Earth

Jade and Peter waited impatiently in their Algebra class at Coastbury Middle School, watching the clock. Three o'clock, and the weekend, were slowly approaching, while Mr. Waltek repeated the day's formulas for at least the third time.

"Mr. Bryant, please look up," came the commanding voice from the front of the class. Peter looked up, but only for enough time to convince his teacher that he was listening, then set his head back on the desk. Jade stared blankly at the date on his notepaper: 10/15/56. He thought about his father's story of the year 2000 computer bug, how the paranoia mounted until it met a very peaceful end. No stock market crashes, no ruined companies, nothing. Just a big scare. Jade thought about the twentieth century, that infamous mistake in history. Wars, famines, internal strife. Now, he thought, we just have internal strife. With the new international space station and the very first settlements on mars and the moon, which were only little farms, famine had come under control. These are the days, he thought. Only terrorism to worry about. His mind wandered more and babbled to him. He lost track of what he was thinking. Jade nearly hypnotized himself, but the liberating school bell rang, and the entire class rushed out the door, except for he and Peter.

Peter carefully lifted his backpack over his shoulders, stumbled, and continued out the door, accompanied by Jade. They emerged into the autumn air and began their walk home. They were almost to Jade's house when they began talking.

"I still don't understand it, Pete," said Jade, "why do you carry him around with you?' He was commenting on the huge bulge in Peter's backpack that made him take more care in lifting his it than the others. Peter began carrying his pet goldfish, Bob, around with him everywhere, including school, only a few months before. Bob and Peter had been pet and owner for five years, but Peter had just discovered what made Bob special, other than his life span.

Peter stopped in his tracks. "I've told you before. He and I have a psychic bond."

Jade couldn't contain his snicker, just as he hadn't been able to in the past when he heard about it. "Oh yeah, I forgot. The psychic bond." His subdued chortle soon escalated to unbridled laughter.

"Maybe you want some proof. Do you want proof?" Peter was becoming noticeably flustered. "How about this? You take Bob home with you tonight, and I'll ask him tomorrow about what you did. Well?"

Jade still thought his friend had gone insane, but he consented. "Fine. I'll bring him home, and we'll see tomorrow that you're a lunatic."

The bulge in Peter's backpack was emptied, and Jade went his separate way to his house, carrying the goldfish bowl. "See ya' later, psycho!"

Peter's middle finger quickly extended, almost as a reflex.

 

"What shall we do this afternoon, Bob? I know, we'll call the psychic friends network!" Jade fell on the ground, laughing. Bob recorded that phrase in his mind, ready to relay to his master. He understood that Peter wanted to prove his sanity to his friend, and Bob was more than willing to help.

Just to make sure that Peter wasn't spying on him, Jade called his house. The phone rang once, then again, and once more. "I knew he was spying on me!" Jade thought to himself. On the fourth ring, however, someone on the other end of the line picked up.

"Hello?" It was Peter.

"Um, hi, Pete. It's Jade. I guess you're still at home, huh?"

"Yeah, I just got here about ten minutes ago. Has Bob said anything to you yet?"

Jade covered the mouthpiece on the phone and started laughing. Once he recovered, he said, "Yeah, Pete. And he told me my future, too! I'm going to win the lottery when I'm 21!"

Peter had, of course, taken enough of this sort of response from Jade, and hung up the phone. Jade continued laughing.

At dinner, Jade brought the goldfish and his home downstairs, set him next to the table, and began eating.

"I'm borrowing Pete's goldfish tonight, Mom. He says it's psychic. And he's right! It read my palms, told me my future, and knew what my lucky numbers were!" Jade was apparently not going to drop this joke for a while.

 

The next day, Jade awoke early. After preparing himself for a Saturday with his friend, he grabbed the fishbowl and went out the door. Jade and Peter always met in the same place every Saturday, the edge of a large forest, near a creek. There was still mist rising off the moss-covered banks of the brook. There was a homemade bridge spanning it, with one end pointing deeper into the dense forest. In this place, Jade and Peter enjoyed doing whatever they cared to.

