Chapter 2: All Over the World
It was decided that the group would start at one end of the world and finish at another. They would spend about five days in each other's country before heading off to the next. Some perks of being a United Nations graduate were the frequent flyer miles. Their first stop was Australia. They left Switzerland and arrived in Sydney the next day. The group spent a couple days in the city, seeing the sights. Alex tried to impress some local ladies with his crude knowledge of Australian slang, and got slapped for his trouble. They spent their remaining time touring the outback, even visiting Ayer's Rock.
Their next stop was Japan. They arrived in Kyoto just in time to see the cherry blossoms bloom, turning the whole world pink. Kumiko's town was having an annual shrine festival, and everyone was eager to visit. Since Miko was the only one who could actually speak Japanese, she ordered the food for everyone, and had tried to break up a fight between Theo and a local who called him a name. The older man was drunk, so he actually tried to take a swing at Miko, but she subdued him with her judo training. For a small girl, she had excellent strength. At the shrine, they all prayed for a safe trip. Before they left, Miko visited her home and retrieved her katana which was a parting gift from her late grandfather, also her sensei.
Their third destination was the United Kingdom. The group stayed away from the big cities this time, staying in the countryside in little inns. Being in Nottingham, they decided to visit the famous Sherwood Forest. They each took a different persona of Robin Hood and his Merry Men. While on their last night there, they were thrown out of the inn after Abby knocked out another guest who commented if her tan was sprayed all over. They camped out the last night, and Abby wondered if she should change her look. Even with the Australian accent, people thought she was Scottish or Irish due to her dark red hair, and that the tan was fake. The others said that other people should change before her.
The next country on their list was Argentina. Thankfully, no one got into any fights or altercations this time, due to them visiting museums and art galleries. While they were there, Val decided to cut his hair, since he was growing it to keep his head warm in Geneva winters. It would have been fine if the others didn't laugh, saying he looked like a Latin pop star. At night, they went to the Camanito Street Museum to see the colorfully painted houses and take tango lessons. Theo and Miko took off almost immediately, but Abby and Alex were still awkward on where to hold each other. People thought they dated because they hung out constantly and both had shades of red hair, but they don't. Actually, only they could handle each other's high amounts of sarcasm after long periods. Alex never had a girlfriend due to his weight, and Abby's strong will was too strong for some. On their last night, they visited Val's house, and had a fiesta.
The last country they stayed in was the U.S.A., but unknown to them at the time, it would be their last few days of freedom in a long while. On the first day, they arrived in Portland, Oregon, taking in the sites, such as visiting the Oregon Zoo and Washington Park. The next day, they took a bus to Alex's hometown, the small city of Bend, on the Deschutes river. On the ride there, they passed a billboard with an enlarged picture of a class of 20 elementary school students smiling at the camera. In bold red words at the bottom of the picture was the phrase "THEY'LL NEVER BE FORGOTTEN". The others asked Alex what that meant.
"My mama told me about two years ago, a group of kids went missing while returning to Washington from a field trip here. They all just vanished, including their teacher and the bus driver. Only the bus was ever found, abandoned and slightly damaged, like from a car wreck. The whole town pitched in to help, even the nearest army base. Two years, and still nothing."
Alex's house was a little walk away, further out in nature from the other houses. It was a simple two-story building, but they added a wrap-around porch, so guests had more room to walk around. There was a big enough front and back yard to hold decent sized barbeque parties. Alex couldn't hold in his grin as he saw his old home.
Before Alex could yell out that he and his friends were home once they got close enough, the side door burst open and a low black blur ran toward him at full speed. Alex knew this welcome wagon.
"Coal, wait, slow down! Stop –" Too late, he was pinned by his best friend in the whole world, the family black Labrador, Coal.
"Get off me, ya mongrel!" he strained, but Coal wouldn't listen and continued to lick his human's face, his tail wagging a mile a minute. Shortly after, a woman came out of the house. She was a healthily plump lady, with her long brown hair put pack into a ponytail, wearing jeans and a dark green blouse.
"There's my baby boy! Coal, get off him!" Coal listened, and Alex was able to get back to his feet, with Theo helping him up.
"Hey, Mama. I'm home!" Alex said, before introducing Val, Abby, Theo and Miko in turn, them each saying hello in their own way.
"Buenos tardes."
"G'day!"
"Hi."
"Konnichiwa."
Ms. Carson replied, "Hello to all of you. You can just call me 'Mom' or anything like that. Well, come on, let's get you all inside. Kick your shoes off, and relax!"
After everyone got settled in, they all took short naps until dinner was ready. It was a true, red, white and blue American supper, with a seasoned pork roast, fried potatoes, buttered veggies, and soft, fluffy biscuits with gravy, and as much sweet tea as one could drink. Miko, being a vegetarian, hogged the veggies and potatoes. For dessert, they had their choice of either chocolate or apple pie. Coal kept trying to beg everyone for food, succeeding with Abby, who gave him a piece of pork. This gesture officially made her Coal's new favorite.
After everyone was full to busting, they did their final packing for the camping trip the next day. Alex was taking them to see the "real America," spending time in the Cascade mountains, camping by a lake. He didn't mind cities, but they were too crowded for him, compared to the wide-open nature, with enough room to breathe. Before everyone went to bed that night, they gathered in the family room to watch a movie. Everyone had a favorite among the films Alex had, before settling on The Adventures of Robin Hood starring Errol Flynn. Afterwards, the girls took the spare bedroom, while the boys camped out in the living room.
