The Saucer Club

by A. J. Gallant

  Randy thought about that. “Yeah but doubloons are real.”

  Michael, Johnny and Jake showed up on their bikes, dropping them simultaneously and running onto the court. Michael grabbed the ball and made a basket and then they all gathered together.

  Sam was happy to see them. “Hey guys.”

  Johnny sneezed multiple times. “Did you tell him the plan yet?”

  Sam shook his head. “Not all of it, I was waiting for you guys. Randy, the plan is simple. We're gonna set up a tent where the forest trail starts. You tell your parents that you're gonna spend three nights in the tent with your friends, that's us. You have to pound it into their heads not to come and check on you; tell them you'll die of embarrassment or some such shit. No, tell them that we'll kick you out of the club and you'll never forgive them.”

  Jake jumped in. “With your parents getting a divorce they'll probably be too busy fighting to even know you're gone. With all that stuff going on they'll probably be happy to be alone to fight. Then they can curse and throw pots and pans at one another. And elbow one another in the head and ah throw ninja stars.”

  “Yeah, they can poke each other's eyes out,” said Michael.

  Johnny jumped in the air pretending he was swinging a sword. “Maybe they'll fight with samurai swords. Haya!”

  “Is that supposed to cheer him up guys?” Sam pushed Johnny playfully. “By the time we get back it might all be settled, one way or the other.”

  “Yeah, or the other!” Michael screamed.

  They all looked at Michael as if he was nuts.

  “Michael,” said Sam. “Did you drink your father's coffee again this morning?”

  “Maybe.”

  “Anyway, my father's job is making walkie-talkies and they're really powerful. You give one to your mom and tell her you'll call her twice a day. And that's it.”

  Randy thought about it as they all watched for his reaction. “That might actually work. All I can do is try. I still think it's a bad idea.”

  High five's all around.

  “Oh yeah,” said Jake. “One more thing. We do have to carry you across a river but in the summer the water is low. You did tell him about the river?”

  Randy looked up at Sam and shook his head; he immediately started to wheel away. Were they actually going to wait until they got out to the river to bring it up? They all looked at one another and shrugged; they chased Randy to catch up with him. Going that far into the forest was one thing but across a river was ridiculous. Nobody in their right mind would agree to that.

  Sam was the first to get to him. “Randy, wait up!”

  Randy slowly swung his chair around to face away from them. “You can just forget it guys! You're gonna carry me ten miles into the forest, and then you have to get me across a river? Are you guys all nuts? I can't swim my legs don't work. I'll sink like a rock. What if we run into a bear?”

  “A bear?” said Michael. “We're not worried about running into a bear, while he's eating you we'll run away.”

  Randy simply shook his head and wheeled away.

  “You're already in the club Randy so you can't run away!” Sam shouted. “We'll kidnap you if we have to. You don't have to worry about bears we have bear mace! The river is not that big a deal. You'll see!”

  Jake didn't look at all happy. “Guys, what if he tells?”

  “He's not gonna tell,” said Michael. “He's not gonna tell because he doesn't believe it.”

  “I guess so.” Johnny watched Randy as he continued down the sidewalk.

  “I don't think he's coming,” said Michael.

  Chapter Seven

  JAYDEN AND BRODY RAN INTO THE BANK like two maniacs, trying hard to scare everyone. They showed their meanest faces and screamed. A teller in the back also screamed and dropped her money on the floor. The bank manager froze in place. Everyone was now more frightened than they had ever been.

  “This is a bank robbery!” Jayden screamed. “No alarms or else! If the police show up I'm gonna start shooting and not at them! No exploding dye 'cause I'm gonna check. The faster you give us the money the faster we get out of here. I don't want to shoot anyone but I will if I have to!”

  A loud crack of thunder was heard.

  “This is not a joke!” said Brody with his hand inside his coat pocket. “Empty those drawers and be quick about it. We have nothing to live for so don't test us!”