Jade arrived there first, but it was less than ten minutes that he had to wait for his friend to arrive.

"Here's the psychic," Jade said to Peter, handing him the fishbowl. "So, what did I do last night?"

"Well, I guess I'll have to ask Bob that," Peter responded. After a few moments of silence, he said, "Right after you got home, you told him that you were going to call the psychic friends network. Then you laughed at that very lame joke, and gave me a call. When you went to dinner, you told your mom that I said he was psychic, and said that he told you your future and your lucky number. It seems that you enjoyed his stay, Jade."

Jade did not respond. He simply stood, stunned and confused. After a while, he resumed a state of animation. Although he was absolutely amazed by what he had just heard, he continued to be skeptical. "How did you manage to spy on me like that? I called to make sure that you weren't. I know this fish isn't psychic!"

"Well, he is. And that was proof. Believe it, Jade."

Jade didn't believe it, but he didn't say anything.

Jade and Peter stopped talking about Bob, who was swimming contentedly in his bowl, which they had placed in the stream. They did this every time they came out to this place. They went exploring in the forest, played with things in the water, and basically did outdoor kid activities.

At about four o'clock, they decided to trek over to Jade's house to have lunch and play inside. They were on the opposite side of the stream from where Jade's house was. They headed back towards the stream and picked up the fishbowl once they got to it. They then walked slowly out of the forest, into the street.

After eating a lunch of tuna fish sandwiches and potato chips, Jade and Peter went into the living room to play video games. Jade's birthday had recently been celebrated, and he now possessed the newest of video gaming systems: the explorer 256. Jade's favorite game was a flying one. He and Peter had competed, and won, in some competitions of the game, while playing with another user of the system in Japan.

An hour later, Jade and Peter emerged from the trance they were in from this game, and proceeded into the sunlight to go back into the woods. Upon arriving at the brook, Peter placed Bob, confined by his bowl, in the stream. Bob 'yelled' into Peter's mind that the water was too cold, so he removed the bowl from the brook and placed it in a patch of moss. Though it was only six o'clock, the sun was already going down. The evening came quickly to Coastbury in late October, so the boys were standing in twilight next to the stream. Their parents didn't care if they stayed out far past sundown, so Jade and Peter continued to play in the stream.

"Hey, Pete," Jade suddenly said, "do you think it's a good night to camp tonight? It's not that cold, and I feel like having a campfire."

"Well, if we leave now, we can ask about it and come back out before it gets too late," Peter responded. Having had this brief interaction, they left the stream, carrying only Bob's domicile with them.

 

About 45 minutes later, Jade, Peter, and Bob returned to the same spot near the stream, accompanied by their entire camp setup. Jade and Peter first had the task of setting up their tent. They had only brought along a tarpaulin, but soon changed it into a wonderful abode by propping up a system of sticks. They then rolled out a large blanket on the ground, rolled their sleeping bags over it, and threw their pillows towards the open ends of them. Peter set Bob inside his sleeping bag, thought a good-night to him, and went outside to join his friend in the search for tinder and kindling.

Jade and Peter had set up camp on the far side of the creek, and were now searching for wood to make a campfire. They knew how to find this very easily, so the fire was ready to be started in a very short while. Jade and Peter arranged the sticks in a tent formation around a few small logs. A lighter then emerged from Jade's pocket. Jade flicked it twice, without success. On the third try, a flame shot out the top, and Jade lowered it into the tower of sticks.

The inside flared up first, and then the outer sticks began a slow burn, heating the increasingly thicker sticks above until they began to flame. Soon enough, the small fire was very hot and bright. Jade had also collected some extra logs to put on the fire once it started, so he took one and rolled it into the side. It quickly glowed and lit, allowing Jade and Peter to just sit and enjoy the heat and light. However, this did not last long. Jade went back into the tent and retrieved two large cans and two unusual metal structures. Jade scooped some water from the nearby brook into one can and placed it on the first metal thing, which he placed over the fire. Then he put the other can next to the first and placed the other metal structure on top of the two of them. It was a homemade distiller. The increasing threat of biological terrorism in this age had reached the point of people poisoning streams and water in water towers, so Jade, who was a bit paranoid, always made sure to have water he knew was safe. Peter, on the other hand, was more laid back and, as Jade considered him, carefree. While it was working, they searched the forest for food.

