Exceptional Into the Fold. Eric's Epic Adventures Bk 4 : THE LAST CHAPTER of Book 4 by Sandra Stoner-Mitchell Book of the Month contest entry

End of part 11 It wasn’t long after that Drozig received a message. They were close to the coordinates that the drone-searchers had sent them, and they were about to drop out of time-warp. Drozig looked down at Eric’s upturned face. “We shall soon see if the searchers were right. Come, let’s get Kon up to the bridge so we are all together when we enter the mysterious fold….” Part 12 Because everyone on board the starship wanted to watch as they entered the fold, Drozig arranged for a virtual screening to appear in every part of the ship. This was unknown territory and a buzz of excitement rippled through the air.  Eric watched as the starship was brought out of warp-time and then came to an abrupt stop. Herbie flew over to hover beside him. “This is where the drone-searchers said the fold is,” he told him.  They both stared hard at the blackness hoping to see if there was the slightest hint, something ... anything that would prove it was there. Without a sign, it was a leap of faith that this was where they should be.  “If it’s not there, we’ll just carry on … right? I mean, we won’t disappear ... will we?” Eric turned to Herbie, as a feeling of dread carved a jagged path through his mind.  “If there were some stars, moons, bits of meteorites out there, it would be good ... but there’s nothing, just a spooky, dead blackness!”  Herbie remained quiet for a while. When he spoke, it was with complete confidence. “There are two drone-searchers inside the fold. They know we are here, and yes, we are in the right place.”  “Thank goodness for that,” Eric breathed a soft, relieved sigh. Now that he knew for sure they were in the right place, and there was a fold in front of them, he couldn’t wait to get going. “It’s exciting, isn’t it? We’ll be going to a place no one has ever been before, and that includes Drozig. I wonder why we aren’t going straight in, though.” “It won’t be long now, Eric,” Drozig said, as he came and stood by him and Herbie. “We’re waiting for a message from Kon. He’s bringing the other three leaders with him. When he sends a signal to say they’re ready, they’ll all be transported to the bridge.” “What will happen when we get to the planet?” Eric asked, his curiosity always working overtime. “Do we just leave them there?” “No. We will make sure it is the right planet for them, that all the information we’ve had from the drone-searchers meets the needs of all the Aqua-beings and Mermen, too. We don’t want to return sometime in the future and find that something had gone wrong.” “Like what?”  “That, my inquisitive, Earthling friend, is what we have to find out,” Drozig told him with a chuckle. “If it is, indeed, a twin planet of the one they have lived on for thousands of years, then we will all be happy. We will bring the rest of their people here, and they can get back to living their lives in safety.” Eric nodded. “When are they coming up? They’re taking an awful long time. If we were looking for another Earth, I know I'd want to check it out straight away." Drozig laughed and ruffled Eric's hair. “We all know how impatient you are. But you won't have to wait much longer because we’ve just had the signal to say they’re ready to come. You sit down and hold onto Herbie. We don’t know what it will be like going into the fold.”  Eric didn’t need telling twice. By the time the Aqua-beings were on the bridge, he was safely strapped in. He watched as the rest of the crew went back to their places, and Drozig and Kon and his friends went to their seats. The ship started moving, and the nervous thrill building up in Eric’s chest had him holding his breath again. His knuckles were white from the tight grip he had on the arms of his seat; he couldn’t remember ever feeling this excited before.  “Here we go, Eric,” Herbie said in almost a whisper.  It was strange watching the front of the ship slowly disappear into the fold. Finally, the whole ship was through, and Eric’s breath came out in a blast!  “Wow! Look at all that!” Eric couldn’t get over the suddenness of seeing so many stars and planets. The sun and moon, though billions of miles apart, looked so close.  The crew were all spellbound, even Drozig was gobsmacked. Not a word filtered into Eric’s mind from anyone on the bridge.   “Wow! How cool is this?” Eric whispered. “Which one will be the Aqua-being’s planet?” he asked, turning to Drozig. Kon heard Eric’s thoughts before he’d voiced them, and now looked at Drozig and transmitted the same question.  Instead of answering them, Drozig had a member of his crew zoom into the planet's position. It was almost completely blue with a few dark areas which would be the land.  Kon and his fellow leaders stared in awe at what they hoped would soon be their new home. “How long will it take us to get there?”  “It’s not too far away, so I would say an hour of Eric’s Earth time, at most.” Drozig told him.  “Then we shall go now and prepare for landing.”  He was about to leave, but stopped and turned back to Drozig. “I would like to be with you once we have arrived. Perhaps we can find an area that will be deep enough to submerge our ship, but close to the land?” “Of course. I will let you know when we are there.” The journey didn’t take that long and soon Drozig’s ship was hovering over the planet. Kon had been called to the bridge again and was now staring down at his new home.   “It’s so much like our own planet used to be that I can’t believe it isn’t!”  Kon was so overcome with emotion that he had to turn away for a moment. “Seeing it this way ... it brings back so many memories of times long ago.” Eric looked down and thought how nice it looked. “Can we go down and look around?” he asked hopefully.  Drozig switched to thought transmission, then Eric heard his voice come inside his head. “I was about to suggest we go down to check the water and the land. We need to know it’s fit for you and your people, Kon. I know it looks the same, we just need to make sure.” Kon agreed and immediately sent a message to his own ship to tell them what he was going to do. He then followed Drozig and Eric down to the shuttle bay.  Drozig landed his shuttle on the land next to the sea. His first step was to check the air to make sure they would all be able to breathe it before he opened up the doors. All checked out well, and Eric was the first to dash out, with Herbie zooming beside him.  “It’s great! Come on out.” He ran over to the water and was about to take his shoes off to dip his feet in, when Drozig told him to wait.  “We need to test it before you go in,” he explained. "It won't take me long."  Kon had just finished testing the soil, and came forward to do his own water test. Once he was satisfied it was as it should be, he couldn't resist the pull and smell of the waves licking his feet, and just had to walk in to enjoy a quick swim. The knowledge that now he was back in his own world, although not the one where he was born, gave him endless joy.  “I can’t thank you enough for your kindness,” he told Drozig. “And, Eric. Had you not come to us when you did, and told us what life was like in your future, my race would have died out. I thank you for asking your friend here to help us find this new home.” Eric smiled and nodded. He didn’t know what to say. In the end, he told them he had been happy to help.   Kon also nodded. “I would like to bring our ship down now. And if you are still willing to bring my people on the other planets here, too, I would be most grateful.”  “Of course. You are most welcome, my Aqua friend. We shall release your ship from ours first, and then we will be on our way.” Once they’d left Kon and his people on their new home planet, Eric felt sad. It had been such an adventure, and he knew that after they had brought the other two spaceships to their new home, he would never see them again.  “But you will always have the memories, my young Earthling friend,” Drozig said as he came over and sat next to Eric. “You are the only Earthling who has travelled to another planet, and no Earthling will ever get to go into the fold and see another galaxy.” “You’re right.” Eric thought about what Drozig had said. “But, I’ll still see you again, won’t I?”  “I’m sure you will,” Drozig said, and smiled. “There will be new adventures, and we’ll always be watching over you.”  Eric was sure there would be, too. Now, all of a sudden, he was desperate to see his mum and dad again, and Chloe. His only regret was he couldn’t tell them anything about this adventure. He wondered if he ever would.   The End. Recognized Author Notes Thank you so much for reading Eric's latest adventure. I have really appreciated all the support you have given me in this project.

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