Aliens in the Sky (6 page)

Adam and Watch stood slowly.

“Are we having fun yet?” Adam asked.

“Sure,” Watch said. “So much fun we might die laughing.”

The aliens escorted them from the flying saucer.

S
ally and Cindy had indeed followed Adam and Watch through hyperspace. With the little alien's help, they stayed far enough away to remain invisible. Yet Cindy believed the aliens on Adam's ship thought the control of
her
ship had been returned to the aliens—the two cowards Sally had finally locked belowdecks. Their pal had given them that impression. He was acting the part of the hero in the fight between aliens and humans. Yet, as much as Cindy trusted him, she worried that Sally might be right. Maybe he was simply leading them into a trap.

Yet he seemed so sincere. As they plowed toward his home world, he asked so many questions. It seemed he had been studying them since he was old enough to read.

“Why were you up in the hills by the water?”

“We were trying to cool off,” Cindy said. “It's been hot in our hometown lately. We rode our bikes up to the reservoir. Did you see them?”

“No. Just before landing, my teachers made me go below.”

“They just didn't want you to see how cruel they are,” Sally muttered.

“That may be true, and if it is, I am disturbed. A report to our government must be made. The people must know what is happening.”

Sally snorted. “On our world, if you make a report to the government, it takes forever to hear about it. It's much quicker to get on TV.”

“I know your TV. I have studied it. You watch different shows. Some of them involve space travel, although your race is not yet advanced to travel much farther than Earth orbit.”

“We've been to the moon,” Cindy said. “We might go to Mars soon.”

“If you know about our TV,” Sally said, “you must have seen programs on you guys. We know
about aliens. We know you float down in the middle of the night and mutilate our cattle and steal our children. You can't underestimate us. If you try to invade, we won't be taken by surprise.”

The little alien paused and stared at her.

“I am not an alien. Do you not know that?”

Cindy spoke quickly. “What Sally means is that you appear alien to us. I'm sure on your home world you look just fine. There, we would be the aliens.”

“You would not be alien to us. That is not possible.”

“Then your people must be more accepting than ours,” Cindy said.

“They sure aren't any less violent,” Sally grumbled.

The alien lowered his head.

“My people are not perfect. We have our problems.”

Time went by. Up ahead, the alien sun continued to grow in size as they flew toward the heart of the solar system. About three hours after making the hyperjump, they caught sight of a blue-white world. Cindy and Sally were surprised to see it had a moon just like their own circling it. For a moment the girls wondered if they hadn't simply flown in a huge circle. But that wasn't the case; they were far from
home. Studying the planet, they didn't recognize a single one of the continents.

The little alien steered them toward a huge space station.

“Are you sure this is where Adam and Watch were taken?” Cindy asked as they neared the massive structure.

“Yes.”

“How do you know?” Sally demanded.

“I was informed by what you call radio.”

“Can the two aliens we have stowed below deck communicate telepathically with your government and warn them that we have taken over your ship?” Sally asked.

“I have erected a mental shield around this ship. I have set it so that only my thoughts are allowed in and out.”

“What do your people intend to do with Adam and Watch?” Cindy asked.

The huge space station was very near. They were coming in at the top. A black doorway opened before them.

“I do not know.”

“What did your teachers tell you was their reason for going to Earth?” Sally asked.

“They said we went there to observe. To learn.”

The ship slowed to a crawl. They began to enter the station.

“Well, I hope they learned not to mess with us,” Sally replied. “You said you had a plan to rescue our friends. What is it?”

“It is hard to explain.”

Sally fingered the weapon she kept tucked in her belt. “You're going to have to do better than that. I have trusted you this far, but before I leave this ship I want to know what you have up your sleeve.”

The alien appeared puzzled. He checked his sleeve.

“I have nothing up it except my arm, Sally.”

Sally snorted. “Just tell me how we're going to get our friends out of this metal cylinder.”

The alien thought for a moment.

“None of us is going to leave this ship. Not right now. I am going to try to start what you call a riot.”

“What?” Cindy gasped.

“I am going to broadcast the thought that your friends have been taken by force and are being held captive. I have explained that this act violates our most important laws. But I can only do this once I know where your friends are, and once I am hooked into what you would call a youth computer network. Except this network works with telepathy, not electric
modems such as you have in your present-day culture.”

Sally glanced at Cindy. “Did you get all that?” Sally asked.

“I don't know.” Cindy spoke to the alien, “Why do you first have to know where Adam and Watch are?”

“Young people play pranks in our culture as they do in your culture. I will have to prove that your friends are being held captive. The best way to do this is to direct as many individuals my age as possible to the place where Adam and Watch are.”

“What if they are in a restricted area?” Sally asked.

“Nowhere in our culture is supposed to be restricted.”

“Why do you have to be hooked up to a network?” Sally demanded. “Why can't you just broadcast the information with your fat head . . . I mean, just with your incredible telepathic abilities?”

“It is easier on the network. It is set up so that interference is filtered out. I will be able to reach many more people this way.”

“When you say a riot do you mean that hordes of your kind will begin to loot and burn?” Sally asked.

The idea seemed to startle the alien. He took a moment to respond.

“No. I mean that my people will gather and demand that Adam and Watch are released. It is the only plan I can think of.”

Sally glanced at Cindy and shook her head. “I think our little friend underestimates what his government has going on the side.”

“What do you mean?” Cindy asked.

“Think about it. These ships obviously landed in Spooksville with the purpose of taking hostages. The aliens we hijacked weren't there to explore. They were there to grab humans, pure and simple. That means they must have done it before, many times.”

