EPILOGUE: CHILDREN AT PLAY
The A.S. Hydra hovered above Alex, self-deactivating its stealth mode. With a newfound sense of hope, Alex entered a command on his wrist. A small metal capsule emerged from his spaceship’s starboard side. It then descended slowly towards Alex.
Meanwhile, the Great ReTarcan’s stormcloud continued growing at a very fast rate.
The capsule landed upright on the ground next to Alex. A panel opened to accommodate a single passenger.
Alex promptly climbed in.
As the capsule floated back to the A.S. Hydra, he peeked out of one of the capsule’s tiny portholes to take a look at the colossal organism that roared at the sky as it created a storm. He held his breath out of awe and anxiety until the A.S. Hydra swallowed the capsule into safety.
After going through a quick series of decontamination and air-locking, Alex immediately entered his cockpit. After fumbling over the controls, all of the ship’s nuclear-thrusters engaged. The A.S. Hydra rocketed towards the ReTarcan sky just as the first bolts of lightning cracked from the enormous stormcloud.
Alex Skinner, captain of the A.S. Hydra, bade a silent goodbye after taking one last look at the planet of ReTarc.
X X X
Darren Skinner immersed himself in the froth-filled bathtub. All of a sudden, he remembered himself as a child, making waves in the soapy water of the tub before snaking his right hand out of the suds to create a ‘Loch Ness Monster’. He glanced down at the water and tried to figure out why it seemed magical to him when he was young. Failing to find the answers, Darren slipped his hands under the bubbles and then made some splashes as he tried to picture out a sea serpent lurking underneath the ocean waves. He then popped his right hand out of the water, mimicking the posture of a belligerent serpentine head. He made a quick snapping motion in front of his eyes, trying to imagine himself half-submerged at sea, being attacked by a giant sea serpent.
He sighed, thinking: this used to be fun.
He condescendingly looked at his right hand – a candidate for carpal tunnel syndrome. To Darren’s grown-up mind, the thing that was sticking out of the water’s foamy surface barely resembled a sea serpent.
The magic is gone.
With a pathetic groan, he dropped his hand back into the water, wishing he had brought a rubber duckie with him.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
A big ‘thank you’ goes to my mom, my sisters, and my ‘barkada’ (The Ursine Bloodline) for giving me their full support without even bothering to read my works. I’m also sending my thanks to all of my readers (including my silent readers), my commenters, my voters and all of my 332 (so far) followers. A heap-load of thanks goes to those who have read this short novel that is jam-packed with bullcrap and tense inconsistencies.
Last but not the least, I’m sending all my love to Juvi Mariel Jaramillo for brightening up my days and for helping me with this novel.
-Jim Lodge