  An old woman that was standing in line was not at all impressed. “Well if you have nothing to live for what the hell are you doing in here? You son's-of-bitches are not getting my purse.”

  “We don't want your purse,” said Brody. He then turned to Brody. “We don't want her purse do we?”

  Jayden shook his head no.

  “Want it or not you're not getting it!”

  They both took a second to stare at the old woman and decided to leave her alone because she looked mean. In less than five minutes they were running out the door and fleeing into the woods behind the bank. Jayden grabbed the tent that they had planted just off the forest trail and they ran their fastest. They both thought that they should be alright as long as they hadn't been spotted heading into the forest; otherwise they would soon have police dogs biting their asses. After they were more than a mile into the forest they got off the path and headed into the deeper woods. It was certainly a lot more difficult walking off the trail because of the uneven terrain, but they knew it was necessary to keep going and get as far away from the bank as they could. They had to put a lot of miles between them and the scene of the crime.

  A thundershower erupted with heavy rain and lightning; they were completely drenched in no time. Jayden thought that it would help to cover their scent but the downpour was uncomfortable.

  “Shit bird we're gonna drown out here,” said Brody.

  Jayden stopped for a moment to get his bearings. “I can't hear you with the rain!”

  “I said shit bird we're gonna drown out here! Let's set up the tent!”

  Jayden shook his head. “We're not far enough. This rain will wash away our scent!”

  Brody was annoyed. “Gonna wash away my eyebrows if this keeps up!”

  “What?”

  “I said you're ugly!” Brody nodded and smiled.

  “I heard that! Come on! We have to keep going!” Jayden ran a little further before he commenced to walk again. He didn't think it was possible but it started to rain even harder. “Wasn't it supposed to be sunny today?”

  “Maybe God is punishing us for robbing the bank?” Brody asked.

  “What!”

  Brody screamed his loudest. “MAYBE GOD IS PUNISHING US FOR ROBBING THE BANK?”

  “Nah, he would have struck us with lightning if he was.” Just then Jayden looked up and saw a huge arc of lightning. Then lightning struck a nearby tree and they took off on the run. “We better keep moving.”

  Brody almost ran into a black grizzly bear cub and he stopped to look at it. “Aw! Jayden, look how cute the bear is! We should take it with us!”

  “Run you fool! Where there's a cub there's a mother that will rip your legs off and feed them to you! Run!”

  Brody was running fast and awkward; he had always been an awkward runner. “ No bear is gonna make me eat my own legs. I don't think.”

  “What?”

  A crack of thunder sounded a little too much like a gun shot. They ran as fast as they could for as long as they could manage and as luck would have they didn't run into the mother bear. The heavy rain finally turned into moderate precipitation but it was impossible for them to be any wetter.

  Brody looked like a drowned rat. “Thank god it's easing up. I'm as cold as our furnace used to be in winter.”

  Jayden shook his head. “Shouldn't that be hot?

  “Naw, our furnace was broken most of the time.”

  “Brody, you must have the IQ of a tree stump.”

  “What's an IQ?”

  “I rest my case.”

  “Yeah well I'd like to rest my le
gs. My heart is beating so fast. You want to listen to it?”

  Jayden ignored him. The rain had now stopped but the bear cub was back, apparently it thought it was a game and had pursued them as they ran, and again they both took off on the run. With Brody looking back at the cub he ran directly into a tree and knocked himself out.

  Chapter Eight

  RANDY WAS IN HIS BACKYARD watching the blue jays fly in and out of the bird feeder as they were gathering the peanuts that he had just put in the see-through plastic container. He noticed that one blue jay in particular was hiding some in the grass on the lawn, and then flying back to the feeder where he would take another and head back to the nest with it. That was both greedy and smart he thought; he was making sure that he would be able to get more peanuts when he returned even if others had emptied the feeder. Wildlife was a lot smarter than people gave them credit; he had read that an experiment had showed that some crows could even use tools to get at their food.

