Adventure to Destiny: The Unity Objective Series

by Sandra Golden

  “J.R., that’s sure a cool watch.”

  “Thanks, I made one for my grandma for Christmas.”

  “You made two watches?”

  “Sure did,” J.R said proudly and extended his left arm so Elijah could get a better look.

  “What does this gage here measure?”

  “It measures people’s energy; it says here you are 50 %”

  “50% of what?”

  “50% of our energy. Look when I point it at Granddad it says he is 100%, so is Helaina, and me. You are at 50%.”

  Elijah looked over at William, instinctively knowing what his eyes were asking; William nodded yes to his silent question. J.R had opened a drawer and discovered some random parts, an old radio from the Jenny, plus fuses and wires.

  “Elijah do you need these things?”

  “Not right now, but you never know, they are just some spare parts.”

  “Can I have them? Do you have more?”

  “No you can't. Besides what do you want with those?”

  “To put them together to make things. Do you have a welding torch?”

  That’s when William interrupted; knowing that if he didn’t this could go on for hours.

  “J.R. we don’t need you setting our new yacht on fire with a welding torch. Elijah might need those parts for repairs if anything breaks down. Why don’t you and Helaina go and try out the pool. I bet Sophia and your grandmother have a snack waiting for you.”

  “Okay, come on Helaina. By the way your rat just went pee on your hair.”

  “No she didn’t, and she is a Sugar Glider for the thousandth time.”

  As the two teens went out the door, Elijah relaxed.

  “Thank you my friend for rescuing me, that boy can be persistent, can’t he?”

  William laughed, “You don’t know the half of it.”

  “Does that watch of his, really do what I think it does? And he made it himself?”

  “Yes it does, and yes he did. That boy is always making things; our best people hadn’t figured out how he did that. He has a talent. Better keep the control room locked or he will take everything apart to see how it works, then put it back together.”

  Elijah laughed, “Yes sir, I will do that.”

  “I’m serious that boy took apart my Model T last summer and when he helped me put it back together he had the thing going 90 miles an hour. The fastest one on record never went above 50.” William told him. William was remembering how J.R put modification in the engine that Ford himself would have never thought of.

  “I will remember that!” Elijah laughed.

  William then went and joined his family near the pool. At dinner that evening Helaina must have asked a thousand questions. But it was her last question the shook up her grandparents.

  “Grandma, where did our family come from?”

  After a few seconds of trying to think of a plausible answer, Jennifer decided to take the offensive.

  “Why do you want to know?”

  “Well Elijah is from England, Sophia is from Spain, and I have a friend whose family came from Germany. So where does our family come from?”

  “Well Granddad was born on Hope Island and I was born in California.”

  “Ok, thanks.”

  “You are very welcome.”

  Later on that night as William and Jennifer lay in bed, reading, William took a break to compliment his wife, “You did a great job tonight in answering Helaina’s question.”

  “Thank you, my love.”

  “I’m sure glad she didn’t want more information.”

  “She’s young; usually kids just want simple answers.”

  “You are very wise.”

  “Well isn’t that the reason you love me? You know that the questions will become harder, and very soon, J.R and Helaina are special.”

  “That my dear is what I am worried about,” William told her.

  All through the night, as the family slept, the luxury yacht moved effortlessly through the Pacific water, toward their destination. Elijah, taking William’s words seriously brought one of the vessels comfortable lounge chairs to the control room. He slept with one eye open, and an ear to the door. Waking up every 2 hours to make sure they remained on course. The Unity One was completely capable of piloting herself but Elijah had a hard time trusting all the modern equipment.

  William was up at 5 a.m. the next morning, he had always been an early riser, always being the first one at the corporate offices. First he went to the galley and made coffee, then taking two hot steamy mugs, along with some donuts, he made his way up to the pilot house. Elijah was already at work checking the instruments and making notes in the log book.

  “Good morning William, did you sleep well?”

  “Like a baby in her mother’s arms.”

  William put the tray down, he handed Elijah a cup of coffee.

  “Thanks I was just thinking about going below deck and fixing some. Those donuts look good.”

  “Is everything running properly?”

  “Right as rain, and right on course. Later I will radio the station and give them our ETA. We should be there around 4 tomorrow morning,” Elijah told William before taking a sip of the steaming cup of coffee.

  Elijah looked out the viewing window and saw that Helaina was sitting at a little pool side table writing. “William looks like you aren’t the only one who likes to get up early. Looks like Helaina beat you this morning.”

  “Think I will go fix her some hot chocolate then join her, you need anything?”

  “No sir, I am just fine, talk to you later.”

  William went back down stairs and fixed another tray with donuts, hot chocolate, and another cup of coffee for himself then went out to join Helaina.

  “Good morning sweetie, you’re up early.”

  “I couldn’t sleep I’m too excited, besides I had another Dream Story and wanted to write it down.”

  “Did your dad talk to you about your Dream Story Diaries?”

  “He said that they are special, because I wrote them and that I should let him keep them safe, so the wrong people can’t read them. Who are the wrong people?”

  “People who wouldn’t understand what you were writing about and would get really angry about some of the concepts you talk about in those stories.”

