CHAPTER 5
Gwen closed the laptop and rubbed her eyes. She couldn't find anything online about completely autonomous surgery let alone a portable device capable of it. That watch must be some very advanced technology. Perhaps here was some truth to the conspiracy theories that Frogger was working with the US government to create weapons. Could that watch be a weapon? Hopefully not, because the way Ben kept fiddling with it, he would certainly kill someone.
What confused her even more is the cavalier way that Grandpa was treating this. Gwen felt they should call NASA, the FBI, NSA, DOD, somebody! If this was a government device shouldn't they be trying to get it back to the government? It was almost certainly developed by NASA; they were on the cutting edge of technological research. If this device was theirs, they would definitely be looking for it. If they got caught with it now it would look as if they were trying to steal it. Perhaps they could take Ben to a hospital, contact NASA, they would remove the device, and the three of them would be back on their trip within a week. Probably.
Gwen pulled off her headphones and brushed her hair back into place.
NASA dealt with highly experimental stuff. Who knows what kind of effect the device was having on Ben. Grandpa was usually such a practical person. Wouldn't a hospital bill be better than being arrested or something bad happening to Ben?
She listened to Ben snoring softly on the bunk below her, and Grandpa's soft slow breaths. Gwen yawned and stretched. She set her laptop and headphones in a little cubby near the head of her bed and decided to try and sleep. She could think about this problem with a clearer mind in the morning. She snuggled down into her blankets and closed her eyes.
Almost immediately, she opened them back up and rolled over. How could Ben and Grandpa fall asleep so quickly after what happened? She folded her hands behind her head and stared at the empty ceiling. Her stomach twisted as she recalled running up to Ben as he screamed and writhed on the ground. Her cousin had almost died (probably), and now had a strange device surgically attached to his wrist that could be any number of things! How was everyone so nonchalant about this?!
Ben shifted in his sleep and the strange… sensation, hummed at the back of her mind. Ever since Ben had found the watch, there was this… tingling in her brain. It seemed to be emanating from the watch. She first noticed when she left Ben's side after bringing him back to the Rustbucket, the sensation definitely decreased the further away from Ben she got.
She hadn't mentioned anything because she had no idea how to describe it, and initially she wasn't too sure that she hadn't just been overly stressed and was imagining things. Though now that things had calmed down (somewhat) the sensation was still there. What in the universe was going on? Gwen closed her eyes and didn't fall asleep until much later; thoughts still racing through her mind.
When Gwen finally woke up it felt as if she hadn't slept at all. She rolled over to try and fall back asleep only to be hit in the face with a pillow. Right on the nose. She looked up to see Ben grinning from ear to ear.
"Payback."
Gwen groaned and sat up, tucking her legs beneath her. She leaned her back against the wall, and wrapped her blanket around her.
"What time is it?" Gwen asked, her voice heavily accented with sleep.
"Almost 10. Grandpa said we had to wait for you to wake up but I got bored with waiting. I'm gonna go help him finish breakfast. You better be ready to eat when we are done," he turned and started walking away, "because I am HUNGRY!" He belted the last word and let the door swing shut behind him.
At least he seems fine, Gwen thought as she got out of bed. Pity, she amended as she rubbed her nose.
Breakfast was a delicious affair with eggs, sausage, homemade bread and butter.
"Alligator sausage, duck eggs, cricket bread and reindeer milk." Grandpa smiled as he forked more eggs into his mouth.
Gwen closed her eyes. "You purposely waited until I finished didn't you." Grandpa smiled his affirmation as he finished his toast.
"Oh hey Gwen, I wanted to ask," Ben asked between mouthfuls of food. "You didn't give me CPR right?"
"Huh?" Gwen asked as she tore her gaze away from the watch on his wrist.
"CPR? Kiss-of-life? You didn't kiss me right?"
Gwen tried not to gag, "I'd rather watch you die than give you CPR."
The corners of Grandpa's mouth twitched.
"Phew!" Ben said then shoveled more food into his mouth. "For a moment there I was worried I was going to have to cauterize my lips."
Grandpa chuckled softly, "Rescue breaths are only really necessary if you are going to be performing chest compressions for an extended period. There is still some oxygen in the blood when your lungs stop."
"Better hope your heart starts up quickly then doofus."
"Better to die than make out with you dweeb!"
Grandpa cut in before things could escalate further, "Gwen, why don't you help me with these dishes. Ben shows no signs of slowing down."