  Sam drove his bike rapidly into the back yard as he saw Randy staring forlornly at the birds; he dropped his bike going up to Randy and looked down at him. “Randy, what cha doing?”

  Randy turned and stared up at Sam. “Just watching the birds. I know why you're here so you can save your breath.”

  Sam wasn't sure how to approach the subject but he wanted Randy to make the trip to the saucer now more than ever. Maybe it was because Randy didn't believe that they really had a flying saucer; well it couldn't fly but nevertheless it was a saucer. It seemed very unlikely that it had originated from Earth. But how would he be able to convince him? Being stuck in that wheelchair had to be scary trip for sure. He tried hard to imagine himself in Randy's shoes, thinking that it might help him to figure out what to say to convince him. He knew it must be difficult for him to agree to be carried way out in the woods like a sack of cement, and how he would feel helpless and so dependent on the others. But that was simply the reality of the situation.

  “What?” said Randy.

  “I didn't say anything.”

  Everyone was now anxious for him to go because it was hard to keep such a huge secret and they desperately wanted someone else to share it with. His reactions to the ship would be priceless. “You really need to come and see it Randy. Please. You won't be sorry. I promise you'll get back safe.”

  Randy's blue eyes looked up at Sam. “That's not really something that you can promise but I thought about it and I'm going.”

  He was just getting ready to try and convince him to come and Randy's answer almost didn't register. “What? You're coming with us?”

  “Yup.”

  Sam scratched his head. “But you said you weren't coming? What made you change your mind?”

  “My father.”

  “Your father?”

  “Yeah, he got so mad that he broke the coffee table in two and made my mother cry. It was almost like he changed into a monster. I've never been scared of my father before but you should have seen him.”

  Sam felt sorry for Randy but there was absolutely nothing he could do about it. It was an adult world in a lot of ways. “Was he drunk?”

  Randy cleared his throat. “Yup.”

  “One or two things are gonna happen,” said Sam. “Either they are going to work it out or they'll get a divorce. Nothing you can do about. A year from now it should be all over, one way or the other. And it's not your fault. Sometimes adults fall out of love just like they fall in love. And maybe your father needs to go to AA.”

  Randy had to laugh. “Assholes anonymous? Sam, you sound like a shrink.”

  “I bet they make lots of money. We need to make sure we have enough food, and matches that can't get wet and things like that. The forest can be a lot of fun but we sure have to be ready. I can't wait for you to see it.”

  The next afternoon the boys were setting up their tent at the entrance to the forest trail; they could follow the path out for almost a mile but then they had to get off it and head north. And that's where the journey would become difficult; it was one thing walking on a path but another to head through the unevenness of the woods. Sam had discovered the saucer two years ago when he left the trail and got lost. He had cut markers into the trees so that he could find his way back to the disk. He had had a smile on his face for weeks.

  Michael went into the tent to check out the air mattress they had in there. “This is where we'll spend the night Randy, and at sunrise we head out. Everyone has a flashlight and we got one for you too. There's nothing darker than the forest at night.”

  Randy was having more fun than he thought he would, but of course the adventure hadn't even started yet. It was fun to be part of the group. It was good to be able to think about something other than himself or his parents fighting. He was limited to where he could go and what he could do because of his wheelchair, but the fact that they were going to carry him changed a lot. He had mixed feelings about it. “And we leave this tent here?”

  “Yup,” said Jake. “We leave it here so our parents can see it, and we take another one with us. If they come to check on us they'll just think we're wandering nearby.”

  Randy was more than a little nervous about the adventure but he would try hard not to show that he was scared. And he was going to make an effort to keep his complaining to a minimum but that might be easier said than accomplished. “I want you guys to tell the truth. We're not really going like ten miles in the woods? Are we? I think it would be hard enough to carry me a couple of miles.”

