“What’s happening?” Cindy whispered, sitting below them.
“They’re unloading an antimatter bomb and preparing to blow up the planet,” Sally said.
“Quiet,” Adam cautioned. “They’re just sitting there. Nothing’s—Wait! I think I see a door opening.”
Adam was correct. On the ship that was no longer glowing brightly, a door of sorts was materializing. It was a peculiar opening. There had been no sign of it a few seconds ago. It was as if the walls of the ship had suddenly dissolved in a rectangular pattern. Yellow light shone out from inside. The door was not large; Adam would have had to stoop to enter the vessel.
“Do you see any aliens?” Adam asked.
“I’m the last person to ask,” Watch said. “I’m half blind.”
“I hope they’re not disgusting looking,” Sally whispered. “Even E.T. gave me nightmares.”
“You can’t think that way,” Watch said. “They have probably traveled millions of miles to get here. They have evolved from an entirely separate genetic tree. We will probably look horrible to them.”
“I think I look horrible to my own mother half the time,” Sally muttered.
“Shh,” Adam cautioned. “One of them is coming out.”
4
Actually, two of them were exiting the flying saucer. They couldn’t have looked more alien. Their skin was vaguely scaly, brown; their heads were huge relative to their tiny bodies. Their faces were V-shaped. Although their mouths and noses were tiny, their eyes were huge—black and almond-shaped. Their legs and arms were bony, but they had big hands, and what looked like only four fingers, no thumb. They wore thin tan jumpsuits and black belts that carried exotic tools. In their hands they appeared to carry weapons of some kind. They both looked around as they stepped from their ship. They were very alert.
“What’s happening?” Cindy said from below them.
“They’re as disgusting as I imagined they would be,” Sally whispered.
“But they look friendly,” Watch said.
“Watch!” Sally hissed. “They’re carrying weapons.”
“Probably only for protection,” Watch said.
“Yeah, right,” Sally said. “I bet they shoot first and ask questions later.”
Watch shook his head. “They’re obviously from a culture far more advanced than ours. I’m sure they’ve left mindless violence behind, and I want to talk to them.”
“I don’t know,” Adam said quietly. “Their technology may be advanced, but that doesn’t mean they’re concerned about us. For all we know, they could be here to collect specimens. Watch, you’ve talked about that before. It might be better to stay out of sight, and just see what happens. Oh, look, the other ship’s light has gone off. I think I see another door forming.”
The second ship was also opening up. Another two aliens stepped from the saucer. They joined their buddies, who now stood by the water, beside the bicycles. The aliens gestured with their instruments at the bikes. They seemed to be carrying on a conversation but they weren’t talking or making any other kind of sound. Adam remarked on that and Watch had an explanation.
“They probably communicate using telepathy,” Watch said. “Exchanging thoughts directly from mind to mind.”
“Do you think they can read our minds from here?” Sally asked, worried.
“Who knows?” Watch said. “I really want to make contact with them.”
“Why?” Adam asked. “I think it’s too risky.”
Watch shrugged. “I want to go for a ride in one of their spaceships.” He moved away from them. “You guys stay here.”
Sally grabbed his arm. “Wait a second. They can see there are four bikes. They’ll come looking for us, if they like the looks of you, or even if they don’t like your looks. You’re risking all of us with this idea.”
Watch spoke seriously. “Why do we live in Spooksville? It’s not just because our families live here. It’s because this is a place of adventure. The unknown surrounds us every time we leave our homes. I know what I’m doing is dangerous. All great adventures are.”
Cindy was impressed. “That was a nice speech, Watch.”
“If they capture you and take you prisoner,” Adam said, “I don’t know if we’ll be able to rescue you.” He gripped his friend’s hand. “If they take you inside their ship, we might never see you again.”
There was still a faint glow from the saucers. They could see enough of Watch’s face to read his expression. For a moment he seemed touched, an unusual emotion for him. Most of the time Watch showed as much emotion as, well, one of the aliens hanging out by the water.
