The Saucer Club

by A. J. Gallant

  “What on earth happened to you fellas?” Stella called to them.

  “We got lost in the woods,” said Harold.

  “You guys don't know where Randy is do you?”

  “We tried to follow them and that's how we got lost,” said Timothy.

  John was getting a bad feeling. “You mean Randy is out in the woods somewhere?”

  “Yeah, probably lost,” said Harold. “He's like five miles out there.”

  “I doubt that,” John thought aloud. “How could they get him out that far?”

  Stella approached all three of them. “Harold, I need you to tell me the truth. How could they get Randy so far out into the forest?”

  “It's true,” said Rolland. “They carried him out there on a lawn chair. And there are two guys out there with a gun.”

  John didn't like the sound of that. “Two hunters?”

  “Not hunters,” said Timothy. “They had a handgun.”

  Stella looked at John with a degree of panic in her face. “Oh good lord. Those two with the guns must be the bank robbers. We're gonna have to call the cops.”

  “Rolland, you come with us so you can tell the police where you last saw them and don't you dare lie.” Stella thought that if something happened to Randy she would never forgive herself. “Come on John hurry up!”

  Chapter Thirty-One

  BRODY AND JAYDEN HAD BEEN WALKING FOR HOURS and had finally decided to set up the tent about six miles from where they had encountered the police. They had continued to follow the river so that they would have fish to eat and the cub continued to shadow them. They both lay inside the tent listening to the cub rummaging around out there; both of them were dead tired.

  “I don't want to walk anymore,” said Brody. “My feet hurt. Why do we have to keep walking tomorrow?”

  “You want to get thrown in jail for twenty years?”

  “I don't care as long as they feed me pizza.”

  Jayden shook his head. “You're not gonna get pizza in jail and you're not gonna be able to take that bear either. They'll give you puke on a plate and they'll make you eat it.”

  “I don't wanna go then.” Brody scratched the back of his head vigorously as if he had fleas. How far do we have to walk tomorrow?”

  Jayden smiled. “Fifty miles.”

  “I can't walk fifty miles in one day!”

  “Well as far as we can then. We have to get the hell out of this area or they'll be on us like fleas on a dog.” Jayden took the handgun and pointed it at Brody's head and cocked it.

  “Jayden, what are you doing?”

  “Relax; we don't have any bullets left.” Jayden nodded and smiled. “They say to never ever point a gun at anyone even if it's not loaded, but if it's not loaded it may as well be a rock.”

  Brody was glad to hear that. “If we don't have any bullets left you might as well throw it away. If the cops see it they'll shoot us and we can't even shoot back.”

  Jayden stared at the gun and considered what Brody had said. “I suppose your right.” He threw the handgun outside where it came to rest against a rock. The bear went up to the gun and hit it with his paw and the gun went off, putting a bullet right through the end of Brody's right sneaker. The cub took off on the run.

  Brody couldn't believe it. “The bear shot at me!”

  “He didn't shoot at you on purpose the gun went off.”

  “Jayden, you said the gun was empty.”

  Jayden thought that it was a good thing he hadn't pulled the trigger when he was aiming it at Brody. “I must have miscounted the bullets. I'm usually good about things like that.”

  “What if the bear was just waiting for his chance to shoot me? He could have watched us use the gun and learned how to do it.” Brody looked sad at the idea that his bear might have turned on him.

  Jayden shook his head. “He wouldn't shoot his own mother now would he?”

  “No, that's true. Do you think he'll come back?”

  “Brody, that gun going off scared him so bad that he's probably half way to Cuba by now. I don't know if he's brave enough to come back or not but I doubt it.”

  Brody thought about that. “I sure hope he doesn't come back with a rifle because that would prove that it was no accident.”

  Jayden slowly turned and looked into Brody's eyes and just shook his head.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Inside the ship Sam, Michael, Jake, Johnny and Randy went through hours of panic, kicking and punching the walls, screaming and even crying. They were trapped. Although none of them were resigned to being trapped in there forever, they knew it might be the case. The saucer had changed somehow making it impossible to get out. Michael hurt his foot kicking the wall. They took turns at trying to put their hands and heads through every part of the ship but it was useless. Sam even tried his father's battery powered drill but it didn't accomplish anything. Alien technology was amazing but they were not thinking about that now, there were no buttons or anything else to push, no physical door to open and apparently no solution to the problem.

  Jake locked eyes with Sam. “The walkie-talkies don't work. We can't call out for help. We're gonna freaking starve to death in here.”

  “Some summer vacation,” said Randy. “A hundred years from now our skeletons will probably still be in here. Our parents will never know what happened to us. We'll become one of those unsolved mysteries.”

  “Let us out of here,” Johnny shouted at the ship. He tried to push his way through the wall again but it was no use. “This stupid thing doesn't even understand our language!”

  Michael stood up and started talking in a disguised voice. “What happened to those boys? Their bodies were never found. Was foul play involved? Were they kidnapped by aliens that stuck things in their butts until they died? Or did Bigfoot have them for dinner? Or did they get trapped in an alien ship, eventually dying of starvation?”

