by Kate O'Hearn
Emily crawled out from under the Sphinx and climbed shakily to her feet. They were driving along a highway that ran through Las Vegas. The sun was starting to set and casting a golden light on all the windows of the buildings. They were currently passing a tall black building covered in dark glass. There was a crane on the roof and it looked like it was still under construction. Just past it was another series of brightly coloured buildings. ‘It’s Las Vegas,’ she answered. ‘Those are casinos where people gamble and see shows.’
As they continued on the road, Emily watched Alexis’s excited eyes trying to take in all the sights of the city. She squinted to understand a large billboard hanging down the side of a tall casino. ‘Elvis … is … in … the … building’ she slowly read aloud. ‘Elvis? My Elvis! He is here, I have found him! We must stop!’
Emily hated to shatter Alexis’s illusion. ‘Maybe when this is over, we can come back and see him.’
‘Wonderful idea,’ Alexis agreed excitedly. ‘It will be our reward for saving the world.’
Down at the far end of the stall, Tornado Warning was coming out of the sedative daze. He kicked the stall door and whinnied. Emily went over and stroked the racehorse’s white face. ‘How’re you doing, boy? It won’t be much longer.’
Pegasus crept closer, his jealousy obvious. ‘It’s all right, Pegs,’ Emily said softly. ‘He’s frightened and confused. He doesn’t understand what’s happened to him.’
Despite her comments, Pegasus continued to hover. Tornado’s ears twitched back and his nostrils flared. He started to paw the trailer floor and whinny.
‘Easy, boy,’ Emily calmed. ‘Please, Pegs, get back. You’re upsetting him and I don’t know what he’ll do here in the trailer.’
Pegasus backed down. He snorted angrily and turned away from Tornado. He walked to the far end of the trailer and kept his back to Emily.
‘I believe we will need to sedate Tornado Warning again.’ Alexis carefully approached the stall. ‘He is upsetting Pegasus. In these tight confines, that would not be good. Pegasus is doing his best to contain himself. But even he has his limits.’
Emily agreed. She climbed the small ladder that ascended into the ‘granny’s attic’ of the trailer and crawled along the overhang that went over the truck bed. Emily started to pound on the trailer’s front wall, hoping that Paelen’s sensitive hearing would hear her and let Agent T know they needed to stop.
The message was received. Soon the truck and trailer were pulling over to the hard shoulder of the highway. When they stopped, Emily went up to the barred window and waited for someone to appear.
‘What’s up?’ Earl asked as he came to the window.
‘Tornado Warning is coming out of the drugs and he’s really upsetting Pegasus. We need to give him some more before they start fighting again.’
Earl nodded. ‘Well, we’re pretty cooked up in the truck. This place is like an oven! How people can live here is beyond me. We were all talkin’ about stoppin’ to pick up some supplies and somethin’ to drink. I think now would be a good time.’
‘Definitely,’ Emily agreed.
With the promise of a pit-stop Earl went back to the cab of the truck. ‘Did you hear that, Pegs? We’re going to stop for some food. We’ll also sedate Tornado again, so he won’t bother you.’
The stallion’s eyes were large and bright and he was quivering. Emily put her arms around his neck. ‘I know this is hard for you, Pegs. But I’m asking you to stay calm for a bit longer.’
Chrysaor had been lying in the straw but now approached his brother and squealed softly. Pegasus nickered back. But when Emily looked to Alexis to translate, the Sphinx simply shook her head and remained silent.
After a time, the trailer turned off the highway and they entered the suburbs of Las Vegas. Alexis remained at the barred window, curiously taking in everything and bombarding Emily with questions.
They finally turned into a shopping centre with a huge supermarket. Agent T parked the trailer and everyone climbed out. The moment Emily left the trailer, Tornado Warning started to whinny loudly and kick at his stall door. This caused Pegasus to whinny in response and paw the floor.
‘You’d better stay in there with them,’ Joel warned. ‘I don’t think it’s safe to leave those two alone together.’
‘I will stay with you,’ Paelen volunteered quickly. ‘I’d rather not go in after my last supermarket visit.’ It had been a CRU trap. Emily could fully understand his reluctance.