  “I don’t want that; besides I don’t think anyone would get upset about my dreams. Maybe one day I can publish them in a book. Can I have the Diary I gave you the other day? I wasn’t finished with that one.”

  “Your dad didn’t give it back to you?”

  “No.” Helaina reached for the steaming cup on the tray, “Thanks for the chocolate.”

  Helaina took the cup off the tray and took a few sips, then a few bites of a donut. “It’s nine o’clock in Maryland, let’s call your dad; I have a question to ask him.”

  “Can I talk to him; I want to make sure they give Iggie, my iguana, her calcium.”

  “Sure you can, let me get him on the phone first. Should be easy, he likes getting up early like we do.”

  The phone rang only 3 times before David Unity picked up. “Dad, how’s the trip going? Is my girl driving you crazy with all her questions?”

  “We are having a wonderful time, its smooth sailing here. I was wondering, did you take Helaina’s pink diary off my desk and take it home with you?”

  “No! But I talked to her about keeping them safe for her, and when I went to the den to retrieve it before I left I couldn’t find it. Thought you put it in the library safe, or had given it back to her.”

  William walked away so Helaina couldn’t hear what he was to say next. “We have a problem; I don’t have it and neither does Helaina. We have to find that book. Call the house and have them search it, then call me. She wrote dates and names in those books that were right on the money, they can’t get in the wrong hands.”

  “I agree, is Helaina with you now? I know she doesn’t sleep late, even on a holiday. Can I speak with her?”

&
nbsp; “You're right about that, she’s right here.”

  William walked over and handed Helaina the phone. “Princess, your dad wants to talk to you.”

  Helaina put down her pen and took the phone from her granddad. “Hi Dad, the Unity One is great, and last night I beat J.R at Dragon War’s, he got frustrated because I beat him six times in a roll. How’s everyone?” Without taking a breath Helaina continued with her questions. “Can you remind Cassie to give Iggie her calcium? Did you get my cell phone fixed? Peanut loves the . . .”

  “Goodness girl! Can you take a breath so I can answer your questions,” her father laughed. “First great job in beating J.R., tonight play your grandma, she beat me twice while we were on the island. Everyone’s fine, Cassie is taking good care of Iggie, and your phone couldn’t be fixed, your mom will get you a new one, next time try not to drop it in the pool, Okay.”

  “Okay dad.”

  “Now can I ask you some questions?”

  “Sure, but I usually have more than you do.”

  “That you do baby. Now, can you tell me how many of those little pink books you have?

  “Well mom ordered them from your secretary, they are the usual note books that the employees are given to keeps notes in, you know the one’s with the company logo on front. I wanted some pink ones to write in, so mom had your secretary ordered me some. She even got the printers to put Dream Diary on the front, and my name in gold, isn’t that cool.”

  “Yes that is, and it was nice of Sandy to do that for you. I will ask your mom how many she ordered. Can you tell me about how many you wrote your stories in?”

  “I didn’t count them. They are on my book shelf in my bedroom closet, all but 4 of them. Those are the ones I brought with me. Did I do something wrong?”

  “No Princess, you didn’t, we just want to keep them safe like I told you. I am going to take the ones you have at home and put them in a safe place. Is that Okay with you?”

  “Sure.”

  Bored with that subject she asked her dad some more questions, before saying good-bye and handing the phone back to William. They spoke for a few minutes more, both men were greatly concerned about the missing book. The world wasn’t ready to hear the truth yet.

  At breakfast, it was decided that they would stop for a few hours so that the kids could go scuba diving with William and Elijah. It had been about six months since the kids had gotten certified and they needed the practice. Elijah anchored the Unity One, as Mason prepared for the dive. Mason would stay on board the luxury yacht with Jennifer and Sophia, who had planned to make cookies and work on a little needle work project. But first they would take the smaller cabin cruiser for a little ride to shore. They wanted to have some fun also and do a little shopping. Mason would monitor everyone by radio, and keep a watch out for any dangers with the underwater radar system.

  After opening the bay doors Jennifer and Sophia were off, they headed for the docks of a little town. The two men and the two teen-agers dressed in wet suits, checked their equipment, then dropped into the crystal clear waters, diving down about 20 yards before leveling off.

  J.R. and Helaina swam in front, as the two men followed behind them. J.R. was the first to see the old ship wreck and pointed it out to everyone.

  “Let’s go explore the wreckage, we might find gold.”

  They headed down slowly, letting their bodies adjust to the pressure. Finally they were on the deck of the old ship, and having a great time exploring. J.R picked up little things off the deck that interested him and place them in his dive bag. The two men explored the wreckage, taking notes as to where it was found and noting any identifying words, or symbols that might identify the origins of the vessel, later they planned to send a salvage crew to retrieve her. Helaina had slipped away from the group and was swimming through a passage way, chasing after a school of fish. As Helaina slipped out of sight Mason called down to Elijah to tell them about a few sharks that appeared on the radar screen back on the Unity One.

