Chapter 9: The Grass Has Never Looked So Green
There were a couple of downsides to getting home but nothing too bad. Jason was looking forward to being able to fly the plane a little more, but with the throttle switch broken off it looked like they were going to have to fly at the auto-pilot speed the rest of the way home which meant no one could man the controls. This would set them back a couple of months and put them at a total of around three years of being on the spaceship, which is how long the trip was originally supposed to be.
Over the next few months they were all starting to get extremely bored as none of them were able to fly and they all anticipated just how close they were to reaching their goal. With nothing to really do on the plane they spent most of their time sleeping trying to make the time go by as quickly as possible. Jason couldn’t believe how much him and Tyler had grown since they first got on the spaceship as each of them had grown a couple of inches taller over the years.
Both Jason and Tyler spent a lot of their days thinking about all the days they have wasted on this plane. They thought of all the other things that they could be doing like playing sports and hanging out with their friends and that sometimes made them regret ever going deep into the woods in the first place.
“I sure wish I hadn’t of been so stupid and gotten close to that portal,” said Tyler one day.
“Sure we may have spent a lot of time on this spaceship and wasted some days when we could be doing other things but look at some good points. How many people do you know can say they have been to another planet and done all of the things that we have done? When we get back it is going to be awesome finally getting to play basketball for the first time in years and it is going to be great to finally see our parents after all this time,” said Jason. “We are really going to respect things a lot more.”
“Yeah you’re right, that is going to feel pretty cool,” responded Tyler.
The days continued to pass all the way up until they were only a few hours away from making it back home.
“Today is the day, I am so excited!” said Tyler.
“So am I, this is going to be the best day ever,” Jason shot back.
“I told you guys that we would get back to your house eventually and now I am only a couple of hours from going home as well,” said Carlyle. “It sure has been one amazing trip.”
This is what they have been waiting for. It had been a total of three years and Jason was now eighteen years old and Tyler was now fifteen, and on this day of May 17 they were finally going to go home. Out into the far distance they could see something that they had been trying to find for quite awhile, Earth. The view of Earth from outer space was spectacular, no one could believe what they were seeing.
“That does look like an amazing planet you guys have there,” stated Carlyle.
“It is and I can’t wait to see what has gone on since we have left it,” answered Jason.
With all the time that they had to think on the trip Jason had always thought about so many things and wondered what had gone on. He especially wondered if his favorite team the Chicago Cubs had finally won the World Series or not. He also wondered if there had been any wars since they had been gone, he was sure hoping there hadn’t been. He also wondered if life on Earth had changed any. He figured some new things had been invented and some things were going to be different but hoped nothing had changed too drastically.
They were now starting to enter Earth’s atmosphere and all of their hearts were beating rapidly with anticipation as they were unable to believe that they were finally going to arrive home. Quickly they flew past the continent of Africa and they headed across the Atlantic Ocean that headed towards North America. As they looked down Jason and Tyler noticed a lot of large buildings and realized that down below must be New York.
“That is where we thought we landed when we went through the portal, or time continuum device as you call it that led to your planet,” as Jason pointed down below to the city of New York. “I think New York kind of looks like your planet in a way besides for the means of transportation of course and floating buildings.”
“I do see some resemblances between this place and my planet, it looks very nice,” said Carlyle.
Carlyle now slowed the plane way down as they were getting closer to their house.
“I can’t wait to see the look on our parents face when they see us. It is going to be priceless,” said Tyler.
“I am so nervous about finally seeing them again, this is just crazy,” said Jason who as soon as he finished his sentence could see their woods. “There it is, our woods are right there!”
“Start landing this thing, our house is just right beyond these woods here!” said an excited Tyler.
Carlyle found a sport that was similar to where the other spaceship had landed. It appeared as if the other spaceship or plane as everyone on Earth would see it was finally gone from that spot.
“Here is kind of a stupid question,” Jason said. “Do you think that when our parents found the other plane a few years back they would have noticed the weapons room and some stuff that would make it resemble that it was from another planet?”
“No, when you land there is something that a person from the planet Garzon can use to make the plane look similar on the inside just like the outside. Usually you don’t change the inside until after you land because you need the weapons room and the increased speed and everything else while flying through space,” answered Carlyle.
They had finally landed after being on the spaceship for three years and all three of them had the biggest smiles on their faces.
Carlyle landed the plane softly on the ground and he opened up the door and they all looked out. They stepped out of the plane and just fell on the ground enjoying the fresh air and the beautiful day outside with temperatures in the mid-seventies on a wonderful spring day.
“The grass has never looked so green. It’s so great to finally be back, said Jason.