“You’d miss me?” he asked, surprised.
“We would miss you terribly, you major idiot,” Sally said.
“Be careful,” Cindy called from below. “Don’t take any risks.”
“The only way you can do that in this town is to stay in bed twenty-four hours a day,” Sally said. But she reached over and gave Watch a hug. “Don’t let them do any genetic experiments on you. You’re fine the way you are, really.”
Adam shook Watch’s hand. “Shout for help if you think you’re in trouble.”
“Just don’t use our names,” Sally added.
Watch said goodbye and slowly walked toward the reservoir. As soon as he was away from the rocks, the aliens noticed him and raised what appeared to be their weapons. From the reaction of the aliens, it didn’t appear as if they knew Watch—or the rest of them—had been there. Adam said as much to Sally and Cindy, who had now crawled up the rocks so that she could see like the rest of them.
“That’s probably true,” Sally said. “But why is such an advanced race greeting Watch with pointed weapons?”
Adam was grim. “Especially when he’s holding out his hands to show he’s not armed. I don’t like this.”
“He’s so brave,” Cindy whispered, anxious.
“He’s a fool,” Sally remarked. “A brave fool.”
The aliens may or may not have tried to communicate with Watch. From a distance of two hundred feet it was hard for the other three to tell. It did appear as if Watch tried to talk to them, but Adam and his friends couldn’t hear the aliens’ telepathic responses. For sure, the aliens did not lower their weapons. Finally, after a couple of minutes of inspecting Watch from all angles, one of the aliens grabbed his arm and led him toward the door of the first saucer. Watch’s friends got the impression he was being dragged into the ship, even though Watch didn’t appear to put up a fight. Sally and Adam and Cindy anxiously looked at one another.
“What are we going to do now?” Cindy asked.
“Well,” Sally said, “he wanted to see the ship. Now he gets to see the ship.”
“He wanted to go for a joyride in space,” Adam countered. “He didn’t want to be dissected.” Adam shook his head. “We can’t just sit here and do nothing.”
“I have a bad feeling that we can do nothing against their ray guns,” Sally said. “Maybe we should call the President of the United States.”
“It will take us forever to get to a phone without being able to use our bikes,” Adam said. “We have to save Watch ourselves.” He started to get up. “I’m going to speak to the aliens.”
Sally grabbed his arm and pulled him back down. “Like you’re going to have more success than Watch? Can’t you see what’s going on here? These aliens are here to collect genetic material to microscopically implant in their DNA to enrich and regenerate their ancient and failing species.”
“You can tell all that just by looking at them?” Cindy asked doubtfully.
Adam shook free of Sally’s hold. “I don’t want to walk out there any more than you want to. If you have a better plan, let me hear it.”
Sally thought for a moment. “Nothing comes to me right away. But let’s not act hastily. Let’s wait and see what happens.”
What happened next was nothing. Watch did not reappear. But two of the aliens left the area around the reservoir and hiked back into th
e hills not far from where Adam and his friends were crouched.
“They could be trying to circle around us,” Sally said.
Adam nodded darkly. “We have to watch our backs. But if I am going to confront them, this might be the time, while they’re at half strength.”
“I can’t let you go out there alone,” Sally said.
“You can’t come with me,” Adam said. “Cindy’s injured. Someone has to stay with her.”
“I’d rather you didn’t go down there alone,” Cindy said. “Take Sally with you.”
“I wasn’t volunteering myself,” Sally complained. “I was just speaking generically.” She paused and frowned. “I suppose I could go with you, Adam. But I hate not having a plan of action. We’ll probably be taken prisoner like Watch and dragged to a distant planet circling a dying sun where we’ll be dumped in a sterile prison and sliced open with a burning laser beam. Why, we’re lambs going to slaughter.”
“You’re not a lamb, Sally,” Cindy said.
“I was speaking poetically,” Sally said.