Every time they went camping with each other, they insisted on fixing their own food. They had done this so many times that it was almost a ritual to them, and each knew their jobs. Jade liked to gather plants, since he didn't like hunting, and Peter collected, skinned, and prepared animals. Fish were quite rare, even in the larger river that the brook turned into downstream, so they mostly ate birds and nocturnal animals. Peter hunted with homemade traps and launching weapons. His favorite to use was a large crossbow that he had designed himself. It consisted of a trigger mechanism that would launch five arrows at one time, after which it had to be reloaded. Fortunately, the arrows he used were very easily made from sticks with the aid of a Swiss Army Knife. Jade loved dandelions and edible roots. His favorite edible plants from the forest were wild strawberries, which only grew on the edges of clearings. He knew which herbs were safe to eat, and often used the fungi that he found to use in his meals. In addition, he knew which roots and leaves could be brewed into drinks, and which plants' stalks could be eaten.

Once the chore of finding food was finished, they returned to the fire, where they found the water completely distilled. Peter had retrieved a very small wild turkey, which would provide them with plenty of meat. He, without the help of Jade, plucked the bird and cut off a large piece of meat. He then took the rest of the carcass and cut the good meat off it, put that meat in a small covered container, and placed it in the stream. He chucked the rest of it into the woods. The first contraption, the one that was set over the campfire, was a homemade campfire stove, made of bent rods of metal welded together. Peter set a small piece of tin foil on it and proceeded to cook the meat.

After it was done, Jade got another can and poured the juices from the meat into it. Peter transferred the meat to a slightly higher spot on the stove to keep it warm. Jade's bounty included assorted herbs, a small, white, edible root, many dandelion leaves, and a few mushrooms. He dropped these into some of the water, and boiled them with the meat juices. Jade and Peter then began eating with some small, flat pieces of shaped wood.

After their meal, Jade and Peter exchanged ghost stories around the fire, and toasted marshmallows, the single necessity they brought with them. Peter wasn't as skilled as Jade in either of these activities, but he didn't mind only listening to stories rather than telling them. Soon enough, around ten o'clock, they decided it was time to retreat into the tent. They covered the fire with dirt until it was out and cool, then proceeded into their shelter.

"I saw a cool episode of the X-Files last night," commented Jade. "One of the early ones."

"I don't understand why you like old shows like that so much. The color sucks."

"I think the stories are a lot better."

"Yeah, sure."

"Well, the stuff they put on now isn't very inventive," Jade stated defensively.

"Sure it is. The new sci-fi show that came out last month is a hundred times better than the X-Files."

"No it isn't! I bet you didn't even see the first episode."

"I most certainly did. It was way better than your stupid show."

"In two hundred channels of basic service, there isn't a single show better than the X-Files."

Peter chortled. "Sure Jade. Good night."

After the long day, they were both quite ready to go to sleep, so the tent was soon quiet.

 

Jade woke up and looked around. The tent was completely dark, but he still felt very groggy, so he wasn't completely sure that his eyes were open. After rubbing them, he was satisfied that it was still night, so he looked down at his watch.

"Two o'clock?" he thought to himself. "Why did I get up?" He lay back down on his cool pillow. Suddenly, he saw a thin line of light scan across the occupants of the tent, coming through the slit in the front where the folded halves of the tarp met. It seemed that the source of the light was all around, as light was visible through the tarp, coming from only one direction. This slightly frightened him, so he extended his arms to his left and shook his friend. He slowly awoke, still as sleepy as Jade was when he woke up.

"What's your problem?" he whispered. "It's gotta be four in the morning!"

"I saw a light outside."

"So?" He had now progressed to a loud hiss. "People own flashlights. You didn't have to wake me up for that!"

