Up: Space Emissary - Chap. 4

      Up: The Space Emissary
     Chapter 4 – Back To The Falls

      Russell frowned, looking down at Carl. "What's wrong, Mr. Fredrickson?"

      Carl was silent, staring in horror at the screen. How could he tell Russell this?? It would kill him! He gave something that sounded like a croak instead.

     "Mr.....Fredrickson?"

     The senior swallowed hard, peering up at the eight year old. "Russell...I'm afraid some bandits have Kevin and her babies.."

     "WHAT?! Oh no!! KEVIN!!" he cried. "What do we do?? We have to stop the bandits! We gotta save 'em!"

     Carl hesitated. But what can we do? "Russell.....I don't think we can do anything."

     Instantly, that received a glare from the eight year old. "What? No! Kevin's our family! We gotta do somethin' ta' save her and her babies!"

     He's right. But...if those bandits really are located somewhere in space... The blimp will explode if we try to get past the earth's atmosphere. And I can't put Russell in that danger! ".....Yes, there is something I can do."

     "I? What about me?!" Russell demanded. "Yer not just leavin' me here!!" He kicked his legs angrily, making the balloon strings tremble and flicking the dogs and Carl back and forth.

     Carl grunted, tightening his grip on the balloon strings. "Russell, stop!" he scolded.

     "No!" Russell shouted. "Yer not leavin' me here!!! I'm coming too!!"

     The senior gritted his teeth. "We'll discuss it when we get back to the blimp," he said in a stern "I mean business" tone.

     The explorer pouted, but obediently dropped the subject. "......Well, how do we get back to the blimp?"

     Carl didn't respond; instead, he turned his attention to the satellite that was projecting the news broadcast. "I have an idea." He turned and looked up at the boy and canines. "Swing your bodies to the right!" he ordered.

     Russell was confused, but started swinging his body anyways. The strings went back and forth, back and forth.

     Wait for it.... wait for it.... "Yah!" Carl lashed out quickly, wrapping his arms around the satellite and hugging it tightly. He grinned, peering up at the puzzled boy. "Russell, climb down the string, over me, and climb onto the top of the building."

     Russell nodded hesitantly and began slowly inching his way down the string.

     Carl grinned. "You''re doing it, kiddo, keep it up!"

     The eight year old clambered onto the elderly man's back, and tumbled off his shoulders, scrambling and kicking his feet against the brick building to pull himself up.

     Concerned, Carl managed to swing his legs up a little - enough to push Russell on the roof.

     Russell yelped, taking a tumble onto the roof and landing on his stomach.

     "Good job!" Carl praised, smiling.  "Now, just pull us over to the roof."

     Nodding, Russell clutched the string tightly and began dragging his friends over the roof.

     Once Carl was at a safe point to land on the roof, he turned to Dug and Alpha. "Let go."

     Dug unleashed the string, watching as the balloon went sailing up into the clouds - going so high that soon it was no longer visible.

     "Hey, Mr. Fredrickson!" Russell shouted. "There's a door over here that goes downstairs! I think we can get down this way!"

     The senior clutched at his heart. "Thank goodness.." He felt nauseated peering over the side of the brick building. "I don't really feel like climbing down the building myself...." From behind him, he heard a loud "k-chick." Russell had opened the trap door and began leading them all inside.

     The staircase was wayward, it curled inward and - for some strange reason - took ten minutes to get down and into the news room. The group was met with a barrage of stares; some perplexed, some livid, and some that didn't really care.

     "Hey!" A news reporter barked, storming up to them. "The news room is confidential! Citizens of the city aren't allowed in here! What were you doing on our roof?!"

     Carl winced at the shout. "Well," he hesitated. "I guess you wouldn't believe me if I said we floated over by holding onto the strings of a balloon.

     The fact that they were angrily tossed through the doors and into the sidewalk seemed to say, "no, we don't believe you."

     "Owwww," Carl moaned, rubbing a sore back as he stood. "My back.."