“Tell me what else to do,” Adam said.
“I don’t know what else to do,” Sally snapped back. “I just know that you can’t trust gross-looking aliens with hand phasers.”
“They only have phasers on ‘Star Trek,’ ” Cindy said.
“How do we know these guys didn’t write the TV show?” Sally asked.
Adam spoke wearily. “We’re getting nowhere with this arguing. I’m going down and demand that they release Watch. You can come if you want, Sally. But I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
“You mean it’s all right for you to be a hero and not me?” Sally asked, getting to her feet. “Really, Adam, you’re a bit of a sexist. A girl can save the day just as easily as a boy.” She glanced once more at the saucers. Only one alien was visible, near the door of the first ship, the door through which Watch had disappeared. “I wonder if there are boy aliens and girl aliens.”
“I think that’s the least of our worries right now,” Adam said.
“You never know,” Sally replied. She leaned over and patted Cindy on the back. “If we don’t come back, and you do manage to escape, write a book about me when you grow up. The world has to know what it lost tonight.”
Cindy was not in a joking mood. “I wish you guys plenty of luck.”
Together, Adam and Sally crept from behind the rocks and walked slowly in the direction of the two saucers. The alien standing guard reacted quickly to their approach. Stepping toward them, he drew his weapon and pointed it at their heads. Adam and Sally immediately put up their arms. Up close, the alien was even more strange looking. It had no nails on its fingers, not a trace of hair on its body. Its huge black eyes were completely devoid of emotion or feeling. They were so cold they could have belonged to an insect. Adam felt a sinking feeling in his chest. He doubted that he’d be able to reason with the creature.
“Hello,” Adam said. “We come in peace. We mean you no harm. My name is Adam. This is my friend, Sally. You have another friend of ours inside your flying saucer. His name is Watch. We just want him back. That’s all we want.”
“But we do have friends in high places,” Sally added. “And they would avenge our deaths with great relish.”
“Shh,” Adam cautioned her. “I don’t know if it understands us.”
The alien just stared at them for a minute. Then it gestured with its hand weapon. It wanted them to walk into the flying saucer. Adam shook his head.
“No,” Adam said. “We want our friend back. We don’t want to go in your ship. Give him back to us and we won’t bother you anymore.”
“Yeah,” Sally added. “And remember that you’re a visitor to this planet. Show some manners, will you?”
Apparently the alien didn’t like Sally’s tone. It took a step forward and grabbed her right arm. She shook it off—the alien didn’t appear to be that strong—but it immediately grabbed her again. It pointed its weapon directly between her eyes. Sally recoiled in terror. That was enough for Adam. He was through talking. No more Mr. Nice Human.
Adam launched himself at the alien.
The alien spun on him. Leveled its weapon.
Adam saw a flash of green light. Heard Sally scream.
Then everything went black.
5
For Cindy, watching Adam and Sally fight with the alien was the hardest thing she had ever done. Cindy knew from the start the battle was hopeless. It especially hurt that she could do nothing to help her friends. A second after the alien shot Adam, it turned its weapon on Sally. To her credit, Sally didn’t turn and run. She tried to attack the alien. But the creature was too quick for her. The black instrument in its hand spurted another blast of green light, and Sally collapsed on the ground beside Adam.
Cindy didn’t even know if either of them was still alive.
She didn’t have long to grieve over her fallen pals. She heard sounds behind her, farther up the hill. The other two aliens were either returning to their ship or else closing in to take her captive. Sprained ankle or not, Cindy swore to herself she would not be taken without a fight.
Climbing to her feet, hobbling on one foot, she listened hard, trying to determine the course of the aliens. They did not appear to be coming directly toward her. Rather, they were following the path of a narrow valley that cut through the side of the hill where she was hiding. Actually, it was more of a ravine, cut by the winter rains. It was only a hundred feet off to her right. Cindy decided she would hide above the lip of the ravine, and shower down rocks on the aliens as they came by. If she could get hold of just one of their weapons, she thought, it would help to even out the fight.
