"Granola bars?"
"Check."
"Beef stick snacks?"
"Check."
"Last but not least... trail mix."
"Check, but I'm not eating the raisins. Oh, and what's that for?" Punisher pointed to a Bluetooth speaker I had clipped to my pack.
"Let's just say it's one of my secret weapons for our camping trip to scare off some pesky bugs." I held up my fingers in air quotes when I said camping. Punisher was definitely under the impression that I was just joking around when I was explaining about the five seasons earlier. I couldn't fault him for it because it was a really hard-to-believe story that had no basis in the reality that Punisher has experienced his entire life.
"Alright. Oh, it's 11:30, by the way. Didn't you say you needed to do something?"
Punisher raised an eyebrow at me as I fumbled for my phone. I had almost forgotten to call my mom one last time before everything was about to go down. I needed to make sure she knew I would make it back. In about thirty minutes from now, the entire world was about to go crazy looking for an explanation as to why one million people just disappeared without a trace at the exact same time.
Once I returned to Earth, I found out that they called it the Great Disappearance and that everyone was presumed to have been dead. My mom even went out of her way to hold a funeral for me while I was in the other world, and it took a whole month and a half to prove to the government that I wasn't dead. I needed to get rid of this problem before it started, and in order to do that, I needed to make sure that my mom knew I was coming back.
I pulled my phone out of my pocket and stepped away from Punisher, motioning to him that I would be returning in a few moments. I went to my contacts, scrolled down to my mom, and pressed on the small circle that had a picture of her face on it. Just the action of pressing that button made me smile because it reminded me that the future was going to change. It reminded me that she was not dead. The connection tone began to sound as I waited for my mom to pick up on her end.
"Hello, Ronan? Can you hear me?"
"Yes, mom. I can hear you just fine. Where are you at right now?"
"I'm at home; I'm just putting down the Christmas tree right now. I don't want the neighbors to complain if they look into my window. That old Herbert guy across the street is a real Grinch."
I laughed at that as I remembered how he complained about the Christmas tree being visible in March when I was in middle school. "Awwww, man, I really liked the tree up, but I guess it's just that time of year."
I paused for a moment and took a deep breath before continuing. My mom can smell a lie from a mile away, and I needed to get her to believe what I was about to say. I couldn't tell her about the other world, but luckily, I had a backup plan.
"Hey mom, I'm about to go on a camping trip with my buddy Joe. You know, the big guy who came over during Halloween last year dressed as a lobster?"
"Oh yes, I remember him! He's that sweet boy who burned his hand moving the baking tray I used for the brownies. How's he doing?"
"He's doing great right now; we just finished shopping for the camping supplies; I'll send you a picture later."
"That's nice. How long will your trip be?"
"It'll be for about three months; it's part of a special college assignment we have and it'll count for twelve units for this semester, so I'll still be on track at school."
There was a pause. I knew that my mom was smelling a lie, but I needed to sell it to her quickly. I turned to Punisher, who was standing a good 10 feet away from me, looking down at his own phone. I minimized the calling app on my phone and snapped a quick picture of Punisher with his backpack on, standing next to a bunch of camping supplies that I had shopped for with him, and sent it to my mom.
"Hey mom, I think you should be getting the picture I sent you. It's Joe with our camping supplies; we're at the mall right now. I'm sorry that this is coming so last minute. It was a very short-notice opportunity."
There was no response for another five seconds, which on a call with my mom felt like five minutes. When she responded, I could hear a hint of suspicion in her voice. "Okay, I see. Well, you just be careful, okay? Will I be able to call you while you're out camping?"
I let out a silent sigh of relief at her response. "Unfortunately not. That's why I wanted to call you today at 11:30. We're taking Joe's Jeep up to the campsite in a little bit, and I won't have a cell signal at all when we get up there."
"Oh... I see... Tell Joe that I said hello. At least I know you'll be safe. That Joe boy is big and was in the military, wasn't he?"
"Yes, mom. He's reliable; just know that I'll be safe camping with him. I've got to go now because we have to leave soon."
"Okay, hun. Be safe. I love you."
I smiled. "I love you too, mom."
I hung up and looked over at Punisher, who was still looking down at his phone. I made my way back over to him and checked the time. It was 11:40, so we had about twenty minutes to spare.
"Hey Punisher, call your wife. Tell her you love her and that you'll be out with me for a little bit. Tell her that you'll be back safe soon and that there's nothing to worry about if you're a bit late."
"Ronan, bud, this is going a bit far. We're not getting abducted by aliens today."
"Just do it, please. You don't have to tell her about the alien part. Just do it."
"Fuuuuuck, okay, man. This feels weird, though. I don't know why, but you're giving me goosebumps because of how serious you are right now."