Lars could see no sign of flames and realized that they were coming up to the tank.
“Hey! You’re passing them!” Lars yelled. “Slow down!”
“Not again!” Munson let go of the steering wheel and slapped at the imaginary flames on his clothes. “Get it off! Get it off me! Don’t let me burn!”
“Watch where you’re going!” screamed Lars, pointing ahead to a steep gully.
The warning came too late. And Munson was too caught up with his hallucinations to care.
The jeep flew off the edge of the gully and soared thirty yards through the air before landing in the bottom of a dry riverbed. The wheels hit slightly sideways and caught in the soft sand, causing the jeep to roll multiple times before coming to rest.
Both Munson and Lars were thrown free, but now lay unconscious.
Surrounded by smoke, Mike crawled up and out of the tank’s top hatch. He was just extending a helpful hand back down to the person following him when a stern voice called out.
“Freeze!”
Mike did as he was told and held perfectly still.
“You on the tank! Don’t make any fast moves. Just slowly turn around.”
Once again, Mike complied. As he turned around, a relieved smile spread across his face. “Smitty? Is that you?”
Pop and Smitty stood ten yards away, looking both bewildered and shocked.
“Mike?” they exclaimed in unison.
“Yeah! It’s me,” Mike assured them.
“What are you doing up there?” Pop asked.
“Pop! Smitty! Have I got a surprise for you!”
“Son, I think we’ve all had enough surprises for one day,” Pop told him.
Mike reached back down into the hatch opening. “Yeah, but I know you’re gonna like this one!”
Commander Schaeffer rose out of the tank and waved a hello with his good arm. “Hiya, Pop! Smitty!”
Pop and Smitty’s jaws dropped open.
“What in the blue blazes!” Smitty mumbled, not sure if he was hallucinating again.
Pop just shook his head and grinned. “God sure works in mysterious ways.”
Chapter 18
LATER THAT AFTERNOON, a twin-blade Chinook helicopter slowly circled the Last Chance Gas and Diner. The pilot was looking for a safe place to land among the hundreds of people who had gathered and were expectantly waiting. Good news travels fast—and such was the case in what some were already calling “the Explorer miracle.”
Military personnel had roped off an area for the helicopter to land, but once the wheels finally set down, the crowd ignored the barriers and surged forward.
As the door of the helicopter opened, a cheer went up from the crowd. Mike, Winnie, Ben, and Spence were the first ones to step off. Though some in the crowd wondered who they were, word was quickly spreading how four kid detectives had solved the case of a lifetime.
When Commander Schaeffer appeared in the door, followed by his crew, the roar from the crowd was almost deafening.
Commander Schaeffer held up a hand to shield his eyes as he attempted to look past the throng of yelling reporters and flashing cameras.
“Ron!” Rebekah Schaeffer yelled from the back of the crowd. With Chloe in one arm and Rachel in tow, Rebekah desperately tried to find a way to get to him through all the onlookers.
Ignoring the reporters’ questions, Commander Schaeffer pushed his way through the crowd, ran up to his family, and embraced them in a giant bear hug.
It was a joyous, magical moment. Every person there couldn’t help but smile—even the usually stoic reporters.
Winnie and Spence took questions from the media and posed for photos with the crew of the Explorer.
Ben excitedly explained to Smitty how a cosmic clown had almost stopped him from saving the day.
As for Mike, he stood off by himself, unable to take his eyes off the Schaeffer family.
He watched as Commander Schaeffer wiped the tears from his wife’s eyes and assured her that everything was okay. Rachel hung onto his leg like she would never let go again. Little Chloe squealed, “Daddyyyy!”
It was exactly the kind of reunion Mike had dreamt of experiencing for over seven years. Only in his version, Mike and his mom rushed to his dad’s side.
Pop walked up beside Mike and placed an arm around his shoulder. “What a day, eh, Mike?”
Mike quickly wiped a tear from his eye and looked up at Pop with a brave but weak smile. “Yeah.”
The Schaeffer girls giggled as their father smothered them in kisses.
“You think that might be us one day?” Mike asked.
Pop considered the question for a moment, then finally nodded his head. “I do.”
“Trust God and walk one step at a time, right, Pop?”
“That’s right, Mike. One step at a time.”
About the Author
ROBERT VERNON got his start in the entertainment industry while working for television legends Johnny Carson and Dick Clark. He was a founding member of Focus on the Family’s film department, where he wrote, produced, and directed many of the Adventures in Odyssey video episodes.
Robert is the creator of The Last Chance Detectives. He produced the video series, wrote the screenplays, and directed Legend of the Desert Bigfoot. He also wrote and directed the Last Chance Detectives audio series, Last Flight of the Dragon Lady.
Robert lives with his wife, Kristen, in Santa Clarita, California. They have three sons, one grandson, and a dog named Chance.
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