Ben looked up long enough to throw a large self-satisfied grin Gwen's way before turning back to his food.
Later in the afternoon, with the last of the equipment loaded, Grandpa buckled himself into the driver's seat. He turned to Gwen "Where to?".
"Uhhhh… Mt. Rushmore?"
"Not today." He looked at her quizzically. "Did you forget today was your birthday?"
Gwen blinked him dumbly. With all of the excitement yesterday she had completely forgot.
A slow smile spread across her face. "The nearest burger and ice-cream restaurant."
"Coming right up." Grandpa smiled as he started the Rustbucket. As they started driving away he asked Gwen, "Are you sure you want to go to a restaurant? I can make a mean burger."
"Yeah? Out of what?"
"Ostrich."
"I'll pass." Gwen laughed. "What about Ben?"
"Huh?" Ben piped up from the backseat. He had been fiddling with the watch and only tuned in when he heard his name.
"We were discussing where to go for a birthday dinner." Grandpa said.
"The nearest burger and ice-cream restaurant." Ben replied without hesitation.
Grandpa laughed aloud at that.
An hour and a half later they all sat back from their meal. Ben and Gwen felt extra satisfied knowing that it was a totally normal meal. Grandpa slid out of the booth, "I'll be right back."
After Grandpa left, Ben turned to look at Gwen. She was staring out the window, chin in one hand, lost in thought. She didn't have the usual hair pin that held her hair flat across her forehead, though it still angled towards that side of her head. She wore her hair short enough that it stayed out of her eyes. The sunlight made it appear a brighter shade of red than normal. She had a small smile on her lips that Ben hadn't seen in a very long time. and her eyes glittered with the happiness of reminiscence.
Ben looked at her while he dipped a fry into some ketchup and popped it into his mouth. He didn't see her like this very often but it was a surprisingly welcome sight. After all she wasn't about to hit or yell at him. After he finished swallowing he queried, "What're you smiling about?"
Gwen blinked away the shadows of the past and came back to the present. "Huh?" as she asked her face took on its customary frown whenever she talked with Ben. Ben grabbed another french fry, "You were smiling about something just now. What were you thinking about?"
"Nothing." Gwen grabbed a french fry of her own.
"You know, we used to be best friends, talking about anything and everything," Ben said, chewing, "then one day we weren't. What happened?"
Gwen froze. Her frown disappeared and her face became emotionless. The change was so sudden and there was such a hollowness to her expression that Ben froze himself. Gwen set her fry down, wiped her fingers on a napkin, folded her hands in front of her and stared out the window. The sudden change and emptiness in her eyes was a cat that cut out his tongue. Ben looked down and busied himself with eating, more for something to do than because he was hungry.
After about 5 minutes of uncomfortable silence Grandpa came back with two wrapped boxes. One large and one small.
"Happy 18th Birthday!" he said as he slid in next to Gwen. Ben pulled his legs off the seat where he had been reclining and sat up. Grandpa pushed the larger box over to Ben and handed the smaller box to Gwen. Before anyone could say anything, Ben started tearing the wrapping paper off, revealing an old, plain brown packing box. Ben opened the box and his face lit up.
"No way! Where did you find this?" he asked with enthusiasm. Ben pulled out a dusty, old looking gaming system. "Hahaha, you even found Summo Slammers! I think I still have my card collection around somewhere." Ben pulled out different pieces of the old system one at a time admiring each one.
Grandpa chuckled at his enthusiasm. "I was clearing out the attic and found it. You must've brought it over one day and forgot it when you moved away."
Ben got up and walked over to Grandpa and gave him a hug. "Thank you so much! I can't wait to get home and try it out."
"That brings me to part two of your gift." Ben having sat back down to revel over his gift, looked up. "So long as you promise that homework comes first." Ben nodded eagerly. "Ben I'm serious, promise your homework will get done each day?"
"I promise."
"Okay. There is a TV installed in the Rustbucket. You just need to press a certain button. I'll show you later."
Ben's jaw dropped open. "What? Where? When? How have I never seen it?"
"It's hidden."
"What are you James Bond?"
Grandpa laughed. "No, I just figured that someday it might be nice to have a movie night with my family."
"That's so cool! Thanks again Grandpa!" Ben started piling the system back into the box. "What'd you get Gwen?"
Gwen was staring motionless at her box. It was a larger than a wedding ring box but not by much. The thing that was really grabbing her attention was the fact that it was emitting an eerily similar… presence as Ben's watch but with a definite sense of familiarity.
