The man stuck his head inside the door to his house. “Mildred! Going over to New Castle! Tell Roy to keep an eye on things!”
A high-pitched country voice yelled back. “OK, dear!”
The man nodded toward the car as he held out his hand for a shake. “Mathew Hodge.”
Johnny shook it. “Johnny Tretcher. This is Mace Hardy. We’re staying up at the cave.”
“I know who you are. This whole valley knows. You stopped that gang that burned down Union.”
Johnny frowned. “Truth of that is we were getting our asses kicked. They had us pinned down in the cave when the Marines and National Guard showed up.”
As they settled into the old Plymouth and shut the doors, Mathew Hodge said, “Heard about that, too. Lot of good people from Union died that day.”
The conversation continued until the trio pulled into a makeshift livestock yard just off the highway in New Castle. After ten minutes of walking, Johnny grabbed Mace by the arm.
A finger pointed. “That cow look like it used to have a red three painted on its side?”
Mace nodded. “I’d say so.”
Johnny pointed toward the other side of the yard. “Old Stake body like the girl described. Somebody sitting in it right now.”
Mathew Hodges scowled. “That cow pen has a pig in it. Right size to be one of mine.”
Mace rubbed his beard. “You can’t see the truck from the pen. I say we check out the guy in the truck first. I’d like to cut off any avenue of escape if we could before confronting the others.”
Johnny nodded. “I could agree to that. The two men at the pen don’t look to be going anywhere.”
Mace, Johnny, and Mathew Hodge circled around behind the stake-body truck. Mathew walked in front of a row of vehicles as Mace and Johnny came in from behind. Mace was the first at the driver’s door with his weapon raised.
“Get out of the truck.”
The middle-aged man with a scraggly goatee looked back. “What for?”
Johnny stepped up to his other window. “You best slide that gun across the seat to me. You make any kind of hostile move and my friend there won’t hesitate to pull that trigger.”
Mathew came up on Johnny’s side. “This white truck right beside it is the one I saw following it this morning. Those two over at the pen have to be the men we’re looking for.”
The man stepped out. Johnny retrieved several tie-wraps from the trunk of the Plymouth. After restricting the man’s arms behind his back, Mace looked toward the livestock pens.
“We can’t march over there dragging this guy with us,” said Johnny.
Mace nodded. “Not unless we’re looking for a gunfight.”
“Let me go over and distract them,” offered Mathew. “I can act like I’m interested in buying the pig. You come up behind and we’ll settle it from there.”
Johnny laughed. “For a country bumpkin, you sure are cool about this.”
Mathew half smiled. “Twenty-two years as a New York detective before moving out here. Mildred’s father left us the farm. I wanted Roy to grow up away from that mess in the city. Lost that New York accent after the first year.”
Johnny patted Mathew on the shoulder. “I knew I liked this guy.”
The area around the pens had several dozen buyers inspecting the livestock and negotiating prices. The sellers were all smiles as they pushed whatever they had available. All prices were in measurable gold or trade. Currencies had no value.
The plan was put into play. Mathew gave his best impression of an interested buyer as Mace approached from behind. The two men were caught off guard. Seconds later, a half dozen weapons were raised by the surrounding buyers and sellers.
A manager of the small stockyard said, “Mister, you best have reason for drawing on these men.”
Mace replied, “These men murdered three people near Caldwell this morning. That cow has a red number painted on it. You can see they did a half-ass job of removing it.”
Mathew said, “And this pig is mine. Stolen by these rustlers a week ago over off 219 just north of Union.”
The two accused thieves stood with their hands up. One, tall, with a long brown beard and a large gut. The other short and slender.
The taller of the two men replied, “That’s a lie! We just brought these over from Lynchburg this afternoon.”
Mathew growled. “OK, if this is your pig, call it over.”
“What?”
Mathew pressed: “I said, call… it… over.”
The man looked at the crowd that was gathering. “OK ��� here, piggy-piggy.”
Mathew shook his head. “Spam and Eggs!”
The pig turned, wiggling its curly tail.
Another man from the crowd raised his hand. “I came up behind these men on the road from Sweet Springs a couple hours ago. They didn’t come from Lynchburg.”
The men who now ran New Castle stepped forward. “Sorry to tell you, boys, but rustling is a hanging offense. Ricky, get the rope. Everybody else, out to the roadway. We hang rustlers from the sign.”
One of the men attempted to draw a pistol from in his belt. Mace responded with a quick rifle butt to the back of his head.
As a handful of others grabbed the remaining man, Mathew pointed at the parking lot. “We got another one already tied up over there. Might as well bring him along for a swing.”
The crowd of men pushed and shoved the offenders toward the roadway as a separate group moved toward the parking lot.
Mathew stood beside Mace. “Can’t say I disapprove of the speed of justice on this. Had they stolen those pigs a year ago some fancy attorney would have had them walking with a fifty dollar fine. They won’t be stealing anything else from the wrong end of that rope.”
Mace nodded. “I think we can agree on this instance. But lynch mobs are not something we want to bring back.”
The stockyard authorities, including the town sheriff, said a few words before the three men were hanged.
