Chapter 6

Press stayed on the train until it made its trip to Manhattan again. The train ride was uneventful. Press rode and walked up to the hotel when he arrived. He took the elevator to the 30th floor and walked to the penthouse door. He opened it slowly. Brent, Osa and Quor were all sitting on the couch looking worried.

"I wonder where he is." Osa said.

"Probably lying dead, in a sewer. Stupid kid." Brent said, tears going down his face

"Or he could be right in the penthouse." Press said

Everyone ran up to greet him. Osa and Quor hugged him and Brent sat back and smiled. Quor and Osa let go of Press so Brent could talk to him. He came up to Press, still smiling. He then smacked Press on the side of the head, hard.

"Do you know how worried we were!? You went off on your own!? After who? Saint Dane? You're still in your robes from Zaddaa!" Brent yelled

"I'm sorry. It was Saint Dane's partner. I saw him."

"How do you know it was Saint Dane's partner!?" Brent yelled still furious

"I saw him go in the flume!"

"Oh." Brent said obviously feeling bad for yelling

"Yeah I chased him on a subway that went directly to the Bronx. He went into the last car and jumped out the emergency door. He went over to the wall and pushed open the door to go into the flume."

"Did you see what he looked like?"

"He was wearing a hat that covered his face but I thought he was-. No It's impossible. Never mind."

"Nothing's impossible when you're a traveler, Press. Who was it?"

"It looked like Dad."

Brent was silent. He started to pace the room. Press sat down in a nearby armchair. Brent continued to pace. As he passed Press, he could hear Brent mumbling under his breath.

"No, that can't be right...can it? Maybe...."

Brent stopped pacing. He looked to Press.

"We need to go to Third Earth now."

Brent went over to the closet and pulled out three Macy's bags. He through clothes to everyone.

"Put these on. Hurry. We need to leave right away."

Once everyone was dressed, they headed out. They all piled in the Mustang, Brent and Quor in the front; Press and Osa in the back. When they arrived at the station the doorway was all covered with wood.

"What should we do?" asked Osa

Brent answered by going and ripping off two pieces of wood in the middle of the wooden wall. Everyone walked through the space and onto the platform. They jumped down and reached the flume.

"Third Earth!" Brent called to the flume. The familiar notes and light came and took them away to Third Earth. The ride was peaceful, as usual. When they arrived, Press thought he had arrived back on Second Earth.

"Are we still on Second Earth?" Press asked

"Nope. It only looks like it." Brent replied.

He went over and sorted the pile of clothes. Everyone changed into their clothes and opened the door to the subway. The subway tracks were bright, with white neon lights running the length of the entire track. Everything was clean too. When they hopped up onto the platform there was a railing in the middle of it. Press ran up to the railing to see what it was for. When he looked, he saw the hugest underground city ever. It was huge, going thirty or forty levels down. There were restaurants and anything else that would be in a little town. They rode and escalator to the top and Press saw something amazing. Instead of the concrete city of New York it was like a giant park. They walked until they heard the honk of a horn. Press looked to see a slick looking golf cart type car driving next to them. In the driver seat was an older looking guy with long blonde hair and a brown goatee. In the passenger seat was a kid about Press' age with shaggy brown hair and a goofy smile.

"Hey there, Brent." The kid said

"Hey Patrick, Hi Bill." Brent said to both of them.

"You guys wanna tour of New York?" The older guy asked. He had a deep southern accent.

"Sure, but let's walk."

The two got out of the car. The kid came up to Press and Osa.

"Hey, I'm Patrick."

"I'm Press."

"I'm Osa."

"What territory are you guys from?"

"I'm from Second Earth."

"I'm from Zaddaa."

"That's cool. You guys wanna see New York?"

"Totally."

"Let's go. Hey Bill! We're going on a tour."

"Don't be gone long."

So Patrick took Osa and Press around New York. Everything was so advanced. Press wondered what year it was.

"What year is it, Patrick?"

"4983."

"Whoa! That's like 5000 years in the future!"

"To you it is, but me it's now."

They came to the Empire State Building. It looked very sleek with its shiny metal sides.

"Wanna see New York from up top?"

"Yeah."

So they went up onto the top floor of the Empire State Building. They could see the Statue of Liberty.

"Where's the Twin Towers?"

"The what?"

"The World Trade Center towers?"

"Oh those. I read about them in history the other days."

"What happened to them?"

"In the year 2001, terrorists hijacked some planes and crashed them into the towers. They were destroyed. It was really sad. We watched footage from old times and it made me want to cry. See the tallest building out there?" Patrick said pointing to the building. "They put that there in remembrance of them."

Press looked down at the ground. He felt tears in his eyes. They slowly rolled down his cheek.

"C'mon let's go back to the others." Osa said

Press wasn't liking Third Earth very much.