THE BARKER BOYS AND THE GREAT STONE OF GWONDALA

by C J Williams

Chapter Eleven ~ "So Long and thanks for all the Berries"

Tommy and Jason didn’t leave the valley right away. They spent some time catching up on sleep and preparing for their journey home. It turned out that their dinosaur friends didn’t live in the cave at all. In fact, they lived in a village the dinosaurs had built so they could stay together and fight the Myrites. Unfortunately, when the Myrites took over, the dinosaurs had to abandon it. Now with no sign of the Myrites since the uprising, the dinosaurs decided to move back to their village and stick together just in case the Myrites ever reappeared again.. After helping their friends settle back into the village the boys set off on their way home.

It took almost a day to travel to the other side of the valley, but Tommy and Jason were not alone. The dinosaurs had kept their promise right to the end. Kypou, Bonta, Typhoo, Peko, and even Harpi had come to see their friends off.

“This is as far as we can go,” said Kypou.

“That’s okay,” said Tommy. “Thanks for bringing us this far.”

From what Tommy could remember, the dinosaurs had brought them to more or less the right spot. Up the valley wall and along the river should take to boys right to the closet door.

Bonta gave them each a warm hug.

“Take good care of yourselves,” she said touching Tommy’s cheek. The branding mark was gone now.

Typhoo smiled his shy smile and Peko jumped on Tommy giving him a big hug.

“Thanks for saving me Peko,” said Tommy. “You’re really brave.”

Peko giggled and jumped down.

Amazingly enough even Harpi stepped forward and held his hand out to Jason. Jason grasped his hand and they shook.

“No hard feelings?” said Harpi.

Jason smiled. “No hard feelings,” he replied.

Harpi looked at Tommy then back to Jason.

“You know your not bad... for humans.” They all laughed.

“What will you do now?” Tommy asked the dinosaurs.

“Rebuild our lives, I guess,” said Kypou. “It will be strange without the Great Stone or the Myrites. We’ve spent our whole lives fighting them, but I’m sure we’ll survive.”

Tommy found this last comment hard to take. He already knew their fate. He balanced the pack full of berries on his back and they said their final good-byes. Then, Tommy and Jason began their journey up and out of the valley. Near the top, the boys turned to wave one final time but their friends were already gone.

Jason continued on ahead but Tommy remained, staring down into the quiet valley. Jason came back and joined him.

“What do you think will happen to them without the Great Stone?” he asked Tommy.

“Maybe start acting like normal dinosaurs, I guess,” said Tommy. “Unless scientists have been wrong along.”

It was really uncertain what would happen. The only thing Tommy did know was that when he finally got home to his time, his dinosaur friends would be gone forever.

The boys turned around and disappeared into the jungle.

They traveled for a day and night pushing through into clearing after clearing, and this was just one more. Tommy looked around.

“This is it!” he exclaimed.

Jason didn’t recognize a thing.

“Are you sure?” he said

“Of course I’m sure,” said Tommy. “There’s the log I hid behind.” He pointed to a fallen tree.

He walked further into the clearing and saw a large group of thick plant stems and droopy leaves. Excitement welled up inside him.

“This is it!” he said again. “This is really it!” He pushed the stems apart and peered inside. It was very dark. Jason pushed his head in beside Tommy’s.

“I don’t see a door,” he said. “It’s the wrong clearing. Let’s keep looking.”

Then a thought occurred to Tommy.

“Hey,” he said. “I closed the door behind us. That’s way we can’t see it.” He stepped into the darkness. “Come on. Let’s take a closer look.”

“I don’t know,” said Jason with uncertainly. “There could be anything lurking in there. With our luck we could be walking right into the mouth of a Saber Tooth Tiger.”

Tommy gave his brother a funny look.

“This is the wrong time in history for Saber Tooth Tigers,” he said.

Jason sighed. “You know what I mean Tommy. What if,” he said. “What if the closet isn’t there anymore. What do we do then?”

Tommy didn’t answer. He took off his backpack and found his flashlight.

