Read Eli Arnold and the Keys to Forever Book One: It's About Time Page 9

CHAPTER FIVE

  May 28, 2012, 6:45 p.m.

  Seatbelts save lives. I watched the saucer break apart and crash into the earth in a fiery cloud of charred and twisted metal. From the safety of the pilot’s seat, I slowly drifted back to earth under a large pink parachute. Randorians could be so girly. I mean, who makes a pink parachute?

  Brady floated under a similar parachute nearby.

  “That was awesome!” my brother screamed. “Like riding a giant bottle rocket!”

  “But without the explosion and colored sparks,” I yelled back. “Let’s do it again!”

  “Looks like only one ride per customer, Bro.” Brady pointed at the wreckage strewn below.

  “Good thing we buckled up for safety. Those automatic ejection seats would not have been easy to hold on to as fast as we were going.” I thought again about the automated voice that advised us to “fasten our seatbelts” in English. I must have imagined that.

  I drifted toward earth and took in the amazing view afforded by my position. The thick rain forest foliage made it difficult to see the ground below. I could tell, however, that Brady and I were descending into a type of valley ringed on all sides by large snow-capped mountains. An unusual shape dominated the center of the valley.

  Cloaked in vines and vegetation, I couldn’t be certain, but I believe I gazed upon an ancient Incan structure, similar in shape to a pyramid. Instead of smooth sides, however, this pyramid was stepped - each level slightly smaller than the level below it.

  If I remembered my history correctly, the Incan civilization dominated the area that now makes up the country of Peru. Our unscheduled trip had taken us a long way from home.

  Brady and I touched down about a few miles from the structure and gathered up the pink parachutes.

  “That was a close one, Eli,” Brady said giving me a quick hug. “Glad you’re okay.”

  “Yeah, I thought we were goners, man,” I replied. “Sorry about your car.”

  The look on Brady’s face told me he hadn’t even thought about his Mustang until I brought it up.

  “I’m going to miss that car,” he sighed. “I put a lot of work into getting it running right.” He paused and smiled. “More importantly though, we’re not hurt. Let’s figure out our next move.”

  My brother had a unique way of getting to what was important. Cars could be replaced. We could not.

  “Did you see the pyramid?” I asked. “Might offer some protection and shelter.”

  “I was thinking the same thing,” Brady replied. “It looked a good ways off though and it’s already getting dark. Let’s make a tent out of these ridiculous parachutes and try to get a fire going.”

  “Sounds like a plan.”

  “Tomorrow, we can strike out toward the pyramid. No telling how long we might be stranded out here.”

  “I’ll grab some wood for a fire,” I offered. “You set up the tents.”

  “Deal,” Brady agreed.

  In no time, we had a roaring fire going and split one of the candy bars I had gotten from the Stuckey’s.

  “Bet you wish you hadn’t turned your nose up at that chili dog now,” I laughed.

  “Yeah well, since you and your chili dog slept in the car, you can take the first watch,” Brady countered. “Wake me up in a couple of hours, man.”

  Brady crawled under the makeshift tent and was soon snoring heavily. The noises of the jungle were drowned out by my brother’s nose symphony. Hopefully, any animals that were around would hear Brady’s “growling” and keep their distance.

  The crackling of the fire helped reassure me as well. I stared at the flames and wondered how we were going to get out of this mess. Nobody even knew where we were. At least I’ve got my brother, I thought.

  “Goodnight, Brady,” I whispered.

  “Shut up, Eli,” he said, half laughing, half snoring. “I’m trying to sleep here.”