The Long Way Home Read online

  LINEAGE The Long Way Home

  LINEAGE, Volume 1

  Phoenix Hays

  Published by Phoenix Hays, 2019.

  This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.

  LINEAGE THE LONG WAY HOME

  First edition. March 28, 2019.

  Copyright © 2019 Phoenix Hays.

  ISBN: 978-1733778008

  Written by Phoenix Hays.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Dedication

  CHAPTER 1

  CHAPTER 2

  CHAPTER 3

  CHAPTER 4

  CHAPTER 5

  CHAPTER 6

  CHAPTER 7

  CHAPTER 8

  CHAPTER 9

  CHAPTER 10

  CHAPTER 11

  CHAPTER 12

  CHAPTER 13

  CHAPTER 14

  CHAPTER 15

  CHAPTER 16

  CHAPTER 17

  CHAPTER 18

  CHAPTER 19

  CHAPTER 20

  CHAPTER 21

  CHAPTER 22

  CHAPTER 23

  CHAPTER 24

  CHAPTER 25

  CHAPTER 26

  CHAPTER 27

  CHAPTER 28

  CHAPTER 29

  CHAPTER 30

  CHAPTER 31

  CHAPTER 32

  CHAPTER 33

  CHAPTER 34

  CHAPTER 35

  CHAPTER 36

  CHAPTER 37

  CHAPTER 38

  CHAPTER 39

  CHAPTER 40

  CHAPTER 41

  CHAPTER 42

  CHAPTER 43

  CHAPTER 44

  CHAPTER 45

  CHAPTER 46

  CHAPTER 47

  CHAPTER 48

  CHAPTER 49

  CHAPTER 50

  CHAPTER 51

  CHAPTER 52

  CHAPTER 53

  CHAPTER 54

  CHAPTER 55

  CHAPTER 56

  CHAPTER 57

  CHAPTER 58

  CHAPTER 59

  CHAPTER 60

  CHAPTER 61

  CHAPTER 62

  CHAPTER 63

  CHAPTER 64

  CHAPTER 65

  CHAPTER 66

  CHAPTER 67

  CHAPTER 68

  CHAPTER 69

  CHAPTER 70

  CHAPTER 71

  CHAPTER 72

  CHAPTER 73

  CHAPTER 74

  CHAPTER 75

  CHAPTER 76

  CHAPTER 77

  CHAPTER 78

  CHAPTER 79

  CHAPTER 80

  CHAPTER 81

  CHAPTER 82

  CHAPTER 83

  CHAPTER 84

  About the Author

  To my wife and kids. May you never stop

  working to make yours dreams reality.

  CHAPTER 1

  Joseph Bayham left the dirt trail in the woods and stepped out onto the sandy bank of a lake in southwest Ohio. Joe was a wiry kid, and although he was thin, he was not weak by any stretch of the imagination, and his frame advertised the amount of time spent running along trails, riding his bike or throwing the football with his dad. His favorite shirt, a blue tee with a Tyrannosaurus Rex on it, hung loosely on his body and covered the top of his green camouflage shorts. Formerly colorful shoes were now mostly brown from their time enduring Joe’s level of activity. He leaned his fishing pole against a large rock and turned to see his dad, Victor, leave the trail.

  The man strode forward. His dirty blue jeans reached for the ground, fraying at the edges of his pant legs. Muscles lining his arms stretched his t-shirt sleeves. Victor was carrying another fishing pole and a tackle box. Setting the box down, he adjusted his red ball cap in the sunlight, opened the box, handed Joe a lure and chose one for himself.

  “This place is beautiful,” said Ayrin as she joined them on the bank. “It’s so different from home.”

  She was the only other person within a half mile of these two, and this was her first trip to the lake. In spite of her being a few inches taller than Joe, most people would assume that she and Joe were twins. Dark brown hair rested on her shoulders. Her modest jeans and shirt were similar to Joe’s clothing. Ayrin looked around trying to take in the experience. She gazed at the calm, blue sky and closed her eyes in the breeze that picked up.

