, and if they were still alive. He also feared of the day when the humans would meet them, and the possible outcome it would bring to their race.
He thought about what happened to his extraterrestrial friends years earlier; whether they'd been successful at stopping Varloo from whatever he was planning to do, and whether Angel or Jeff Walker survived. NASA detected at least two deep space explosions before the wormhole closed, and also detected one craft which wasn't damaged heading for Mars. If she survived, she was in the other universe, and living a different life. He just hoped she was as happy as she made him, and dancing with Cely to her favorite song "Mr. Cellophane."
Jeff came out to the kitchen again, and he smiled, because he knew his grandson would become a savior of mankind one day.
"I thought you were in bed, Kiddo?"
"I can't sleep," Jeff said. "Grandpa, can I ask you a question?'
"What is it?"
"Do you ever think we'll leave this solar system?'
"Maybe, one day."
"Do you ever think I'll leave this solar system?"
Tom thought for a moment, and then smiled. "No, probably not. But then again, the future has yet to be written, and only you can change it."
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Nicholas T. Davis lives in East Syracuse, NY, has been writing since he was 12 years old, and was motivated by his seventh grade teacher. He has been married to his wife, Nancy, for 13 years, and has a daughter, Kelly, from a previous marriage. His father was a protestant minister and maintenance worker for Syracuse University and his mother was a homemaker, and he is one of eight children.
He has worked as a cleaner for a psychiatric hospital for 26 years and writes in his spare time. He also oil paints, and is a part time musician. Dimension Lapse III: Dimensional Breakdown is the third installment of his Dimension Lapse science fiction series. For more information on what his next project will be, please visit his blog or Facebook page.
WHERE TO FIND NICHOLAS T. DAVIS
BLOG: ntdavis18dotcom.wordpress.com
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/NTDAVIS
DIMENSIONLAPSE
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: Nicholas T. Davis @ NICKTDAVIS18
OTHER BOOKS BY NICHOLAS T. DAVIS
Dimension Lapse, © Copyright 2014
Dimension Lapse II: Return To Doomsday, © Copyright 2015
Tobias Meets A Friend, © Copyright 2015
Dimension Lapse III: Dimensional Breakdown (Dimension Lapse Series Book 3) Page 27
