Ana

CH 5

Tom thought he might be better off if he never found out what she meant by that last statement. He reached inside and took out the beer. It felt ice cold to his touch as he pried off the cap and sat down to take a long drink. The beer was good, very good and almost immediately he felt much more relaxed as all of the tension in his body melted away. Maybe he was over reacting to all of this. After all, Ana was his best friend wasn’t she. He took another drink of the surprisingly refreshing beer and marveled at the picturesque view of the night sky. Yes, he was feeling much better now.

“Tom, would you let me take you to the Philippines if I promised to have you back in time to go to work tomorrow?”

A trip to an exotic location did sound exciting. “Sure, if you get me back in time for work but we both know that’s impossible.”

Suddenly, they shot up at a steep angle into the sky causing Tom to be pushed back into the couch and spilling beer.

“What are you doing?” He stammered while trying to save the rest of the beer in the bottle.

“Please fashion your safety harness so you are not injured during the flight,” Ana said in the manner of an airline hostess.

Tom noticed seatbelts next to him that he could swear hadn’t been there a moment before. He snapped the belt across his chest because the force of acceleration continued to increase and was becoming uncomfortable. They were moving fast now, way faster than any plane he’d ever been on and there still was no engine sound or vibration. The contradiction was starting to unnerve him.

After long moments past, Tom felt the crushing pressure ease and his body became very light, as if he had reached the top of a giant roller coaster. It was then that he noticed the view of the night sky outside the window had changed. It now displayed a vast multitude of stars brighter than he had ever seen before. It was so breathtaking that he couldn’t take his eyes off the marvelous sight.

The lightness of his body slowly became complete weightlessness. Then they turned slightly and he was shocked to see the earth come into view far below them. Excitement like never before threatened to explode from him as he realized he was in space.

“Holy shit Ana, how the hell did you get us into space?” He looked worriedly around the seemingly fragile room. This building didn’t seem fit for this kind of stress.

Ana calmly said, “I hope you are enjoying the view. We will be starting our descent soon so please remain seated with your seatbelts securely fastened for the remainder of the flight.”

“This is crazy.” He muttered while they began tilting back down toward the earth and it wasn’t long before his body was thrust against the seatbelt straps by the force of their frightening fall into the atmosphere. Flames began to flicker across the window as they continued their fall toward the Earth and he started to know real fear.

“Ana, you’re going to get me killed.” Tom said excitedly.

“Relax, there is nothing to worry about. I do this all the time,” Ana said.

Tom was sure that the last thing airline crash victims were told by the soon to be dead crew was to relax and that everything would be just fine. He tried to act calm as long, nervous minutes passed. After an uncomfortable amount of time had passed, he could see the ocean as they continued to descend at a terrific speed. Then he started to make out small islands that they seemed to be heading toward. The larger island had green covered mountains in the center and was surrounded by clear blue water with the sun glistening on the tops of waves as they surged onto the white sandy beaches.

The building made a nauseating spin so they were now flying backward. This made Tom even more uneasy and he maneuvered for a better view out the window over his shoulder. They were still approaching the mountain rapidly but were now decelerating much more forcibly. He was grateful for the high backed chair as he was crushed into the cushions by the force being used to slow their decent.

He closed his eyes tightly and instinctively prepared for what looked to be a hard landing. The moments passed and then the force lessened quickly then was gone completely. He opened his eyes and, with a deep breath, saw they had landed. He unhooked his seatbelt and looked around for any sign the building had been damaged by the trip. Everything in the room looked just as it had before they left Texas except that his beer was nowhere in sight, except for what had spilled on him. Well, either that was beer on his pants or he peed himself on the way here.

“I think I need a new beer,” he said trying to act nonchalant. He had so many questions he didn’t know where to start. “Ok, so… Ana, would you mind explaining any of this to me?”

“Traveling around the world is quick when you jump into low orbit first because the lack of air resistance allows for much faster speeds,” Ana said.

Could she be telling the truth? Did they travel halfway around the world that quickly? “Would you care to explain how you have a building that can do that?”

Ana replied, “We can talk about that later. First, I think you should go down to the mountain to the small town that’s not far from here and convince yourself that we’re actually in the Philippines, the island of Luzon to be exact.”

 “Well, I can take a quick look outside but then I want to head back home as soon as we can,” Tom said looking around for a towel or napkin to dry the beer off his pants.

He wasn’t sure getting out and wandering around was such a great idea but he was still trying to act cool even if his stomach was doing flips and he felt dizzy with excitement. Tom moved quickly up the stairs and then cautiously opened the door to the outside. He was greeted with warm, moist air and the thickest, most lush forest he had ever seen. The forest was calm and beautiful with colorful orchids growing in the nooks of nearby trees. Once outside, he turned to look at the building that taken him half way around the world and was astonished to see it had completely changed. It was no longer an old shed-like structure but was now a shimmering teardrop lying on its side and half sunk in the ground. As he watched, it took on the appearance of the surroundings so that it was almost invisible.

Tom tentatively reached out his hands to touch the smooth surface which felt more like glazed ceramic than steel. That was when he noticed the door was gone. He ran his hands over the ship’s surface where the door had been seconds ago but there wasn’t even a crack to show it had ever been there. Ana was full of amazing tricks.

“Ok Ana, I’m convinced we’re not in Texas any more so we can go home now.”  There was no response. Tom tried for a while longer to find the door but the ship’s surface gave no sign of any way in. “Ana, can you hear me? I believe you so there’s no need for me to go into the town you told me about.”

Maybe she couldn’t hear him from out here. There were some good sized rocks lying around so he picked one up and tried tapping the strange surface lightly. However, it didn’t make any sound so he started to hit it harder and harder but even slamming the rock on the ship only made a slight thud that he doubted anyone inside would be able to hear.

Then, seeming to come from right next to him, Ana’s voice said, “Tom you’ll find a trail about hundred yards straight behind you that leads to a street with a bus stop. The bus that stops there will take you on a very scenic trip to a town called Pagsanjan.”

Tom dropped the rock and turned around. “Ana, can you hear me?”

“Of course,” she said.

It seemed he would have to negotiate his way back inside if he wanted to go home. “Good. Now, even if I find that bus you’re talking about, I don’t have any local currency to pay for a trip and I doubt they pick up hitch-hikers.”

“Don’t worry Tom. The driver will accept dollars as will everyone else here but don’t be shocked when they charge you an inflated price. American and European tourists get charged a hefty increase over the normal local rates. Now, when you get to Pagsanjan, get off at the second stop. Walk down two blocks then take a right. One more block further and you’ll find a Sari-Sari shop where you can get a beer. Try the San Miguel beer, you’ll love it. Oh, and be back in about three hours.”

“Does that mean you’re not coming with me?” He asked with a sarcastic undertone.

“I’m afraid that will not be possible,” Ana said.

“I just want to make sure you’re not going to leave me here stranded on the wrong side of the planet.”

“Now Tom, I thought you trusted me.”

 [More to come. Please vote if you like this]