The Journey- part two
Jasper tried to shout, but the hand didn’t move. He started to fight his captor when he heard the same sonorous voice. It sounded so deep and rich as it spoke to him. “JASPER, DON’T MOVE. YOU’RE IN GREAT DANGER. BY STANDING STILL, YOU’LL LIVE.” A wonderful, peaceful feeling consumed him, and he relaxed. He didn’t realize that it was the white Stone talking to him and affecting his emotions.
Looking up, he found a small hole that showed him a small piece of the sky. A streak of purple light filled the hole and then he heard a whining sound. The whining became higher as it started to sound like a baby crying mixed with high-pitched cries.
Quickly, he surmised there were words mixed in with the weird sounds.
*
Buster had entered the house soon after he saw Jasper running through the backyard. His mother was sipping a cold drink at the table. Seeing him, she asked, “Are you hungry? I should have lunch ready soon.”
“I’m starved,” Buster replied, looking around the kitchen. Stopping at her, he added, “Do you want me to get Jamie?”
“Yes, and would you get your brother?”
“Oh, Mom, I don’t want to chase him down, too!”
“What do you mean? He’s just up in his room.”
“No, he isn’t. I just saw him running through the backyard a few minutes ago.”
“You what?!”Buster tried not to smile. If Mom didn’t know Jasper was gone, then his little brother had broken his timeout. I guess there’s a first time for everything, Buster thought with a grin. He’s in for it now!
She ran from the room while ordering Buster to get Jamie, his sister. When she arrived at the top of the stairs, Jasper’s mother found his door slightly open. Pushing it open, she saw the room was empty.Running to the window, she wanted to see where Jasper had gone. Immediately, she saw the smoke from the crash swirling heavenward. Now, she knew what had lured her son away. How could he just run off like that? She knew he was having a tough day, but sneaking out was not like Jasper.
Not seeing him, she decided to go look for him herself, when a shadow fell across the yard. She pressed forward against the glass, looking up. Her heart almost stopped beating. Above their house, a huge ship slowly glided over them, moving toward the grove.
Even though she didn’t share her younger son’s enthusiasm for the military, she knew what it was. She had been a teenager when the war broke out, and had spent many sleepless nights wondering when a Galaxy Creeper would come and destroy everything she loved. That was the reason she had insisted that her family move to the countryside. It added a long commute, but maybe—just maybe—if the war reached the planet Suzair, the enemy wouldn’t bother to hunt down every little farmhouse.
Maybe it’s one of our ship’s doing a training exercise, she told herself. She bit her lip to keep from panicking and watched the massive ship move menacingly overhead. The Galaxy Creeper was the largest ship flying in the war. It had a crew of over a thousand people. They didn’t sport outer markings that quickly identified them as belonging to I-Force or KOGN. Still, there were ways that one could tell. She watched, trembling, looking for the clues. She let out a cry when she saw the small marking that said the hovering monstrosity was clearly part of the enemy KOGN and not I-Force.
The planet Suzair was under the protection of the Interplanetary Force or I-Force, for short. For a ship from the King of the Galaxy Nations or the KOGN to appear so brazenly could only bode ill. She ran from the room, wanting to protect her son.
Please Jasper, this time I hope you didn’t go to those trees, she thought, sliding down the stairs. She regained control without falling and moved to the last step. Immediately, she headed through the kitchen and out the back door. She ran into the backyard yelling Jasper’s name. Behind her, Jamie and Buster huddled at the kitchen window, watching the Galaxy Creeper.
Her voice caught in her throat when she saw the sudden purple flash of an indigo transport beam arc from the ship to the ground. Tears came to her eyes. “Please, don’t take my child,” Jasper’s mother cried in a weak voice.
“Mom!” Buster’s voice cut through her despair. She quickly returned to her other children and joined them inside. They all gathered at the window in fear, clutching each other. Little Jamie had tears streaming down her cheeks. Buster was pale.
She hugged her other children, wishing their father were home.
*
Jasper was frustrated listening to the high-pitched voice. It was irritating and he couldn’t understand everything. The men talking to it stopped yelling, and they all seemed to be silent.A different sound was now heard around him. It was a clinking sound that he had never heard before. The sounds let him know that there were a lot of people walking among the trees. The clinking sound seemed to get louder and closer to him. Then it seemed to go past them and faded off into the distance.
The high-pitched whine of a huge engine overhead replaced the other sound. Jasper tried to twist his head to look up at the sky, but the man held him tighter, warning him not to move. Suspecting a spaceship was near, Jasper wished he could see it.He jumped when he heard, “We found it!” Then he heard feet running past them. Jasper could feel his captor breathing in a slow, measured rhythm. It seemed to comfort him.
He heard, “It’s just the box! Where is the white Stone?”
Another voice countered, “We aren’t picking it up.”
A new voice said, “There’s a house nearby, sir. Do you think they found it?”
Someone interrupted, “Sir. They say I-Force has entered the atmosphere.”
“Secure the structure immediately, and anybody within a half-mile radius. I want that white Stone now. Move!”Jasper wondered what they meant by secure the structure. His attention was diverted to a noise in the distance. It made a rumbling sound, and the ground underneath their feet trembled because of it. Jasper so wanted to see what was happening and struggled to get away. Looking up, he saw the sky was purple and then it turned a light amber. At the same time, a mechanical shriek pierced the grove, followed by a swishing sound. Then everything fell silent.
The hand on Jasper’s mouth loosened and the man holding him stepped back, pulling his cloak away from Jasper’s body. Jasper’s knees buckled from the sudden release, and he slumped down to the ground. Quickly, he turned around, leaning against the tree. Before him stood a man that he knew had held him.
The man was tall with white hair that he wore a little long in the back. His eyes were a still blue, with small wrinkles at the corners that reminded Jasper of his own grandfather. The man looked to be in his mid-sixties, but Jasper knew that his body was lean and strong. There was concern in his face, and Jasper wondered what would happen to him now. Was this man with the others? If not, who was he? … Was he the KOGN?
Jasper wanted desperately to go home. The drive that had pushed him towards the forest was gone. Watching the white-haired man carefully, he stood and started to run.
The grove of trees that he knew so well seemed to whisper he was going the wrong way, but it didn’t stop him. His desire to get away brought him to the edge of the trees. At last, he halted. Amazed at what was before him, he thought for a moment that he had stepped into another place and time. There at his feet lay a wide, black swath cut into the soil that seemed to go for a long way. At the end, Jasper could see the smoldering wreck of a Star Skipper. The trees were right; he had gone the wrong way.In his heart, he knew that he should start running in the opposite direction, but his curiosity was getting the better of him as he stared at the wreckage. It was the closest he had ever been to a real spaceship. As he looked at the twisted metal and the half-melted shell, he found the scene hypnotic.
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