The Voyager's Aide: The Disappearance
Story II
Chapter 7: Blowing in the wind
The sandy colored mutt sniffed the remains of the hot dog and dug his cold, wet nose into a half eaten bag of potato chips. This was a satisfactory lunch. Suddenly, a piercing whistle stopped his foraging. His ears perked up and he howled as two people landed onto the trash pile alongside him. The dog took off running as they rolled off the trash bags with groans of displeasure.
"Hot damn! Leave it to us to land in a pile of garbage. Ya think they could have sent us first class in that fancy dancy material something machine they all got!"
"Babe, sometimes we have to stick to the old fashioned way, you always tell me that. What does the omni read?"
John Henry flicked it off his belt loop and checked. "Right on target, New York City, March 15th 1983…Red light and it's about to pour…that's just great. We should have asked about the weather. The wind's might fierce too."
Regina looked at him and frowned. She was stuck between two big black bags and the clichéd pieces of lettuce leaves were caught in her teased hair.
"Do you mind, Baby? I'm trapped here."
"Oh! Sorry, doll!" John Henry pulled her out of the muck.
"John, we're going to have to get some new clothes." She eyed his white t-shirt, brown leather jacket and jeans; the dark, tan cowboy boots were an added bonus. "Well, you look just fine, but I need something else."
John Henry rolled his eyes; he knew exactly what this meant, tagging along while she hit the clothing shops.
"Alright, darlin' but make it quick, we gotta find little Jeff."
"Hey, this is my decade, I know exactly what to get."
-O-
Regina adjusted the collar of her blue jumpsuit and buttoned her denim jacket. She remembered having an outfit just like it back home in Los Angeles. She and John Henry walked up and down Fifth Avenue for the last half hour without the slightest clue on where to find Jeffrey Jones. The sky overhead turned black and a burst of thunder broke loose. Regina jumped and grabbed his arm, she pointed to a swanky building across the Avenue.
"Hey, let's go in here, The Muse Hotel, it looks kind of artsy to me. We can get out of the rain, and have a place to think about our next move."
"You've got all the answers, darlin', but what about the funds?"
Regina pulled out a small black wallet and flashed him a green and white plastic card. "Never leave home without it!" She smiled.
John Henry examined it puzzled. "Back where I come from this wouldn't get you a can of beans, much less a hotel room. I don't understand the future sometimes."
"Yeah, well where I come from credit cards are the cash of the future, buy now, and pay later."
"Sounds pretty greedy to me, stock up on all the material goods you don't need, then get stuck with the bill! I can't imagine the interest. It's like digging your own grave."
"It could be, I know I was three-feet under already, but we don't have to worry about it…provided we don't go crazy. VHQ somehow picks up the tab, I asked around the finance department. Oooh, get the door for her."
John Henry grabbed the glass door and held it steady. A young woman with platinum blonde hair rushed in from a cigarette break. Regina noticed she wore formal attire and had a 'Muse' name card. They approached the front desk and waited to be assisted by her. She acknowledged them with a scowl.
"Can I help you? I hope you weren't just waiting for me, because even though I was behind the desk, I was still on break."
Regina was sorry she asked her husband to be so polite. She firmly stared her down when she noticed the woman twirl her hair and lick her lips while giving John Henry the once over.
"Just a room, please, Elizabeth, for one night, one bed, king size." Regina announced.
The snobby woman punched in the information, swiped the credit card and handed them the keys. Her phone rang and she picked it up annoyed. After listening, her eyes narrowed and she shrilly ranted.
"What do you mean the principal called you, Tom? Jeffrey was fighting with other boys again?"
John Henry's ears perked up and he nudged his wife. They leaned in closer to try and hear more of the conversation and Elizabeth turned her back to them.
"I'm telling you, that kid is getting on my last nerve! When I get home I want you to discipline him…I don't care if Bill and Kathy never hit him! That's probably why he's so damn spoiled…my father hit me and Bill all the time…oh will you stop with the psychology garbage, every kid needs a good crack once in a while, it keeps them in line…yeah, well if they knew he was fighting why didn't they stop it?"
Regina was getting antsy; She had to be absolutely sure the phone call was regarding Jeffrey Jones. Bill and Kathy were the names of Jeffrey's parents, so they had to be on the right track. The couple pretended to pick up brochures and continued to linger around the front desk.
