Going Home: Chapter 9
Bowie was inconsolable. He couldn’t believe what was happening. He finally noticed the mercs yelling at the prisoner. He went over and asked what they found out. Michaels said, “It’s what we thought, they’re fighting a civil war about slavery. The war is about to be over. Apparently, a large force is moving this way, and we need to get out of here.”
Yoli came running down to the bay, “Listen, dump this prisoner. Joe spotted hundreds of troops, tanks, artillery and planes coming this way. They are wearing different uniforms than this guy. They’re dark green. He’s recalled the drones and I’m taking off in one minute.” He looked at Bowie, “You okay with that Pancho?”
Bowie was beat down but looked up at Yoli and nodded, “Yeah, do it buddy. Get us the hell out of here.”
Yoli scrambled back up to the cockpit and the ramp opened. Jacobson grabbed the prisoner by the scruff of the neck and ran him down the ramp. When they got to the bottom, he threw him to the ground and told him to run. Jacobson ran back up the ramp as it closed.
Yoli came on the loudspeaker, “Everybody strap in. We blow out of here in thirty seconds.”
Bowie went up to the cockpit just in time to strap down for takeoff. He wanted to be there in case he needed to help with pilot duties, but he was still in zombie mode. He was completely devastated.
Yoli knew it and tried to console him. He put his hand on Bowie’s shoulder, "no te preocupes Pancho (Don’t worry Pancho). We’ll be out of here in a few seconds. Just sit back and take it easy.”
Everyone was strapped in, and seconds later there was a loud blast. The ship lifted up out of their hiding place. The Baby was slow at first but gained power and altitude quickly. As they ascended Yoli saw fighter planes coming their way on the sensors, “Skipper, we got bogeys coming at us. I got it. They don’t have a hope in hell of catching us.” By this time the ship was moving faster than any of the primitive airplanes coming at them.
The Baby went speeding through the atmosphere with a contrail into space and to Janus. It was an amazing sight as the candy apple red ship rose through the atmosphere faster and faster. Nothing in that world could touch it. Everyone remained strapped down as the weightlessness of space took over. Bowie put his face in his hands to cover the distress of having to leave Emily behind, again. This behavior was not Bowie like.
Yoli set the controls to connect with the mother ship automatically and turned to Bowie, “Pancho, you okay? I know it’s been tough but it’s the mission.”
Bowie came up with a blank look on his face as he stared out the cockpit window, “Yeah, I’ve been on tough missions. It’s been difficult to see the love of your life, who you thought was dead, alive, and walking around. I looked into her eyes Yoli. It was Emily. I have to go back. I have to get her.”
Yoli waited for computer confirmation the docking process was in place, “I know Jimmy but we’re not dealing with normal things here. We can’t go back down there. This is not real world. This is like a simulation. We just need to get back and tell them everything we saw. I’m really sorry Skipper. We’re ready to go. In seconds we’ll be orbiting above our earth. We’ll head to the island, and it’ll be all over. Hepwater tells me everything is good to go.”
Bowie stared into Yoli’s eyes, “I know. I just feel like I’m in the middle of a west Texas hailstorm. I can’t run, I can’t hide, and I can’t make it stop. I want Emily back and she’s down there!”
Yoli took his flat hand and hit him in the chest, “You know what has to be done. We’re going home. You used to tell me it’ll all be okay when we get home. Everything will be fine when we’re on the river drinking those Mai Tai’s. Remember that.”
“Yeah, you’re right. It’ll be okay when we get home. Get us home.”
Jana floated up from below decks and strapped herself in next to Bowie, “I know you’re upset. I wanted to tell you that what you saw was an anomaly.”
Bowie looked stern at her, “Seeing the woman I love with all my heart alive after I thought she was dead is not an anomaly. You knew this whole mess could happen.”
Jana stared out the front cockpit window as she spoke, “No, we didn’t know about any of it. It was a fluke you saw her. I am so sorry you had to go through that. You have to realize, we’re over a hundred thousand light years away from earth. This is a different life experience. As the doctor said, ‘Our cells are deteriorating.’ We don’t belong here. We need to forget what we saw and go home.”
Bowie sat there in his chair staring straight ahead, “Yeah, well, that’s easy to say but I can’t forget looking into her eyes. I don’t think I can ever forget that. Having her so close and then, once again, she’s gone. How much am I supposed to take.”
Jana tried to comfort him, “I know, but think about it, if Johnson wouldn’t have gotten wounded, you never would’ve seen her. The person you saw is not the person you fell in love with. This is a completely different reality.”
Bowie turned towards her, “It didn’t seem like a different reality as I kissed her and stared into her eyes. I felt the connection of a hundred thousand light years in that moment.”
Jana, the philosophical physicist, suddenly realized there was something more to this whole connection. She felt something, “Okay, we still need to go back and tell people what we found out. Even if it’s without your Emily. You owe it to everyone. You owe it to the human race.”
Bowie became enraged, “To hell with the human race! I don’t care. I want my Emily back. You’re the one who doesn’t get it do you. There is a soul in people that sometimes needs to connect. You don’t know that. I was never a big soul mate person. This life apparently means nothing in the overall scheme of things, but certain people in your life are extremely important to individuals. Or don’t you have anyone important to you. The person down on that planet is extremely important to me. I need to go back.”
Now Jana had a blank look on her face, “Okay, I understand what you’re saying but what makes you think she will want to come back with you. She’s in a different reality. She has different hopes and dreams. This is not where we’re supposed to be. We have screwed things up on this planet and possibly on our planet. This is a whole different timeline now.”
Bowie stopped as Yoli came over the big red ship’s intercom, “Everyone ready. We’ll be back in our universe in a few seconds.”
Bowie’s eyes got crazy big again as he unbuckled his seat belt. He floated towards Jana, “You said time. Is this about time displacement? Nothing was ever said about that, but you knew. To do the things we’ve done we’re not just going through space but time. When we get back everything could be completely different. Nobody ever said anything about that. What the hell man! You knew and you didn’t tell me, or any of these other people?”
Jana stared into his eyes, “We weren’t sure. Now we know. That’s why we have to get back. We have to tell them. There are different timelines. We could’ve changed things everywhere by what we did.”
Bowie didn’t know what to say, “You mean when we get back to earth things might not be the same? So, everything we believe is a farce!”
Yoli intervened, “Strap in guys. We’re going to pop this thing back home in about fifteen seconds.”
Bowie knew what it meant and grabbed a chair with a seat belt. Jana followed Bowie’s lead. She got in the chair next to him and strapped in as Yoli pushed the button. After the thunder and explosive light, for a few seconds, it was calm.
It was as if they were in Alice in Wonderland. What had they discovered. What was going on. You’re in one place and the next second, you’re in another place trillions of miles away.
Bowie in all his imagination hadn’t counted on this. At this point he just wanted to get home, but where’s home?
The one thing he knew at home was the Alamo. The Alamo and the Mai Tai club on the river was home. Everything would be okay sitting in front of the Alamo. It was almost like a universal drawing card for Bowie. That’s where he was supposed to be.