“That’s something we’ll have to deal with when we have to, but we won’t know unless we look,” he said.

Jason threw his hands in the air.

“Alright. Alright,” he said giving up. “If it’ll make you happy.” Jason joined Tommy in the darkness.

Tommy turned on his flashlight and shone it around them. Walking cautiously on into the dark, the light caught something up ahead. As they got closer, the boys could see something large and brown looming in front of them. Tommy used the flashlight to inspect the object. Jason was behind him ready to flee at the slightest hint of danger. The beam of light bounced off something small and shiny. They went in for a closer look and found that the object could only be one thing... a door handle!

Happiness and relief bubbled up inside Tommy. He punched his brother in the arm.

“See I told you this was the right place,” he said with delight. “We’re home!”

Tommy reached out for the door handle and was about to turn it when Jason clamped a hand on his. Tommy looked up through the glow of the flashlight at Jason’s face.

“What if your room isn’t on the other side?” said Jason the eternal skeptic.

“What are you talking about?” replied Tommy. “Of course it’s there.”

Jason stared at the door.

“What if the closet just keeps opening up into different worlds?” he said quietly not taking his eyes off the door. “We would never get home.”

Tommy thought about this for a moment. It was an option that had never occurred to him before. Knowing that home was on the other side was the only thing that had kept him going all this time. What if Jason said was right? What then? Neither of them spoke. Jason dropped his hand away from the door knob. Tommy slowly turned the handle and the door swung open.

Bright light flooded into the darkness, engulfing them and the faint glow from the flashlight. Tommy squinted, trying to see what was there and was completely shocked by what he saw. It was his bedroom!

“Look!” he shouted.

Jason lowered his hand and couldn’t believe his eyes. They were home at last!

The boys walked dumbfounded into Tommy’s room. All thoughts of never getting home left their heads.

There was a noise out in the hall. Jason quickly slammed the closet door shut. Seconds later the bedroom door opened and in walked their mother carrying a pile of clean laundry.

The boys stampeded her. Knocking the clothes from her arms.

“Mom!” They shouted as they hugged her.

“We’re so glad to see you!” cried Tommy.

Mrs. Barker had a rather surprised look on her face.

“But you saw me only this morning,” she told them. The boys exchanged looks.

Mrs. Barker looked at her filthy and ripe smelling sons.

“I’ve been looking for you two. Where have you been to get so dirty?” she scolded.

Neither boy answered right away. Then Tommy looked at his closet and then at his mother.

“We were cleaning out my closet,” he said laughing. His mother shook her head then picked up the clothes and placed them on the bed.

“Well, it’s dinnertime in a few hours,” she said. “And I don’t want either of you showing up until you are completely clean. Understand?”

“Yes mom,” said Tommy and Jason.

Mrs. Barker shook her head again and left the room.

Tommy closed the door behind her.

“How can that be?” said Jason after his mother was gone. “We’ve been away for days. How come it’s only been hours here?”

Tommy shook his head.

“I don't know,” he said. “I can’t explain it. Maybe it’s got something to do with the time hole or something.”

“Well, I guess it doesn’t matter now. We’re home,” said Jason. He looked down at his dirty clothes. “Right now I’m going to take a long soak in a hot bath.” He gave his little brother a shot in the arm. “See you later squirt.” Then Jason and his battered and bruised body left.

`When he was alone, Tommy went and sat on his bed. After a couple of minutes he took off his tattered backpack and emptied it out. He picked up his stained Dinosaur Encyclopedia and opened it.

The pages were filled with the faces of extinct dinosaurs. This unique experience had given him a new found respect of the ancient creatures. Were they stupid reptiles or intelligent beings? Capable of making the same mistakes as humans. Tommy had a pretty good idea but no one would ever believe him. He knew he would never look at these pictures the same way again. Closing the book, he laid it on his bed next to his camera. He hadn’t even gotten any photos. Well, perhaps that was for the best. Ten year old Tommy Barker walked out of his room, very glad to be home.