‘Joel and I will go.’ Agent T handed the truck keys to Earl. ‘If anything happens, get everyone away from here.’
Alexis came out of the trailer wearing Pluto’s helmet so only Emily could see her.
‘Where are you going?’ Emily asked.
‘I sense no danger here and wish to see what is inside this strange place.’ Alexis touched the ex-CRU agent’s leg. ‘Tom, do you mind if I join you?’
‘Not at all,’ Agent T said and actually smiled. ‘Just stay close to me.’
Emily noticed a definite change whenever he was speaking with Alexis. His tone was much softer and friendlier. Had the Sphinx’s charms actually warmed his cold heart?
More loud whinnies from Tornado Warning forced Emily back into the trailer. Paelen and Earl followed her in while the others went shopping.
Little was said as they waited, and they all felt the tension pressing down on them.
Agent T and Joel returned with a shopping cart full of food. An excited Alexis reported all the things she had seen, smelled and heard at the supermarket. She was more like a child than the fearsome creature she had become at the Double R Ranch. She and Agent T laughed as they retold the story of Alexis’s tail accidentally knocking over a display and the perplexed expressions on the people’s faces that couldn’t see her or understand how it happened.
Tornado Warning was fed first as they put more heavy tranquillizers in his chocolate ice cream. Once he had eaten his fill, everyone else climbed into the trailer and settled down to eat.
‘Well, this is it.’ Agent T stood. ‘In a couple of hours we’ll be in Rachel, Nevada. That’s only a few miles from Area 51 and the entrance to the CRU facility.’
‘Then what?’ Joel asked. ‘Does anyone here have any suggestions what we do next? ’Cause I sure don’t and it’s driving me crazy.’
Emily shook her head. ‘Not this time. It seemed so clear last time because we were getting my dad back. But now …’
‘But now we’ve got to see how many clones the CRU have created and if we can stop them,’ Agent T finished.
‘Exactly,’ Emily agreed.
‘Well, we won’t know until we get there,’ Earl said as he too stood. ‘And we ain’t gonna get there unless we get movin’.’
‘Before we do …’ Agent T said. He concentrated on Emily. ‘Did you see that tall, black tower-like building when we first arrived in Vegas?’ When Emily nodded, he continued. ‘We’ve all agreed that we’re going to use that as a meeting place. If anything goes wrong. If we ever get separated, head to the top of that black tower. Understood?’
Emily nodded.
‘Good, let’s go.’
Under a blanket of stars they left Las Vegas and made their way along the Extraterrestrial Highway that ran deep into the desert. When they arrived in Rachel, it was a surprise to see the place was actually considered a town. It was more like a caravan park. There were no houses and the only business in the area was one motel with a small restaurant. Like everything else in Rachel, it was nothing more than a series of caravans parked closely together.
While Earl and Agent T went inside to arrange accommodation for the night, the others gathered outside the trailer.
‘Hey, Em, did you catch that name?’ Joel pointed at the restaurant.
‘Little A’Le’Inn.’ Emily read the sign. ‘What else would you call it this close to Area 51?’
Paelen walked over to a flying saucer mounted on a tall pole. It was surrounded by brightly coloured lights. ‘Wh
at is this?’
‘It’s supposed to be a UFO,’ Joel explained to a confused Paelen about alien spacecrafts.
‘So that is what the CRU thought I came to your world in when they had me at Governors Island?’ Paelen frowned and looked even more puzzled. ‘It is not very big. How did they think I would have fitted in there?’
Joel and Emily laughed.
‘That’s only a model.’ Emily put her arm around him. ‘A real spaceship would be much bigger.’
Paelen didn’t look convinced. ‘If there were aliens, surely they would use the Solar Stream and not have to come here in these things.’
Agent T returned with a key to one of the caravans. He leaned closer and kept his voice low. ‘Only you Olympians use the Solar Stream. The other aliens we have captured use vehicles like these.’
Emily looked at the ex-CRU agent in shock. ‘How many have there been?’
