Chapter Prologue : An Unknown

Reads: 199
Comments: 2

"It's not a fairy tale, you know," Tori said, "the story about your great great grandfather."

Hunter scoffed. "Right, definitely. There's another planet out there? With other people on it? That's ridiculous!"

Tori scowled, tired of her son's, and the whole planet, for that matter, disbelief. "Then why do you think we've been building a spaceship for the past hundred years?"

Hunter laughed, "People do stupid things with enough convincing. It's a tradition!"

"A tradition?" Tori nearly yelled, "we toil all day and all night as a tradition? That's even more ridiculous!" She took several deep breaths before she completely lost her temper. She walked to the bookshelf full of books her great grandfather had said were "classics": Moby Dick, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Harry Potter. They all were fiction. In one story, though, there was a picture that her great grandfather treasured because it was the only reason he kept going, whatever that meant.

"Look, Hunter," Tori said, exasperated. "This is where your grandfather said he lived, and I believe him."

Hunter took the book and examined the picture, "Pretty nice looking planet," he said, "really blue."

Tori groaned, "You still don't believe me, do you?"

Hunter sighed, but it was fake. "I'm sorry, Mom. I'm sorry Grandpa was old had dementia when he told you this story." He got up and left the room laughing.

Tori was on the verge of tears. She slammed the book closed. Maybe Hunter was right. Maybe it was all fake. But how was Grandpa so sure about it? What had he called the planet? It was on the tip of her tongue.

"Earth," she said. "That sounds right."

Submitted: September 20, 2018

Science Fiction aliens space kidnapping spaceships genius