  Joe cast his line out and sat down. Victor found a spot 20 feet away and did the same. Not much talking occurred when they went fishing, but the boy felt closer to his dad after every trip. They began the wait to see if the fish were biting.

  Time dragged on. Shadows from the trees behind them reached out toward the trio. The heat of a summer afternoon lingered in the air. Joe wiped at the sweat forming at the edge of his short brown hair.

  Water lapped at the shore. Joe looked out past the half-visible bobber floating in front of him. Small waves rolled through the lake as a brief breeze picked up. The trees on the opposite side of the lake looked like toy versions of the ones giving him shade. Birds, scattered throughout the woods on all sides, took turns singing their songs.

  It was peaceful as the hours rolled by; however, the waiting grew old.

  Joe looked over to his dad. “Can we go back to camp?”

  Victor chuckled. “Be patient,” he whispered.

  Joe sighed.

  “I’d stay here forever,” Ayrin said. “Don’t take everything for granted.”

  Joe looked over to see his dad lean back against the rock behind him, shifting his hat down over his eyes. He could hear his dad’s voice in his head.

  These camping trips at the lake are for spending time together as a family and to relax.

  “It’s too hot to nap,” Joe whispered under his breath. He looked back out to the lake.

  A heron swooped low in front of them. It landed on a log sticking out of the water in an inlet to their right. A fish fought against the heron’s strong beak, hoping to avoid the pending doom. But it was to no avail. The great heron threw its head back and swallowed the fish whole.

  “Show-off,” Joe muttered.

  Ayrin looked at the bobbers floating in the water. “Look at that,” she whispered and pointed to Joe’s line.

  Joe turned his head back out to the water. The orange and white plastic ball dipped slightly, sending concentric circles out in all directions. Nothing to get excited about — it might have just been the wind.

  Overhead, cotton ball clouds drifted lazily across the blue canvass of sky. Joe welcomed another gentle breeze as it embraced him and cut into the heat of the afternoon.

  The bobber dipped again. This time, it disappeared for half a second. Joe reached his hand for the rod sitting next to him and looked back toward Victor. “Dad,” he whispered.

  Victor lifted his hat and watched Joe’s bobber. “Wait a second,” he whispered back.

  Joe’s hand stopped just short of his fishing pole. The bobber dropped out of sight again. A flash of movement, and Joe had the pole. Ayrin blinked. She almost thought the fishing pole had jumped into his hand. The boy set the hook with a quick tug. The fish ran. The fight was on!

  “You can do it, Joe,” Ayrin cheered with a smile.

  Victor smiled as he watched the struggle with the fish begin.

  Joe could hear his dad’s voice in his head again.

  Fishing teaches us patience. Respect for nature. An understanding that getting what you want takes effort. And being thankful for these experiences.

  Right then, Joe just wanted to catch this fish.

  The boy pulled the pole back, raising it. As he lowered the rod, he wound the reel. This shortened the amount of line in the
water. He repeated the pattern. Pull back. Reel in. Pull back. Reel in. The distance between Joe and the fish decreased bit by bit. Pull back. Reel in. Joe’s arms burned as the fish fought, wanting nothing to do with being out of the water. Pull back. Reel in.

  Joe began to feel the fight in the fish dissipating. It was starting to tire, but so were his arms. He got his first view of what was on his line. A medium-sized bass appeared just under the surface. Joe reeled again and lifted the fish out of the water. Its tail flipped randomly, hoping to throw itself free. He carefully grabbed it by the body and reached up with his other hand to remove the hook. He held it up for all to see.

  “That’s awesome, Joe!” Ayrin exclaimed.

  Victor nodded. “Congrats, son.”

  The boy beamed with pride. He looked at the fish another second and gently set it back into the water. The three watched it swim away.

  ***

  The last day of camping always culminated with the family gathering around the campfire. This trip was no different. Just before dusk, folding chairs popped up next to the fire ring in anticipation. Joe and Ayrin watched Victor prepare the fire. Pulling a magnesium block from his pocket, he knelt down next to the ring. Victor filed a small pile of shavings onto a piece of paper and then turned the block around revealing the flint rod embedded into the other side. He struck it a couple of times and the sparks rained down. One caught the magnesium, resulting in an orange flash that grew into a consistent flame that consumed the paper and spread to the kindling below.

