Side Story 2: Reunion on Terra

Mikey Glowery was miserable. It had been a year since his sister had vanished. All because of him and his damn curiosity. If only he had behaved and didn't go exploring that ruin. Now his sister was gone. No one liked him anymore. Who could like an idiot like him who probably got his sister killed?

His parents had been arguing recently, too. All because of him. Every day they struggled to handle their grief and clean up after his mistake. Every day he cursed himself for being a huge failure and screwup.

He hadn't gone to school in months, and he never talked with an actual therapist. His friends hadn't even texted him in weeks. How could he tell them that his sister was sucked into some interdimensional gateway? Mikey would be put in a mental hospital. Only his parents and their closest colleagues believed him. After all, their lines of work often involved supernatural incidents. They saw the evidence.

He never told anyone else what happened. The truth behind the incident was covered up as a 'freak tunneling accident' by the Canadian government, his parents, and others. The news barely covered his sister's disappearance, like she never really mattered at all. Only those wolves and the missing Dr. van Brakke were important. These news stories made him sick.

Today's news stories were nothing interesting. There wasn't even a brief mention of the anniversary of the accident. He wondered if someone was covering it up. Just as he was about to stop reading the news for the day, a piece from Kansas caught his eye.

It was super short but extremely weird. A lunatic had appeared in a Kansas wheatfield claiming to be a wizard. He attacked a poor woman who tried to stop him from stepping out onto a road. Mikey had a good laugh while watching the news video.

The news reporter placed her microphone in front of a witness, who happened to be one of the farmers who helped the victim.

"Well, Harry 'n I were just crankin' up the tractor 'n heard this awful racket comin' from the Miller farm. Lots of screamin' 'n hollerin'. We looked over 'n saw this crazy guy dressed like a wizard. The b**tard was hurlin' punches at poor Granny Miller.

"Sos Jerry called the cops and we all ran over there. He had beaten up poor Granny Miller real good by then. Screamed a lot of nonsense about bein' some sort of wizard 'n somethin' or other about bein' a noble. We hauled 'im off Granny Miller but that just made 'im madder than a kicked hornets' nest.

"I'll tell you what he was nuttier than squirrel sh*t. Kept screaming nonsense and trying to 'tell us' somethin'. None of it made sense. The only thing I understood was that he said he was a wizard. A real nutcase, that one. He beat up poor Granny Miller 'cause she told him to get off the road."

Mikey sighed when a picture of the victim was displayed. That poor woman had been hospitalized for trying to do something good. As soon as he saw the mug shot of the suspect, his body froze.

That was Dr. van Brakke. Mikey was sure of it. He could recognize that lunatic anywhere. How could he be here?

"MOM! DAD! You need to check the news!"

Mikey dashed out of his room. He had left it for the first time in days.

**********

Dr. Jack Glowery, Aayla's father, made a couple of phone calls before booking the first flights from Australia to Kansas in the United States. When they arrived, the FBI was waiting for them. Aayla had been found. That was the best news that they heard ever since she vanished.

An agent escorted them to Kansas. A tall French woman in a nice suit was waiting for them at the hospital. She showed her badge to the FBI agent.

"Hello, my FBI colleague. My name is Collette Montague, from Interpol. I will be working with your boss on this case. I'm sure you've been told, yes? I'll take them up from here. Your boss has ordered you to get some rest."

Relieved, the FBI agent verified her credentials and then went off to find his hotel room. As soon as he walked away, Collette took the Glowery family into the hospital.

"It's been a while, my friends. How are you all doing? Much better today, I assume?"

"Yes. As long as that young lady is Aayla."

"She should be. We have facial recognition and a vocal match, but we are still running a fingerprint and DNA analysis to be sure. Right now, she seems to be in mostly good health. Just extremely exhausted and suffering from minor malnutrition, dehydration, and hypothermia."

Collette led them through the hospital. She answered their questions along the way.

"You should know that we're not sure exactly what she and the young man went through. Doctors haven't let us interrogate them beyond the basics. Concerns for mental wellbeing and all."

"Wait, what young man? Someone else was found with her?"

"Ah, you didn't know? Aayla was found being carried by a young man next to a highway in Kansas. They were wearing very strange clothes. The young man calls himself 'Daren'. The circumstances and clothes caught the FBI's attention, but some things that he said caught the interest of those in our line of business."

"For example?"

"He sounded a bit incoherent to the doctors. They immediately stopped letting the police talk to him. They've run some tests for head trauma and drugs. Some signs of hypoxia, but no signs of drugs. He's been extremely compliant with their requests. Curious about technology. Spoke of places that didn't exist. Does the word 'Chinebar' ring any bells?"

Jack and Helen glanced at each other. That's where Ramona wanted to settle down.

Collette stopped in front of a room. Mikey peered into the room through the door's window. He saw his sister laying on a hospital bed talking to a dark-haired young man in the next bed. They seemed happy chatting and like they were familiar with each other. Mikey's heart broke as he saw a man stealing away his beloved elder sister in front of his eyes.

"Thank you so much for your help, Collette. This won't get you in trouble, will it?"

Collette shook her head. "No. For good or bad, Interpol is getting involved. Officially, there's suspected trafficking of youths across state lines, new illegal narcotics, and a possible international cult that doubles as a trafficking ring and terrorist organization. People are freaking out. You'll be hearing from me a lot."

Jack and Helen nodded gravely. Collette typed a code into the keypad, opening the door. Mikey anxiously burst into the room. He practically jumped into his sister's arms. Faint sobs could be heard from the room. Their parents nervously followed.

That slightly wavy, espresso-colored hair with honey-brown colored eyes. That oval face with a button nose. That tilt of the head when in thought.

"Mom? Dad? Why are you here?"

That energetic voice. Helen started crying. That voice was exactly how she remembered it. That young woman was her daughter.

"We're here for you, you foolish girl! Why else would we fly from Australia to Kansas with no notice?"

Collette stood outside the door to give the family time to process their feelings. Daren silently watched Aayla's parents and brother rejoice that she had returned safely. A pang of jealousy and envy stabbed his heart. He would love to have parents that supporting.

A pair of suspicious eyes turned towards him. Daren noticed that Mikey was glaring at him. He awkwardly waved to the young boy. Mikey harumphed and turned his head away. Aayla frowned and pinched his cheeks.

"Mikey, don't be rude. This is my friend, Daren. Without him, I might not be here today."

Mikey slowly turned his head, nodded at Daren, then turned to ignore him again. Daren giggled, finding Mikey's antics cute compared to his younger cousins' tantrums and cruelty.

Jack and Helen carefully inspected the boy in front of them, especially Jack. He judged Daren like he would a son-in-law. There were so many issues from a lack of self-esteem to muscle mass. Oh well. As long as his daughter liked the young man, then there were ways to get him into proper son-in-law shape.

"Mom, Dad, things are kind of complicated. Daren's from the same place that Ramona is from. The short story is that I ended up there. Do you know where that is?"

"Tellus. We know dear." Helen nodded. "We know more about Ramona's past than you might think."

"Ramona?" Daren thought for a moment before his eyes lit up in surprise. "You mean Dean Ramona Heston?"

"So, she's a dean now?" Jack nodded. "Good for her. She wasn't that interested in teaching before she left, but she had a knack for research."

"Enough reminiscing for now. We'll fill in some of those gaps later," Helen interjected. "Let Collette inside. We need to come up with a plan for how we're going to handle the investigation."

Daren felt a kind of warmth from Jack and Helen that he had only felt from his aunt, uncle, grandfather, and a few others before. He smiled. Daren looked forward to his new life.