“This is amazing, it feels like I have so much room to move around after being cramped up on that plane for such a long time,” Tyler responded.
“I am really glad to be able to help you guys get home but I think that I should go ahead and get back to my planet. I really miss home and I definitely have something to look forward to when I get there,” said Carlyle.
“Are you sure that you don’t want to meet our parents and then we can tell them everything that happened and how you were so nice to bring us back home?” asked Jason.
“No, it would be really nice to meet them but it would also be a little bit weird considering I am from another planet and thanks to our planet you guys have been gone for so long. I am not so sure that they would be so glad to see me,” answered Carlyle.
“What if they don’t believe that we have been on another planet, I mean to them it might sound a little bit crazy,” said Tyler.
“Believe me, from what I have heard about them and how much they seem to care about you they will believe that what you are saying is the truth. They will be so glad to see that you guys are alive. They will definitely believe your story. I mean you guys have been gone for three years,” responded Carlyle.
“So I guess this is goodbye then. I want to thank you for taking us back home and being so helpful. For the last three years you have been like our parent and you have done a great job at it,” said Jason.
“Yep, I guess this is goodbye. It was really nice to meet you guys,” responded Carlyle.
“Goodbye,” said Jason and Tyler together.
“Goodbye,” said Carlyle.
Jason and Tyler watched as Carlyle built a portal to go back home in just a few seconds and then just before he walked through the time continuum device he waved back goodbye to the both of them. He stepped through the portal and was now on his way back to Garzon where he hoped to continue his life with his family. As soon as he stepped through the portal the two of them saw the time continuum device disappear never be seen ever again. The plane was also gone and those were two of things that people who landed here years three years ago had failed to do.
“I can’t believe he is actually gone, it’s going to feel weird not seeing him anymore,” said Jason.
“Yeah, I sure hope that he can get his family back, hopefully it isn’t too late,” said Tyler. “This is the moment of truth, let’s go shock our parents and the world.”
The two of them ran as fast as they could through the woods towards their house feeling so good to finally be back. They could now see their house in the distance and they saw a familiar face running towards them. It was their dog Jessie.
“Jessie! Boy I sure am glad to see you,” said Jason, who was almost knocked to the ground when she jumped on him.
The two of them pet their dog for a little bit and then started heading to the house with Jessie by their side to see their parents for the first time in almost three years. As they approached the house everything seemed exactly the same as it had been when they left except for one thing in the driveway. There was a new basketball goal that neither of them recognized.
“You think that they replaced us?” asked Tyler. “Why would they get a new basketball goal if we weren’t here to use it?”
“That does seem a little bit odd but lets not jump to any conclusions, they would never do something like that,” responded Jason.
The two of them then ran as fast as they could to the door and started pounding on it as hard as they could, filled with anticipation. They waited and waited but no one ever came to the door. Both of them figured that their parents still had to live at this house because in the driveway were the same two cars from when they had left three years ago.
“Maybe they got a new car and they are out somewhere driving it,” suggested Jason.
They then decided to pick up a basketball from their garage and they started shooting on this new goal. The first shot Jason took he made. It felt so good to finally be on solid ground and to be home doing what they loved before they left for so long. They shot around a few minutes when they heard a car driving down the road. They watched the car go right on past.
“I thought that was going to be them,” said Tyler. “There usually isn’t any other cars that go down this street.”
They played basketball for about another hour when they heard the sound of another car driving down the street, this one started to pull into their driveway, it was them.
Mr. and Mrs. Greenwhite got out of the car and both nearly had a heart attack when they saw who was outside their house playing basketball. Mrs. Greenwhite had groceries in her hand but she dropped them as she ran over to give the boys a hug and was shedding a tear along with her husband.
“We were so worried about you guys. Everyone has told us that it was time to move on but we didn’t want to, we knew that you guys would be back. Wow, you guys have really grown up, where have you two been?” asked Mr. Greenwhite.
“It is a pretty crazy story and we aren’t really sure if you guys are going to believe us or not,” said Jason.
“We will believe you,” said Mrs. Greenwhite. “We noticed a plane that had crashed into the woods with no sign of anyone inside, did that have anything to do with it?”
“Yes, it did,” answered Jason.
So Jason and Tyler told them their story of why they had been gone for nearly three years and they believed every single word of it just like they had promised.
“Why did you get a new basketball goal, we thought maybe you replaced us or something?” asked Tyler.
“Of course not, we would never do anything like that,” said Mr. Greenwhite. “We decided to buy that on your seventeenth birthday, as he looked over at Jason, because we weren’t going to give up hope and we wanted to surprise you with it when you got home. We figured that you guys would like it, it’s the best one that they have out right now. Besides that we decided to keep everything pretty much the same as it had been, except for a few things here and there. Now let’s go eat as a family for the first time in awhile. P.S., your mom’s cooking hasn’t gotten any worse by no means.”
