***
The concussion of a far-away muffled explosion rattled the windows of Will Daniels’ office on the first floor of the ranch house. Chase was trying the channels of the desktop CB radio but he stopped momentarily to look at Kit and Dr. Ogilvey, whose faces mirrored his own concern about the noise. Still, with so many odd and bad things happening a distant explosion hardly seemed worth noting. He shrugged, punched up another channel on the CB and addressed the microphone. “Breaker, breaker, anybody out there?”
The reply was immediate. “This is Sheriff Cochrane in Red Lodge. Whoever you are, keep off the air! Repeat, keep off the air! We’ve got some weird-looking machines running around town, shooting up the place. Stay where you are and keep quiet. These things home in on a radio signal like you wouldn’t believe. Sit tight and keep your mouth shut. We’ll get back to you when we can. Red Lodge out.”