"…And another thing, that little brat lied to me about his dreams. I saw his notebook this morning, something about bombs on the Brooklyn Bridge and everything with that pirate guy…what was his name again…Boog…Bogg! Oh, nice to see you pay attention. What did Bill leave us here, a little terrorist? We'll talk about it tonight, just pick me up at six alright? I can totally hear the orphanage calling his name. I mean it this time!"
The Voyagers looked at each other and walked away from the desk, they were right on target with Elizabeth, she was Jeffrey's aunt.
"Poor Jeffrey! We can't keep him with those monsters." Regina said.
John Henry stroked her back. "You ain't lying. Hey, we fix all this and it will never happen this way, hon."
They rode up the elevator and entered the large room; it was decorated with modern art furnishings, much to John Henry's displeasure.
"Hey Reg, I feel like I'm in a nursery! Everything is white, yellow, red, green and blue!" He tossed a green pillow in the air with a huff.
"Ohh, the catalog says this is the deluxe King, we have the Piet Mondrian suite."
"Leave it to the French to make stuff like this." John Henry mumbled as he climbed onto the bed. It was sturdy enough to his liking.
"He was Dutch, John."
"Oh…well leave it to the Europeans then! I ain't never seen designs like this out West!"
Regina adjusted the yellow curtains, and looked down at the rain-slicked avenue. The extravagant signs for the Broadway shows were beginning to light up the city. She noticed a blonde man pacing on the opposite side of the street, smoking a cigarette. Another man in a brown trench coat, round, dark sunglasses, and a fedora hat came and they struck up a conversation. The rain fell in sheets and kept distorting her view. A large garbage truck eventually pulled up and they were gone. She pulled the curtain down. John Henry's face was half smothered into a red pillow and he had kicked his boots off.
"Hey partner, we're not here to rest, we have to find Jeffrey, remember?"
"I know, but you heard the lady, we have to wait until six. Her man's gonna come pick her up and we have to follow them."
"I figured that much, but how are we going to get Jeffrey?"
"We have to find a way to get his attention. Remember she said Jeffrey has a notebook and writes about his adventures. I'm sure he knows some things. All we have to do is mention Phineas Bogg and the Brooklyn Bridge. That should get him talking." John Henry sat up and snapped his fingers.
"Hey, he may just remember us! We were there too, ya know? We might have been in his dreams."
"That's a good thought. I hope so!" Another disconcerting thought occurred to Regina and she laid down next to her husband with her hands behind her head.
"John, when we left, the OCC was taken hostage. Have you heard anything at all from Joseph, any messages on the communicator? I haven't."
"Not a peep. Believe me I'm worried too, but those guys know how to handle themselves. Bobby's as big as I am and Joe knows some of that Chinese fightin'. He made all us guys learn it…uhh, and you ladies of course."
"It's more than that, John. Lorna and Drake have weapons on them. And what about the rest of the group? What's going on with them?"
"There's no telling what right now. I can only hope Paradox doesn't find any of them. A lot of them were out in the field when we left. We have the upper hand, our omnis can't be tracked…I hope."
John Henry wanted to change the subject; Regina could go on for hours when she was troubled by situations. He sank lower into the pillows and played with her soft hair.
"So, this is your era, the Big Eighties? You were working at a movie theater in Los Angeles at this time right?"
"Yes! I'm probably there right now, complaining with popcorn in my hair and a broom in hand. Those kids left everything such a mess. We had to wear little red uniforms, I didn't look too bad in mine."
"Ha! I bet you didn't, you have that commanding nature for one."
"Oh, John! You know, by the time the Voyagers took me, I was finished with that place, it was nineteen eighty-six and I was twenty-four years old. I was driving along the coast and this truck was heading straight for my convertible, he was in the wrong lane. I was scared to death and there was nowhere to turn or anything."
Her eyes grew wider with the memory and John Henry pulled her close. She rested her face on his chest.
"The sound was incredible, the screeching brakes, his horn, mine, I literally felt the impact, but when I came to I was in Headquarters. I figured it was a local hospital and that I was alive."
She sat up and looked at him with tender affection. "You were the first person I remember seeing, John."
"Was I? Not a doctor or nothin'?"
"No…you. I saw you coming out of the room across from mine and I called out to you for help."
"I remember, I just finished taking my physical and I heard you crying. I had heard rumor around omni town that some new people were brought in but I didn't know whom. And there you were, a little more worse for wear, but beautiful just the same." He grinned.
