Rocketeer: The story of a boy, his friends, and one crazy day

One day, in the peaceful town of Elwood City...

Buster Baxter strolled leisurely down the sidewalk towards his friend's house. He was a normal 9 year-old boy with long white ears, a triangle nose, and a face that resembled that of a rabbit. He wore his usual attire, an aqua sweater with a red collar, a pair of blue jeans, and his favorite red and white sneakers. He walked up the driveway of his buddy Arthur's house. Reaching his hand out, Buster pushed the doorbell and waited patiently for an answer.

It didn't take long before he heard the footsteps of someone coming down the staircase right next to the door. He caught a glimpse of yellow pass by the window. At that sight, he knew exactly who was going to answer the door. A few seconds later, the door unlocked and swung open to reveal a boy who was similar in appearance to Buster, but with a few differences. His face resembled that of an aardvark, tan skin, a long face with thin nostrils at the end, and two little ears on the top of his head. He wore circular brown glasses that rested on either side of his head, how they stayed on his head without resting on his ears was a mystery. The outfit he wore was a similar sweater, jeans, and shoes to Buster, only the sweater was a dull yellow in color, with the white collar of his undershirt coming out near his neck was different.

"Hey Buster," Arthur greeted with a smile, "What brings you here this early in the morning?"

"Well, since it's such a nice day outside, I was wondering if you wanted to hang out at the treehouse with me," Buster replied.

The treehouse was the best place to hang out if you were a kid in Elwood City. It was located at the top of a large oak tree in the woods located in the middle of the city. Surrounded by nothing more than trees, rivers, and laughing children, it is one of the greatest places to spend your free time.

"Sure, that actually sounds like a lot of fun," Arthur replied, "Let me go get my hat and then we'll leave." He turned around and started up the stairs to his room. Then, he stopped and thought for a second. He shrugged his shoulders and walked back down the stairs.

"I don't need a hat," he said closing the door behind him, "Let's just head over there."

Buster smiled and nodded his head. Together, the two friends strolled down the front walkway. They got to the sidewalk and were about to keep walking when Arthur stopped abruptly. Buster stumbled into him and looked quizzically at his friend.

"Why'd you stop Arthur," Buster asked, "Is something wrong?"

"It's nothing, I just…" Arthur started, glancing around, "I feel like someone is watching us."

Buster looked around and started to get the same feeling as his friend. Then, he spotted something rather peculiar. He nudged Arthur in the arm with his elbow.

"Arthur, I think I found who you were looking for," he said with his gaze fixed on his friend's house.

Arthur scanned his house and then saw what Buster was looking at. In one of the two windows near the top of the house was Arthur's little sister, D.W, staring down at them in disgust. The initials D.W stood for Dora Winifred, though no one ever called her that. She was only four years old, but possessed the understanding of someone much older than her. She had the same skin color and face as Arthur, but she didn't wear glasses and had brown hair that only came down to about the middle of her neck. She was wearing her usual attire, which was a pink dress with a white long sleeve shirt underneath, white leggings, and aqua strap-on shoes

Disgust isn't the correct word for the look she was giving them. Her eyes were narrow slits, her mouth, a straight line. It was the sort of stare that would send a shiver down the spine of anyone who looked at it.

"A-A-Arthur," Buster said in a chattering voice, "I f-f-feel c-c-cold."

"M-M-Me too," Arthur responded, not turning away from that icy stare, "B-But it's only s-s-sixty-three degrees."

"L-L-Let's get out of here," Buster said, as he started running down the sidewalk. Arthur peeled his eyes away from his sisters and took off after his friend.

After running for a solid 5 minutes, Buster and Arthur slowed down and doubled over, both with their hands on their knees, gasping for breath. Buster reached into his back pocket and pulled out his inhaler. He quickly put it in his mouth and pressed the button, releasing the medicine into his system and instantly freeing his lungs.

"Do….you….think we lost her," Arthur sputtered through inhales.

"I….think….so," Buster replied, looking over his shoulder, "Was...she….even….chasing us?"

"I don't….think so," Arthur replied, his breathing returning to normal, "But….that run really warmed me up."

"Me too," Buster said, returning himself to an upright position, "Hey, look where we ended up."

Arthur looked to his left to see the familiar house of his friend, Brain.

Brain was in the same 3rd grade class as Buster and Arthur. His real name wasn't Brain Powers, rather it was Alan Powers. He accumulated that nickname because of how smart he was. The kid was a younger version of Albert Einstein, hence the nickname.

