Chereads / A Journey through the center of the earth. / Chapter 2 - A Friend’s Parcel

Chapter 2 - A Friend’s Parcel

He entered the room. It was dark. At front, someone was looking back to the wall. The only light was appearing at the front wall as someone was playing with the light of the table lamp. It seemed that the person is in deep mode of thoughts. His heart was beating. The person sat in front might be one of his bitter enemies. He might be another creature, he might be human being. He was feeling fear. He held the device fastened on his hand with a firm grip and prepared himself mentally for any sort of circumstance to be occurred. He dared to ask with some hesitation

'Grand Pa! Is that you?'

A voice roared

'Ben! My son!'

He said 'Grand Pa! What are you doing here in the dark?' He switched on the lights. Max Tennyson turned down towards his grandson, Ben Tennyson.

'Ben! I have an important business with you.' Grand pa said.

'Grand Pa! You are not looking good. What's the matter?'

He sat down on the chair.

'Ben! Have you ever heard about Axel Lidenbrock?' the old man asked.

'Axel Lidenbrock! You mean Professor Axel, your old pal who lives in England.' Ben was trying to remind the person whom he had met only twice or thrice in his life time. Max handed him a parcel and asked him to open. It was a book; a very old book seemed to be many centuries old.

'Axel sent me this parcel. It is not merely a book. Ben! It's a treasure for us.'

He sighed. Ben looked at the book and kept turning down its pages with eagerness.

'It is in old language Grand pa!' Ben was trying his best to read the language written on the book.

'Yes Ben, It is in runic language. Very few people know how to read it.' Grand pa explained

'Gwen must be among one of them. But Grand pa…! Why Professor Axel sent it to us?' Ben asked astonishingly.

'Ben, Axel Lidenbrock is not an ordinary person. He had a very strange event in his life. A really very special journey…' Grand pa was looking too anxious while taking about the particular journey.

'A journey? Was he a traveler Grand pa?' he asked.

'No Ben, It was not a common journey. It was journey to the center of the earth.' Grand Pa Max calmly sat on his arm chair and it his cigar.

'What! To the center of the earth?' He jumped in a shock.

The old man pointed him to stay calm and sit comfortably. Then he started explaining

'Ben! Look at the book. It is written by Arne Saknussem, A famous Icelandic scientist of sixteenth century who went to the center of the earth very first time. He was followed by Axel and his uncle, the great Professor Lidenbrock. But I am sure that there is something more mysterious and adventurous as told in the both stories. There must be a lot much to explore. I guess there is existence of some aliens beneath the earth whom we could not discover yet.'

He sighed for a while and then added. Ben was still in shocking state.

'I wonder if Axel and Professor Lidenbrock had the omnitrex they must have explored what I am thinking of.' Ben was listening keenly to his grand Pa and was trying to guess what he was trying to say. A lot of questions were there in his mind but he was just out of words after listening about particular journey.

'Ben! Being the number one hero of the present era, I want you to carry on his adventure' He held Ben with his shoulders.

'What! Me? Grand Pa?'

He again jumped in shock.

'But how can I do it?'

He was trying to hide his anxiousness. The idea had warmth his heroic blood.

He always tried to find such sort of adventures and this was much more exciting, A journey to the center of the earth.

Grand Pa Max turned again towards wall and explained.

'You can do it well Ben. You have the superpowers. You have the Omnitrex. I had a brief discussion earlier with Azmuth. He ensured me to modify your Omnitrex. He will upgrade it and you will have all the upgraded aliens you have since your childhood'.

'Wow! It sounds really good.'

Ben was very exciting.

'Ben! Ask Gwen and Kevin to join you. I wish to be with you but I have a lot of work to do here. I have asked Azmuth to set a tracker in your omnitrex so I can track you even beneath the earth.' The old man explained.

'But Grand pa! How shall we go? We don't know the path and this book is in odd language, almost impossible to read.' Ben was a little bit confused.

'Well! Axel has its translated version and his own story to. I suggest you must visit him before. Go my son! I will keep observing from here.'

Grand Pa summed up his words. Ben was looking at the earth. He had a task to travel. Travel to its center.