Regina toyed with the buttons of his shirt, lost in her memory. "Omni town? You're so cute. You came to my room every day after that. I'll never forget waking up the next morning to a huge bouquet of yellow roses and the little card that said, 'Rise and shine, darlin'.' That was the nicest gift I've ever received. You are quite a charmer when you want to be, Mr. Sheppard."
"Hey, you didn't make it too easy for me, Mrs. Sheppard, you and your modern sensibilities! Roping cows during a stampede was easier work than winning your affections."
"Was I that bad? I'm not one to wear my heart on my sleeve. I wanted to see how much you cared. Believe me, I was hooked from day one, I just hid it well."
John Henry nuzzled her neck and kissed her earlobe. "Glad we hung in there. I nearly cried the day you graduated and went out into the field, I was scared to death for ya."
Regina stroked his beard stubble and kissed his lips. "You know…I found it a little odd how you would somehow show up on my missions from time to time, particularly the dangerous ones. You were like my guardian angel. I didn't mind too much after a while." She blushed.
"Well…I have to admit this. Bernard Wolfstein was able to give me a tracer that he connected to your omni. Don't ask me how he did it though. He said, "Who am I to stand in the way of true love?" That kid is brilliant!"
Regina sat up, shocked. "You went through all that trouble for me?"
"Yeah, you! And what trouble? When a man is in love, he has to show it somehow! The only way I could was by finding you through the vast universe of time and space, I'd call that love, wouldn't you?"
Regina laughed and kissed him desirably. "I certainly would, pardner…"
-O-
The blonde man's hand shook and rattled the coffee cup, spilling its contents onto the diner table. The taller, handsome man in the trench coat rolled his hazel eyes and wiped it up.
"Dammit, Dwight! Knock it off! What's wrong with you? I can't believe Lorna picked you of all Voyagers to be head of this excursion. I think she's just setting you up for failure. Besides, she's knows you're going to ask me how to run everything anyway."
"Billy, I can't help it, I'm nervous. I was never in charge of anything like this before. How are we going to find that kid? This is a city of millions."
Billy pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket with scrawled notes and read over them.
"Some leader you are! At least I did my homework. We have his whole history right here; his aunt and Uncle Elizabeth and Tom Covington took him in. I used my brains and a little thing called the 'Yellow Pages' to get the right address. Only thing is, they aren't home right now. The omni dropped us off right here, in front of this hotel."
"But nobody's here!"
"We know the omni never misses the mark. I heard that hot woman with the cig talking out front, one of the other chicks called her Liz, we're on target, trust me."
Billy ate his apple pie and ice cream while Dwight glanced around nervous every time someone entered the diner.
"You…you don't think she has someone spying on us, do you? I mean she's done it before, remember James? He was caught screwing around and she had him sent on a 'special' mission to the top of the Twin Towers in 2001, I don't know why though, he never came back again."
"I do but I'm not telling you, so you won't act any more idiotic! James deserved what he got, now will you quit it, Dwight. I need to think."
"We're probably going to have to get rid of the whole family, if we have to." Dwight mused.
"I know how much you love doing dirty work like that, you'll get your chance." Billy yawned, and finished off the pie.
A low beeping sounded from inside Dwight's coat and he froze. "Its her, checking in."
"Well, answer it!"
Dwight made his way to the bathroom. He locked the door and took the call, he tried to control his quivering voice. "Th…this is Voyager 1999 calling in, what's the message?"
"Dwight? It's Lorna, what's the good news?"
"Lorna, we made contact with Elizabeth Covington, Jeffrey's aunt. She works at 'The Muse hotel.' Billy has his current address."
"Very good, I knew putting you two together would work out. However, I have a new assignment for you. Drake was reviewing the time line and he came across something interesting. We finally found Jeremy Saunders, he's alive and well in 1983, teaching at the same school Jones attends."
"That's great Lorna! We went to the school, but it was too late, after four o'clock. It's getting close to six now. We're just killing time in a diner."
"Let's hope you can kill more than time Dwight, Do you understand me?"
"I read you loud and clear."
"Contact me as soon as it's all accomplished."
Dwight went back to the table; Billy stood by the entrance. "Let's get out of here and get to the apartment before they do. We'll give them a nice surprise."
The two Voyagers laughed and hailed a cab.
