“We didn't see that,” said Officer Green.
“Yeah, me neither,” said another officer.
“That is your career down the tubes if you say anything about this,” said yet another.
The flying saucer shot up and out of the earth's atmosphere.
Chapter Thirty-Five
BRODY WAS SITTING ON A LARGE ROCK by the river, tossing small rocks into the water and listening to a chickadee singing; he looked miserable because his bear hadn't returned. His hair was unkempt because he hadn't combed it in days. It was the only baby that he had ever known. Brody blew his nose on his sleeve and wiped away a tear. It was an impossible situation as he couldn't track down the cub in such a huge forest. Jayden stood with his arms crossed looking down at Brody both physically and judgementally. He couldn't believe that he was crying over a bear.
Brody half cried and half spoke. “That bear was my responsibility and I miss him. I feel like giving myself up. Nothing is working out for us so why even bother.”
Jayden had to think of something to snap him out of it. “Your bear would want you to be a free man; he wouldn't want to see you in prison.”
“He wouldn't?”
“Of course he wouldn't. He wouldn't even be able to go see you because they don't allow bear visitors in prison.”
“He wouldn't want me to go to jail?” Brody again blew his nose on his sleeve.
“No he wouldn't. If you went to jail he would be crying. It's an awful thing to see a bear cry; he would be blowing his nose on the leaves and blowing his nose on the trees. Just a terrible thing.” Jayden wasn't sure how much baloney he could feed Brody.
“Bears cry?”
“Of course they cry. They have tear ducts don't they?” Jayden turned his head to the left and could see the bear cub approaching in the distance. Was he going to be stuck with that bear forever? “I don't believe it.”
“What?” said Brody.
“Here he comes.”
The bear ran to Brody and made a cute sound as Brody commenced to hug the cub as he cried tears of joy. “I so hoped you'd come back little fella. Life just wasn't the same without you! Right Jayden?”
Jayden rolled his eyes. “Oh sure, life is just great now that we have a bear to feed. When that bear grows up he'll eat the both of us.”
Brody jumped into the river and in less than a minute he had caught, with his bare hands, two large fish and threw them out on the riverbank.
“How the hell does he do that?” Jayden said to himself.
“Fish for lunch,” Brody shouted.
Jayden nodded. “And for breakfast and for dinner and for snacks.” He tilted his head and listened. The sound of a helicopter in the distance caught his attention. “Brody, get out of there I can hear a helicopter. Hurry up!”
“I'm coming, I'm coming!” Brody ran as fast as he could carrying a huge salmon.
They managed to get under a large tree just in time as the copter flew overhead. The bear was happy enough as it continued to eat the fish that Brody had thrown it. Jayden knew that they weren't safe and would need to move even deeper into the forest.
“Brody, do you know where we are?”
Brody thought about it. “In the forest?”
Jayden shook his head. “I know that but do you know which way to go to get back?”
“That way? No, that way? No I think it's that way? We could follow the river back until we see a tree that looks familiar.”
“How are we gonna find our way out if we're lost?”
“I don't know,” Brody answered. “How?”
Chapter Thirty-Six
SAM, RANDY, MICHAEL, JAKE and JOHNNY were all sitting inside the alien ship and staring at one another as if they were in the belly of a dragon waiting to be digested. Screaming and crying wasn't going to be any help at all. They could be flying around the earth or they could be in deep space for all they knew. They were all experiencing different levels of stress as they were all in shock. They had placed themselves in a dangerous situation and now the worst part was that there was absolutely nothing that they could do about it. They couldn't control the ship and they were at the mercy of alien technology that no one on earth understood, and Michael was actually shaking a little.
Randy continued to shake his head not really knowing what to say or do. “Now that we're flying we could be anywhere. We could be flying towards the sun if the saucer's not working right.”
“Yeah, and I didn't even bring any suntan lotion,” said Michael. He was trying desperately not to panic, knowing that it wouldn't do them any good. It was difficult to see reason in a situation that was so unreasonable.
Johnny laughed. “Yeah we need SPF ten trillion.”
Jake shook his head. “Don't be stupid it's not taking us to the sun! Maybe it's gonna take us home.”
Randy liked the sound of that. “Yeah, that would be cool. The ship lands in my front yard and my parents start freaking out.”
The ship's window suddenly slid open and they could see that they were in Egypt flying over the Great Pyramid of Giza; they could also see that people were looking up at them and pointing. Two camels in the distance were making their way through the sand.
“Wow, look how cool that is guys!” said Jake. “We're flying over the pyramids in Egypt.”
Sam was certainly enjoying the view. “Holy wow! Look, people are pointing at us. They can see us. Look at that guy run. He probably thinks there are aliens in here.”
“Pick me up so I can see,” said Randy.
They lifted Randy up so he could look out onto the landscape of Egypt and he was most impressed but then it closed once again and they couldn't see anything. “At least we're not headed for the sun yet.”
The sphere emerged like a ghost going through walls and immediately floated over to Randy and started to make sounds at him, as if it was attempting to communicate. Randy stared at it and shrugged. “Whatever.”
