With a little bit of Luck

Read End of the world as I know it first.

My name is Huck, yeah just like in the book by Mark Twain. Twenty years ago my Dad was convicted of bank robbery and sent to prison. I never knew him but my mom did for a short time she says. He was a charming, handsome guy with a swagger and a smile that could make gals swoon. A real devil with a drug habit. Well I don’t know much about that. I’ve never met him because he’s been in the Federal Prison Estill in South Carolina, Or Estill. Huckleberry Finn’s father was a criminal too. My father has tried to contact me but since my mom left me to be raised by grandma I really don’t know that much about him or care too. I’m 22 years old, love my grandparents, have a descent job at the Apple Store. Just graduated from Stanford in computer science, next stop is silicon valley with my ticket already punched.

I went for a interview that my girl friend arranged for me.

You graduated the top of your class and refused being the validictorian.

Yeah, I don’t like all the attention, gives me indigestion, got a weak stomach.

According to your C.V. and that’s why we want you to work for us, you have a minor in special and general relativity physics.

Tell me who doesn’t like time and space?It’s like a Hot Dog without the pickle.

We are special scientific agency and have government contracts and we’d really love to put your mind to work on time and space.

I’ll think about it and I’ll give you a call in few days.

I’d taken a leave from the job for a little diversion to the wine country with my girlfriend Futura who has a degree in geoarcheology. We traveled to the Napa-Sonoma area in my FJ sampling wines along the way. A little past 3 we decided to check in to our motel and shower up for dinner at one of the local restaurants,

Lucky, that’s my name. I didn’t name myself. 20 years in the joint and I’d like to see my kids, especially Huck. Alicia might be a little more difficult to approach. Her father is a congressman and Sammi doesn’t want to shake things up for him, and he still doesn’t know I’m Alicia’s father .

They did well and the scandal wouldn’t be good, practically everybody forgot about it. Maybe a few of those people who worked at Starbucks, but they have their own problems and all they knew was that I was on drugs and nothing about the baby girl. Lucky. I’m catching the flight back to California with a few stop overs. Huck I’m coming boy, I hope you’re doing well.

The grilled salmon was great along the side dishes and Pinot Noir. I can’t wait to have the leftovers later on. It was a long day and after some exercise and TV we went to sleep. Futura had a full day planned of hiking in the rugged area of the valley. There was a area she wanted to self survey along with me along, she said it would interest me. According to the maps it was off access but she had obtained special permission to investigate for scientific reasons. A very special government permit from the highest authority. Having the FJ there wouldn’t be a problem getting to the restricted area.

That “Lucky” Jerk got himself thrown in federal prison for bank robbery and left me Huck to raise. I had a career in entertainment. Making good money. My parents raised him right, better than I could do. 20 years later and he wans to meet his son, they won’t have a thing in common but there should be some closure for them both. Good thing I became a paralegal and got my law degree. He’s so handsome, that “Lucky”, maybe he’ll ask me out for a coffee?

After 20 years I don’t know what the hell I’m going to do, “Lucky” is coming out to California. Well, Sammi, you are going to have to make the best of it and try to keep him away from Alicia who doesn’t know about him at all. I wonder if his cousin could help me with this charade. Alexa play the “Tony Bennett playlist”. I hope he stays in San Francisco.

Futura said this was a heavily restricted site. Plenty of unusual rock art and previous investigations had uncovered strange lights and sounds. A few government archeologist’s had gone missing with no trace. We entered the site through a locked gate with many warning placards.The signs said enter at your imminant death. I followed her designated track on the GPS as far as I could. It stopped working and she said we have to get on foot that the interference stopped the GPS. She and grabbed our packs and she pulled out a Ruger P85 which I had never seen before and asked me if I wanted a weapon. Choking on my response I said yes. Handed me a Glock 17 and she gave me a second clip with a harness. She said this place could be dangerous and we needed to be prepared for trouble. You can handle it Huck. Don’t be a pussy. She motioned to a path that was marked near a hill of rocks. I have to photo document to see if has changed since the last time I was out here a few weeks ago. You will start to feel strange the nearer we get to that rock formation up ahead. I looked at it and it was shaped like a arch. The closer we got to the arch the temperature changed. A pulsing electrical hum got louder and louder.

Lucky’s plane landed at SFO the same day Huck went into the restricted area with Futura.

With information he received from Rachel about Huck’s getaway he tracked them to the motel room. Rachel just knew where he and his girlfriend were to stay at but nothing about the hiking trip.

48 hours had passed. Futura’s passed her checkin time, the response team was alerted. Futura was working for SUPI, secret unexplained phenomenom investigation. Lucky had been hanging out near the motel at the diner and saw the government vehicles show up. He went into Motel office as the Government agents started asking questions. Investigating the investigator gone missing and his son. He kept quiet listening while looking at brochures when Rachel had showed up and asked the front desk about her son and his friend. They said they were paid up for two weeks. Rachel and Lucky got a room together down the street where they could see Huck’s motel. Lucky had watched the black uniforms come and go and he decided to follow them. He got into his own rental and followed to the dirt road toward the hill but the guard was posted. He turned around and got some gear at the outfitters, some hiking boots, shirts, cargo pants and a Kbar. Later on that night Rachel passed the checkpoint with him in the car and dropped him off so could go in on foot toward the restricted area. Armed with a scanner he picked up their radio communication. They were being cautious and they seemed not wanting to go near the arch area for some reason. Lucky was able to hide from a vantage point to observe the arch by binoculars.

Huck and Futura approached the Arch which seemed to be made out of a composite organic material that glowed and changed pitch as they got closer. They could see images in the arch change color like a stained glass window moving and shimmering but they held back at Futura’s request. We are here to observe only. They waited. Futura said it was a Portal and just to watch, until they got closer and observed their own images in the portal. I have a device to enter and come back through the portal, she said. It’s a parallel world, some have said Carlos Casteneda may have entered it. Without the device it would be risky, however it can be done. Futura said to stay close as we got near to the Arch. It started to spark like a tesla coil, in a burst of energy they shot through hand in hand like Scotty’s transporter.

It had been 72 hours since they went missing and I had found the portal through my binoculars and kept out of sight from the government agents. I dared not going near it. It seemed agitated like someone had poked a bees nest. The Agency men would not go near it neither and there were only 4 of them. Two on watch, the others resting for the other watch. As I watched just before the sunset there was a brilliant flash and burst of lighted energy stream out from it, knocking out the company men with the violent burst. Out walked a man and woman with back packs. The man looked liked me when I young. The woman was strong and athletically built. Both laughing about how they made it out without getting killed. The agents were vaporized from the energy surge from the portal. I was lucky enough to hide behind a few huge boulders and was protected from being hurt. Following both of them silently back to the FJ. I shouted out to the both of them as they reached the cruiser, “Huck I’m your father, Lucky,”

What? No.

The both of us turned white.