Johnny turned away. “I can shoot a man in the chest in defense. Don’t know if I could put a rope around his neck.”
Mace turned back toward the pen. “Mr. Hodge, I’d say you have a pig to transport. And I would bet the men running this place would have no problem with you taking that old stake-body as compensation for the other.”
Mathew Hodge glanced back at the swinging bodies. “I have to wonder, if hangings had been brought back as a form of capital punishment, would the streets of our cities have been safer?”
Johnny replied, “Don’t think we’ll ever know the answer to that one.”
Chapter 4
*
The skies remained empty for more than a week. On the tenth day, Tres watched as a bright fireball dropped from the sky above, slowing to a crawl as it came to a stop over the town of Ronceverte.
He raced into the mouth of the cave where the others were sitting. “Big ship just dropped from above and is hovering over Ronceverte!”
They ran out into the open to get a view. The long silvery-gray ship hovered in silence a thousand feet over the town.
Johnny said, “So this is it? An invasion?”
Mace replied, “Can’t say. They haven’t done anything yet.”
A shuttlecraft departed the ship, slowly descending into Ronceverte.
Jane shook her head. “We need to have someone over there.”
Tres returned a look of unease. “Townies will let us know anything we want.”
Jane shook her head. “I think we take the Plymouth to just short of the river. Hike up one of those hills. We’ll be able to see the whole town.”
Johnny nodded. “I agree with that. I want to know what’s happening. Secondhand accounts tend to leave out details.”
Mace said, “If we do this, we should go up that first hill at the river. Any signs of hostile behavior and we head back here and lock this place down.”
Mace turned to Tres. “You willing to hold this place down while the three of us recon?”
Tres put his arm around Vanessa. “I could do that.”
Johnny said, “If they come this way, you can always leave the old man out as a distraction.”
Jasper replied, “Hey now. I still own this property. You need to treat the old man with a little respect!”
“I just did. I’m sure you could keep them annoyed long enough for us to make it back. You do that every day to me.”
“That’s because you’re a simpleton.”
Jane held up her hand. “OK, let’s not get into this today. We have much bigger issues before us.”
Mace said, “We need to pack food for a day. Binoculars for each of us. And a pad and pen to write with. If we aren’t observing the town I want ideas of what looks vulnerable on that ship.”
Johnny sighed as he stared at the massive ship from their position. “I can’t believe we’re seeing this. Just never thought traveling that distance across the stars was possible. That was the reason I dropped out of astrophysics. The distances just seemed too great.”
Tres said, “Technology has a way of making things possible that we thought were impossible. Two examples are the planes we flew in and the phones we carried around. Go back to when the Confederates had this cave and tell them those two things were coming. They’d call you crazy.”
Johnny frowned. “Truth of it is, I’m feeling kind of crazy right now.”
Jane said, “OK, let’s get this flea circus moving. We have that smaller craft on the ground over there. I want to know what they’re up to.”
The food and gear were pulled together and the Plymouth loaded. Eight minutes later the car was parked on the side of the road, just behind a high hill and out of direct view of the large ship. The trek up the back side of the hill had the trio positioned for observation of the entire town.
“The craft’s parked on the ball field,” said Jane. “I see four townspeople, one I recognize as the sheriff. He’s standing in the end zone.”
Johnny peered through his binoculars. “Doesn’t look like they’ve opened up yet.”
Mace scanned the ship up above. “I can see what looks like gun turrets, but they aren’t aimed down. Hang on. A bay door is opening. We have a second shuttle coming down.”
Jane nudged Johnny. “You see that? On the shuttle down there. Is that a ramp dropping down?”
“That’s what it looks like.”
A ramp extended from just under the forward third of the shuttle to the ground. A puff of steam shot down, blanketing the area around the ramp. An alien biped, dressed in a gray suit with a hard exterior and a helmet, slowly walked down the ramp.
Johnny took a deep breath. “That thing can’t be more than a meter tall.”
A second and then a third alien walked down the ramp. Each hesitated before stepping out onto the grassy field in front of them, taking a moment to rub the bottom of their boots on the grass, twisting their feet as they familiarized themselves with the Earth environment.
The sheriff began to walk toward the three, his right hand in the air with his palm open. When he reached a position within five meters of the trio, the first alien raised his glove hand with his palm facing forward. The sheriff glanced over his shoulder with a smile toward the other townies. They began the walk forward.
As Mace, Johnny, and Jane watched, the sheriff began to talk. What appeared to be fifteen seconds of silence followed, ending with the sheriff nodding his head and then pointing toward the center of town.
Johnny lowered his binoculars. “Does that look like he’s talking to them? They would have to be speaking English.”
Jane replied, “They have a ship that can travel the stars: I would think communications would be easy. Besides, we’ve been broadcasting every language on this planet out into space for the last century. Anyone coming here would have to have heard it, and worked to translate it. It’s what we would do.”
Johnny half frowned. “Still, that’s scary.”
The second shuttle landed beside the first. Seconds later a ramp extended and four aliens began bringing boxes down. The sheriff was guided to the first of the containers, which was opened before him. The alien leader gestured for him to take from the container and eat. The sheriff lifted a substance from the box with his right hand, sniffed it, and took a small taste. A smile and a nod brought the other townies over for a try.