“I think it's trying to talk to you,” said Sam.
Randy nodded. “Yeah, well I don't understand beep bop bop beep. Only other robots would understand that.”
The sphere floated Randy up in the air and then turned him over. Its eight legs shot out again; he was floating as the thing jumped and climbed on top of him and commenced to dig in his back again.
Randy tried to see what it was doing but couldn't. “Hey! What the heck is it doing back there? It feels funny.”
After almost two minutes of working on Randy's back it was making positive almost happy sounds and it again disappeared inside the floor. Most of them shrugged not knowing what to think. It seemed to them that it must be trying to heal Randy but couldn't. But then again why had it sounded so happy?
“I just had a weird thought,” said Michael. “What if that thing is an alien? I don't mean an alien robot but an alien. What if that is what they have become after a million years of civilization? Or evolution or whatever?”
Sam shook his head. “I don't think so. Seems more like a robot unless there's a tiny brain inside of it? Who knows, maybe.”
Randy's leg twitched. “Hey! My leg just twitched guys! And now it feels like its asleep. It's all picky. Something is happening.”
Everyone's attention turned to Randy's legs and as they stared at them they saw his left leg twitch and then the right one. Randy concentrated and gradually moved his right foot and wiggled his toes. He brought up his leg and touched his own knee. He tried to get up but his legs were still too weak from lack of use. “Help me up guys I think I can walk again! I'm gonna kiss that freaking thing the next time it comes out.”
Everyone jumped up and couldn't believe what they were seeing. They were so excited for Randy. Sam and Jake helped Randy up on his feet and they helped him walk around. The sphere came out again and gave Randy a small zap and then again disappeared into the floor, infusing his legs with much needed strength.
“If we ever get home my parents are going to freak out!” Randy shouted. He was very emotional. “I ca
n't believe I can walk again! I can walk!”
“You know what would be cool,” said Sam. “If we pushed you in school in the wheelchair and then like an hour later you just got up to sharpen your pencil. It would blow their minds!”
Jake thought it was a great idea. “If we ever get back home we should do it.”
“Oh shit!” said Michael.
They all turned as the view from the ship had again opened up and this time they were flying low over the surface of the moon. They flew over the prominent lunar crater Tycho in the southern lunar highlands. It was one thing to see it in a book but to see it like this was incredible. The walls of the crater were a mile high and directly in the center of the crater were smaller peaks that looked like small hills. The saucer slowly but deliberately touched down near the center of the crater.
“We're in space!” Michael screamed. “We're astronauts!”
Randy was both fascinated and frightened. “We're on the freaking moon! This is incredible. I hope we're not stuck here forever.”
“If Harold could only see us now,” screamed Jake.
Johnny was shaking his head at what he was seeing. It was the most wonderful sight that he had ever seen. If was difficult to believe that they were on the moon. “Too bad we couldn't get out there, how freaking cool would that be?”
Sam and Michael hugged one another and danced. “We're on the moon, we're on the moon! And Randy can walk!”
Randy started to pace as he continued to try out his new legs. “This is amazing guys but the fact is we are stuck on the moon! The saucer could stay here forever. It could be out of gas. How the hell do we know?”
Jake belched. “It feels like I just ate something. I feel full.”
Johnny also belched. “Yeah, me too.”
Randy continued to alternately pace and stare out the window at the surface of the moon until he tripped, lost his balance and fell directly through the window, ending up on the surface of the moon.
Everyone screamed.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
JAYDEN AND BRODY WERE NOW MORE THAN FIFTY MILES from where they had encountered the police. They continued to follow the river and the bear cub continued to follow them. Jayden didn't think it was possible but it appeared that the cub had bonded with Brody. They were all tired as Brody was in the process of putting up the old gray tent when he saw something in the distance. Jayden noticed him staring off into the woods and was wondering what had caught his attention. Hopefully it wasn't a grizzly that was coming to eat all three of them.
It was exactly two hours after sunup and the forest smelt damp but pleasant. The scent of blue Bugle flowers was also in the air, a patch of them catching some sun near the river, where the cub was seemingly staring at them, but in actually the bear was staring past them at light dancing in the water. Jayden was used to falling asleep to the sounds of flowing water, and was in the process of dozing off as he had propped himself against a tree when he had noticed Brody staring off at something. Now he would have to get up and go see for himself. He hoped that it wasn't the law that he was fixed on.
“Brody, what the hell do you see? You've been standing like that for five minutes.”
“Look, do you see it,” said Brody. “Looks like a cabin.”
Jayden looked through the trees but couldn't see anything. He tried to follow Brody's line of vision but still couldn't see what had caught his attention. “I don't know what the heck you are looking at.”
“Jayden look, see that big tree way down there? Look past it to the right.”
It took Jayden another minute of scanning but he finally saw it. “Oh yeah, now I see it. It does look like a cabin. Let's go check it out there might be something good in there. Maybe some can goods or something.”
“Yeah,” Brody said excitedly. “Like a bag full of money.”
Jayden shook his head at his friend's stupidity.