     Concerned, Russell helped him to his feet. "Sorry I got us into this mess, Mr. Fredrickson," he mumbled unhappily.

     "No need to apologize," Carl assured with a smile. "If it wasn't for you, we'd never have found out about Kevin. It's a good thing we took a little...uh...'detour' through the sky. For now, let's just get back to the blimp."



     Once at the blimp. Carl started mapping out a plan of how he would get to space, and where he'd get a rocket ship. But it was easier said than done. ....How was he supposed to get a rocket ship? Where would he build one for that matter? He didn't even know how to operate one. ...Unless, he could somehow turn the blimp into a rocket ship. No, that wouldn't work. The blimp was a giant balloon! It couldn't leave the earth's atmosphere, it'd explode and send him tumbling to earth. ........Unless....

     He turned to the clock. "Russell, what time do you have to be home by?"

     "Well, Mom's out fer the night so I brought sleep stuff, so I guess I'm goin' home at about nine or so in the mornin'. Why?"

     "Because we're going to Paradise Falls."

     "What?!"

     "You heard me. Now, grab a steering wheel and help me get this thing to South America."

     Although confused as heck, Russell still obediently scurried forward and grabbed the left steering wheel. "You r'member how to get there?"

     "Not really.....and we sadly never did find your GPS. I'm sure we'll find the falls eventually though."

     "It's the place with the big waterfall. You can't miss it!"

     In the matter of a couple hours, after battling a wicked rain storm, and having to continuously get out to patch the blimp due to sharp bird beaks, they finally made it, and climbed down the ladder to the falls.

     Carl beamed with pride, and almost got teary as he spotted his old house sitting peacefully right beside Paradise Falls. "Well, there is is.." he whispered.

     Russell was hopelessly confused. "Your old house? We came back to look at your old house?"

     Carl shook his head. "Not quite. Wake up the dogs and get them to unwind the rope and come help us tie it around this thing."

     The eight year old's mouth gapped for a moment, but he quickly darted up the ladder and came back down with the dogs and some rope.

     Alpha yawned his typical squeaky yawn. "What is your command, Master?"

     Carl tossed an end of the rope over to him and Dug. "Grab this and follow me."

     Sleepy eyed and dazed, the dogs clenched the rope in their teeth and followed their friends over to the house.

     "What shall we do with the rope?" Alpha yawned again.

     "Circle the house and tie the rope around it," Carl instructed as he scrambled up onto the roof and tied an end tightly around the rooftop.

     Russell and the dogs began to slowly walk around the house a few times, waiting for the rope to tighten itself.

     Carl heard a crack come from the wood and knew it was tight enough. "That's enough," he said, holding up a hand to signal them to stop. He quickly climbed down the roof and scrambled up the ladder to the blimp.

    Russell still marveled in amazement. It was still beyond him how a 78 year old man was still so active. He made his way into the blimp with the dogs close behind. " I don't understand it," Russell panted as he followed Carl into the control room. "You don' expect to move an ENTIRE house with a big balloon, do you?"

     Carl furrowed a white brow. "Well, why not?" he asked, making it sound like something he did all the time.

     "That balloon can't hold the houses' weight!"

     Carl chuckled breezily as he began to raise the blimp. "You'd be surprised at how light this house is, my boy. Why do you think it was so easy to fly it over here with balloons in the first place?"

     "'Cause you had thousands and millions, but you don't have any now!"

     Carl ignored the little explorer, and began to slowly lift his house off the ground.

     Very gently, as if it was a little toy being picked up by a hand, it raised up into the air, not putting much weight on the blimp at all.

     Russell was astonished. "Wow, how much does your house weigh?"

     "Not a lot," Carl chuckled. He peered out of the window of the blimp and up into the sky. Don't worry, Ellie, I'm just borrowing it. I'll bring it back. I promise.

     At the same time, Russell was peering up into the sky, but he wasn't going as far a range as Carl was. Don't worry, Kevin, we'll save you!