Take me to Your Leader - 6. Take Me Chapter 6

Hugh and I ended up having dinner away from the university, just to have a break away from campus life, and it gave us a chance to get to know one another a lot better and by the end of the evening, I realised that we were becoming good friends. When we arrived back at the campus, I checked my backpack and had a look at the watch, which had several messages on it from Harold and Charles, who were wondering where I was, as they needed to speak to me urgently.

I decided to just stay quiet and go to bed, hoping that they wouldn’t notice that I had returned to my room, where I quickly changed and settled into bed, just as there was a knock on the door, which I ignored and tried to get to sleep, as the knocks continued for a few minutes before they finally gave up, and I was eventually able to go to sleep. The following morning, I was up extra early and after a quick shower and dressing, I headed out to the dining hall to have a quick breakfast, texting Hugh as I walked there but before I finished the text he was walking by my side.

“Good morning my friend, did you sleep ok?” he asked me as we headed towards the dining hall. “Eventually yes, once those two stopped knocking on my door,” I replied, as we saw the two in question approaching. “Don’t even think about trying to speak to Brett, you guys are in a lot of trouble for what you did to him. I suggest that you pack your things and leave the university immediately because, after breakfast, I will be filing a sexual harassment complaint against both of you for what you did to Brett,” Hugh said to the two former alien friends.

“Oh, we are so sorry, we will do as you request. Brett, where is your watch, how come you are not wearing it?” Charles asked me, “I took it off and put it in a drawer, why is that your concern?” I replied, “Because we have been trying to contact you, as we have a special message for you,” Harold responded, and it was at that point that I realised that I had not heard from them via telepathy.

“I am not interested in any messages from your uncle, so I suggest that you pack your stuff and get off campus. Oh, and those things that you let me borrow are now in a small box by your door. Goodbye,” I answered before walking off with Hugh remaining at my side, as we turned the corner and they were out of my sight. “So are you going to tell me what that was all about, I know there is something more about them guys than what we already know,” Hugh asked me, once we had collected some breakfast and sat down to eat.

“Not here, and not today, maybe when we are on this holiday up on the Hawkesbury River,” I replied, and we chatted about general stuff as we ate breakfast, and went for a walk afterwards. When the last day of 1^st semester finally arrived, with no sign of Harold or Charles for the last few days, I was looking forward to this river journey with Hugh, as I headed to the Student Centre to check for any mail before going away. And there was a bulky yellow envelope there with my name and room number on it.

Waiting until I was back in my room, I opened the envelope and found a folded note and the Amixorp watch, which I shoved into the desk drawer, as I didn’t want anything to spoil my holiday. “Dear Brett Hamilton, please find enclosed the Amixorp watch which I have been ordered to return to you so that the Chancellor can message you, as he wants to know your version of the story of why we were told to leave the University. Once again, we are both very sorry for what we did, we had no intention of distressing or harming you in any way. Regards Harold and Charles.”

I screwed up the note and dumped it into the bin, then took it out and put it in my backpack, so that I could dispose of the note properly later, as I checked that I had everything that I need for this trip, just as there was a knock on the door and Hugh called out, asking if I was ready. I opened the door to see Hugh standing there smiling, with a small suitcase in hand. “No backpack?” I enquired, and Hugh chuckled, “Nope, we have a slight change of plans, that will be much better than what we originally planned,” Hugh responded.

“Ok, so where are we heading then?” I asked, “Wait and see my friend and don’t worry it is all good and nothing dangerous,” Hugh replied, as I locked up my room and followed him out of the college and into the car park, where a dark sedan was waiting, and the front door open with a man in a suit stepping out and opening the back door, as well as the boot, which he loaded up our luggage in.

I climbed into the vehicle behind Hugh, now wondering what the hell was going on and soon the vehicle was setting off out of the university campus heading north to Moore Park on Darcy Ave, before entering the M1 also known as Southern Cross Drive, where we headed southwards. Fifteen minutes later, after passing through the tunnel under Sydney Airport and crossing over the Cook River, and a few other turns, the car pulled up at the Novotel Hotel which is a 4-start hotel on the western side of the airport. “We have an overnight stay here before we set off on our adventure, so just relax and enjoy the very nice luxury accommodation,” Hugh explained as we climbed out of the car, and I followed him into the hotel.

“Good Evening Mr Bartlett, so good to see you again, and this must be Mr Hamilton, welcome to the Novotel Hotel,” we were greeted at the reception desk, and I saw Hugh quickly sign a registration form, that looked like it was mostly already filled in, and we followed the porter who was carrying our luggage towards the lifts and we went up to the 6^th floor, two levels from the top. When we entered the room, I saw that there were two double beds, and they looked very comfortable, while Hugh thanked the porter and closed the door behind him as he exited.

