My parents and I packed our bags later that morning. James was sad that I had to leave. He was grounded and knew that we both weren’t going to be able to go to the Space Tiers Conference that was coming up in a week.
While Mom and Dad were outside packing the car, I went into the kitchen where Grandpa was drinking a cup of coffee.
“Hey, my boy,” he said.
“Hi.”
“Coffee?”
“I’m alright, Grandpa. I don’t really have an appetite.”
“I’m sure,” he sipped his cup. “I’m sorry it had to be this way, my boy.”
I nodded.
James came downstairs with some kind of card in his hand.“Hey Grandpa, can I have this Reggie Jackson baseball card?”
“Ah, you got it from my office?”
“Yeah. I didn’t mean to go through your stuff, I just saw it and…”
“Don’t worry about it. Let me take a look.” James handed him the card, and he observed it. “1969 Reggie Jackson Topps Rookie Collection #260... hm, sure you can take it.”
“Alright! Thanks, Grandpa!” James said happily.
“I didn’t know you were into baseball, James?” Grandpa said.
“Yeah, me neither,” I added.
“Well, I’ve been doing a little bit of practicing, and I’ve become fond of the sport. Also, I’ve learned a lot from you Grandpa,” he said.
“You're welcome to borrow my glove anytime,” Grandpa said.
“Really?”
“Yeah, it’s in my office in the top drawer of my desk. In the same place you got the card from.”
“Wow, thanks!”
“Boys, there is something that I think you guys should know, I think it’s time that I tell you my story. Let’s go have a seat.”
James and I followed him to the living room. We sat on the couch, Grandpa also sat down and placed his cane next to him.
“30 years ago, I worked for the T.S.I., just like your parents do now. My position was to mine and transport jewels. The first couple of years everything was great, it was the perfect job, great pay and great hours. A couple of years later, they informed us that they would be upgrading the tools that we used to mine the jewels. My crew and I were happy to hear this as we thought that the upgraded tools would make our job easier. We started using the tools and a couple of weeks in, some of my crew members started getting sick. They started having heart problems and started getting infections. We knew that these illnesses were related to us using these new tools. We shared our concerns with our supervisor, but he quickly dismissed them and told us to get back to work.
Even though I had been working there for some time, we were never told what the jewels were being used for, until one day when I was given the task to transport some jewels to their facility in Ohio. It was late at night when we had finally arrived, as I was driving through the gate, I witnessed a spaceship departing in the distance. That is when I discovered that the T.S.I. was conducting business with the aliens. I promptly left as soon as my delivery was done. I never told anyone what I saw.
Several months later, my team and I found ourselves aboard a ship at sea en route to The Island to deliver jewels. We found a little blue alien boy floating at sea; he was hanging onto a small piece of wood. He was alive, so we brought him on board the ship. When we arrived at The Island, one of the heads, Dr. Michael Richardson, instructed some of the guards to take the alien boy back to his cell. They took him toward the only building on the island. It was about seven stories high, very long in length, and it had a lot of windows. I figured it was a prison. After we finished our shipment, we made our way back to the boat. As we did, off in the distance, I noticed some people mining. But the thing was, those people weren’t actually humans; they were aliens that were mining. That’s when I realized that the T.S.I had captured these creatures and enslaved them. This was about thirty years ago. I retired shortly afterwards. I sometimes think of how we just left that innocent boy behind. I don’t know what they did to him, but it probably wasn’t good. So I tell you this, I understand what your parents are trying to do. They just want to protect you, but you’re curious and you are older now. I think they should do the right thing.”
“Wow,” I said. “It must have been hard leaving that boy.”
“It was. But you just go on with your job like nothing happened. God knows what they would have done to us if we would have tried helping...”
James and I looked at each other thinking about Kay-ani who we had just rescued. We were grateful that she was in safe hands.
Dad came in the door, “Hey Ben, the car is all packed up. We can get going now.”
“Alright,” I responded.
“We’ll be waiting in the car,” he said and closed the door.
Before I left to say goodbye to everyone else, I stopped to ask Grandpa one last question.
“Grandpa, I met these two girls back home. Their father worked for the T.S.I too, and I believe he’s on that island you went to all those years ago. Can you tell me where the island is located, so I can let them know where to go find him?”
“The island is near the city of San Francisco. It’s called Bueno Island. But I’m telling you this, it’s too dangerous. I’d help you, but I’m in my late 60s and not as quick as I used to be.”
“I see,” I said. “Thank you, you don’t understand how much this means.”
“What’s the name of the man who disappeared again?” he said.
“Joseph Williams.”
“Wasn’t that Henry and Amelia’s boy,” he thought to himself. “…that’s very unfortunate.”
Before we left, I said goodbye to Kay-ani. She thanked us for saving her life. It had been years since she had been outside of the Top Secret Institute. Grandpa said that he’d watch her and keep her safe. He said that he didn’t want to make the same mistake twice. Since James was also going to be around, he said that he would help Grandpa take care of Kay-ani. James asked to be informed whenever we were planning the trip to Bueno Island; he wanted to join and continue assisting in the search for Joseph.
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