that he had just received!
Larn really did look just like the classic alien, even down to his long thin fingers. It was remarkable, and he looked so familiar that Reggie almost began to relax.
"This is one of our medical stations, and you really ought not to have come here.”
Larn looked worried, although from his facial features it was hard to tell. His head was a bit conical shaped, and his grey skin seemed to make his large dark eyes look even bigger. He also had a very small flat nose and only a very small mouth.
“My species is involved in collecting DNA samples. After nearly destroying ourselves, we have been looking for a very rare gene to help us undo some of the damage.”
Reggie did not like the sound of that. He realised just what an ordeal his uncle must have gone through, and desperately wanted to avoid going through it himself. But Larn was happy to keep on talking, which was fine by Reggie.
“We've been observing your species for many years, and I suppose your going to ask me is why you can’t see this station from the Earth?”
Actually Reggie was thinking how strange this all was, and hoping against hope that he would not be subjected to any experimentation. Like most children he did not like injections, and nearly passed out when he had to have one at school.
Larn continued speaking, although Reggie’s mind was still drifting.
“Well, we're in what is referred to as a temporal distortion - that is to say that a temporal distortion has been created in the space time continuum so that we're here, but somewhere else at the same time..."
Reggie looked blank.
“That doesn’t matter; the most important thing is that I get you away from here before anyone else finds you. There could be big trouble if they discover that this technology has leaked out.”
Reggie had a headache; all of this was just too much for him. What with being held at gunpoint at the Grange, before being propelled here where he was telepathically communicating with an alien. It was not a daydream he was having, as it felt more like a nightmare!
Reggie looked out of another window. He could see Mars, the red planet which looked peaceful, as opposed to Jupiter with its angry looking red spot. He thought about his geography teacher, who was always boasting about where he had been on his holidays. Last summer he had gone trekking in the Himalayas, and was always on about how small everything looked from the many mountains that he had climbed. These planets looked equally as small from where Reggie was standing.
Larn turned to face a console, tapping information into a computer on a very strange looking keyboard. It was like a row of colours, all resonating with harmonic frequencies.
Reggie was hoping that he was trying to locate his uncle and Heather, and that they would all soon be able to go home. It was way past teatime, and he knew that his mother would be worried. She was always worried, and had a tendency to fuss over him, especially when his father was away.
"You know I'm still amazed at how you arrived here; we didn't expect your species to discover this type of technology for at least another fifty years!"
Reggie was anxious to find out about his uncle, although he ended up having to explain all about the goings on at the Grange.
Larn shook his head.
"I didn't realise that we'd been so careless!"
Six
The sunlight caught the top of the central column as the space station span around, creating its own artificial gravity. Several strands sparkled as they hit the solar panels, which were busily generating power. Above them sat a large transmitter, used to monitor everything in this sector. Through the glass panels, it looked just like a normal satellite dish, although it was not designed to pick up conventional television programmes, but used to monitor the temporal distortions.
Reggie was still waiting for news of his uncle, as Larn kept asking questions about the Grange. Reggie had already told him everything that he knew, and waited patiently for him to stop talking. It was a very strange listening to someone else’s voice in his head, and he began to realise that there was some truth in all the UFO sightings and abduction claims after all. Although he always wanted to believe in them, he found himself being put off by all the crackpots that surfaced whenever another story broke. This was quite an ironic thought, as at the very time he was thinking about it, there was a reporter from the local newspaper sitting in his living room sipping a cup of tea with his mother.
"I understand your brother-in-law was taken to the local police station claiming that he was abducted by aliens!”
Reggie’s mother looked a bit embarrassed.
"Well, I suppose he was, although I put it down to the pressure of work."
The man looked a bit disappointed, he really thought he was onto something this time, and she felt a bit sorry for him. Perris was trying very hard to build a career in journalism, with ambitions of working for one of the nationals. A story like this would have helped him along, but the nearest that he had ever come to it, was when someone spotted a strange light in the sky one evening. It turned out to be a stray micro-light, with the poor pilot frantically searching his map with a torch.
"Are you sure?"
He was hoping that he may be able to get some more information out of her, or a confession to knowing about an official cover up, but he was to be disappointed.
"Yes, quite sure, thank you!"
Her tone was quite abrupt.
“Where exactly did you hear about it anyway?"
She quickly turned the tables on him, trying to find out who was spreading these rumours.
"Was it Mrs. Jones from next door?"
Perris shuffled uncomfortably in his chair, and she knew instinctively that she was right.
"Oh, is that the time?”
Perris quickly changed the subject.
“I have another appointment to go to!"
He then made a hasty exit, leaving his card and asking her to call him if she had any more information.
About twenty minutes later he entered the police station, to find a rather irate office sergeant.
"Yes?"
His voice boomed out, echoing around the solid brick walls.
"Oh, I was wondering if you could help me."
Perris gingerly approached the counter as the sergeant's flushed face glared at him.
"I understand there was a report of an alien abduction here the other day?"
This made the sergeant almost burst at the seams.
"If I hear another word about that… I've lost my day off, a special constable and had some chap poking around here from the Ministry!"
Perris' ears pricked up when he heard the magic word Ministry.
"And what Ministry was that then?"
He hit the sergeant with the probing question, realising that he was on to something. But recognising that he had let something slip, the sergeant quickly recovered.
"The Vicar!"
By the look on his face, Perris knew that he had better get out of there quickly, before the sergeant vented his entire wrath on him, besides he now had a real scoop on his hands!
Later on that afternoon, he walked down to the local pub. The landlord recognised him as a rye smile spread across his face. He, like most of the regulars thought that anyone talking about alien abductions was completely balmy, but as long as they were spending their money he had no real objections.
Perris started asking a man at the bar some questions but all he got was a gormless expression. The man even had a slight twitch, which made his left eyebrow rise slightly whenever he got excited. This was usually when someone offered to buy him a drink. Perris obliged, in an effort to find out if anyone knew anything.
The man gratefully accepted, as Perris settled down on the barstool next to him.
"Do you know anything about an alien abduction?"
The man sipped at his beer.
"No, but I know a man who does!"
Perris's eyes lit up; perhaps he would get his story after all!
The man
then pointed to a wizened old man in the corner.
"Ernie!"
The man looked up at the sound of his name being called.
“This gentleman would like to speak to you.”
Ernie nodded as Perris went over, and offered to buy him a drink too. He accepted, winking his eye at the Landlord, who smiled to himself again as he accepted more of Perris' money.
When Perris returned with his drink, he settled down opposite Ernie.
“Do you know anything about alien abductions?”
Ernie nodded.
"Some months ago we had this travelling salesman in here, and after several pints of beer he started to tell me this extraordinary tale!"
Perris’s eyes opened wide, and he quickly got his small tape recorder out of his pocket, not wanting to miss a thing.
"He claimed to have been abducted by little grey beings when he was on his way to Wigan.”
Ernie continued, as Perris listened intently.
“I thought it was the drink talking, until he produced a piece of weird foil from his wallet. It was like nothing I’d ever seen before, feeling more like a liquid than a solid. When he scrunched it up into a tight ball, it unravelled itself into a smooth sheet again before my very eyes. Quite where he'd got it from I don't know, although he claimed to have taken it from their space ship!"
Some of the other regulars began to gather round Ernie, enjoying the story as the pub went quiet as everyone strained to hear.
“I didn't really believe him at all, but enjoyed his company never the less. He said he was staying at the guest house in Station Road, and I arranged to meet him here again the following night, where he was going to produce several drawings that he said were of the craft and its