"What is it?" Gwen asked softly without looking away.
"The whole point of wrapping it in paper is so you can tear it off and find out." Ben said impatiently.
Her eyes never leaving the box, Gwen reached behind her and drew the knife from the sheath that was integrated into her belt.
"Woah! How long have you been carrying that around? Also what kind of knife is that?"
Gwen ignored him and efficiently cut the tape holding the wrapping paper and unfolded it as it came undone. Ben rolled his eyes at her process and sucked noisily at the remnants of his soda.
Once the paper was laying flat on the table (without a single tear) with the box in the center, Gwen deftly sheathed her knife. She slowly hinged back the lid to reveal a stone attached to a simple leather string. The rock itself was a hemisphere with some simple etchings on the curved face. Grandpa slowly lifted it from its case and placed it around Gwen's neck. The instant it settled, Gwen felt a veil lifting from her mind. It was like she had been looking through frosted acrylic all of her life. The emanation from Ben's watch became an identifiable presence. Like the outline of the moon through clouds rather than the light from the sun on a cloudy day. With this newfound clarity, Gwen remembered why it seemed so familiar.
"Grandma used to wear this necklace." Gwen whispered.
"I'm surprised you remember. She would hold you she would let you play with it and no matter how upset you were it would always calm you down, but you were just a baby."
"I don't remember Grandma wearing that." Ben chimed in.
"She stopped wearing it when she was going through treatments; it became too uncomfortable to wear. When we realized her cancer was terminal she asked me to give it to you when you turned 18. She also asked me to tell you how much she lov-" Grandpa's already husky voice gave out. He silently looked at Gwen and though his face was impassive, tears were welling in his eyes. Gwen thew herself at him and wrapped him in a big hug, burying her face in his shoulder as tears stung her own eyes. Grandpa hugged her back. She felt one of his arms lift as Ben hugged him from the other side.
Grandpa was never really someone to wear his heart on his sleeve unless his heart showed happiness or mirth. As a result he never really talked about Grandma as it always seemed to crack his persona and reveal the immense amount of sorrow beneath the surface.
They stayed like that for a few moments, united by the love they had for their Grandma and the loss that they all felt. When at last they broke apart, Gwen noticed that even Ben was sniffling. After wiping his eyes and clearing his throat Grandpa continued, "She wanted me to tell you how much she loved you and how much she wished she could've watched you grow up but she said she didn't need to though because she knew that you would turn into a granddaughter that any Grandma would be proud of." Gwen felt tears stinging her eyes again. She gave Grandpa another hug before settling back in her seat. They all sat quietly lost in their own memories.
After a short time Ben asked, "Can we order cake and ice cream now?"
Once they were back on the road again, Gwen was turning the necklace over in her hands. The string was attached by a piece of metal glued to the back of the stone. The simple engraving in the front was shallow but deep enough that the lines were obvious no matter what angle you held the stone at.
"Where did Grandma get this?" Gwen asked.
"When I was working as a plumber, I was on a job that had me burying pipe in a rather… unique location. While I was digging I came across the stone. Grandma loved little artifacts so I made it into a necklace for her. I tried to drill a hole through it but nothing I had would cut into it so I ended up just epoxying the metal piece to the back."
Gwen ran her fingers over the carvings. Why was she getting these sensations from the stone and Ben's watch? Was she just imagining them? No, they were too real and identifiable to be imaginations. What did it mean? Ben and Grandpa didn't seem to notice and she was a little leery about asking them because she was sure they would just think she was imagining things.
"Wait. What do you mean by 'unique location'? Where did you get it? Was it a job for NASA?" Gwen gasped, "Did you get to work at one of the moon or martian bases?"
Grandpa smiled at her enthusiasm, "No. Sadly I was never good enough to work for NASA, let alone be assigned to a Luna or Ares facility."
"Well where?"
"It was just an area that was very distant from civilization. I usually work in cities so it was rather unique for me."
Gwen sat back considering the stone. How was a stone from the middle of nowhere related to a high-tech watch?
Several hours later they had driven up a small ridge to get a good view of the sunset. Grandpa had told her to go find the best place while he set up some things in preparation for breakfast tomorrow. After walking a short distance back down the road, she found an amazing overlook that had a commanding view of the surrounding valley. She texted Ben to have him tell Grandpa and sat with her back to a stone to wait for the coming sunset. A short time later Ben walked up and sat next to her.
"Where's Grandpa?"
"He's coming. He told me to go on ahead and he would be right behind me."
