Jasper Wells- Awakening the Warrior Read online

  Guns drawn and in a team moving toward the opposition is the usual scenario of Call of Duty, or CoD for short. However, where the team can purchase armor and protect themselves to the teeth, Jasper remembered the team in his dream moving in a slower, more deliberate pace – and without all the armor. Without the loud, violent aggression, but with a clear mandate all the same: control and subdue.

  Jasper briefly remembered the yelling of an angry commander but recalled the train station with brighter LED lights. In a sudden bolt that dizzied him, he remembered not being on the aggressive attacking team, but being the one slowly moved in on! Just as this thought hit him, Dillion Weiss of similar height to Jasper snapped Jasper out of his daydream by yelling in his face, “Bro, you spacing! I would kick your ass in CoD,” shoving his finger into Jasper’s white polo school uniform shirt, “Are you a wuss?”

  Jasper snapped to attention and heard others promoting him as the best at CoD or at least as Donny, his friend since third grade would know chimed, “Jasper plays all the time, he’d kick your ass!”

  Without being aware of it, Jasper’s personal space was suddenly being invaded and without time to think he reacted by shoving Dillion back, “Step off.”

  “What!” exclaimed Dillion as his cool just got triggered, “I’ll mess you up!”

  “Oh no! Oh no! Oh no!” worried the bedraggled Donny, “There’s gonna be a fight!”

  In the playground of Rutherford B. Haynes “Classic” Middle School, pecking orders are established in an ever-flowing tide of ups and downs. Once your number got called, one cannot back down for fear of reprisals opening up oneself for potential bullying. Jasper knew better but in the heat of the moment found himself taking a step back and defending himself from the advancing threat.

  Thick and lumbering, Dillion Weiss was a latchkey kid who would find himself at home for hours to fend for himself. He’d taken to purchasing energy drinks in powdered form off the internet with his father’s credit card so that he could “stay alert” as he played online Call of Duty for hours in between cokes and home-delivered pizzas. He’d go to sleep around 3 am regularly.

  He began the aggression with a heavy step forward, followed by another with a big circling roundhouse that missed its mark. In a defensive move backward that came to Jasper from short-lived martial arts classes three summers before, Jasper ducked his shoulder and took a step back. With his adrenalin fully pumping now, drawing on the energy that a sugary peanut butter and jelly sandwich provided, Jasper realized he was in a fully-engaged battle in real-time with a real attacker!

  Dillion stood tall at about 5’6 and Jasper at 5’5’ and Dillion had a few more pounds on Jasper, but he wasn’t as swift afoot. He came at Jasper a second pass and this time, more aware, Jasper stepped back on his right foot, found his balance, jerked his head and shoulder back away from another roundhouse that left Dillion lunging forward. Then in one quick motion, Jasper cocked him close-fisted on the back of the head sending the bigger Mr. Weiss collapsing to the floor!

  Cheers and shrieks of delight went up among the crowd. Already clued into the sounds of a fight, assistant principal Mr. Griggs, had been making his way to the altercation. There, with his blood rushing through his body on a strange high, the usually uncoordinated Jasper stood victorious over his surprised foe. The satisfaction of victory would be very short-lived, as Donny was the first to clue the trouble heading their way, “Oh no! Oh no! Oh no!” he moaned.

  Mr. Griggs, standing a solid half a foot taller than the two combatants reached in with his large frame in between the two boys and with a muscle-bound hand grabbed Jasper by the arm and instructed Mr. Weiss to his feet shouting, “In my office, right now!”

  The Waiting is the Hardest Part

  “Oh crap,” Donny muttered under his breath as Jasper and Dillion were waiting for their fathers to come and retrieve each of them from Mr. Griggs office.

  “Donny, watch your language or you’re going to be on suspension too,” darted back school secretary Mrs. Robertson from her desk in the administration office, “What class are you supposed to be going to? Heaven help your teacher if its study hall!”