“We have about an hour before we head down to the restaurant for dinner, would you like to use the bathroom first?” Hugh said to me, “No, you can go first, thanks,” I replied and after collecting a few things from his suitcase he headed into the bathroom, and I spent a few moments glancing out the window which had a wonderful view of the nearby golf course and parks. I turned to head to my luggage on the bench near the door, I spotted an open folder on the bed I would be sleeping on.

When I spotted the flight ticket, I didn’t hesitate to pull it out and saw my name on it, as I opened it shocked to see Business Class Flights, Sydney to Norfolk Island, leaving at 1000 hrs tomorrow morning, with a 2 ½ hour flight, arriving at 1330 hrs local time. Looking at the folder again, I saw an information sheet, that stated that we were staying in a two-bedroom cottage at Whispering Pines, in the centre of the island, just 1.5 kilometres from the airport, and just 750 metres from the centre of Kingston.

“Really? We are going to Norfolk Island?” I asked when Hugh exited the bathroom, “Yep, I was lucky enough to get a good portion of a refund from the canal boat, which is in big demand, and a friend of the family owns one of the accommodation places on the island, so I was able to get it sorted so we spend twelve days on an island,” Hugh replied smiling, “Wow, that is going to be awesome, how much do you want me to contribute to the costs?” I asked, “Nothing for the accommodation and car hire, and maybe we can share costs with the food and any extras, as we will be in a self-contained cottage,” Hugh replied.

After a very nice dinner in the hotel restaurant, we returned to our hotel where I could see that Hugh wanted more information about Harold and Charles, “Can we delay telling you about the others, until at least most of our holiday is completed, as what I tell you may put a dampener on it in a small way,” I asked Hugh who reluctantly agreed to not hassle me about it any more. The following morning after a bit of a sleep-in and a late breakfast, we checked out of the hotel, where the same driver collected us and drove us to the airport nearby.

“How can you afford all this expensive stuff? It must have cost a fortune for the hotel room, the meals and now the flights to Norfolk?” I asked, and Hugh chuckled at this, “I have wealthy parents and I am an only child, so I tend to get spoiled rotten by my parents and my grandparents, and I have a healthy monthly income from some investments, that were made when I was born, that also helps too,” Hugh replied.

“Well don’t expect to spoil me all the time, as I won’t have it. I am happy just as I am with what I got, and that is final. So I ask no more surprise trips without telling me well in advance beforehand, understood Mr?” I said strictly, “Yes sir, as you wish sir,” Hugh responded, and I just frowned, then smiled. “Oh man, you are a hard friend to please, most of my friends would lap up all the luxury that I provide,” Hugh said to me, “Tough cookies mate, that is what you get with me,” I said to him.

Once we had checked in, we headed to the Business Class lounge, where we relaxed for just under an hour before our flight was called for boarding, with the aircraft a 737-800, with only 12 business class seats in total and we took our comfy leather seats next to each other in Row 2 and I took the aisle seat, so Hugh can have the window seat and we were offered drinks right away, and we both chose fruit juice. After we had taken off, we were given a heated meal which was small but very tasty, and I spent the time watching a movie, which ended shortly before we began the descent into Norfolk Island.

Once we had picked up our hire car, we headed to our accommodation, where I was impressed with the cottage that we would be staying in, and we soon settled into our rooms, and had a good look around the cottage, before exploring the areas around it. Once we had done this we jumped into our hire vehicle and drove down to the village, to do some basic shopping for breakfast and snacks, having already decided that we would eat out for lunch and dinner on most days. We also checked out the Visitor Centre while in the village to find what tours would be available, and what we could explore on our own, and after we had returned to the cottage to store our food supplies, we headed out again to explore more of the island.

Over the next few days, I was able to relax and forget all about my university studies, and just explore this wonderful paradise with my good friend Hugh, where I was so glad to be able to experience this wonderful place, which I had heard about, due to the books that Mum loved to read by the former and late resident author of Norfolk Island – Colleen McCulloch, with one of her books – ‘Tim’ was made into a movie that featured the famous Australian / US actor – Mel Gibson and US actress Piper Laurie who featured in the Australian TV Mini-Series of Thorn Birds.