They sat in silence for a time, Gwen fingering her new necklace and Ben fiddling with his watch as they waited for the sunset. Suddenly Ben spoke.
"You never did answer my question. Why aren't we best friends anymore? Why do we always end up fighting if we spend more than 30 seconds talking?" Ben grimaced, it had just popped out of his mouth. Oh well, nothing to do now but ride the lightning.
Gwen sat quietly, trying to think of what to say. How could she form all of the pain she felt into words? Pain that had been there for years, coming from wounds that hadn't even begun to heal. She decided to just speak.
"You laughed."
A confused expression crossed Ben's face. "What?"
"8th grade. Your family was visiting our home. Arthur had come over to see you. I was coming up the stairs to tell you that dinner was ready when I heard him telling you what happened to me in school. How they had humiliated me in front of everyone. And you laughed." Gwen fought to keep her voice level and the tears at bay.
"That was you? Gwen, if I had known that was you I would've told him off right then and there."
"So if they had tricked some random girl that would have been fine?"
"What? No, I-"
"If they had tricked someone else into thinking that Justin, one of the most attractive athletes in the school, had a crush on her and convinced her to ask him on a date" the tears now flooded freely down her cheeks and her voice rose in anger and anguish "and he had mocked her relentlessly in front of everyone and continued to do so for the rest of the school year; then it would be funny?!" She was shouting now. Her breaths came in heavy gasps and she was trying to hold back her sobbing but failing.
"I only laughed because he was. I thought his story was detestable, I actually wanted to punch him in the face. I never talk-"
"So you're just a coward."
"I'm not a coward! I always stand up to bullies. I always try to hel-"
"Then where were you when I needed you?!" Memories that Gwen had fought long and hard to suppress burst to the front of her mind, she met them with anger and hatred and threw them at Ben. "Where were you when Justin and his friends had me surrounded, pressed into a corner, when they..."
"Gwen I wasn't even going to your sch-"
"Then why did you act like everything was okay?! Why couldn't you see how hurt I was? How much I needed a friend?! No, all you wanted to do was hang out with old pals and ignore me when I needed you the most. You think you're a hero; you couldn't be more wrong. You are a selfish egotistical moron. You only help people when it benefits you, not when they need it."
Without waiting for a reply Gwen got up and walked back to the Rustbucket. Ben stared sightlessly ahead. What could he say? He heard Grandpa's footsteps approach. He didn't look up as Grandpa lowered himself to sit next to him. They didn't speak for a long time. It was well after sunset and nearing dark when Ben finally spoke.
"What do I do?"
Grandpa sat silently, staring up at the sky. After a few moments he replied, "How badly do you want to fix your relationship?"
"I-"
"Before you answer, give it some honest thought. If you want to fix things it isn't going to be fast or easy." Ben shut his mouth and thought. He remembered all of the fun that he and Gwen'd had growing up. He thought of all of the friends he'd had since then. He realized how completely stale and hollow they had all seemed when compared to the genuine adventures he'd shared with Gwen. Ben had never wished to return to his childhood as much as he did as that moment. To have a true companion by your side and not one who sent you pictures or videos and considered that time well spent. Ben thought long and hard and came to the conclusion that not one relationship in his life had even come close to the friendship he'd had with Gwen. Ben turned his head to look Grandpa in the eyes.
"She's worth it."
Grandpa smiled and nodded. "Then here's my advice. Give her a day or two to calm down. And don't apologize or tell her how much you care."
Ben looked confused. "What? How is that going to help?"
Grandpa placed his hand on Ben's shoulder. "Don't tell her, show her."
"Oh." Ben said, the confusion disappearing from his face as quickly as it had arrived.
"Only after you have shown her then you can tell her. That's the only way she'll believe you."
Grandpa sat back and let Ben sit and think. After a few minutes he got to his feet and offered a hand to Ben. "Now, let's head back before we get lost in the dark."
Gwen lay with blankets pulled up to her neck and her eyes boring holes into the wall. She had only recently stopped crying when she heard Grandpa and the doofus return. She didn't move as they quietly went to bed. Hours later she was still just staring at the wall trying to keep from sobbing. Memories of embarrassment, crushed hopes, and terror washed over her.
Above the sound of Grandpa's soft snoring she heard a soft click. Her head popped off her pillow; the emanations from Ben's watch were definitely more intense. There was a bright green flash and a powerful psychic blast from Ben's watch. All of a sudden the world became flames, smoke, heat, growling and yelling.