  Johnny patted Randy on the back. “We don't know exactly how far it is but it's far. Don't worry we'll take care of you. You're one of us now.”

  “Yeah, you're one of us now!” Michael shouted as he pumped his fist.

  “Yeah,” said Johnny. “We'll take you out fifty miles into the woods and leave you there for the bears to eat!”

  Everyone looked at Johnny. “What? It's a joke.”

  Sam decided that it was time to give a little speech. Giving a speech made him feel important. “Listen up guys. We all know this is going to be hard but adventures are never easy. This trip is gonna be harder and take longer because we'll be carrying Randy. We're gonna have to stop for more breaks but so what. We're all gonna be tired, our feet are gonna hurt but let's try to keep the bellyaching to ourselves. It'll seem a lot harder if every ten minutes someone is complaining. Isn't that right Jake?”

  Jake gave him a stern look. “Shut up I'm already tired.”

  “Won't be hard for me,” said Randy.

  Sam shook his head. “You don't think so? Your neck is gonna be sore, your back is gonna be sore, and just wait until you have to go to the bathroom.”

  Randy nodded slightly at the thought of it. What was he getting himself into? They probably had a piece of board out there that they were pretending was a saucer. It was most likely some sort of sick joke. A flying saucer sure! “Guys, look who's across the street.”

  Harold, Timothy and Rolland were on the sidewalk with their bikes talking and gesturing towards them. They knew they were up to no good because they were always up to no good and they were too far away to hear what they were saying but when they laughed loudly it was apparent that they were laughing at them. They would likely rock the tent after dark.

  Randy didn't like the looks on their smug faces. They had always picked on him, even before the accident. “Guys, think they'll follow us?”

  “Not a chance in hell,” said Jake. “It's a lot of work to get where were going. They're too damn lazy to follow us. I'd be surprised if they even made it a mile.”

  Johnny nodded. “And they probably won't be up before noon and we'll be long gone by then.”

  Sam thought about it. “I don't think I've ever seen them before noon in the summer.”

  Chapter Nine

  BRODY AWOKE WITH A PIECE OF BRANCH IN HIS MOUTH and the grizzly bear cub chewing on his left leg; he had a big lump on his forehead from the impact with the tree and a headache as big as the lump. The bear was in a playful mood. Bro
dy's head was throbbing and he wished that he had some headache pills on him; the lump was bleeding slightly and burning. Jayden helped Brody up and they both continued to run as best they could. They were desperate to get some distance between them and the animal. They kept a keen eye out for the mother bear but couldn't spot her. They knew if the mother caught up with them that they would end up with more than a lump.

  “Go on get out of here!” Brody screamed at the bear. Why was it so intent on following them? No matter how loud he screamed the cub was determined to have some fun and wouldn't be deterred, and he could run just as fast as them, maybe faster. “If he won't leave I'm gonna pet him then.”

  Jayden stood shaking his head. “Don't do it. If you get your scent on him his mother will know exactly where to find you. On second thought if the mother eats you then more money for me. That bear is not normal maybe it has rabies.”

  “I want some rabies,” said Brody.

  Jayden shook his head. “You do not want rabies.”

  “No you don't.”

  “Yes I do.”

  “I hope you get some then.”

  Brody sat down and commenced to wrestle with the cub.

  Jayden could not believe what he was seeing. What else could go wrong? Jayden suddenly looked demoralized as he realized that he had somehow lost their bag of money. “Where's the money? Where the hell is the money! I can't believe I lost the money!” He let go with a string of profanities.

  “Maybe the bear ate it?”

  “Brody you freaking moron! The bear didn't eat it! All that work! All that planning! The sleepless nights!”

  Brody cocked his head as he thought about it. “Wasn't all that much work, all we did was say “Give us the money or else! And they gave us the money. Running around in the woods is making me tired though. We could go back and ask for more money.” He smiled showing that he had one of his front teeth missing.