Heirs of Planet Life 3 - The Battle of Gods

XXVIII - The Return to Earth

Inside the Star Hunter spaceship, Zara began to smile, lost in thought. Nicholas looked at her, curious, realizing that his wife's gaze was fixed in some point in the solar system. From the hatch of the command bridge, he observed the direction to which her sight was headed and stared at the planet Earth, still a tiny point, approaching faster and faster. Relieved, he saw that the great battle cruiser was finally arriving at its destination. The journey had been tiresome, but the expectation of seeing again those they loved made any suggestion of scam or fatigue disperse. The happiness stamped in Zara infected him.

"Z8, put the ship in invisible mode", Merko ordered.

"Understood, Captain."

"I miss my little Helen so much. I'm dying to hug her and hear her voice, calling me Mommy." Zara said, happy, allowing the minds of the other crewmembers to fill with hope.

"I can't wait to see our daughter too, my love." Nicholas' eyes were glowing.

"Z8, open a channel with Helen's smartphone. I want to talk to her now that we're on the Earth's orbit."

"Yes, doctor."

After a few minutes, the computer returned with strange news.

"Doctor Zara, I can't get answers from the requested number."

"Keep trying and let me know when you can." Zara's smile began to disappear from her face, again that strange sensation in her chest that something was wrong.

"I penetrated the computer systems of the planet and verified in the archives of the airlines that Lorena, Sophia and Helen have already returned home", Merko, concerned, said after a while.

Nicholas and Zara looked at each other apprehensively.

"Z8, enter with the ship at the bottom of the sea, where we hid it the last time. Leave a scout ship ready for Dargan, since he'll need it to return to the planet Life."

"Yes, sir, I'm adjusting the landing coordinates. The robots are doing maintenance in a ship as requested."

The Star Hunter spacecraft was hidden deep in the ocean. Merko, Zara and Nicholas teleported to the garage of Lorena's house, where Helen used to play around during the day. They called for them, but there was no one there. They climbed a few steps of the stairs and arrived at the front door of the living room. Zara ran, looking for Helen all over the house, to no avail. Where could they be?

"Grab the phone, Nicholas. Try to talk to your mother and let her know that we have arrived. She must be hanging out with Helen." Zara tried to be positive. "It's already afternoon and they usually go to the mall to grab a snack at this time."

"Leave it to me, I'll call her. I will take advantage of it and let Sophia know we're here. She must be at the University."

Merko sat down on the couch and thought about Lorena. He was crazy to see her again and missed her a lot.

"What an adventure we lived, Merko! If I told the people of this world, no one would believe." Zara tried to relax as her husband phoned.

"We saved the world and preserved the future of humanity. I would do it all over again if necessary," Merko said without hesitation.

Meanwhile, Lorena wasn't answering the phone, to increase Nicholas' anxiety. He tried to call Helen's cell phone again, but he wasn't successful, either.

"What happened? That's strange!"

"Merko, Zara, I can't get in touch with my mother or Helen. No cell phone answers."

"They may be out of coverage area. But I find it weird because it has never happened before. The telephony networks always work well in any part of the city," Zara no longer hid the anguish.