“Oh my gracious . . . you wouldn't believe it! What a sight to behold! It had these real interesting colored lights; blue, red, yellow . . . it kind of hovered . . . wouldn't you say it hovered, Pete?' When Pete, standing next to Rosie nodded, she went on, “As I said, it hovered . . . silent like . . . and then whoosh, just like that . . . it took off over that mountain there,” she pointed, “and it was gone in an instant! I never, in my entire life, saw anything like it!”
Then Pete chimed in, “and another thing, I wasn't scared. As it hovered around for awhile, I felt no fear. I never felt in any danger at all, neither did you, right hon?”
Rosie agreeing stated, “You’re totally right. I'd say it was a sense of pure, unbelievable, peaceful . . . joy. Whatever it is, I'll be looking forward to its return!”
The announcer turned toward the camera. “There you have it folks, another pair of eyewitnesses to an incredible mysterious UFO sitting here in Prosperity, Nevada. That makes three in the last ten days and everyone here is wondering, 'what is going on?' . . . in this part of the country. Martha, back to you in the studio.”
“Hey, Rick,” Martha Bartumm, Anchor of the KNVA TV12, asked with a smile in her voice, “Have you seen any strange phenomenon in your stay there?”
“Not yet Martha, but if they beam me up, I'll make sure you're the first to know.”
Turning toward the in-studio camera, Martha told her viewing audience. “With the most recent sighting in Prosperity, it makes for some pretty credible eyewitnesses to all this. But what is it? The town's police chief, mayor, school principal and the pastor of the local church all saw these strange occurrences in the sky and claim it's definitely a UFO, while the military insists it's probably falling satellite debris. Who's right? We've received so many calls and emails about this story that we'll keep you posted. Now turning to other news . . .”
Ella called Beth at work, immediately after the interview, “Did you see it? Weren't they great? Rosie missed her calling; she should have been an actress.”
“Oh Ella, it was an incredible acting job!” Beth whispered. “I almost believed it myself and I know what's going on! Hey just a minute, Nick's here with the Mayor and wants to speak to you.”
Nick took the phone. “Well, so far so good, young lady. At least we have the media hanging around. They buy stuff; newspapers, coffee and bagels, but they ain't buying no property yet.”
“But it's a start Nick. Just wait until we offer the reward, things will get even better.”
And they did. A few days later, when Mayor Jefferson, flanked by Pete on one side and Officer Asher on the other, went on television with this announcement: “As you probably already know, Prosperity Nevada has been experiencing some interesting phenomenon lately. Even more interesting is what occurred last evening at approximately eleven o'clock. While locking up for the night after inventory, Mr. Pete McPherson . . .”
Pete stepped in front of the microphone, “That's right. McPherson's Mercantile & Grocery at 112 South Main Street, home of the best grocery prices in Prosperity. Come on down and see for yourselves!”
The Mayor gave him a warning glare and went on, “As I was saying, Mr. McPherson observed a bright flash in the sky, similar to the one he saw last week. However, unlike previously, it didn't appear to be routine. Something seemed to go terribly wrong with the vehicle and it went down.” At that there was an audible gasp amidst the gathering. “I'll let Officer Asher fill you in on the details.”
“As Mayor Jefferson indicated, at approximately 11pm, Mr. McPherson was exiting his store,” Pete nudged him, “. . . again, that's McPherson's Mercantile & Grocery, when he witnessed an unusual occurrence. He observed the same type of UFO, hovering over the northern part of town near Lakeside Highway. Gradually it proceeded up Tumbleweed Road until it lingered above his storefront.”
“Like it was checking out our low prices for candied yams,” Pete interjected.
“Suddenly it veered off toward Lookout Mountain where it seemed to hover some more. Then, upon hearing a strange whistling sound, observed the vehicle careening off to the north. A moment later he heard a loud explosion and witnessed a flash of fire maybe three, four miles away . . . is that correct Pete?”
“Yes Sir, maybe even five, it was kind of hard to tell that late at night. I only knew it scared me to death and I thought, 'what the . . .’ when other residents came out of their homes to investigate. You saw it, didn't you Judy?”
“I did. I thought at first there was a gas explosion. But I thought the direction was further over in the west than north. What did you think Dan?”
“Well from my angle, I'd swear it was more northeast, over the Muddy Mountain range.”
At that, Mayor Jefferson once again took control over the news conference. “Well, the only thing we can say for sure is that something crash landed near our town and we want evidence verifying that fact, so people don't think we're crackpots. Therefore we are issuing a half million dollar reward to anyone who can locate the crash site and bring evidence back justifying that claim.”
At that, an excited murmur went out throughout the crowd and hands shot upward.
“Mayor, how can you offer such an enormous amount of money when it's obvious this town can't afford that?!”
Mayor Jefferson stared him down, “Young man, how much do you think the Military would pay for information on something of that magnitude?”
“Well then, if it's worth that and more, what's to say that if someone found it, he wouldn't keep it or sell it to the National Enquirer or even to the Russians?”