-O-
Jeremy watched the boy shift in his sleep – he was dreaming. He pulled the quilt over him and went to the kitchen and poured vegetable soup into two bowls and cut up some cheese sandwiches. He didn't have time to do the grocery shopping he wanted. He walked over to his stereo and flipped through his records. He had a preference for Folk-rock and decided on 'Peter, Paul and Mary'. Somehow, 'Blowing in the wind' seemed appropriate and he kept it on low, singing along softly as he finished setting the table.
"How many roads must a man walk down, before you can call him a man? How many seas must a white dove sail, before she sleeps in the sand? How many times must the cannonballs fly, before they're forever banned? The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind; the answer is blowing in the wind."
'There's too many answers left blowing in the wind.' He thought.
Lightening flashed and thunder rattled the windows, Jeffrey stirred and opened his eyes, frightened. He sat up and saw his history teacher stirring a pot: the aroma smelled delicious. The Music his parents used to enjoy played from the stereo system. Jeffrey sat back until Jeremy finished the song; He had a very soothing voice, baritone and scratchy at certain moments, but it only added to his unique style. He liked it. Jeffrey distinctly remembered Jeremy Saunders now; only he was just twenty years old when they first met.
"Hey! You're the legendary Jeffrey Jones, Voyager M.I.A! Welcome back, they're singing your praises down at HQ for what you did to Jack Temple."
"Yeah, I guess that's me, it was cool meeting Bogg's family though, are you a Voyager Aide too?"
"Yup, and I just got my I.D card a few months ago. Kayla's the big brass here, and I'm the flunky, but my official title is 'Omni Technician.' I need to make business cards, 'Jeremy Saunders, O.T.' has a nice ring, doesn't it?"
Jeremy was a partner with the beautiful woman Bogg loved, he was a cool guy and they had deciphered a special code.
"Machiavelli." Jeffrey said aloud.
Jeremy put the pot down in the center of the table and looked up surprised. "Excuse me?"
"The code word for Drake's omni lock, Machiavelli." Jeffrey approached the table. "Remember?"
Jeremy's eyes widened and he tried to remain calm. He stared at Jeffrey in wonder. How did the boy know? He knew because they solved it together.
"MACHIAVELLI! You said Drake's a creature of habit, he…he was Machiavelli's best disciple. Maybe it was in Venice, Italy? It came out during Bogg's trial! The last time he tried to bring down Voyagers he wrote his notes in…"
"A copy of Machiavelli's 'The Prince!' Now I remember Bogg telling us!"
"What makes you bring him up? Isn't his work a little too advanced for you?" Jeremy pulled at his collar and ladled the soup into the bowls.
"You have to remember Jere…um…Mr. Saunders! We were trying to unlock the code so we could beat Paradox. You just have to remember!"
The desperation grew in Jeffrey's voice and Jeremy went to his side. Jeremy tried to keep his composure – the boy knew. It could have only happened the same way it did to him.
"Jeffrey do you dream about these things?"
Jeffrey nodded. "I've been dreaming about them every night for over a year. I write them all down so I remember. Sometimes it's scary and sad, but most of the time it's exciting. I just had another one, it was a little of everything. Bogg and I were in old England visiting his family with Kayla...and then we had to leave her...we were in the middle of this Japanese war, it got crazy, that's when I heard the thunder and woke up."
"That sounds wild, is it always like that?"
"Yes, they're so real, Mr. Saunders! All the sounds, whether its bombs, ships, planes…the smells. Even when I get hurt in my dreams, I wake up feeling the same pains."
Jeremy brought over the sandwiches. He looked at him knowingly. "It must be like…these characters are more real to you than the people in your life right now."
"Wow! You got it, Mr. Saunders. Sometimes I wish I didn't have to wake up."
-O-
Jeffrey excused himself and while he washed up, Jeremy ran to his closet and opened a locked metal box. Inside were many notes, writing tablets and sketches. He brought the box to the table and sifted through them, his mind recalling the contents. Jeffrey returned and began to eat his meal.
"Sorry I didn't have something else, Jeff. I was supposed to go food shopping…but circumstances changed." Jeremy gave him a sweet smile.
"That's okay, the soup is great, did you make it?"
"Umm, Progresso did, but I added some of my own spices."
Jeffrey laughed. "Thanks for helping me out with those guys. They've been on my back all year."
"I've been somewhat aware of it, but I never caught them in action. You know you could have always come to me if you needed to talk or wanted some help. I have a good listening ear, and a pretty mean right hook!" He joked.