"Let's go see if Brain wants to come with us to the treehouse," Arthur said as he walked across the street. The two walked up the walkway and knocked on the door. Brain's mother answered the door. The boys immediately recognized her, not just because she was their friend's mother. She was also the owner of the local ice cream shop in the heart of Elwood City. She greeted the boys with the same amount of enthusiasm as she would with a customer in her shop.

"Hello boys. Alan is in the backyard," she said as she stepped aside, letting them in, "Would you like a snack or something to eat?"

"Yes, please," Buster said instantly. One thing that a person could learn from spending a day with Buster Baxter is that he absolutely loved food. It didn't matter what kind of food it was. If it was good or expired 7 months ago, he would still eat it.

"That's okay Mrs. Powers," Arthur said, pulling Buster outside, "We had a big breakfast."

When they got outside, Buster pulled away from Arthur's grip.

"What did you do that for? I'm starving," Buster yelled.

"If I let you eat, you'd probably devour all of the food in the house," Arthur shot back.

"Oh yeah, I probably would," Buster said, lowering his voice.

"Buster, Arthur, come over here. I've got to show you something," called Brain from a tool shed in the back of the lawn. The two of them walked over towards the toolshed, unaware that when they entered, it would officially send them on the most exciting journey of their lives.

When they walked through the open door of the tool shed, they found Brain standing with goggles and an apron on next to a large object that was as tall as he was, covered with a large white tarp. He was wearing his usual purple sweater with a white undershirt, khakis, and brown loafers. The only difference being the apron. When he removed the goggles from his face, there was a clear indication of where they had been. Brain's skin was a darker tan than Arthur's and the soot that covered his face made it even darker in appearance.

"What's under the tarp Brain," Buster asked, trying to sneak a peek under the tarp.

Brain swatted Buster's hand with his goggles. "I'll tell you if you promise to keep it a secret," he said, walking towards the door.

"We promise," Arthur and Buster said in unison.

"Okay," Brain said, closing the door of the shed. He walked over and yanked the tarp off. As the tarp was removed, there were several "Oohs" and "Ahhs" originating from Arthur and Buster's mouths.

Underneath the tarp was a rocket. Not a model rocket by any means. This thing looked like it could break the sound barrier two times over.

"That's super cool Brain," Arthur said in awe, "Where did you get it?"

"Get it," Brain responded with a chuckle, "I made it from scratch."

"Can this thing go into outer space," Buster questioned, "It would be the perfect way to contact aliens." Along with Buster's obsession with food, he also had an obsession for aliens and supernatural beings. He was convinced that there was life out there and he was going to be the first to communicate with them.

"Of course it can," Brain answered, "That's why I'm glad you guys came over here. I wanted someone else to witness it's maiden voyage. Wanna help me get it into the backyard?"

Arthur and Buster nodded and walked over to the rocket. They both bent over and grabbed the platform it was positioned on and lifted. The rocket was a lot heavier than it looked. The two struggled to keep it from dropping on their toes and not bump into anything at the same time. After a few minutes, they finally got it into position.

"I read somewhere that in order to have a rocket go into outer space," Buster said, "You need to hit the atmosphere at the perfect angle."

"I know," Brain acknowledged, giving Buster a look that said, Are you serious?. "I'm working on the math for that right now."

Arthur and Buster looked over his shoulder to see complex algorithms and math. All the numbers made them dizzy. By the time the world had stopped spinning, Brain had already adjusted the rocket at the perfect angle.

"Hey guys," a gruff voice said from behind them, "Whatcha doing?"

The three boys spun around to see a familiar, but still frightening face.

"Oh, hi Binky," Arthur said, "We were about to launch this rocket."

Binky Barnes was in the same grade as the trio, but only because he had to retake 3rd grade over again. He was significantly larger than any of them. His skin was yellow, with a large head and small ears the rested on the top of them. He wore a long sleeve, orange button shirt, blue jeans, and brown shoes. If you didn't know Binky, he would probably take your lunch money or throw a water balloon at you. But, behind the bully attitude was a soft, sensitive side.

"A rocket huh," he replied, "Can it go to the moon?"

"Yeah," Buster answered, "In fact, that is where it is going."

"Hey, you think we can send something up with it," Binky asked, "Like one of my Uncle Slam action figures?"

Uncle Slam was a fictional character from WWE, which Binky watched all the time. The fighter had a striking resemblance to Uncle Sam, but no one made the connection. He was his number one fan and watched all of his fights. Binky knew it was all fake, but it was always fun to see.

Brain shrugged his shoulders. "It's possible, I just need a little time to recalculate the angle."