  “I pick the last one,” said Johnny.

  Sam was considering that if the saucer was in fact in the process of repairing itself, what would happen when it was finished. If it became fully functional would it be able to escape the confines of the cliff? That was a thought that was as scary as any monster. “Hey guys, if this thing is fixing itself, when it's finished it might let us out.”

  “Maybe,” said Randy. “Or maybe it will take off to its home planet with us in here.”

  Jake slowly turned toward Randy. “Yeah like we weren't scared enough?”

  Randy shrugged. “Just saying.”

  “I wouldn't mind going to the moon or maybe even to Mars if it didn't take too long to get there but any further than that would be too scary.” Michael had dreamed of walking on Mars many times. “Imagine how cool it would be to explore Mars in this thing?”

  Johnny had a horrible thought. “How do we know that we are not in space right now? Since we can't see outside anymore how do we know where we are? Maybe that's why it won't let us out?”

  “That actually makes sense,” said Randy.

  Everyone stared at one another knowing that it could be true, with different levels of panic on their faces. If they were now in space it was likely that the ship wouldn't let them stick their heads out where there was no air to breathe. Randy thought that they could be travelling faster than the speed of light for all he knew. How cool would that be to be the fastest humans ever?

  Jake stood up and looked as white as a ghost. “I think I'm gonna throw up.” He ran against the wall and threw up all over it, and the vomit simply vanished inside the ship. “You guys see that? My puke disappeared. The ship ate it.” He tried to put his hand through she ship where the vomit had been but it didn't work. “How come it let my puke out but it won't let us out?”

  “Well if we're travelling at the speed of light in outer space that might be one reason,” said Randy.

  “Who do you guys think is gonna croak first?” said Michael.

  Everyone shouted simultaneously. “Shut up!”

  “I need to pee,�
�� said Sam. And as he went against the wall and did so everyone looked away as the urine went right through the wall and disappeared.

  Just then the sphere entered the ship and went right over to Randy and scanned him with a purple light. He screamed and tried to push it away but he couldn't budge it. The ball raised Randy as if he was in zero gravity and turned him around as all the others backed away from it. The alien thing sank into his back as Michael got up and tried to attack it, frightened that it was hurting Randy, but it zapped him and it hurt, making him sit back down.

  “I don't know what the heck its doing,” said Michael, “but I can't stop it.”

  Sam nodded as he thought about it. “Maybe it's trying to help him? That would be so freaking cool if Randy could walk again.”

  The sphere was commencing to cut into Randy's back and they could now see that he was unconscious. When a small amount of blood squirted out it was panic time. They couldn't stand to watch.

  “Oh shit!” screamed Jake. “It's operating on him. Maybe dissecting him.” He stood up and again tried to get out of the saucer but couldn't.

  The sphere floated over to Jake and scanned him. Suddenly Jake found himself floating as the globe scanned every inch of him with purple light. “Help me guys! I can't move anything all I can do is blink. I'm paralyzed!”

  Everyone commenced to pound on the walls desperate to get out. Was that thing now going to experiment on all of them? They all lost consciousness and slowly sank to the floor.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  PARKED IN RANDY'S YARD were two police cars. The officers were staking their statements, taking notes, aware of the stress they were feeling. The tall officers looked imposing with their guns and uniforms, trained to take charge of just about any situation. They would soon enter the forest in search of Randy and the others. They learned that the boys were prepared for a few nights in the forest and they might be okay but that they might also have run into the bank robbers, and there was no way of knowing how desperate those men would be and what they might do. Desperation made people do things that they would otherwise never consider.

  John now felt terrible at the lack of attention that he had given Randy, and now realized that his son was more important than all the booze in the world and he hoped that it wasn't too late. If anything happened to Randy he knew that he would never get over it. His head was spinning at the thought of it. John knew that the forest was no place for children. Even the most experienced hunters occasionally went missing out there.

  “We're not exactly sure how long they've been out there officer,” said Stella. “They were just supposed to be staying in that tent across the road. In his wheelchair it's hard for him to keep up with the others and we were happy that he had some friends to play with.”

  John could see the anxiety in his wife's face and until Randy was safe at home neither one of them would be able to rest. They were stressed to the max now, what if days went by without finding him? Why hadn't he gone to check on him sooner? He had been more concerned with his alcohol than anything else. It was almost more than he could bear.

  “We're going to send the chopper up to search the area where they were last seen,” said Officer Green. “And we're going to send in two K-9's to aid in the search. We'll do our best to locate them.”

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  THE BOYS RETURNED TO CONSCIOUSNESS SIMULTANEOUSLY, and as they opened their eyes they felt calmer than they had been but still had to face the reality of being trapped inside the alien ship. They all looked at one another wondering what had happened. How long had they been unconscious? Johnny didn't exactly feel weak but he did feel strange. This adventure was now much too scary to be fun. They couldn't think of anything positive about being trapped inside the saucer.

  Sam stared at Randy with an inquisitive look. “Randy, that freaking thing was operating on you. Can you walk?”

  Whatever had happened Randy couldn't remember. He didn't feel any different than before. “No, of course not.”