Jade groaned angrily and said, "I'm going outside anyway. People don't just go for a pleasant stroll in the woods at two a.m.!" Peter muttered. Jade slipped out of his sleeping bag into the cold air. He was wearing the same clothing he had the day before. The source of the light was not easily detected, so he started walking deeper into the woods. First, he checked all the clearings he knew were nearby, lead by the shadows of the trees. In the first few places he searched, the source of the light was not seen. However, in the fifth clearing, there was light coming brightly through the trees, and it was not moving. He sprinted through the trees in the opposite direction, toward the tent. When he went in, Peter was already asleep. He shook him again.

"Pete! Pete!" He murmured quietly. "Wake up! I found where the light's coming from!"

"Wow!" He hissed sarcastically. "We'd better see this!" He rolled over.

"No, come on! I wanna see where it's coming from."

"Great. Go ahead. You can tell me when you get back."

Jade kicked him. Peter then got up and grabbed Bob's bowl. He followed Jade out of the tent. He was also wearing the same clothing he had the day before.

They arrived at the clearing, and the light was still streaming between the trees. It was very bright but did not seem to come from any single source. The boys followed the light through the forest for just a few minutes, until they came to a single spot where the shadows they cast were directly below them. They looked around, but still saw no source for the glow. Jade was the first to look up.

Only a strange gurgling whisper emerged from his throat, but he then advanced to stammering. "Pete! Pete! I see a… It's a… a UFO! A s-spaceship!"

Peter looked up also. He yelped. For the next few minutes, they stood, frozen in a shocked silence. They slowly became relaxed, but remained very excited. For some reason, Jade whispered rather than talking in a normal tone. "Pete, do you think we should tell someone? Too bad we don't have a camera, huh?"

Peter didn't have time to respond before the spaceship moved. It was only a very minute movement, but his adrenaline shot up in response. "It moved!" He also spoke in a whisper, but his was an excited, raspy hiss. "It moved!"

Jade looked up, but didn't notice any change in its position. "I guess it didn't move a lot, did it?" Jade opened his mouth to expel another comment, but was cut short by another action of the spaceship. The forest was suddenly plunged into darkness. Moments later, a circular area around them was quickly illuminated by a light blue light, which seemed to have its source slightly in front and far above the two. The apparent source of this light could not be determined, since its brightness was completely uniform. Jade soon noticed another change. Although the color of the light continued to stay pale, the actual shade and color of it was very slowly cycling. First came violet, then purple, then the purple became slightly pinkish, and continued to rose and red. After two complete cycles, Jade and Peter began to feel very tired, although they were fully awake for the duration of the light show.

Jade was the first to drop off, beginning with his head drooping. He then dropped to the ground, sprawled out. After seeing this, Peter decided that it would be safest for Bob if he lay down before falling into the sleep he felt quickly approaching, so he did. Bob was very lucky that he had decided to do this, for he was soon asleep. Bob stayed conscious.

The inanimate bodies then began to levitate. At first, they all rose at the same rate, but Bob soon sped ahead of the others. Peter and Jade rose almost as if they were linked, since they weighed nearly the same. As Bob and his bowl approached the source of the light, a small lightly colored disk on the side of the ship retracted into it and then slid to the side. It was only about two feet in diameter, but was concentric with other disks that were progressively darker the farther from the center they were. A large claw constructed of a shiny metal extended from the hole left by the disk and grabbed the fishbowl. There were no edges on it; every extension from the central section of the claw was round and pointed on the end. Even the joints were smooth. The whole claw seemed to be made of a single, flexible piece of metal. The claw then retracted into the spaceship. Once it was inside, the disk slid back over the hole and pushed into it, making the side of the ship uniform once again.

Jade and Peter approached the set of circles, and one of the largest and darkest disks withdrew into the side along with all the others inside it, seeming as though they were all one piece. They then slid over to the side, and a claw came out again. This time, it was much bigger, but exactly proportional to the first. It grabbed both bodies at once. Jade and Peter were brought into the spaceship, and the disks resumed their original positions.