How Far To The Sun

Fantasy/Sci-Fi Experimental

Copywrite 2011

by Guy Adkins

 

“Mr. Vestige, you are going to get into a lot of trouble.  I need to send you home.  You are important enough to earn AA status. One mistake from me and it is likely that both of our geese will be cooked.”  Jules Cjister removed from a hip pocket what looked, to Duke, like a Yo-Yo painted a metallic blue color.  Then Jules popped something in his mouth and his jaw began working steadily, masticating a small cube of bubble gum.  

The British agent pounded the ground repeatedly with the Yo-Yo with flicks of his right wrist.  The resultant whistling noise began to build, as if someone or something had deliberately set a fire. Ever so slowly, a veil of smoke began to seep from the toy and coalesced into a beaded curtain.   Amber and brown glass beads strung on strings jittered in the air. The clack of the beads quickly became a rhythm machine. 

“According to my calculations, you should tuck yourself through this doorway when you have heard three loud pops.  Please wait for the third one to go off.  Then push your way through the beaded curtain into the Lennon Express.”

“What or who is a Lennon Express, anyway?” Duke was visually inspecting the odd doorway.   It looked like a recreation from a San Francisco hippie apartment from the late 1960s or early 1970s.. Perhaps the Lennon Express was the way agents actually travelled these days.  Duke admitted to himself that having such a device was way past anything he had ever dreamed of.  Had John Lennon, the Beatle, one of the Fab Four, the writing partner of Paul McCartney, dreamed up such a transportation device?   Is that why it was called the Lennon Express?

Where would he go next?   Back to the present?  For him, at least.  Duke looked out on the field and at the sleeping boys.  The mother had walked to them and tucked them both in.  This evening reminded Duke of days he had spent camping in St. Louis and the many state camping areas located within 100 miles of his home. Like these boys he most enjoyed letting the sunshine bake his shoulders during the day with a lot of swimming for refreshment.

“This Lennon Express, is it a train I get to ride around in?”  Duke said to the back of Jules Cjister.  Strange way to spell Chester.  Maybe that is one reason why the British are always such funny people.  Everyone there must have the most unusual names.   Charles Dickens proved that with his characters.

“It is neither a train nor a transportation device in the same vein as an airplane or automobile.  You simply walk through one door and out another,” Jules said as he again began tapping the edge of the umbrella on the ground. 

“I am afraid we have a system failure on the Lennon Express.  You simply can not get there from here.  We will need to make several short jumps to get back.”  Jules extended the umbrella and looked intently at the long stem. 

“Is that really an umbrella or some secret signaling device?”  Duke’s curiosity had been piqued by Jules’ behavior in the last few minutes.

“This is an Express Pass.  They aren’t cheap, you know.  With this model, I can see what back ups are occurring.  Also, if it rains I have a proper umbrella.  We could teach you Yanks a lot about how to stretch a dollar.” 

Had Jules carried the umbrella with him at the concert?  Duke couldn’t remember.  It had been very dark in the auditorium.  It is possible there was another way to get on board this thing he called a Lennon Express.  The only thing he was sure of was that in Atlantic City he fell from the catwalk and landed unharmed in this lakeside camping ground.

Why of all the places in the world did they come here? 

Author's Note

Ignore grammar problems, does the scene make you want to read more?

Reviews

[J]

intriguing premise! of course i want to read on ~ who would not be curious about a guy named cjister? a couple questions ~ what happened to the yoyo and how did the umbrella appear?

brits are funny peeps, aren't they!
well done!

[Becky C Strukamp]

You definitely leave the reader wanting more. Anxious to read the next chapter.

[K.M. Lucero]

I am very intrigued to what will happen next. It is definitely leaving me wanting to read more. Thank you for sharing.