“What are you saying?” Cindy asked.

“I am finally beginning to believe this runt is on our side. But I think he is naive—his government is up to all kinds of secret stuff that he knows nothing about. That's why his teachers hid him out of the way when we were being kidnapped. Ten to one he's never going to be able to find out where Adam and Watch have been taken, especially if he stays inside this ship.” Sally paused and spoke to the alien. “Did you hear that? What is your name anyway?”

“Ekweel2.”

“Do you mind if I call you Ek?” Sally said. “No? Good. Did you hear what I just said?”

“Yes.”

“Well, what do you think?”

“I hope you are wrong.”

Sally had to laugh, but it was not a happy laugh. “You can hope all you want. But I think we'll all be lucky to get out of this alive. One thing for sure. As soon as we dock, there will be a group of guards waiting outside for us.”

“No. I have already sent a message ahead that I have taken control of this ship. That is what I told my teachers on the other ship that I was going to do. There will be no guards waiting for us.”

“Ek, I hate to tell you this,” Sally said. “But you're about to get your first lesson in the real universe. This ship fired on the other ship. That is no small matter. Guards will be waiting for us and they will be armed. As soon as we dock I want you to let them in. Cindy and I are going to be hidden behind. As soon as we see them, we're going to stun them and lock them up with the other goons. In fact, set our guns to the right setting. I don't want to kill the guards accidentally. I would feel bad about it afterward.”

Ek had to put a hand to his head.

“You will just shoot them if they come in?”

“Yes,” Sally said. “Listen, one of your guys already shot me once. And I woke up with a splitting headache. I have a right to a little retaliation.”

Ek gestured in front of them.

“We are about to dock. I should be able to tap into the network from here. I hope you are wrong about all this, Sally.”

A
dam and Watch were first led to a locker room where they were told—telepathically—to undress and shower under a strange orange liquid. Actually, after all the bike riding and alien fighting, the shower was rather pleasant. The liquid was warm and smelled nice. Adam was happy to wash the dirt out of his hair.

But while they were in the shower their clothes were taken. In their place were laid out two tan jumpsuits similar to the ones the aliens wore, only larger. This was OK with Adam and Watch; neither
of them was particularly attached to his clothes. They dressed quickly, enjoying the feel of the soft material against their skin. The only trouble was Watch's glasses were missing. He stumbled around the room while Adam looked for them. The two guards just stood like statues, holding their ray guns. Finally Adam got fed up.

“All right,” he said. “What did you do with my friend's glasses? He needs them. He can't even walk down a hall without them.”

At first the aliens acted as if they didn't understand. They gestured with their guns for Adam and Watch to exit by a door on the far side of the room. But Adam refused.

“We are not going anywhere until he gets his glasses back.” Adam pointed to his own eyes, then pointed at Watch's eyes. “Understand? He uses those things to see.”

The aliens gestured again with their guns.

“No.” Adam crossed his arms over his chest. “You're going to have to shoot us both. We are not leaving without those glasses.”

“Maybe you should tell them that they can shoot you if they want,” Watch said, as he bumped into a wall.

But the ultimatum worked. Finally they received a telepathic message.

“We did not know the glasses were so important.”

The glasses were returned and they were led from the locker room area to a small cubicle that was equipped with an Earth-like toilet and two small beds set near the floor. The far wall of the room was made of what looked like clear glass or plastic; they could see through it into what appeared to be a courtyard. The moment they were inside the tiny room, the aliens turned and left, locking the door behind them. Adam pounded on it for several seconds before giving up in frustration. There wasn't even a doorknob he could try to jimmy or break.

“This is a cage,” Adam muttered.

“It's one of many cages,” Watch said, standing near the far wall. “Look out there.”

Around the circular courtyard were twenty such rooms. Each was equipped with a similar transparent wall and held a different creature from other worlds. Some cells held two of the same species. In one glance, Adam and Watch were treated to an overview of many life forms from other galaxies.

Closest to them was a critter that had six heads.

Six feet tall, it was vaguely insectile; it walked on six legs and had dozens of eyes on three of its heads. On the remaining three were tiny claws and mouths. It stared at them wickedly, snapping its claws repeatedly. Adam and Watch instinctively backed away from their transparent wall. The thing looked as if it wanted to eat them.

In another cage was a bloblike being that flowed from one corner of its container to another. There were fish creatures, birdmen, and even one individual that looked like a cross between a robot and a dinosaur. They saw what they thought was a Hyeet—a Bigfoot. The hairy apelike fellow waved to them. Adam waved back without enthusiasm.

“We're in a zoo,” he said miserably.

“I wonder,” Watch said. “Where are all the tourists?”

“Maybe it's nighttime.”

“You wouldn't have a specific nighttime aboard a space station. People would probably work in shifts, around the clock. If this is a zoo, I think it would have to be open all the time.”

“What are you saying?” Adam asked.

Watch scratched his head. The aliens had taken his four watches and hadn't returned them with his glasses. Adam knew how much his friend must miss
them. They were like a part of his body, his persona even. Of course, if there was no night and day on a space station, then there were no time zones either. Watch had an accepting nature and hadn't complained of the theft.

“I think this is more of a laboratory,” Watch said finally. “I think we're cut off from the public.”

Adam frowned. “That sounds terrible. Do you think they'll experiment on us?”

Watch nodded. “It's a possibility. We have to mentally prepare ourselves to have our organs removed, maybe without anesthesia.”

“If they remove many of our organs, we'll die.”