Brody whistled for the bear as one would whistle for a dog and it followed them to the cabin. The cabin was obviously old but looked sturdy enough. It was made from trees that had been cut down in the area. Inside the cabin was a bed, a wood burning stove, a shovel and some tools but not much else. The place was in a pretty good spot as it got some sunlight being so close to the river. They entered the cabin and Brody immediately liked it, and in fact he thought that it would be a nice place to live for a few months. Jayden sat on the bed and was surprised at how good it felt, although it was a little damp.
“Brody, I'm gonna take a nap. You can explore the area if you want but don't go too far.”
“Okay,” said Brody. He looked down at the bed and could see the corner of something black under it. He pulled out the expensive looking suitcase covered with mud and leaves and dusted it off. “Jayden, look what I found. I bet its full of money.”
Jayden sat up annoyed. “Why would a suitcase full of money be way out here in the middle of nowhere? Why don't you use your brain for once? Open the damn thing so we can see what's in it and hurry up so I can take my nap.”
Brody tried to open the case but it was locked. He went outside and pounded on it with a large rock for almost a half hour as the cub watched his antics every now and then. The pounding was keeping Jayden from taking his nap but he wasn't about to get out of bed. When it got quiet he closed his eyes and dozed off but was quickly awakened by Brody screaming.
Jayden sat up. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
Brody ran into the cabin. The suitcase was open and it was full of money and all hundred dollar bills. “See Jayden it's full of money. I told you.”
“I don't believe it! Look at all that loot!” Jayden took the suitcase and placing it on the bed he flicked through several stacks. “Might be a half a million dollars here!”
“Now I can get my Ferrari?” Brody's face couldn't be any happier.
Jayden thought that finding all this money was like a miracle. “We'll see. Looks like our luck is changing.”
Brody noticed the cub dragging something past the door outside. “What do you have there little fella?” He went outside where the bear was chewing on a skeleton in a red and black checkered shirt. He took the human remains and brought it in to show Jayden. “Jayden, look at this.”
Jayden screamed at the sight of it. “Aaaah, where did you get that?”
“My bear found it.”
“Well now we know where the money came from.”
Brody stared at the skeleton with a puzzled look. “Why would a skeleton need money?”
“Brody you doofus, that wasn't always a skeleton it used to be a man.”
Brody watched as the skeleton's head fell off. “Oh yeah? Well he must have been on a diet because look how skinny he is.”
Jayden shook his head. “I remember that someone robbed the bank in this area about twenty years ago. I guess that explains where the money came from. Now take him outside and bury him.”
“He doesn't belong to me the bear is the one that found him.”
Jayden was now angry. “Brody, take the shovel and take him outside and bury him or I'm gonna bury you and the bear.”
“Do you think his ghost is floating around here?”
“Brody!”
“I'm just saying I won't be able to sleep with a ghost hanging around looking for his money.”
Brody picked up the shovel and went outside. “Come on bear let's bury this guy.”
Inside Jayden commenced to count the money.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
RANDY WAS WALK-BOUNCING AROUND on the lunar surface as the four continued to panic inside the saucer. It was surreal walk-bouncing on the surface of the moon, felt like a dream. He stared at the blue ball that was the Earth and it had an almost hypnotizing effect on him. It was beautiful beyond words. He thought that if we destroyed it with all the garbage and pollution there would certainly be no way to replace it. It was an incredible view. It gave him a new prospective of what it was to be human, floating around on that blue ball in space. It made him feel
small.
Sam started to cry until he saw Randy out there surrounded by an almost clear bubble. Randy waved to them and then they couldn't wait to get out there. Randy bent down and picked up a small moon rock and decided that he was going to keep it; if they ever got back home it would be cool to attach it to a school project. Besides who would believe that they had been on the moon without proof? The moon felt so isolated, knowing that there were no other people up there except for the five of them.
Michael walk-bounced over to Randy and was so happy to see that he was okay. “Randy, can you hear me?”
“Yeah, I can hear you.”
“We thought that you were dead for sure.” He looked around and was amazed that they were on the moon! “This is so weird the saucer is surrounding us with these air bubbles so we can breathe.”
“Not only that,” said Randy. “Look down, the bubbles go down into the ground and we can pick up rocks and stuff. I'm keeping this rock.” He bent down and picked up another rock. “And this one too. If we ever get back it'll be proof that we were on the moon. That's something that I never thought I'd be saying.”
“Look at the wall of that crater!” Michael screamed. “This is so freaking cool!”
Sam bounced around. “Look how high I can jump! And now Randy can walk again! This has got to be the best day ever! We have to be dreaming.”
“This is no dream,” said Johnny. He had picked up five small lunar rocks that he was taking with him. And then he bent down and started playing in the moon dust; he wrote his name. “Hey, we should all write our names in the dust, and like a hundred years from now an astronaut is going to find it and say What the hell?”
They all wrote their names into the surface and then walked away from them so as to not erase them. Michael did a 360 admiring every hill and rock and then he stared up at the Earth which was an amazing sight. The sights that they were seeing were beyond imagining and would be forever in their dreams. Walking around on the surface of the moon was not something that they would ever forget.
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