“We considered that possibility. First of all, we're requiring that anyone searching for it, register at our local post office or they won't be eligible to receive the reward. But then, it's every American's patriotic duty to do the right thing, as you certainly would, wouldn't you, sir?”
Appearing uncomfortable, the reporter meekly stepped behind a female reporter and out of range of Mayor Jefferson's piercing eyes.
Before Bob Jefferson could go on, a handsome military officer, who appeared to be in his early forties, stepped in front of the microphone and announced, “Good afternoon ladies and gentleman, I am Colonel Travis Cutler from Project Blue Book, now based under the Modern Military Branch, National Archives and Records Service, in Washington, DC. I would, first of all, highly caution any observers, upon discovering an unidentified object to absolutely leave it alone. Because if this vehicle IS uniquely from outer space and you touched it, you would most likely over a short amount of time, endure excruciating radiation poisoning, your skin would start peeling off painfully, you would lose your sight and your hair would start disintegrating and fall out. If you don't believe me, you could roll the dice, but trust me, you wouldn't want to do that.”
“Well then, thank you Colonel Cutler” the Mayor quickly broke in, “Colonel Cutler was called in for his expertise. He has just informed me that since he will be retiring from the Air Force in several months, he'll be assigned here for the duration of the investigation. Ladies and gentlemen, you can see why we're requesting that if you do find something, you don't approach it too closely but call the authorities immediately.”
Mayor Jefferson went on for several minutes to explain the logistics of registering, how to place a claim and what practical equipment one would want to bring with them as they searched the buttes, ridges and mountains nearby.
As he was completing his news conference, Ella strolled over and approached Colonel Cutler who was standing next to Judy under the shade. “A little over the top don't you think?” She grinned up at him.
“Perhaps, but wouldn't it make you think twice before you touched it?” He asked.
“You said you wanted me to attempt to put the fear of God into them, as you put it, didn't you?”
“Yeah, but not to scare them away!” Ella laughed. “So Travis, it's good to see you. Thanks for helping us out. How have you been since college?”
“Good. Traveled a lot. Worked my way up the ladder, you know that kind of stuff.”
“You never married?”
“Once, same as you. Didn't take . . . same as you.” Smiling, he suggested, “Hey, I'm starving, how’s the greasy is spoon here, any good?”
“You'll have to decide for yourself, let's go.”
Sitting in a booth near a window, they ordered and then caught up with their lives. Ella discussed her fledgling real estate market and how she hoped this plan pulled them out of this crisis. “If we can bring new business into town, this would be a real boom town! We're practically giving homes away now and with interest rates so low . . .”
“Spoken like a true sales woman. The reward might bring them here, but how are you going to get them to stay?” Travis asked, sipping on his iced tea.
“Well, Prosperity is in a beautiful valley with a stunning lake district. We're creating a massive public relations campaign. The newspaper is advertising big sales events. Everyone is sprucing up their homes. The Mayor is calling around to construction companies and contractors to stir up interest. Officer Asher will mention the low crime rate and safe schools. Judy, our school principal is creating some events with the PTA such as local band concerts in the park, a community picnic and some tubing races across the lake. You must admit this would be a great town where a family could raise their kids without locking their doors at night.”
“Sounds like 'smiles everyone, smiles' from Fantasy Island.”
“Well Travis we're just as little desperate as you can see. But look around you, this is the busiest Grumpy's Lunch & Munch has been in years!” as the cook yelled out, “Number three, order up!”
“Great, maybe he can afford a liquor license.”
Dan came in and sat down next to Ella. “Great job up there, young man. I wouldn't have had the courage to touch that UFO with a ten foot pole after that speech,” he chuckled, and then looking around and lowering his voice whispered, “And I know it's a fabrication.”
“How are the search registrations going?” Ella asked. “How much was the fee again?”
“Only $25 and you wouldn't believe it! I just hired that Jennifer Tovis to help out for a few days to see how it goes. She's such a pretty little thing that I should place a towel on the counter to wipe up the drool from the hearty young men who are signing up!” he joked. “And the mail has picked up so much I had to ensure I had enough stamps on hand to cover the rush of mail getting sent out.”
Ella looked across the street at McPherson's and commented, “From the looks of it, Rosie and Pete's business has picked up considerably too.” Several patrons left the store with a backpack and their bag of groceries and headed toward the Prosperity Motel Suites for the night.
“Yep,” Dan said, “Let the race against time begin.”
After Dan left, Travis reached for his wallet. “So Ella, how about if you show me around this one-horse town? That should take about five minutes and then you can show me where you live,” he stated and winked at her.
“Well, whatever do you have in mind?” she asked him wickedly and then realizing what he had said about Prosperity, bristled. “What do you mean five minutes? It'll take at least ten,” she teased as she picked up her purse. “Hopefully, if our plan succeeds, our town won't be that way for long, Mr. Smart-Alec If I remember right; you were this infuriating in college too. I guess some things never change, do they?”
But Travis countered with, “Yep, we were two of a kind, weren't we Ms. Smarty-pants?”
Chapter Three