  Elijah felt it was his responsibility to keep any of the family or crew safe from harm while on sea, so he quickly informed William of the danger. J.R was within sight and heard them through his ear piece. Helaina didn’t, the thick metal of the ship blocked any communication from the others. Before they could go after Helaina the sharks were upon them, circling just above their heads. The three of them took cover in the wheel house, thankfully it was fully enclosed and the windows were too small for the sharks to enter, so it provided a safe haven. Elijah took out his underwater flare gun, before shooting he informed Mason he was going to try to distract the animals and send them off in a new direction. He fired, the flare flew through the water but the sharks weren’t interested in following it. They were more interested in what was causing the noise instead, so they stayed where they were watching the three guys, who looked like yummy Sea Lions in their dark wet suits.

  “J.R try to contact your cousin on the radio, she went into that passage way and I am afraid that she was distracted by something and isn't paying attention to what's happening. Tell her to stay where she is until the sharks move on, I'm positive that they can't fit through that passage, and she will be safe where she's at.”

  “Roger that.”

  J.R tried to contact Helaina, first by radio, then by Mind Speak, but the rusty metal of the dead ship prevented her from hearing him. Meanwhile the men checked their gauges; they were good, they figured they had about 45 minutes more before their air tanks were empty. When that was done, they radioed Mason to tell them the situation. They decided not to fire their last flare until it was absolutely necessary. J.R was worried about Helaina, when something caught her attention she would forget everything else to go investigate.

  Helaina was having a great time collecting some treasures of her own when suddenly she heard a voice on her radio, but it was unclear. She tried to call the three men, but got nothing. She decided that it would be best to go find them. She emerged from the passage way, swam about 20 feet towards the entrance in which she had entered, then she tried to adjust the radio station. When this didn’t work she swam back out to the deck of the wreckage.

  Finally, she heard J.R in her head. “Helaina go back to the passage way.”

  But it was too late one of the sharks was now blocking the entrance, she couldn’t go back in. Elijah and William motioned for her not to move, not to panic. Finally, she was able to get her radio to work. She saw that two sharks had trapped the men in the wheel house, and another was headed in her direction.

  “Granddad they aren’t going to hurt you.”

  “Helaina, darling, please don’t move.”

  “But it’s alright; they are just curious. Watch!”

  Helaina than did something that almost gave William and Elijah a heart attack. She held out her arms, extending them away from her body, with palms up. She stayed as still as possible. She didn't appear to be afraid; in fact, she looked relaxed and had a smile on her face.

  “Girl what are you doing?”

  “Be quiet please, you are going to scare them.”

  “Hell! Girl they are scaring us!” William yelled at his granddaughter.

  “Just give me a minute, watch me, be very quiet and still.”

  Elijah and William were pulling their knives from their sheaths and were about to go rescue Helaina. Before they could swim to her they froze at the sight before them. The two sharks had approached Helaina, one on either side, they nuzzled her open palms, she wiggled her fingers rubbing their soft skin, as she looked straight ahead, not making eye contact with the sea creatures. Slowly she brought her arms together in front of her, with the sharks following the movement. They were now directly in front of her, not attacking, not moving, just watching her. She then rotated her hands slowly, palms down, and fingers extended, she stroked between their eyes, and they seemed to enjoy it. Helaina smiled at them, making eye contact with each of them. Then they turned around and swam away, taking their two friends with them. Helaina swam to
her Grandfather once they were gone, all three of her companions were astonished in what they had just witnessed.

  “I told you they didn’t want to hurt you.”

  William, the first to regain his voice, was the first to speak. “What did you just do?”

  “I showed them that we were harmless. I told them that they were scaring you and that they should go.”

  “You spoke to them? You can’t do that!” J.R said

  “Yes I can, I can talk to them with my mind.”

  “You weren’t scared?”

  “Of course not, I would have known if they wanted to hurt me.”

  “And how would you know that?”

  “I don’t know. I just do.”

  Elijah informed Mason they were fine, and the group of explorers headed back to the Unity One. As they swam William asked himself, “What other abilities do these children have? Are there others of their generation capable of doing amazing things?” All he knew was that he would have to watch them carefully in the future. He also knew he had to speak to their parents about this new development.

  Noticing that the little cabin cruiser had returned, Helaina quickly removed her wet suit and returned it to the storage locker. Then she ran off to find her grandmother to show her the treasures she had found. When J.R had finished putting up his equipment he asked Mason to show him his work shop, and the inside of the little submersible. William cautioned him not to take things apart then went to the pilot house with Elijah to prepare to get the yacht moving again. He also needed to get on the computer to have a video conference with David and Charlie to discuss what he had witnessed. He wasn't surprised that Helaina could communicate with creatures, that trait was common, he was just surprised that one so young could do it, and with such threatening creatures.

  That evening at the dinner table everyone talked of their adventures. Jennifer and Sophia had done some shopping while in town and bought something for everyone. Helaina got a new dress and a swim suit. They found J.R a ham radio kit to put together, hopefully distracting him enough that he wouldn’t take apart any of the new equipment that was aboard the Unity One. William got a new hat and the newest Dan Brown novel which he wanted to read. They even brought Mason and Elijah something.