The two of them liked the sound of that as they headed back into their home. Their parents were right, everything inside of the house was exactly like it was when they left. They opened the door to their room and it was like they were never gone.
“You know what we were supposed to go out for dinner the night you guys left so let’s give your mom a break from cooking and go out to a nice restaurant,” said Mr. Greenwhite.
“That is totally fine with me,” Mrs. Greenwhite answered back as she was glad she would be able to sit down with her family and enjoy a nice dinner.
“So has anything crazy happened since we have been gone, any huge wars going on or have the Cubs won the World Series yet?” asked Jason crossing his fingers on the later part.
“Let me say that it is a good time to be a U.S. citizen and it is still a bad time to be a Cubs fan, but hey I think this is their year,” said Mr. Greenwhite with a smile.
“We will have to take you to get your driver’s license here soon,” said Mrs. Greenwhite as she looked at Jason.
“Believe me, after three years of being on a vehicle and after flying it quite often, I can wait to get my driver’s license for a couple more days, but I do think that I would like to be a pilot someday,” he said. “Also, we have obviously been gone and missed school, what is going to happen there?”
“Hey don’t worry about that right now because summer vacation just started. I am sure that the school will be able to arrange something when the time comes. You guys sure planned getting home on time, as soon as summer vacation started up,” said Mr. Greenwhite who started to laugh.
“We have Tyler over here to thank for arriving at this time,” said Jason with a smile reminiscing in his mind of when Tyler snuck into the weapons room and nearly shot the other spaceship down. I like how you planned that perfectly, as he was looking over at his brother Tyler. If you wouldn’t have went in there and done that we would have gotten home just as school was beginning.”
All Tyler could do was smile. That was all either of them could do at the moment as they were so glad to have things finally back to the way they were used to. The four of them went out for a wonderful dinner that they would never forget.
A couple of months had gone by and on one night in October while Mr. and Mrs. Greenwhite were out having dinner, Jason and Tyler were alone at the house. The two of them were watching a movie when they heard a knock at the door.
“Who could that be, we hardly ever have any visitors, especially at this time?” wondered Jason as he looked down at his watch that read 10:30.
Both Jason and Tyler jumped a little as they opened it to see who was standing on their porch. The two of them were almost speechless when they saw who had arrived at their house.
“Carlyle, what are you doing here?” asked Jason. “Man are we glad to see you again!”
“Well since I had already been to this place now it took me a lot less time to get here, in fact it only took me a few minutes. I figured that I should come down here and give you guys the news.”
“Please tell me that you have good news,” said Tyler.
“I do. As soon as I got back I went straight to the CZSA to try and find my family. I went there to look for Captain Zirg but couldn’t find him anywhere, the place had been closed down. It turns out that people had finally gotten tired of the way he treated everyone and they threw him out. As they did so they found my family along with a couple of other families that had been locked behind bars in the basement of the building.”
“That is terrific news that they overthrew him, it is really sad though to hear the way they treated your family and all of the others,” said Jason.
“Yeah, the good news is that I didn’t need to go to the CZSA to find them and mess with Captain Zirg. I headed straight home and found them there. They told me that they had heard about me taking off in a spaceship with two aliens and they were so relieved to see me arrive home. The only problem was that when they overthrew him no one really knew how to run a place like that and it shut down. So right now I am still without a job, but there is something that I have been considering and that is starting my own spaceship academy and running it myself. I just hope that I don’t get too full of myself if I decide to do that and end up like Captain Zirg, because he was somewhat nice before he started.”
“That would never happen,” said Jason. “I think that you should go ahead and give it a try. I know that you would be a great person to work for.”
“Well I better get going, I just wanted to tell you guys the good news,” said Carlyle.
“Are you sure that you don’t want to stay for a little while? I mean we have told our parents our story and we know that they would love to meet you,” said Tyler.
“Thanks for the offer but it is my daughter’s birthday tomorrow. I will have to come back and meet them sometime though, also you guys should meet my family sometime. I promise this time you won’t be gone for three years.”
“Okay, tell your daughter happy birthday for us,” said Jason and Tyler simultaneously.
“I will see you guys soon then,” said Carlyle.
“See you later,” they repeated.
Just like that Carlyle was gone again but of course it wasn’t going to be for good.
Jason and Tyler were glad to back home at their own house and now they had a bonus that they didn’t have in the past before going on the long trip. They were only a minute away from a great friend and also another planet that was millions of miles away.