Ahh. I love this movie, I swear.
Disclaimer: I do not own Race to Witch Mountain. Dang.
We ran out back and around to Harlands trailer and Alex hammered on the door.
"Harland! It's Alex! Open up, this is an emergency!" Alex shouted. She had barely gotten the last word out when the door slammed open.
"Come in! Come in!" He ushered us in. "Tell me, tell me."
"We need to get away! We're having a bit of a... problem... with authorities. They'll be expecting the taxi Jack and the kids have been riding around in, and I'm sure it's already surrounded. Do you know anyone that can give us a ride somewhere until we can get another car or taxi?"
"Hmm. I don't know anyone. But, you can take my RV. In fact, I've had a pretty adventureless life lately, so I would be more than willing to aid in a distraction." Harland spoke confidently.
"You'd really do that for us?" I asked, in shock.
"Of course. I would do anything for fellow scientists," he looked at Alex. "Non-humans," he looked at Seth and Sara. "And their friends." He looked at Jack and I.
"Non-humans?"
"Come now, Alex. Did you really think I was that oblivious? But I can tell that this is no time for wasting time. Good luck to you all. I hope you a safe return to your planet. And if you ever find yourselves back on Earth, I would appreciate nothing more than the chance to speak with you more. Learn a little about the world that I can see I have been naive about my knowledge of up until now. Now, here are the keys to my RV, which is located twenty feet in front of this trailer. I require the keys to your taxi." The key exchange was fast and next thing I knew, we were on our way to Witch Mountain. I've always wanted to go to California...
Jack was driving with Alex in the passenger seat. Sara and I were sitting on the couch with Junkyard between us and Seth was at the table.
"Sydley, my brother and I are both excited about your decision to come back to Kublah Khan with us. However, we want to be absolutely sure that this is what you want to do. We do not want you to be unhappy in your decision, and though I have been trying to stay out of your thoughts, out of respect, I haven't been able to block out all of your uncertainties." Sara started off softly.
"No. I want to go. I do. I will miss my life here, and I am really going to miss Jack, but I want to go. And you guys got here, right? So it's not like I can never come back to Earth again, right?"
"You're right. You can come back to Earth. But given our planets current warring state, we are not sure how quickly we would be able to get you back until after the war is over." Seth whispered. "You don't have to do this."
"Can Jack come?"
"If he wishes it, yes. He can come."
"Let me talk to him about it?" I wasn't sure when I was going to talk to him. I was running out of time. Sara nodded and laid down, falling asleep almost instantly with Junkyard cuddled up to her side. I stood and went to sit beside Seth at the table. He was playing with his blue device, looking more tired than ever.
"You really should sleep, you know? You've got a long fly ahead of you, and still a bit of a fight to get to your ship." I told him softly.
"You're one to talk. You look exhausted." He fired back, looking at the bags under my eyes.
"I slept the whole way to Vegas last night. I'm fine."
"I slept too."
"I don't have to fly a ship."
"It's not that hard to fly a ship."
"Then why did you crash?"
"Good point."
"Sleep."
"I will if you will."
Gah, this boy was stubborn. And I loved it.
"Fine."
"Talk to me first?" He asked.
"What do you want to talk about?"
"I don't know. You. What do you like? Who are you, outside of what I already know?"
"I like photography. I like singing. I paint. That's what I like AND who I am. I'm the singing, painting, photographer. I read a lot. I live through music. I've always been relatively happy with my life. Yes, I lost my family, but I have Jack. I have a place to live, I'm in school, I have a few friends. I have everything I need and I'm grateful for that. But I've always secretly been waiting for my knight in shining armor to come and whisk me away to mysterious places. And here you are. What about you? I know practically nothing about you."
"There is not really much to know. All I have had for quite some time lately is my work. My parents are imprisoned for their work, and it was up to my sister and I to finish their work, so we could prove to the government that they were right, set them free, and save both of our planets. For the past few years, that is all that I have focused on. I have no friends, I have not went to school, I have nothing. But I wouldn't change that. I would give anything for my parents to be free and both of our planets to be saved."
"That's such a hard life for a kid."
"I'm not a kid."
"Yes, Seth. You are. You're what, seventeen? That's still a kid. Most people your age are focused on school and friends and who they're going to hang out with this weekend, not saving planets and their parents."
"Perhaps, but that is just how life goes."
"I want to learn my powers. How can I do that?" I was excited to get my powers, and to be able to do extraordinary talents like these two beautiful aliens.
"You have to learn to use every part of your brain. Humans use a surprisingly small percentage of theirs. It is something you have to be serious about. It can usually be achieved quickly, although learning to use your powers, the right way, is not so easy. That part can take years. Sara learned her powers at four years old and only mastered them in her thirteenth year. I discovered mine late. I was eight. But I mastered them when I was twelve. You seem like a smart girl, I'm pretty sure you'll be able to discover your powers quickly. But the older you are when you discover them, the harder it is to master. So do not be discouraged if it takes a decade." He told me encouragingly.
"I see." I was a bit discouraged. I really wanted to be able to use my powers to help, but it didn't seem like that was going to happen. Maybe I could learn them on the fly to Kublah Khan. For now, I needed sleep. "Can we sleep now?"
"Of course." He leaned back against the wall and beckoned for me to come over to him. I leaned against his chest, and was instantly asleep.