  The news at school traveled fast. The fact that a fight broke out at lunch put the news on an even faster than usual track. Donny sank in his seat, waiting for his turn with Mr. Griggs to tell his eyewitness account. Donny seemed to be the group reporter, always streaming pranks and goings-on with his smartphone. It wouldn’t be smart to stream anything right now though as Mrs. Robertson watched him like an eagle, which made Donny very uncomfortable in his seat. He knew that Mr. Davy wouldn’t be pleased as his friend was going through lots of “discussions” about his falling grades and homework practices with the oversight of Mr. Davy.

  Mr. Davy, or “Dad,” had been taking Jasper to school since preschool and with Jasper facing his thirteenth birthday soon, he and Mrs. Davy worried that their sweet, lovable child would turn into a full-fledged teenager replete with facial hair, deepening voice, and a host of entitlements that young kids seemed to have more and more in the technology age. He kept a loving eye out on his son and had the annoying knack of offering up wisdom when Jasper wasn’t looking for any.

  The sound of echoing footsteps could be heard throughout the two-story building that also housed history, math and sciences classes as Mr. Davy approached. Electric chair? Waterboarding? Spanking? Loss of his computer for the rest of the year? No more cell phones? The list of punishments was cycling through Donny’s mind as Mr. Davy walked into the administration office. Mr. Davy saw Donny and gave a disapproving glare.

  “I’m Jasper Davy’s dad,” announced Humphry Davy to Mrs. Robertson.

  Mrs. Robertson got up with a rigid motion as she approached the reception desk and pulled up the visitor log. “Sign here, and I’ll let Mr. Griggs know you’re here.” A moment later she invited Mr. Davy into Mr. Griggs office.

  “Regrettable, Mr. Davy, that’s what it is,” opened up Mr. Griggs to Humphry, “But boys will be boys.”

  Mr. Griggs is that counselor that you don’t want to mess around with. Though he’s often jovial and has a big laugh, he was also a star lineman at California University back in the day. Now he strolls around campus exerting fear into many a mischievous middle-schooler. Just the presence of Mr. Griggs lets you know to be on your best behavior.

  “Jasper is a good kid and he admitted that fighting wasn’t the best approach to resolving their differences. At least he knows that it was wrong,” he opened up to Mr. Davy. “Too many times I’ll get a kid in here that won’t accept responsibility. Those are the ones I’ve got to worry about.”

  “All the same, he’ll have a day’s suspension since this is his first offense and cause he’s getting good grades,” Mr. Griggs continued, “Is anything unusual happening at home?”

  Mr. Davy thought about this question for a few seconds. Though he was relieved that no one was hurt in the fight, his mind wandered to what exactly happened, “Nothing out of the ordinary, though he’s been lagging in the morning when I get him up. What exactly happened in the fight?”

  “According to the boys and Donny, who witnessed it all, they were fighting over their ‘territory.’ They say it happened because ‘everyone does it,’ ” continued Mr. Griggs. “I’ve seen it before, they got all kinds of hormones running through them at this age. It’s really a pecking order thing. But nobody got hurt and they need to come back on Monday with a new perspective.”

  After a little more information Mr. Davy and Mr. Griggs’ talk turned to other things. Mr. Griggs liked talking about his time playing football, in which he could always relate everything to. “You know, when I was playing football, guys would push and shove just to show their toughness. But sometimes they come out of it as better friends,” he reflected, “I’m sure your son will be fine.”

  Mr. Davy appreciated the vote of confidence and asked that the two boys be brought into the office again when they’re back the next week so that they could apologize and leave no hard feelings unresolved. Mr. Griggs agreed and the two men broke up the conference.

  From outside the office, it seemed like an eternity that Mr. Griggs and Jasper’s dad were talking. Donny had been sent back to class after waiting out the rest of lunchtime in the office and giving his account.

  What could they be talking about wondered Jasper as a ball of worry knotted up in his stomach? How much detention would be doled out? Would he have to write a paper? Would he have to pick up trash at school on the weekend? Maybe make a public announcement? What did dad think?

  Dad appeared out of Mr. Griggs office and escorted Jasper to the car. Not a word was spoken. A few turns away from school, Mr. Davy asked Jasper, “So you want to tell me what that was all about?”

  “It was dumb, I know,” offered Jasper, “But kids at that school do dumb things. It’s what you gotta do to fit in.”