"Sometimes I wanted to, Mr. Saunders…but I was afraid."
"That I would tell your aunt and uncle? I always keep the confidentiality of my students, unless its something I feel will threaten their lives or health…you know what I mean?"
"Yeah I guess. And, uh, about Machiavelli and the other stuff…umm, forget it. I think I was just still half asleep, dreaming, okay?"
"I would forget it if I could…and I did for a while. You brought it all back to me. Jeffrey Jones…Voyager code number 1982, partners with Voyager Phineas Bogg, number 1712. Kayla Sheppard would never let me forget those two codes."
Jeffrey dropped his spoon. "Mr. Saunders! You have the dreams too, about Voyagers? I knew it!"
"I had the dreams Jeffrey, they started when I was eighteen and stopped when I was twenty years old. They were great dreams; I learned so much in them, I had a very important position fixing time machines, doesn't that beat all?"
Jeffrey poked through the metal box, and was in shock at the drawings. "Mr. Saunders, that's the omni! Wow, you drew the inside of it and everything! You even labeled all the parts! I know the omni from my dreams, but I didn't know all this, well…except for the time Thomas Edison tore it up to see how it worked."
They both laughed at that and Jeremy packed the papers back up. "I even had a little adventure with Kayla and Phineas Bogg in the French Revolution. Tell you what, one of these days, you come over and we'll compare notes, I'd like to hear about the adventures you've had. Maybe we can even piece together what they all mean, because this is so wild." Jeremy remembered saying similar words to him in another lifetime.
You're a brave kid, Jeffrey, I wonder how I would have handled those goons? Bogg must have gave you lessons in self-defense."
"Sometimes he does, but he always says that fighting should be the last option. It wasn't easy, and I had help from Captain Bogg, they tried to kill me twice."
"Like I said, brave. When things calm down around here we should hang out. I want to hear all about the adventures you guys have had. Being a Voyager is so wild."
"Jeffrey, I found that if I didn't write the dreams down, they would disappear by the end of the day, and that was always a bummer. I also saw you writing in your notebook a few times…during class." His eyes turned up disapprovingly.
Jeffrey hung his head. "I'm sorry, Mr. Saunders! Sometimes thoughts would come to me when you taught a certain subject and I had to get them down or else I would lose them."
"I understand, Jeff. I knew you had some issues, that's why I never brought them up. You're a straight 'A' student, never failed a test, and never even got below an eighty. You wrote the most fascinating essays. Who was I to complain?"
Jeffrey's eyes watered as his emotions overwhelmed him. He finally found someone who he could share his secret thoughts with – a mature, understanding adult and friend. He threw his arms around him in a hug. Jeremy was a little surprised, but then returned it. He knew Jeffrey needed all the support he could get and he decided that he would try and help him the best he could. He tousled Jeffrey's hair, and then put the box back into the closet.
"In my dreams, I was on top of the world, lived in a great neighborhood, married my true lov…umm, never mind."
Jeffrey grew curious when his teacher suddenly became less animated and ducked his head, just like the shy young man he remembered. He got up and wandered around the small, but cozily furnished apartment. Sitting on the mantle was a black and white picture of Jeremy with glasses, he had his arm around a beautiful young girl. They were lounging on a park bench.
"Is that her? Your true love, Kirstie?"
Jeremy took the picture from the shelf. "Yes, that's her…Kirstie Pretty-nose, funny last name right? She was a little French and mostly Cheyenne Indian. As you can see, she had a very lovely nose. She was a gorgeous girl with a warm heart." He struggled to keep his composure and put the picture back on the mantle.
"What happened, Mr. Saunders?"
"Kirstie married Jake Thomas, the class jock in High School when we were nineteen. I was crushed."
"Wow, you must have really loved her, didn't you ever get married?"
Jeremy sat on his couch and nodded. "I met a woman in college and married her, it lasted about five years, but we just weren't compatible and she left me for someone else."
Jeffrey joined him on the couch and sat back glum. "I'm sorry Mr. Saunders, I bet she didn't compare to Kirstie."
"Ohh, no woman did, not for me anyway. As unfair as it sounds…I just wouldn't let them. I met up with Kirstie when we were in our thirties. She was divorced from Jake and very unhappy. He turned out to be an abusive lout; I always knew he would be. When I found her again, it was like old times, even better…" Jeremy smiled at the sudden memories and closed his eyes.