"Great," Binky said turning around, "I'll go back to my house and get him."

After Binky left, Brain walked inside and grabbed a digital scale and a box of matches from the kitchen and brought it outside. He was going to need exact measurements if he wanted this plan to work.

Ten minutes later, Binky arrived, huffing and puffing. He collapsed on the ground of exhaustion. After a few second, he raised his fist in the air with an action figure held tightly in it. The action figure was dressed in a white tank top with red white and blue shorts and a matching top hat.

"Here…..ya….go," Binky said, handing it over to Brain while he caught his breath.

Brain quickly got to work, weighing the plastic toy and making the necessary calculations, while Arthur and Buster helped Binky to his feet.

Five minutes later, Uncle Slam was all strapped on and the rocket was ready to launch. The four friends ran behind the nearest bush for protection in case the rocket didn't take off.

"Can I be in charge of the countdown," Binky asked, raising his hand.

"This isn't school Binky," Brain said sighing, "But, sure. As soon as that fuse is lit, count d from 15."

Buster reached into his back pocket and pulled out his video camera.

"Is it okay if I film this," Buster asked, pointing the camera at Brain.

Brain looked at him with a puzzled expression. "Where did you get that?"

"It was in my pocket,' Buster answered, "I guess I left it in there from yesterday."

"You're wearing the same pants as you were yesterday," Arthur asked, "Didn't you fall into a puddle then?"

Before Buster could answer, Brain pulled the box of matches out of his back pocket. He stood up and walked towards the rocket. The fuse he had installed would give him about 15 seconds to get to cover before the rocket would launch. He opened the box and pulled a match out. He struck it once, nothing. He struck it a second time and it burst into a small flame. He lowered the match towards the fuse. As soon as he touched the two together, the fuse ignited and sprayed sparks. Brain reeled back and instantly made a run towards the bush. He could hear Binky counting down the time that he needed to get behind the bush before the rocket launched. As he was running back, he saw Buster focusing his video camera on…...a tree?

"Hey little squirrel," Buster said in a high voice to the tiny animal.

"Buster, you're supposed to be filming the rocket," Brain said, diving behind the bush.

"5…." shouted Binky.

"I am filming it," Buster said, pointing towards the rocket.

"4…." he continued.

Brain realized what Buster was pointing at. His jaw dropped in horror. It turned out the squirrel was making it's way over toward the rocket. It wasn't walking, it was sprinting towards it.

"3..."

Brain stood up and waved his arms frantically, but the squirrel didn't notice. By now, it was sitting right next to the rocket.

"2…."

He shouted at the top of his lungs. He tried everything to get the squirrel away from his rocket. The things that happened next all occurred in one split second.

"1…."

Arthur yanked Brain's arm and he fell on the ground with a thud. The fuse spewed one big spark before it reached the rocket. That one spark startled the squirrel. It jumped at least a foot in the air. When it touched down again, it shot off towards the nearest tree. The squirrel took off with so much force that it kicked the base of the stand the rocket was resting on, causing it to tip over.

"NOOOOOO," they all cried. Right before the rocket hit the ground, the engines ignited and spewed flames. The rocket shot off over the fence and down the street so fast, no one ever saw where it went. The only indicator of the direction the rocket travelled was a smoke trail that hung in the air. The boys quickly stood up and ran to the street to see where the rocket was going.

"Oh no," Arthur cried out, "It's headed towards the Crosswires' house." The Crosswires lived in a large mansion on the outskirts of Elwood City. They lived a wealthy life, but weren't actually as rich as people thought they were. The father was a used car salesman and no one actually knew what the mother did. Regardless of their wealth, they managed to afford the enormous mansion and all the perks that came with it. One of the unknown perks that they were about to discover is that it was a huge target.

The gang covered their eyes, unable to bear the horror that was about to unfold. *CRASH*

Even though the mansion was a few miles away, the boys could still hear the sound of the rocket streaking through the front window of the estate.

"Should we go down and get it," Buster asked.

"Are you crazy," Arthur exclaimed, "If they find out it was us, we'll be in big trouble."

"Not just with the Crosswires," Brain explained, "But with the police too."

"What are you talking about," Binky asked Brain, "What do you mean police?"

"Well," Brain started, "It isn't exactly legal to fly a rocket through United States airspace without the proper license."

"So, you're saying that if we get caught," Buster deducted, "Then we will go to jail?"

Brain nodded his head solemnly.

"Well, let's hope they won't figure out it was us who launched that rocket," Arthur said.