I awoke a little later to Seth stirring underneath me. I lifted my head from his chest to see him smiling down at me. I smiled back and sat up. I looked forward to see Alex smiling at the two of us in a knowing way. I smiled back at her, and she winked and turned back to face the front. Seth and I both stood to talk to the pair of them. Jack looked a little pissed at the world right now. I was hoping he hadn't seen Seth and I. Then again, he was my soulmate. And I was going back to his planet with him soon. I guess that seeing the two of us together is just something he'll have to get over. Then again, if he doesn't come with us, he won't have to get over it. Because he won't see it...
"Are we there yet?" Seth asked, innocently. Alex, Jack and I cracked up. Seth looked confused.
"I guess somethings are the same on every planet." Alex was still laughing.
"Well, Alex. How far are we?" Jack asked her. She pulled out the maps and pictures Harland had given us and looked.
"According to Harlands maps, we're... right about... here." She placed her finger. "About five minutes east. Why don't you go wake Sara?" Seth walked away to go do as Alex had asked. I heard them talking in the back.
"So, when we get here, what's the plan? Something tells me we're not just going to be able to bust into the mountain and demand their spaceship back. Well, I suppose we can, but I have a feeling we wouldn't survive..." I asked.
"Well, I haven't thought of that yet." Jack admitted.
"I have. The way I see it, everywhere has a weakness. And looking at the blue prints of this place, I'd say the weaknesses are the pipes. Drainage pipes, ventilation pipes, whatever pipes. If we can get into the mountain using a pipe, then we can use the map to get to the ships hanger. After that, it's just a matter of blasting through the mountain." Alex supplied. I was impressed. Beauty, brains and strategy? I liked this woman. "We're here."
Jack pulled off of the dirt road that we had been driving on onto a path, which lead to a clearing. He parked the RV and we all piled out, stretching and breathing fresh air. We camoflauged the RV as much as possible with branches and leaves, tied Junkyard to a tire and left him plenty of food and water. Alex and Seth were consulting the maps.
"Alright, well, the map is thirty years old, but it's the best Intel we've got. It looks as if we've got a five mile hike from here to our most likely entrance. So we better get going now."
"Okay." Jack nodded, and turned to where Sara and I stood loving on Junkyard. He really was a sweetheart. We began our hike off with Alex and Jack in front and Seth, Sara and I close behind. I decided that this five mile hike might be the best time for me to tell Jack about going with them, so I called him back.
"Jack? Can I talk to you?" He fell back to where I was standing and Seth and Sara sped up to Alex. "I... Uh... I'm not really sure how I should tell you this."
"Out with it, Sydley."
"I'm going with them. To their planet. To Kublah Khan. They said you're more than welcome to come with us." I spit it out in what sounded like one sentence. There was a lengthy awkward silence.
"You're joking."
"No. Jack, I'm not joking. I know, this is going to sound stupid, but on their planet, they have what they call Xanadu's. It is the equivalent to Earth's soulmate."
"No. It is ripped off from a Rush song."
"Maybe the song is ripped off from them. Either way, you can't deny that you haven't felt it. The special connection between Seth and I. The spark. The needing. And it's not just that. Jack, I want to help them. And it's not like they're telling me I have to completely forget about my life here. They said that when the war is over, I can come back as often as I want to. And you can come with us. Jack, just think about it." Another long silence ensued.
"I wish, that you weren't so stubborn. But I know that arguing with you won't do any good. When your mind is made, it's made. And it sounds to me like your mind is made. So I can say that I will miss you. Life, certainly, will not be the same without you. But I can't go. I've got my life here."
"You're not mad?" I was surprised.
"I'm not happy, but I'm not mad. I have felt the connection between the two of you. And I think that is why I don't like the kid so much. Whether blood or not, you have become my daughter. No father ever wants to see his daughter with a boy, no matter how old. They're never good enough. But Seth, is a good kid. I just hope you come back and visit soon."
I rushed to hug him. "Jack, I'll visit as soon as I can. I promise."
"I also want you to promise me no grandbabies until after you're married. And no marriage until you're ready. And no being ready right now just because you want to. You're a smart girl, Syd. Make sure you don't let anything cloud that up."
"I promise. No grandbabies, marriage or losing my smartness."
I felt like a huge weight had been lifted off of my shoulders. I had told Jack I was going off to a planet lightyears away, and he hadn't screamed, yelled, or told me no. He'd just told me to be smart. That was just more proof that this really is the right thing to do. We caught up with the others and Jack took his place beside Alex, while the siblings fell back to their places beside me.
"That went surprisingly well." Sara mentioned. I just smiled. I was in too much shock to do anything else. We arrived at a dusty flat area a few quick miles later. Alex and Jack left the three of us to go look at the security.
"There's got to be another entrance." Jack said as they climbed back over the rocks towards us. Alex agreed.
"If the maps right, there are several other pipes other than those down there. Worth looking for, right?" The group agreed.
"Right, well, let's go then." Jack hurried us along. I could tell he didn't like being in the wide open view. We had began walking when I heard Sara groan Jacks name. I turned to look at her just in time to see her faint, holding her neck. Jack grabbed her before she could hit the ground. I felt a pain in my neck, and then I was gone.
So, yeah. There's that chapter. Thanks to all my reviewers. Mucho love to you guys. And, just for the record. Syd is NOT going to be a damsel in distress. That is all.
Moe. xx