  Within minutes, the fire was pushing back the early evening chill and Mary, Joe’s mother, started cooking popcorn over it. She pulled back the sleeves on her hoodie and rolled her dirty blonde hair into a bun.

  Joe told her the story of his long battle with the fish. Everyone listened intently. Voices and laughter carried out into the night as Ayrin, standing just behind Joe, looked up at the sky. The transition from blue to black was now complete. Stars pockmarked her whole field of view. A faint haze stretched across the sky, creating the band she recognized as the Milky Way. She pondered all the objects she could see and wondered about the things she could not.

  Ayrin looked over at Joe. He blinked slowly. It was getting late.

  “Why don’t you head in for bed?” Mary said.

  Joe nodded and said “good night” and headed to the tent. Ayrin followed him. From inside the tent, they could see the glow from the fire dwindle. In response, the parents started to head to bed. Mary unzipped and opened the door while Joe and Ayrin pretended to be asleep. She closed the door behind her and laid down. They watched Victor’s silhouette stand up and walk toward the tent. He entered and zipped up the door behind him. He laid down and was soon asleep. Nothing new. Joe was usually the last to close his eyes. Before he did, he listened to the sounds from outside. A symphony of crickets and tree frogs had replaced the earlier sounds of people in the campground. The animals serenaded the family to sleep. Joe’s eyelids grew heavier. His last thought before slumber was one of contentment that the family trip was finishing up with everyone being better for it. A smile crossed Joe’s face as he fell asleep.

  CHAPTER 2

  Joe rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and blinked in the bright morning light. He bounced off the air mattress and left his tent to head for the playground. Ayrin, already outside, followed him. Anything was better than sitting around the campsite and doing nothing.

  If it were up to him, Joe would spend every day at the campgrounds. With today being the last day of camping, Joe had to make the most of it. He was a kid who loved throwing a football, passing a baseball or kicking a soccer ball around; whatever the sport of the day happened to be. Ayrin thought it was funny watching Joe as he ran across the grassy common area between the campsites with the other kids. They would throw touchdown passes or hand off the ball and try to tackle each other in the grass.

  What Joe never looked forward to was packing up camp and the inevitable drive home.

  “Joseph!” Mary called out. “Come back! We need your help!”

  “Bummer,” Ayrin said.

  “I hate this part,” Joe grumbled, scratching his leg where the grass had made it itch.

  Joe and Ayrin jogged back to camp where Victor and Mary were already packing the van. Ayrin blinked and they were already loaded up and headed home. Joe quietly stared out the window of the vehicle as monotonous, nondescript state routes cut through seemingly endless fields stretching on to nowhere. The only things interrupting his view of nothing interesting were small towns or villages and random, even less notable, rows of corn. He sighed and rested the side of his head on his hand.

  After a little over an hour of travel, the Bayhams’ car turned onto their road. A couple hundred feet later, Victor pulled the family’s van into the driveway. Joe looked up at the familiar, Midwestern ranch house he called home.

  Back to reality.

  Or so Joe thought.

  CHAPTER 3

  Later that evening, Joe was done unpacking and sat on the floor in his room drawing. Images of the lake, people fishing from a boat, and kids splashing around at the beach filled up the paper. He stopped when he heard his mother and father talking at the front of the house. He couldn’t make out much, but he heard the last thing his mom said.

  “This can’t be real.”

  Unsure of what was going on, Joe got up and walked down the hallway, stopping at the edge of the living room. Ayrin stopped at the end of the hallway behind Joe.

  The living room was bathed in the glow from the TV hanging on the wall. Mary was sitting on the couch. Her eyes were wide and her hand covered her mouth. Victor stood just off to her side, his pale face held a hollow look of disbelief as he stared straight ahead.

  Joe and Ayrin turned in unison to face the TV. A female news anchor spoke, midway through her monologue.

