The Adventure of the Magic Chia Plant

Chapter 8: The Abduction

"We can't give the alien all the seeds!" Bench exploded. "That will defeat the purpose of us trying to get the bottle back in the first place!"

"I realize that," Brent said patiently. "I just meant that with that amount of water, we might have to use nine or ten to make a proper tea."

"How will we know that we've used enough?"

Brent shrugged. "I guess the only way to find out is to keep adding seeds until the alien likes it enough to emerge from the ocean."

"Great. We'll be stuck here unless we brew a perfect brew for a monster." Bench massaged his temples with the heels of his hands. "My head hurts."

"Yes, well, go back to sleep." Brent sighed and gave him a little push. "We'll think about it in the morning. Maybe we'll have a better idea of what to do."

"Okay..." Bench started to wander back to his position beside Bethie, but he'd only taken a few steps before remembering something. "Wait. Isn't it my turn to keep watch?"

Brent grimaced and looked at the lightening horizon. "You might as well sleep through the night. I don't think I can close my eyes after this."

"No, that's not fair." Bench stuck out his lower lip stubbornly. "I told you I'd help, and I will. Give me your stuff."

Brent thought about protesting as he felt awake and jittery after making their recent discoveries. However, he also knew that Bench had a very rigid view of what was right and fair, and his sense of honor would demand that he take his turn as he had promised.

"Okay, fine," Brent said resignedly. "It's nearly morning anyway. Just wake us up by dawn. We don't want to waste the light."

"Got that." Bench took the flashlight, the binoculars, the penknife, and Brent's Kindle and sat down alertly. "It's your turn to rest. You won't be much help if you stumble around all day. And, here."  He handed over his seed pod.  "Keep this. I might just lose it." 

"Okay." Brent stashed the seeds in a zippered compartment in his bag and lay down on the sand beside Bethie. He was convinced that he would never be able to sleep, but he was so tired from all the exertions of the day that he was deeply unconscious within seconds.

* * * *

Brent didn't know why he suddenly woke up, but he did. One second, he was dreaming of eating a huge, greasy slice of pepperoni pizza, and the next, he was sitting bolt upright, eyes wide open. He looked around him wildly, and for a few seconds, he had no idea what was wrong. The three moons were setting and barely visible. The sun was just cresting the horizon, casting an orange glow over the sky. If he were on Earth, it would be about six in the morning. 

 He could now see more of the pink beach, including a vast expanse of jungle behind them that stretched hundreds of feet into the air and miles on either side. The ocean had retreated at some point, so the purplish water was farther from them than last night. Brent checked the fire, but it had burned down to embers, and Bethie was slumbering a safe three feet away from it. So, what had woken him?

Like a clap of thunder, Brent realized what the problem was.

He couldn't see Bench anywhere.

"Bench!" He shouted in panic, springing to his feet. He hoped Bench hadn't decided to go into the ocean after the alien. Fortunately, his brother was deathly afraid of the water—he never went near a pool if he could help it—so the chances of him taking an early-morning swim were slim to none. Brent continued yelling for a few minutes, not knowing what else he could do. He could see Bethie stirring uneasily from the corner of his eye, but he couldn't worry about waking her up now. "Bench! Where are you?"