‘Quite a few,’ he said cryptically, but then changed the subject. ‘We got a caravan for the night and can drive the trailer right up to it. Then I want us all to go into the restaurant and behave like one big happy family.’
‘But I am not hungry,’ Paelen said.
‘It doesn’t matter,’ Agent T said. ‘This is the only place to eat within fifty miles. You can bet there will be workers from Area 51 coming here. Some of those will be with the CRU. And if I am completely honest, I would suspect that some of the people who work here are with the military. What family would come to stay and not eat at the only restaurant in the area?’
Emily frowned and looked around nervously. ‘But why would someone from the military work here at a restaurant?’
Agent T sighed and shook his head. ‘After everything you have seen and learned about the CRU, you still don’t understand? Emily, think. This is the only place to eat that’s anywhere near Area 51. Rachel, Nevada, attracts every kind of person; from alien fanatics to reporters and conspiracy theorists. It’s only logical that the military and especially the CRU would have a plant working here to check out the people who might be coming to the base. So let’s just go in there and behave like travellers passing through.’
They headed into the small restaurant. Alexis, wearing Pluto’s helmet, stayed close to Emily, Joel and Paelen as they looked around at all the pictures and UFO memorabilia on the walls. There were display racks selling Area 51 T-shirts. Coffee mugs had aliens and ‘Area 51’ written on them. Computer mouse pads had the Area 51 warning sign on them and several books written about the secret base. Even the menus had little aliens on them and were offered for sale.
There were a number of people sitting at the bar and at the tables eating and talking softly. A group of men were playing pool. Music filled the air and the mood was light.
As they settled at a large table and their orders were taken, the middle-aged waitress smiled and casually asked why they were there. ‘Come to see the aliens?’ she asked Joel playfully. ‘Maybe see the entrance gate to Area 51?’
Agent T smiled and laughed lightly. ‘My kids and brother want to, but we’ve got a schedule to keep. We’re moving a couple of horses further up north. But we thought it’d be fun to come this route. We’ve heard of this place and wanted to see it for ourselves.’
Earl put down his menu and lightly asked. ‘So have you ever seen anythin’ in the sky here?’
The waitress shrugged. ‘I don’t look.’
Emily thought that was an odd answer, but remained silent. She watched the waitress closely. Although she smiled and chatted in a friendly manner to all her customers, there was something troubling about her. The woman’s answers were too rehearsed and there was a hardness around her eyes. She stood like she had a pole up her back and wasn’t allowed to lean or slouch.
Alexis was also suspicious. When the waitress returned to the kitchen to place the orders, the invisible Sphinx followed her in. Alexis returned several minutes later and quietly told Agent T that the waitress had gone into a room and spoken softly with someone. Though she couldn’t hear everything that was said, the waitress did mention the family travelling north with a horse trailer.
‘So far so good,’ Agent T said. He looked at the others at the table. ‘Just act natural.’
As their food was delivered, Emily was impressed with the act Agent T put on. He was nothing like his normal self. He smiled readily, told silly jokes and even had a sparkle in his pale-blue eyes. He acted exactly as a father should. Emily wondered what he would have been like if he had never joined the CRU and instead had had a family. She imagined her own father might have even liked him.
When they left the restaurant, everyone paused to look up at the star-studded sky. It was breathtaking and almost as beautiful as when they were flying up in it. Over to the south, they could see the glow of Las Vegas.
The temperature was noticeably cooler than in the day and the air was filled with the sounds of the desert. Coyotes howled in the distance while insects chirped and small animals scurried through the scrub.
As they made their way to their caravan, they heard other motel guests moving around and heading towards the restaurant. Dogs were barking loudly in their pen, not too far from where the trailer with Pegasus and Tornado was parked.
‘I hope the dogs don’t bark all night,’ Emily said. ‘I was planning to let Pegasus out of the trailer to stretch his wings. But I don’t want him drawing attention to us.’
‘Pegasus will have to remain where he is,’ Agent T said darkly. ‘I don’t want him taken out here.’
Emily noticed the ex-CRU agent seemed agitated. ‘Is something wrong?’
‘I have a bad feeling.’