  “I don’t care about other kids Jasper, I care about you,” replied Mr. Davy, “You could’ve hurt that kid and then you’d be in real trouble.”

  Jasper was already feeling pretty low. What his dad said next surprised him. “Well, I understand why you did it and that sometimes you need to stand up for yourself,” reckoned Mr. Davy. “I’m ok that you did it. But don’t let it happen again. Next time you might not be so lucky.”

  Jasper hadn’t checked his phone since the incident. It was lit up with texts from Donny and others. Most were well-wishers and glad that Jasper had taken down Dillion, “Dude, somebody needed to teach that fool a lesson!!” read one text.

  “Was your dad pissed?” texted Donny.

  Jasper shot out a few replies but wasn’t that aglow in the aftermath of the incident that got him suspended and in trouble. That night, Jasper fell asleep a little bit prouder, but also, f
eeling a little bit lonely. It was nice to have Buggy Fuggerton to warm the bed.

  Suspension of Belief

  Jasper spent Friday at home from suspension and was going to miss an important world history test. His grandparents were going to have to stay at home with him as a condition of his punishment. Basically, Mr. and Mrs. Davy didn’t want Jasper to play video games all day. This was supposed to be a punishment.

  Grandpa was a kind old man with a generally cheery disposition. He had white hair and a coordinated white mustache. He looked a little bit like Gepetto the puppet maker from the Adventures of Pinocchio. If there was anything he didn’t like, he didn’t let on much around Jasper, aside from “bad drivers” on the road, to which he’d proclaim, “Geez, look at that guy, gonna get somebody killed!”

  Grandma was a loving one who wore reading glasses to read. Though they weren’t prescription glasses, you’d usually find them perched on the tip of her nose as she shuffled around the house cause she’d forgotten that she had them on. She’d put on fleece-lined slippers at Jasper’s house and didn’t like that Buggy Fuggerton would sit patiently drooling at her feet if they ever ate a meal in the house. They’d gotten into the routine of picking up Jasper from school on Wednesdays and would treat him to a meal out of the house most of the time, partly to avoid the begging of Buggy.

  Jasper loved his grandparents and looked forward to their time together though you’d be hard-pressed to get that out of him. They pretty much spoiled him. When they heard of his suspension, they worried that he was ok and that dad wouldn’t be too hard on him.

  Their job today was to check in on Jasper and make sure that he got his homework done. Also, since Dad was out a client’s, to monitor Jasper’s computer time. Of course, they’d check in on him once they got there and then gave the “coast is clear.” Then they headed for the TV. Jasper’s house got on-demand satellite, so Grandpa and Grandma pretty much-watched courtroom dramas all day. Grandma liked watching any Tom Selleck shows. If none were on, they’d watch NCIS or Law & Order. Mr. and Mrs. Davy laughed about the time when Jasper was around 8-years old and he told them that he already knew what rape was because Grandma and Grandpa watched Law & Order all the time.

  Jasper knew that Grandpa would nod off soon and Grandma would get lost in a magazine. He hung out in his room and after a while, sat in his bed with his laptop. After watching YouTube videos for a while, Jasper soon got tired and nodded off to sleep himself.

  In what seemed like a dream, all of a sudden an orb of blue shining light about the size of a volleyball appeared in the middle of his room. The ball bounced around to get Jasper’s attention. It was somewhat transparent and foggy with the shine of a blue jewel. It was a clean, deep blue crystal-like color. It radiated towards Jasper and the next thing he knew, he was inside the orb – levitating in his room! In a flash, it was gone with Jasper in it.

  Next Man Up

  As quickly as he left his bedroom, Jasper felt a funny wave that seemed to disassemble his body and at the same time, reassemble it. This occurred in a strange but vaguely familiar room that looked like a bright white operating room.

  “Hey! There he is, man of the hour!” pronounced a fit, middle-aged man with a slight bit of grey hair showing through his short, cropped curly hair. A familiar face to Jasper, seeing him caught him in an unusual space of dream vs. reality. This made Jasper’s brain hurt just a little bit.