The next morning, they woke up early and begun packing their bags and provisions into Ol' Red, the Carson's '77 Chevy blazer camper. For camping clothes, everyone borrowed flannel and jeans from Alex's house. His older siblings all moved out, leaving old clothes. They had packed two tents, sleeping bags, folding chairs, stuff to start a campfire, and plenty of food to barbeque. Alex also took his old radio and book of country cd's. If they were going camping in the country, they needed to listen to real country, such as: John Denver, George Strait, Garth Brooks and Willie Nelson, to name a few. Only one thing was hampering the start to their trip.
"Coal, get outta the truck!"
Coal was determined not to let his humans leave without him, and settled down on their sleeping bags.
Val asked, "Why can he not come with us?"
"I'm worried he'll get too excited and run off." Alex explained. "He's never been on a camping trip before."
"Let him come with us, mate," Theo said. "I'm sure he won't... go... uhh..."
"Running off?" Miko supplied. Theo agreed by pointing to Miko and nodding.
"Well..., alright then." Alex said, before turning to Coal. "Mutt, you better be good, and not run off. You stay with us at all times, got it?"
"Ruff," Coal replied.
"Good."
The others thought it a bit strange that Alex talked to his dog as if he were another human, but didn't say so. With the dilemma solved, they were off, with Val driving the truck, due to him being the only one with a license, and able to drive on the right side of the road. Alex rode shotgun, providing directions, while the rest rode in the camper. They drove for several hours, only stopping once for a potty break at a gas stop.
They arrived at their secluded campsite early in the afternoon. It was big, open field right next to the lakeshore. At the other end was a grove of trees that made it private enough to use the restroom. The group unloaded their bags while Coal went to sniff then use the nearest tree. After they got the tents set up, the group changed into their swimsuits and jumped into the lake.
Later in the afternoon, with the sun just starting to set, they dried off and began to make the campfire and unfolded some chairs. Once that was done, they set a makeshift grill on top, and began to cook sausages and burgers, and veggie kabobs for Miko. Even Coal got to eat a couple hamburger patties. While they were eating, as the dusk was turning darker, they listened to Alex's country music. As John Denver's "Rocky Mountain High" was playing, everyone talked about what they were going to do, now that they graduated. Val talked about his plans first.
"When I get back to Buenos Aires, I'm accepting an internship at one of the museums we visited. I want to help others experience different cultures through their art and history."
Abby spoke next. "Back home, I'm applying to work at one of the national parks. I've been hiking their most of my life, and I want to make sure the land's there for others to love. I can give hiking tours."
Alex commented, "Just try not to knock out any tourists."
"As long as they don't litter." Everyone laughed at that.
Theo announced, "I'm going to be moving with Miko-chan back to Kyoto. She's the best one to help with... with my..."
Miko finished, "With his kawaii condition. We can work on that, and take classes at the university."
Theo added, "Mostly writing and language. I make better sense if I... I..." He gave up and made a writing gesture with his hands. The rest of the group understood that fine.
Val then asked Alex, "So then, my friend, what is it that you plan to do? Are you staying here?"
"I was thinkin' about it. I'm gonna work for right now, then after a year or so, go to college and study to care for animals. I think they need help more than humans." While he said that he patted Coal on the head, who licked his hand afterward.
Later on, in the night, before they went to bed, they unfurled their sleeping bags to lay on them, and gazed at the night sky. They tried to name constellations, but they could only recognize Orion and the Big Dipper. There was one that caught Miko's attention.
"What's that one? The big, bright star?"
Alex replied, "That's the North Star. People use it to tell direction when they're lost."
"No, not that one. THAT one," she said, pointing. "The big, glowing one. Getting... bigger?"
"What?"
One star was indeed growing bigger in the sky, glowing bright blue and yellow. Only after some other stars vanished behind it, they realized it was not getting bigger; it was getting closer. Coal started to bark at it.
"Umm, dudes?"
"RUN!"
They all took off in different directions, running as fast as possible, most of them ducking behind the trees. The star touched down on their camp site, destroying the remains of their campfire. The impact from the landing even caused Val and Alex to lose their footing and fall to the ground. The lake shook from the vibration, and waves were made from the ripples. After the ground settled, the group saw a crater was made where they were just sitting moments earlier.
Recovering from the shock, Abby and Miko came out from the trees and headed toward the crater. Coal began to bark at the impact sight, but still he skulked closer as well. Theo went over to Miko, while Val and Alex still stayed back from the crater. Val called to the others,
"Friends, I don't believe we should get any closer."
"Coal, get back over here!" Alex called to his dog.
Abby ignored the warning, getting to the crater's edge first, and looking down to see what made it. She exclaimed,
"Strewth! Mates, take a look at this!"
Warily, everyone slowly made their way to the impact site. Abby and Miko were close together, with Theo on Miko's other side. Across the crater from them was Val, with Alex on his left, holding Coal by his collar. They looked down, and saw that it wasn't a star that fell down; it was a meteor. It was about the size of a basketball, but more jagged, and pitted with holes. The rock was jet black, but glowing faintly inside. It was scorched from its entry in the atmosphere, still radiating heat.
Before anyone could decide whether or not it would be a good idea to climb inside the crater, the meteor had other ideas. From its pores, it exhaled a white vapor, quickly filling the air and surrounding the campers. They tried to back out of the cloud, but the mist seemed to follow them. Not only that, the mist began to enter their bodies, either through their mouths and noses, or absorbing through their skin. Where once a large cloud was on the campsite, it quickly vanished into the five campers and canine. With the mist now in them, the group began to feel light-headed and dizzy, falling on their hands and knees.
Only Alex was able to let out a weak "Guys..." before he fell unconscious, with Coal right next to him. The others quickly followed, all of them sprawled out from the crater, the rock inside now dead and cold.