Aliens in the Sky (2 page)

“That's Deneb,” he said. “It's tens of thousands of times brighter than our sun. I think it's the
brightest star in the sky that we can see. It even has a red star that circles it, but you can't see that with the naked eye.”

“But what about that one?” Sally asked, pointing straight overhead. “That one's several times brighter.”

“That's Vega,” Watch said. “It's twenty-six light-years away. It's also a lot brighter than our sun. But it's no Deneb. Deneb is thousands of times farther away than Vega. If Deneb was only twenty-six light-years from here, it would outshine anything else in the sky.”

“How did you learn all these things?” Cindy asked, impressed.

Watch shrugged in the dark. They could hardly see one another. Each of them was just a black line drawn against the stars.

“I have a telescope at home,” Watch finally answered. “And I study books on astronomy at the library. Mr. Spiney has a few good ones.”

“Watch built his own telescope,” Sally said, with a trace of pride in her voice.

Because they were enjoying the stars so much and listening to Watch's stories about the constellations, they hardly noticed the passage of time. Cindy had been soaking her foot for more than an
hour when Adam suggested she try putting weight on it again. They helped her up, and gently she put it down. She started to tell them how it felt, but something remarkable interrupted her.

A strange light appeared in the sky.

“What the heck is that?” Sally gasped.

Straight overhead was a white light, much brighter than any star. At first it was just a point; they couldn't tell its size. But as they watched, it grew brighter, and they all got the impression that it was going to land on them. Then it just stopped and hovered far above.

“Is it a plane?” Cindy whispered.

“A helicopter can hover,” Watch said. “Not a plane. But I don't think it's a helicopter. We'd be able to hear its rotor.”

“Could it be a balloon?” Adam asked.

“It's not moving like a balloon,” Watch said. “It swept down and then just stopped.”

Sally chuckled uneasily. “Well, it's not a flying saucer, is it?”

There was a moment of silence.

“That's exactly what I think it is,” Watch said finally.

“We should get out of here,” Cindy said.

“I don't know,” Adam said, getting excited. “I've
always wanted to see a UFO. Do you think it will land, Watch?”

Watch shrugged. “This is Spooksville. Where else would an alien feel so at home on Earth?”

Perhaps the occupants aboard the strange ship heard Watch. For right then it descended once more, dropping like a glowing meteor out of a black abyss. They saw then that they were staring at two vessels, not one. The ships had been flying so close together that their lights had blurred. Adam's excitement was blunted by fear. The lights changed from white glows to definite shapes. The objects were flying saucers, for sure, and they were coming down fast.

They clearly intended to land at the reservoir.

“Maybe we should go hide behind the rocks,” Adam said quickly. “At least at first.”

Watch considered for one second. “Good idea. Can you walk, Cindy?”

“I can hobble if you guys help me,” she replied, fear in her voice. The saucers were now only a quarter mile overhead. Their brilliant white glow radiated out over the surface of the reservoir, turning it into one huge silver mirror. For a moment they halted again, apparently searching for a
place to set down. Unfortunately a decision was made swiftly.

The UFO's were going to park near their bikes.

“Let's carry her!” Adam shouted as they stumbled slowly toward the large rocks behind which they hoped to hide.

“Good idea!” Watch shouted back.

They didn't even ask Cindy for permission. They just each grabbed a leg and yanked her up so that she was riding on their shoulders. Sally ran ahead of them, leaping from rock to rock. She was clearly visible; they all were. Behind them the saucers hovered no more than twenty feet above their bicycles. Incredibly, there was no noise, not even a faint hum.

“I hope they didn't see us,” Adam gasped, as they carried Cindy around the largest boulder and set her down behind it. From above their heads, the glow stabbed past the edges of the rocks. Certain that Cindy was sitting comfortably, Adam, Sally, and Watch climbed back up the boulders to peer at the ships.

Both ships were landing beside the water, practically on top of their bicycles. One continued to glow brilliantly. The other must have turned off its engine or warp drive or whatever because it only
gave off a feeble white glow, nothing more. Both ships were saucer shaped, circular, maybe thirty feet in diameter. Actually, they looked like saucers with cups placed upside-down on them. It didn't take a genius to know they were not from planet Earth.

“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.”

A
ctually, 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 the 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.