  “Sorry about the transportation method, Wells, this training is of the essence as we’ve just gotten the green-light for a very important follow up to your last intel. Didn’t mean to startle you. We’ll explain the blue orb in your briefing. You’re going to be debriefed and put though some final checklists,” instructed U.S. Naval Space Command Lt. Colonel Horton, “I’ll circle around with you then.”

  Jasper knew to follow his assigned ensign to his quarters where he’d change into the familiar black & grey digi-camo jumpsuit that he’d worn so often. Down a few sterile white hallways to the living quarters, Jasper followed the armed escort. He got to a familiar room flanked with two bunks that could fold back up into the walls. The lower bunk was drawn down and a couple of items there reminded Jasper that this was his bunk.

  Jasper entered the room and sat on the lower bunk. The guard closed the door behind him. As he reached for his camo jumpsuit, he noticed a photo of him and his family on the wall. Magnets held the photo and items in place. Also, there was a lanyard with his security name badge and a photo of him wearing a dark grey t-shirt with some distorted crest logo on it. What was visible was a triangular UFO shooting off the top. The badge read, Jasper Wells, I.R.I.T, Mars Defense Force, U.S. Naval Space Command. In the big logo, the letters MDF were formed in a shield and written underneath, Mars Defense Forces with triangular UFOs flying around Mars.

  Next to his folded up camo jumpsuit were black sweats. Next to that was a thick notebook with the word Sepulchre written on it by Jasper. A glass tablet was next to that. Jasper knew to put on his jumpsuit and take the notebook and tablet with him where he was going next. With a look back at the photo of him and his family, he also smiled at another photo of him and his deceased grandfather as he held him in his arms one time he opened a birthday present he gave him from when he was seven: a drone quadcopter.

  Jasper stepped outside his room and the guard nodded and began escorting Jasper to his next destination, a briefing room in quadrant C4. As they passed the newer looking gym area Jasper thought about how much fun he’d had with his grandfather as they’d play with that drone.

  His mom’s dad and he had a special bond and “Garage Papa,” as he called him, was keen on making Jasper “a man.” Garage Papa had attended the Naval Academy and played football with Joe Starbuck. His team won the National Championship and he said that he was in the same class as John McCain. He’d joke that he nearly got thrown out of the academy with McCain because they were at the bottom of the class and pulled many pranks on other classmates. Garage Papa was proud of his Navy time and wore his class ring with pride. He talked about having to go through the “vomit commit” testing of flying around in circles at 4Gs and throwing up.

  A smile was on Jasper’s face as they reached the debriefing room. It was a tight room in a different part of the Lunar Operation Command (LOC) facility. The room smelled of a slightly stale chemical odor. Sorta like the smell of dry ice. You could feel the air on your tongue as it had a different weight to it than that of Earth. It was all an artificial environment of canned air.

  The room itself had dirty orange, low-cut carpet tiles on the floor. An ancient steel table from the ‘60s or ‘70s was in the middle. Jasper sat down on a cold aluminum chair with a black fake leather cushion on it. The chair was stamped Emeco. They were used all around the LOC.

  On the opposite side of the moon, there’re many bases that are shared by the developed countries of Earth. It’s a select club and membership is gained by being able to contribute to the intergalactic trade. For those who aren’t active in manufacturing, a commons area and a small percentage of the revenue is shared for a country’s silence. You don’t often see plain-clothed folks there as everyone is in some type of jumpsuit denoting their divisions and ranks.

  In a mathematical impossibility, the moon faces Earth in an impossible orbit that’s exactly far enough to create the gentle tides on the planet. It’s also never too close or veers off course to create any major calamity on Earth from its magnetic pull of the Earth’s ocean waters. As the moon circles around the Earth, it always stays facing the Earth, which the people in the LOC joke about when they say goodbye to each other, “I’ll see you on the dark side.”

  As for other parts of the moon, it is said to be an ancient ship that was put into position by the Progenitors or “Architects.” The satellite used to be stationed around the ancient planet Maldek as a moon. Maldek was inhabited by beings that were warring people that fought and blew up their planet with nuclear weapons. The remains of their planet turned into the asteroid belt.