"So, why didn't you marry her after she got rid of the jerk?" Jeffrey's voice broke through his reverie.
"Ohh…um…we were planning on it, but something happened. Jake kept coming around, he wanted to reconcile with her. Being the sweet woman she was, she heard him out. I'll never forget that night. He was drunk, and he came to her house, demanding she take a drive with him. She had called me, but I wasn't home, so she went with him to keep him from getting angry. Her friend told me the story, because she called her. They both died in a car accident."
Jeffrey winced and put his hand on his teacher's shoulder. Jeremy's voice broke and his next words came out in shudders.
"I…made it to the scene of the accident and forced my way through the crowd. I just had to see and be sure. Kirstie was still alive and I ran to her. I held her in my arms and told her how sorry I was that I wasn't there to help her. She looked at me and her last words were, 'You can help me...none of this was meant to be.' And then she died."
Jeremy gave way to his tears, keeping a fist in his mouth to control his sobs.
"Maybe she knew. Maybe she had the dreams too. Mr. Saunders, I can understand your pain, when I lost my parents in the camper fire, I really wanted to die with them. Hey, do you remember when I came back to school and I started crying in the cafeteria? I was sitting by myself and you had lunch duty that day. You came over and ate lunch with me, talked to me about everything, even though you didn't really know me. You really made me feel better. I was so glad when I found out you were my teacher this semester, you're the best teacher in school!"
Jeremy wiped his eyes and smiled at his student. "I'm sorry. I do remember that, Jeffrey, I also remember how familiar you seemed to me, but I didn't put it together with the dreams. Thanks for the compliment. I really enjoy teaching, it's one of the few joys left in my life, along with music."
"I noticed your record collection and that other picture on the mantle. You were in a band?"
Jeremy laughed. "Yeah, a few of us got together in college and formed a folk-rock band, we called ourselves Open Heart. We made a few singles, but never quite made it to the big time though."
"That's so cool. I don't know how to play instruments, I think I can do chopsticks on the piano."
"Well, if you ever want to learn the guitar or the piano let me know, I'll give you lessons. Free of charge."
"That would be awesome, thanks. Mr. Saunders, did you ever give her your song…'Forever?'"
Jeremy's face turned white, and he shook his head. "You knew about that too, huh? I wrote that for her at nineteen. The lyrics came to me in the dreams, but then it was too late. I was going to sing it for her on our wedding night. I even sang a little to her right before she died. Like you said, somehow she knew."
"That something is wrong with this whole time zone." Jeffrey sighed.
"Exactly. You know when I was twenty, I took my bike and rode to the brownstone. The place had never been sold, it was still boarded up. I went looking around inside and I found this."
Jeremy walked to his bookshelf and pulled out a black, leather bound book with a golden 'V' on the cover. "Why do you think I became such a great history teacher?" He managed to joke.
Jeffrey studied it. His partner, Bogg, didn't carry one ever since Ralph snatched it from him in the dream. "This book is amazing, it has everything in here." He marveled.
"Almost everything, it can't really tell you how to live your life the best way…" Jeremy ran his hand across another gilded, and worn leather bound volume in his collection. He looked at the clock. It was a quarter to six pm.
"I'm not really sure what to do with it, I know I could I probably be making millions, but the more I read into its pages, the more I see tragedy after tragedy that I know can't be prevented. That's no way to make a living, profiting off others sorrow."
Jeffrey stared at his teacher with a profound respect. He recalled to mind the words of Dr. Albert Schweitzer.
"I don't remember the German words for it Mr. Saunders, but you have a, 'Reverence for life.'"
"That's very astute of you, I'm impressed. Thank you. I think anyone involved in this fantastic world of Voyagers has to have it. Hey Jeff, I better get you back home, I'm kinda breaking some heavy rules by having you over here."
Jeffrey was reluctant to leave, he enjoyed Mr. Saunder's company and wanted to learn more about Voyagers. "I don't think my aunt and uncle would care either way, they'd probably be happy if I never came home again. They sold my dog Ralph, he was the last friend I had in this crummy place."
Jeffrey's eyes welled up in tears again and Jeremy rubbed his shoulder in compassion.
"I'm so sorry Jeff, that's a cruel trick. I know it must be real tough, but you have to go back. I'll explain something to them. They can't say 'no' to a teacher, right? C'mon, we can talk more about it on the way."