Trying her best to move silently, Cindy half hopped and half dragged herself to the edge of the ravine. She got there none too soon. The two aliens were almost directly below her. After grabbing hold of a watermelon-sized rock, she lifted it over her head. There was faint background light from the two saucers, although both ships were in dim mode. It gave her something to see by, but it was poor shooting at best. As she let the first rock fly, she knew she’d need a miracle to hit anything.
There was a flash of green light.
Cindy blinked. Had she been shot?
No. Just the opposite.
Below her, the two aliens lay unconscious on the ground.
“But who shot them?” Cindy whispered out loud. Looking around, she didn’t see another soul, human or alien. Briefly she wondered if she had imagined the green light. Or maybe her rock had hit them—both of them. Or perhaps one of their weapons had accidentally gone off when it struck the ground. It didn’t really matter, she decided. She was taking their weapons now. She had fought with ghosts and Hyeets—she could handle aliens.
Cindy hobbled down to where the aliens lay. They appeared stunned, not dead. She could hear them breathing. Quickly she stripped off their black belts and tucked one gun in her own belt while keeping the other ready in her right hand. She didn’t know how these particular guns were set, if they would stun or kill when she fired them. But fire she would, as soon as she caught sight of the monster who had shot Adam and Sally.
Cindy made it back to her position behind the rocks. But there was no chance for her to rest because the alien and his partner were dragging Adam into the saucer. They couldn’t be too strong because even though there were two of them, they were struggling with Adam’s body. Cindy had no doubt they would come back for Sally in a minute. Unfortunately, they had Adam beside the saucer already.
Cindy had a moment of panic. The ship was two hundred feet away. She couldn’t run there; she could hardly walk. On the other hand, she couldn’t stand and start shooting, not without risking hitting Adam. But she had to do something and she had to do it now. People who went in that ship did not come out.
Cindy stood and took aim. But not directly at the aliens. She aimed for the saucer itself. Pulling the trigger, she felt no recoil but saw a narrow flash of green light. It hit the side of the cra
ft, and made the aliens jump. For a moment they dropped Adam and pointed in her direction. They raised their own weapons. Cindy wondered if they took target practice on their home world, and whether their weapons were set to kill or stun.
The large rock beside her exploded.
Cindy dove for cover. But she was back up again in a moment, having crawled a few feet to the side. So they wanted to play rough. Cindy twisted a tiny knob on her weapon all the way around in the other direction. She didn’t know what the knob controlled, but she figured it might boost the weapon’s power. Again she took aim at the saucer and pulled the trigger.
Her ray gun was no longer set on stun.
The ship was alive with sparks as the green beam licked its surface. The hull of the saucer did not break, and Cindy guessed the ship was probably still capable of spaceflight. Cindy fired again, and got a similar violent response. But she had to be very careful not to aim at Adam or the aliens, who were terribly exposed. At least she had a ton of rocks to hide behind. They took another couple of shots at her and set a lot of dust flying, but they didn’t come close to hitting her. They appeared anxious to get inside their spacecraft. Maybe they weren’t used to humans who fought back.
Grabbing Adam, they yanked him into the saucer.
Before Cindy could get off a third shot, the door vanished.
“No!” Cindy screamed, jumping out from her place behind the rocks, almost falling over because of her bad ankle. The saucer began to glow brightly. She knew it was preparing for take off. Raising her weapon once more, she took aim. This time she fired off a series of shots in quick succession. The saucer shook under the pounding, and there were sparks and smoke everywhere. But Cindy should have realized that the saucer had weapons of its own. As it bobbled off the ground, it spun around and Cindy saw two green streaks rush toward each other along the perimeter of the ship. As they collided, a blinding beam of light flashed toward her. Cindy instinctively dove to the side and half the hill behind her flew into the air in one gigantic explosion.