‘As do I,’ Alexis agreed. ‘Coming here may have been a mistake.’
Emily looked around fearfully. ‘Should we leave and find somewhere else to stop?’
Agent T shook his head. ‘That would definitely draw too much attention to us. We’ve just got to be extra careful. Let’s get to the trailer and we can talk.’
Before climbing into the trailer, Earl and Joel went into the small rented caravan and turned on the lights. They closed the curtains and made it look as if there were people settling down for the night.
Soon everyone was gathered together in the horse trailer. Tornado Warning remained locked in his stall. The lights were off and everyone spoke softly.
‘This place is crazy,’ Joel said. ‘There’s no TV or telephone in the caravan. What are you supposed to do for the night?’
‘Sleep and then get out,’ Agent T said. ‘They don’t want people spending any time here. Especially this close to an active military base.’ He looked over to the Sphinx. ‘Alexis, we need all your skills right now. Let me know if you hear or feel anyone approaching the trailer.’
The Sphinx nodded and sat up higher. She split her attention between the meeting and listening for sounds outside.
Agent T shook his head. ‘This is going to be more difficult that I thought. There were a lot of military people in that restaurant tonight. The tension is high. Something big is going on at the facility.’
Earl looked at his friend. ‘I didn’t see no military folk.’
‘They were there,’ Agent T said. ‘You’ve got to know what you’re looking for. Like I told you, I visited Area 51 some years ago. Security was tight back then. But not like this. We’re going to have to watch ourselves.’
As the group talked, Alexis turned her head sharply. She held up a paw. ‘Someone is approaching.’
Emily felt a flutter of fear. The power within her stirred and started to rumble with the prickling of the Flame reaching her fingertips.
In an instant, Agent T changed his manner. He leaned closer to the group and laughed loudly. ‘And you know what?’ he called. ‘Your granddaddy never found out it was us who’d put the outhouse on the barn roof !’
He laughed louder and signalled the others to join in. He nodded at Earl.
‘That’s right,’ Earl added, joining in the laughter. ‘Momma knew, but she never told Daddy. To t
his day he still believes it was the boys down the road …’
As everyone laughed, Alexis waved her paw in the air, indicating they should continue. She crept closer to the side of the trailer and pointed at the wall. ‘He is right here,’ she mouthed.
Tiny flames burst from Emily’s fingertips as her fear increased. She tried to call the Flame back, but it wouldn’t obey. Pegasus nudged her, trying to get her to calm down.
Joel looked at the flames as they flickered several centimetres above Emily’s fingers. He laughed louder. ‘So, Uncle Earl, is it true what Dad told us? That you and him went fishing with dynamite?’
‘Sure did,’ Earl agreed brightly. ‘That’s the best darn way to get the big ones …’
Suddenly there was a loud knocking on the trailer door. Agent T motioned for Pegasus and Chrysaor to hide in one of the stalls. He nodded at Emily’s hands. She put them behind her back.
‘Who’s there?’ Agent T called lightly, returning to the role of the friendly father.
A man’s voice came from outside the door. ‘Is everything all right in there?’
Agent T went to the door. ‘Of course, everything is fine,’ he said, opening it. ‘Why do you ask?’
The man was holding up a flashlight. Emily could see his face. It was hard and cold as he tried to peer in past Agent T. ‘Someone reported strange sounds coming from here. We keep a secure motel. I just wanted to make sure everything was fine.’
Agent T swept his hand back to invite the man to enter and Emily’s heart nearly stopped. She balled her hands into tight fists to keep back the Flame.
‘Of course,’ Agent T said. ‘We understand. But my horses get a little spooked if they spend too long in the trailer. So my kids and I are spending some quiet time with them before bed. Would you like to come in and see for yourself ?’
Alexis was pressed back behind the door. Her eyes were bright and her claws drawn. She was poised to strike.
The man took the first step up into the trailer when a voice called him back to the restaurant. He paused for what seemed like an eternity as they waited to see if he was going to enter. Finally he stepped back down on to the ground. ‘Sorry to have bothered you folks tonight. We’re just being careful.’