Meeting Astro: Years Later

Chapter 5: She's Alive!

It was nice night. Fireflies flew in the air, and the stars shined in the night-time sky.

"I remember in one video, you sang a song to my mom. She said she liked that you were a good singer," Toby told Jack.

Jack smiled at him. "Oh, yeah?" he asked.

Toby chuckled. "I think she was tone-deaf and you sound like a dying crow when you sing," said Toby.

Jack's smile faded. "Oh. You mean like this?" Jack began making crazy crow sounds.

Toby burst out with laughter.

Jack smiled. "Like that?" Jack asked him.

Suddenly, there were several bangs coming from the streets. Astro, Toby, and Jack all looked up in alarm.

Astro gasped. "What was that?" Astro asked.

They peeked out the window. What they saw was something unexpected. There were ugly, scary-looking giant robot wolves. They looked hungry.

The boys went outside, which was a terrible mistake. The wolves slowly walked over to them on four legs. Jack, Astro, and Toby backed away. Neither of them knew what to do. They were surrounded.

Out of nowhere, a shadowy figure jumped off a nearby tree and landed on one of the robot wolves. It decapitated all of the wolves' heads. The boys watched in awe. The shadowy figure looked at the boy. The figure's face remained hidden, and only its' brown eyes shown, like a ninja.

The figure stuck a sword into the dirt and walked towards them. Finally, the person behind the mask was revealed. The figure took off its mask and a friendly face smiled at them. It was Peyton!

Astro stared at her. "P-Peyton?" he asked.

Jack's jaw dropped wide open in surprise. "M-Maybe she's a . . . a . . . a . . ." he stammered. He gulped in horror before he finished his sentence. ". . . a ghost!" he finished.

Peyton giggled a little. "I can assure you I'm not a ghost," said Peyton.

Astro ran to her and hugged her tightly. "You're alive! But how? Everyone thinks you're dead!" Astro said quickly.

Peyton hugged him back. "Good to see you, too, pal," said Peyton. She ended the hug.

Jack frowned at Peyton. Clearly he was furious with her. "Right now I am not so sure whether to hug you or slap you!" Jack said, with an angry tone in his voice.

Peyton stood there awkwardly for a few minutes.

Jack gave her a hard punch on the arm. "What on earth have you been doing all these years, you knucklehead?!" Jack snapped at her.

"Ow!" Peyton shouted, rubbing her head. "I guess I deserved that."

Jack frowned. "I saw that person kill you!" said Jack.

Peyton looked confused. "Jack, that wasn't me!" Peyton said.

Now Jack was the one confused. "What are you talking about? Of course it was! It was your shadow!" said Jack.

Peyton frowned at him. "I got kidnapped right after I left your house that night! It couldn't have been me!" Peyton snapped.

Jack raised an eyebrow at her. "If you got kidnapped for 13 years and you aren't dead, then who did I see that man kill?" Jack asked her.

Peyton avoided making eye contact with him for a while. "I don't know," she finally said.

She spotted Toby standing there quietly. "Toby?" Peyton asked.

Toby stared at her. "M-Mom?" he said.

Peyton hugged him tightly. "You've grown!" Peyton said with a smile.

Toby hugged her back.