  “Try to get up and see what happens,” said Michael. “Or at least try to move your legs.”

  Randy shook his head because they were being foolish. He tried to move his legs but couldn't. “I can't. Are you guys bonkers or what?”

  Johnny shrugged. “I guess he's too broken to be fixed.”

  “Want to know something funny guys,” said Jake. “I'm not hungry at all, and as a matter of fact I feel full.”

  Sam nodded. “Yeah, me too. I feel like I just ate a whole pizza by myself.” He belched loudly.

  Unexpectedly the sphere appeared from out of the floor; it went up and hovered near the ceiling where it shot black beams of light into the wall, where black sparks flew from making contact with something inside there. It made strange cute metallic noises as if it was talking to itself, and appeared satisfied with whatever it had accomplished. Suddenly as if by magic a window appeared with a swish; however it was facing the dark cliff wall. The clear window rotated to the front of the ship and they could see that they were still in the forest. However it was proof that the globe was indeed in the process of repairing the saucer. If they could find a way to get out that was one thing but if not.

  They were all happy to know that they weren't in outer space.

  “Thank you god!” said Randy. “We're not in space!”

  Sam got up and went over to the window and looked out. “If we can see out I wonder if anyone can see in? Or maybe it's one of those one-way things?” Randy attempted to put his hand through the window but no such luck; he rested his head against it being disappointed. “We might not be in space guys but this thing is fixing itself. If we don't get the hell out of here we're probably gonna be in space.”

  Johnny thought about that. “If we die in here will our ghosts be so far from home that we won't be able to get back?”

  Randy shook his head. “That sounds boring. Floating in space forever.”

  Jake pointed. “Hey, I can see a helicopter out there. Look!”

  Their view of the outside world disappeared as the viewing portal closed.

  “What the hell,” said Randy. “It doesn't want us to see the copter? Come on, open that damn window.”

  “Probably still working on fixing itself,” Sam answered. “I sure wish I was home right now.”

  The sphere sank back into the floor as Randy crawled over to the point where it had disappeared and pounded on the solid floor. “That is so weird. Why can it still go through the walls and the floor but we can't?”

  “Because we're its prisoners,” said Michael. “It is going to take us all back to its home planet where we're all gonna get butt probes.”

  They all grimaced at the thought of it. Butt probes or not, no one wanted to be taken into deep space with no way home. Johnny felt his way around the ship, pushing against the walls once more as he searched for a way out.

  Jake shook his head at the thought of it. “No alien is going near my butt.”

  “Oh yeah?” said Randy. “They'll tie you up to a steel table and you won't be able to move and then POW right up your butt!”

  Jake shook his head. “That is not funny Randy.”

  The sphere reappeared but now it had legs like a spider and started to crawl around on the floor. The eight legs were hitting the floor making peculiar clicking noises as if they were magnetic. The thing made its way near Johnny as it started to slowly spin near his left foot, shooting white beams of light out of its legs into the floor. Johnny was tempted to kick it but didn't dare. If he attacked it then it could decide to defend itself.

  The ship shuddered and everyone's eyes opened a little wider. Then it shuttered a second time and then a third. The sphere pulled in its legs and sank back down into the floor.

  “What the hell was that?” said Jake.

  “Oh no!” Michael looked extremely worried. “I think it's trying to pull itself out of the cliff. We're in big trouble here guys. Big trouble. I don't want to go to some alien planet with giant insects th
at will suck our brains out through our noses.”

  Randy started to laugh from the anxiety. “Yeah, I can just hear them in class. Where are Randy and the others? Oh, there on planet Flipsnot getting their butts probed.”

  Everyone laughed and laughed until the saucer shuttered again, and this time the jolt was even stronger. And then no one laughed as they all moved closer to one another. Johnny thought that had they told someone they probably wouldn't be in this predicament, because the government would have come and taken it away, and of course pretended that it never existed.

  “I don't wanna be lost in space!” Sam was starting to panic.

  “Make it stop,” Randy screamed, now almost crying.

  Sam shook his head. “I can't make it do anything.”

  They were all a little happier as the shuttering had stopped. Sam desperately hoped that it just didn't have the power to pull itself out and had given up, because that would be great news for the boys, although they would still be trapped in there, but at least they wouldn't end up a million miles from home. They all looked apprehensive as they waited for another jolt but nothing happened. Now even the quietness was somehow disturbing.

  “Thank god,” said Randy. “I think gave up. It is stuck pretty far in the cliff.”

  Johnny thought about that. “Or it pulled itself out and now we're in space.”

  Just then the saucer managed to pull itself out of the cliff, went up to about a thousand feet and hovered as it went through a check of all its systems. Everything got the green light indicating that all systems were positive. The craft headed straight for the helicopter that was approaching from the south. The disk hovered near the helicopter as the police officers mouths hung open. The alien ship's window slid open as Randy, Sam, Michael, Jake and Johnny stared at the police officers from inside the saucer who stared back at them. Michael waved weakly at the officers and one of them returned the wave. They couldn't believe what they were seeing.

  “Oh no, we're flying!” Michael screamed.