Johnny said, “Why on Earth would you eat something out of a box from an alien that you just met?”
“Does seem a bit unusual,” said Mace, “but we can’t hear what they’re talking about down there.”
Another crate was brought down from the second shuttle. It measured two meters long by a meter tall and a meter wide. After what appeared to be a conversation, one of the townies was sent running across the field toward an old pickup. A short drive to a local building ensued. Then the truck and its driver returned several minutes later.
Jane said, “Is that a lamp?”
Mace nodded. “I believe so.”
The alien looked over the lamp before plugging the cord end into a socket. The lamp lit up. The sheriff was all smiles as the alien pointed at the crate and gestured toward the entire town.
Johnny gave an inquisitive look. “Generator?”
Mace turned his binoculars back toward the large ship. “It would appear so. And from the looks of the sheriff, they plan on lighting the town with it.”
Johnny said, “Anyone else suspicious of this benevolent behavior? We lose power and communications, world slides into chaos, and these aliens show up with food and generators?”
Jane replied, “Always with the conspiracy.”
Johnny shook his head. “I’m just saying. The timing is suspicious.”
Jane lowered her binoculars. “How about this ��� they’ve been watching us. They saw we were in trouble from whatever the cause of the interference was. They decided to help.”
Johnny sighed. “I’ll need some proof before signing up to that line. Mace, you have an opinion?”
“Too early to say. Although, I can say the open offers and initial communications we see here does look promising. No hostile gestures, when they would clearly have the advantage. It’s not the sign of a species bent on our destruction.”
Jane leaned back. “We could certainly use one of those generators at the cave. And some food. We’re down to about a month’s supply.”
Mace stood. “Since they appear to be friendly, I think we should pay them a visit.”
Johnny replied, “You serious? We don’t know anything yet.”
Mace looked at Johnny and smiled. “Only one way to find out.”
The trio stood, brushing leaves from their clothes before making their way down the hill to the car. Once back on the road they were stopped and continued on foot at the bridge barricade.
A townie said, “Mr. Hardy. I take it you left your weapons in the car?”
Mace nodded. “We’re good. What do you think about your visitors?”
The man shook his head. “I don’t know what to think at the moment. The sheriff’s been meeting with them and I haven’t seen any laser beams flying around, so maybe it’s all good.”
Johnny replied, “All good until they come over and suck out your brains and eat your eyeballs like candy.”
The man smiled. “Can always count on you to look at the bright side, Mr. Tretcher.”
Jane grabbed Johnny by the arm. “Come on, you big oaf. Let’s get down there to where the action is.”
Johnny asked, “You not gonna try to stop us?”
The man shrugged. “This is all new to me. We don’t have any orders for here except to try to screen out bad people from coming into town. You consider yourself bad people?”
Jane pulled on his arm as they walked. “Not bad, but sometimes demented.”
The exit from the bridge dropped down into the park where the shuttles had landed.
As the trio approached, the sheriff waved them over. “Mace, Johnny, Jane, come over here. This is Bontu Montak
. He says they can supply us with food. And they’re willing to help us to restore communications and power.”
Johnny asked, “And what do they want in return?”
Bontu Montak replied, “We want nothing more than to assist, Johnny. We seek the establishment of friendly trade. Trade that will be beneficial to both our species.”
Johnny offered a suspicious look. “How’d you know I was Johnny?”
Bontu answered, “You look like a Johnny. Doesn’t the addition of ���ny��� to the end of a name connote someone who is friendly? You were the first to speak, were you not?”
Mace laughed. “Friendly Johnny, that’s what we call him.”
Bontu nodded. “Well, Friendly Johnny, we are here to assist in any way we can. We will admit to having been observers of your species for some time. And with the advent of the magnetic storms which have plagued your planet, we thought it best to intervene.”
Johnny scowled. “Why now? Why six months after this all started?”
Bontu tapped on his arm pad. A holo-image of population numbers floated in front of him. “We had hoped your species could resolve its issues on its own. It is not our norm to interfere when planets have yet to develop interstellar travel. Given the clear reduction in your planet’s population by 67 percent in the first six months of this crisis, my superiors sought and received permission to intervene.”
Johnny asked, “Permission? Permission from who?”
Bontu shut down the holo-display. “Permission from our leaders, of course.”
Mace looked over at the food container. “What’s in the box?”
The sheriff replied, “It’s a nutrient bar. Not bad. They claim to have a variety of five such bars that will meet all our nutrition requirements. They’re all plant based, so it won’t be like we’re eating some weird bugs or something else that’s not to our liking.”
Bontu said, “We can supply enough of these bars to feed your populace for three months. During that time, if you so wish, we can restore your power and communications systems.”
Mace looked back at the meter-tall alien. “This electromagnetic interference, can you tell us where it’s coming from?”
Bontu nodded. “It comes from a star that went supernova more than ten thousand of your years ago. We expect this interference may last for several hundred years. However, we can work to shield many of its effects. Our scientists are also looking into methods of blocking this radiation altogether.”
HADRON Axiom Page 4