The Secret of Caldwell

So, there I was, playing football in the middle of the school field with my friend Chance, who, by the way, wasn't so good at catching the ball.

We've been friends since the first day our moms enrolled us both into pre-school, so it wasn't really a big deal that he couldn't catch every shot I threw at him.

"Could you try to throw the ball where I can catch it?" Chance shouted angrily.

Yeah, like that was ever going to happen, I thought to myself.

We really didn't have much to do. It was a small town, and our school had been shut down for the entire month of January due to the unidentified earthquakes the town of Caldwell, Idaho, had been experiencing.

However, I never witnessed or felt any earthquakes here in Caldwell. I thought maybe it was just an urban legend to scare us kids from misbehaving, but then again, it was probably some government testing thing going on.

"Hey, Thomas!" Yelled my mom, who had just pulled up in a red minivan near the gate of the school.

"Yeah, Mom?"

"I'm heading over to the Supermarket to pick some supplies up. There's been news of another earthquake that just happened a few miles from The Jamison’s farm."

"Isn't Mr. and Mrs. Jamison on vacation in Florida?” I said, confusedly.

"Yes, thank god. Otherwise, they would not have made it out alive."

"Which is why I want you to head back home early, just in case another earthquake happens." My Mom stated with a firm voice.

"And Chance, you should go home too, I bet your parents are really worried about these earthquakes and your safety."

What? No. I thought.

There was no way in all of Caldwell that I was going to go home and spend my hours watching TV. I had to think of something to make my mom change her mind.

"Uh...I mean...," My mind went into override as I tried to find the right words to say.

"We have one more game left to see who wins...the football. Right Chance?"

Chance stared at me in confusion. "Uh-hmm," he nodded.

"Can't we just finish, please? I promise it will be quick." I said, putting on a pleading face.

"Fine then, finish the game, and then you both go home where it is safe."

"Okay, Mom!"

"Okay, Mrs. Rogues," Chance said while waving as she drove off.

"Thomas, that wasn't cool. Maybe your Mom is right, we should probably go home."

"Trust me, these earthquakes are probably just stories."

Or maybe they weren't. I don't know, maybe my Mom and Chance were right.

"Hey, you know what, maybe we should leave and come back tomorrow."

"Sounds good to me!" Chance said in a relieved tone.

Suddenly, I heard a growling noise. I began to feel this weird shaking in the ground. At first, I thought maybe it was just an aftershock from what had happened at the Jamison's place.

But for some reason, this earthquake didn't feel like any regular earthquake you hear about.

It felt like somebody was ripping the ground from the planet earth, as if the small town of Caldwell was being pulled out into space.

Then it happened. The ground started shaking more rapidly, and the floor abruptly cracked open, as the small town of Caldwell was being pulled out into the stratosphere.

"Chance!" I yelled, "What's happening?"

"I don't know!"

"I think we're leaving Earth," Chance stuttered as he stared blankly at the shocking scene.

Was this for real? Was the City of Caldwell being ripped from the very center of the earth? Was this how the end felt?

"RUN!" I shouted.

"Thomas, run where? The floor is cracking open, and we're being suck up into space by who knows what. So please tell me where we can go?" Chance said, breathing fast.

"FOLLOW ME!" I yelled to overshadow the loud cracking sound.

I broke the school window as we both climbed inside. Was this really happening? I knew that these strange earthquakes were too good to be true. The government must have captured aliens, and now they’re attacking us.

"What's happening is the town is literally leaving Earth?"

"What are we going to do?"

"Give me your phone," I said.

"Why, where is yours?"

"I left it at home, I felt I didn't need it."

"Great choice," Chance said sarcastically. "Here!"

I started to dial my Mom’s number as fast as I could to find out if she was okay. After all, I should have listened and headed back home when she warned me.

"I can't get through, there's no signal."

"What are we going to do?"

Suddenly, the noise stopped.

"Are we dead?" Chance whispered.

"What? If we were dead, you wouldn't be talking." I said.

"I think the earthquake stopped."

However, what came next was worse than an earthquake. I open the school door...Chance's eyes opened wide as his mouth fell open.

"Thomas, where are we?"

I didn't know myself. Technically, we were still on Earth’s ground, i.e., the School's playground. But we weren't on Earth any longer; we were in space, but on another planet.