  “— and as we’ve been reporting this evening, breaking news is in on a developing story of astronomical proportions. A group of large asteroids are headed toward our Solar System.”

  Joe blinked twice. The crawl running at the bottom of the screen showed him he wasn’t hearing things: Cataclysm? Rogue asteroids headed our way?

  The boy stepped closer, almost side by side, to his dad. He mustered the courage to ask the only question that came to mind. “What does this mean, Dad?”

  “It’s bad, buddy. The world just changed in every way imaginable.”

  Joe’s surprise quickly melted into fear.

  Ayrin looked at the screen. Her words were suppressed by the weight of the air in the room. She sat down in a nearby chair, leaning forward slightly. Her eyes were wide and unblinking.

  “Again, if you’re just joining us,” the anchor said. “The staff here at the Carol Wilcox Show has multiple sources confirming the reports that a group of large asteroids is headed in the general direction of our neighborhood in space. For more on this unbelievable situation, we welcome the founder and CEO of Space Vision, Mr. Duke Evensen.”

  The contrast between the anchor and her guest was striking. Sitting across the news desk was a hulking man who looked like he would fit in on a professional football team. Duke’s dark suit fit perfectly and a bright blue shirt and tie underneath matched the handkerchief tucked into his jacket pocket. His hair was cropped short and a trimmed goatee anchored his mouth.

  “Mr. Evensen, thank you for joining us. What can you tell us about this situation?”

  “Hi, Carol, thanks for having me. These objects are slightly larger than the biggest object in the asteroid belt located between Mars and Jupiter. As we are tracking them, it remains to be seen whether or not this... Oppenheimer String will take a path that will affect our Solar System.”

  “And that would mean what, exactly?”

  “Well, a clean miss is the most likely outcome because there’s so much room out there. However, our projections have shown there are other possibilities. First, you have to understand how our Solar System works. Can someone pull up the graphic I provided?”<
br />
  Duke’s image was replaced as a black screen appeared and a bright yellow star shone in the center. Planets appeared in familiar orbits while dots trailed behind them, making their paths around the Sun clear.

  The CEO continued: “We’ve all been taught since elementary school that the Sun and its eight planets make up the Solar System, but there’s more to it than that. The gravitational influence of objects this large could unleash dangers hidden in the Oort Cloud.”

  “The-?”

  “Oort Cloud,” Duke said. “It is a collection of comets and asteroids orbiting the Sun just beyond Pluto’s orbit. Think of it as a collection of every bit of matter left over from the creation of our Solar System.”

  The image panned to the left, showing just the outermost planets’ orbits. A large collection of dots appeared in the shape of a band, creating a ring that followed the outer edges of the Solar System. Each asteroid passed through the Oort Cloud and sent rocks of various sizes scattering. A few were pulled toward the asteroids and thrown from their orbits. Others crashed into each other and were destroyed. Many were headed toward the direction of the Sun.

  “Objects, like the Oppenheimer String, passing through this area have a chance to send a cascade of comets and smaller asteroids toward the Sun. This would basically change all of the inner planets into targets in a cosmic shooting gallery. Then the String could interact with Uranus or Neptune.”

  Several asteroids flew toward two planets traveling through the same area. One asteroid collided with the lighter blue planet of Uranus and another hit the darker blue planet of Neptune.

  “In this scenario, we’ll probably stay unscathed as well. It is unlikely that the asteroids will send any objects directly toward Earth that would threaten us. Our astronomers feel this would be more of a chance to gain scientific knowledge than anything else.”

  Carol nodded. “OK. So what other possibilities do your models predict?”

  “A large part of the reason we have the ability to exist is due to the fact that we have a planet like Jupiter in our Solar System,” Duke said. “If the Oppenheimer String passes through closer to the Sun, it would have the chance to affect the inner planets based on the side of the Sun they are on. But if they cross paths with Jupiter, the gas giant could provide some much-needed protection as it has so many times in the past. We saw a smaller version of this when parts of a comet hit Jupiter back in 1994. If we are lucky enough that Jupiter intercepts these asteroids, we’ll get out of this with little or no negatives.”