By the end of our fourth full day on the island, we were both well-tanned, and we had explored a majority of the island. We were returning to the cottage in the very late afternoon, after spending a few hours exploring the coastline and rocky beaches near Cockpit Falls, at Cascade Bay, and soon after exiting our hire vehicle, we both came to a stop when we noticed another vehicle parked near our cottage. “Expecting anyone?” I asked offhandedly to Hugh who shook his head no, as we walked towards the cottage, where a lone figure was seated on a chair near the front door of the cottage.

“Can we help you? Are you lost or something?” Hugh asked, as the young man stood and smiled at is, “Not lost, just looking for Brett here, as I have a message to pass on to him,” the young man responded, and I was now getting a strong feeling that he was from Amixorp, as Hugh looked at me with confusion. “Og Yawa, I ma no syadiloh,” I said in an angry tone. “Uoy evah neeb denommos ot Tethys,” the stranger replied. “Ok, what the hell is that language and what is going on here?” Hugh demanded.

“I will give you half an hour to get ready to go before I return,” he said to me in English before handing me my watch, which I had left back at the college, before driving off in the hire vehicle he had. I sat down hard on the verandah and stared out into the island countryside with all the tall pine trees surrounding us trying to think of how to explain. “Do you remember that day when some of the guys in the tutorial group were talking about aliens and space crafts that have been visiting Earth for thousands of years?” I asked Hugh, who sat down beside me.

“Yes, if I remember rightly, you wanted to remain neutral on the subject, so what does that have to do with our visitor just now?” Hugh responded. “Well, I’m able to confirm that there are indeed Aliens who have visited Earth on and off for many years, and for some reason, during their visits, I have been carefully watched from a distance, and when they approached me, actually they teleported me to their ship, I was asked to be an Earth representative of sorts,” I said to Hugh, who went ghost white in shock.

“We are descendants of their kind who first arrived thousands of years ago, and they have been keeping a close eye on things on Earth ever since then, and from time to time they chose someone to represent Earth at their Outer Domain Territory capital, which is on Tethys, a moon that orbits Saturn. They are known as Amixorpians, and their home planet is in the neighbouring solar system of Alpha Centauri B, which I have not yet seen, but I have been to Tethys a few times for training,” I explained to Hugh. “Is… is that who Harold and Charles are? Aliens?” Hugh asked me nervously and I smiled and nodded my head yes, as I placed the watch on my wrist.

“Ok, I have it on now,” I said in my mind. “Thank you Terb Sua. My name is Otrebor, I am sorry for this intrusion, but these orders come from the Grand Duke himself, and you do not want to disobey his orders,” came a response, “What happened to the other two?” I asked wondering what punishments Harold and Charles would have received for doing wrong. “Nothing too bad, they have been separated and reassigned to other duties, they say they are extremely sorry for what they did to you,” came the reply.

“I had no choice, I had to tell my friend Hugh about my involvement in Tethys, as he already guessed that Harold and Charles were not from this place. He had gone all ghost white when I started to explain, but his colour is returning to his face now,” I said to Otrebor who chuckled. “In a way, I don’t blame him for going all while when you told him that Aliens do exist,” I informed him. “Do you think that Hguh Sua can handle a trip to Tethys?” he asked me and I sighed wondering if this would be possible. “Excuse me, what the hell is going on? You seem to be zoned out, or something like that,” Hugh said to me, which brought me back to my current situation back at the cottage“.

“Oh, I am sorry. This watch I have on has several features, which include allowing me to speak telepathically to any Amixorpians nearby, and to receive messages from anyone on a spacecraft in our region,” I said to Hugh. “So, this is all real? You can do all this and we do have aliens that visit our planet regularly?” Hugh asked me. “Yes my friend, it is all true, and I have been asked if you would like to join me for a short trip up to Tethys,” I answered, “Will it hurt? Travelling like into space? Can I breathe normally/” Hugh asked with a worried tone, and I chuckled at these questions.

“You have nothing to worry about, it will be all over in a few seconds. So if you would like to come with me, pack a small back of clothes for a few days, and when we are ready, we will go,” I replied, and reluctantly at first, Hugh headed to his bedroom. I quickly packed a few items, and I was in the loungeroom waiting, where while doing so, I was speaking to Otrebor and he arranged for us to be teleported to the space cruiser as soon as I signalled which would be as soon as I knew Hugh was ready to go.

I was also quickly cleaning up the cottage a little bit, and locking up all the exterior doors and windows of the cottage, as we would be away for a few days at least. “Ok, I think I am all ready, but I am still feeling a little nervous about this teleporting thing, I am scared that I will be scattered into lots of little pieces in space never to return home to Earth,” Hugh said, “Ydaer… Won,” I said quickly, so Hugh had no chance to change his mind.