Keepsake

by Dan Holt

  While they studied the scene, the sphere timed out and the flash occurred again, concealed by Audrina’s closed purse.

  “Thanks,” Brandon said and handed the book back to the friendly driver. He drove away. Brandon glanced at Audrina then eased the car forward on the dirt road. Audrina unzipped her purse and retrieved the sphere. When they topped the hill Brandon stopped the car and he and Audrina got out. They shielded their eyes from the Sun and looked across the terrain.

  “Looks like just another piece of the New Mexico desert doesn’t it,” Audrina said.

  “It isn’t though.”

  “No…no it isn’t,” Audrina agreed then walked out away from the car looking at the ground. Brandon followed and couldn’t help doing the same thing although he knew that thousands of sets of eyes had thoroughly searched every square inch of the area. Everything from the size of the head of a match and up would have been picked up and examined; probably several times. And, no doubt, would be many more times by people who wanted to find something, anything at all, that would verify that it was real and it had really happened.

  That something they desperately wanted had been given to Brandon on his birthday. Now he knew for real. He stopped and shielded his eyes again and looked at the surroundings far into the distance. To the south, miles away, was the Lincoln National Forest and Boy Scout Mountain. To the left, the town of Roswell and the site of the Roswell Army Air Field, now the Roswell airport. To the west was another mountain range. To the east, more desert, as well as to the north. Audrina stepped up to Brandon’s side.

  “If anything escaped being found it would just about have to be away from this area; maybe in one of those mountain ranges, or the forest.” Audrina nodded, glanced at the sphere then dropped it in her purse and closed it. “You hungry?” she said looking up at Brandon.

  He nodded. “Let’s drive back into town, get a room, and go to lunch.” They drove back to the main highway to Roswell and headed south into town.

  At the six-mile mark, the sphere, passing out of range, turned off.

  Cha

  pter 5

  THE UFO MUSEUM

  Shortly after entering the city limits they spotted a Best Western motel, pulled into the drive, rented a room for three days, and unloaded the car. Minutes later, they were downtown in a restaurant. The waitress appeared, smiling warmly.

  “What can I get you folks?” They placed their orders then Brandon said,

  “…and could you tell me which way is it to the old Army Air Field?”

  “Sure,” she said and smiled again. “Lots of people ask about that. It’s about seven miles south on Main Street. You’ll drive straight into it. It’s now called the Commercial Air Field. Also, if you’re interested, the UFO museum is just down Main Street from here about half a block on your right.”

  “Thank you,” Brandon said.

  He turned to Audrina. “Let’s stop by the museum on the way to the air field.”

  Audrina nodded. “Yes. I’d like to inquire about the crash.” She opened her purse and picked up the sphere. “Do you think we should tell them about this?”

  “No,” Brandon said quickly. “There’s no telling what that might stir up.”

  Audrina nodded. “They would jump on it, especially if we showed them the letter and told them about your grandfather’s being there.”

  “I think we should just play the tourist roll for now and see what we can find out about 1947.”

  Audrina agreed. Brandon saw excitement in her eyes.

  Brandon and Audrina walked the half block to the UFO Museum and Research Center and entered. There was a group of people gathered at the first exhibit. A museum guide turned from a six-foot-by-six-foot map of the Roswell area and began speaking.

  “Ah, we’re at the start of the tour,” Audrina said. They hurried over to the group and joined them as the speaker began.

  First, he explained the origin of the UFO Museum and Research Center, named its staff, one of which had been sixteen years old and lived in Roswell when the crash occurred. Then he turned to the map and pointed. “This is Roswell. Up to the north about twenty-three miles is the Alleged Site featured in the Roswell movie. Then further north and left at the next intersection toward Corona is the Debris Field.”

  Brandon looked at the area the guide was indicating. It was the site he and Audrina had visited earlier. The guide continued; “It is our contention that there were two saucers. During the electrical storm on that fateful weekend, one of the ships was hit by lightning, which caused it to collide with its sister ship. The impact of the two ships caused their outer hulls to explode; the debris raining down causing the debris field near Corona. Following the accident, the two ships flew several miles before impacting the ground. One flew about twenty miles and impacted a rain gully north of Roswell, now known as the Alleged Site. The other flew some thirty-two miles and came down in the Lincoln National Forest close to a camp ground due south of the Debris Field.” Brandon and Audrina looked at each other.

  “My God,” Brandon said, “there were two spaceships—saucers. They ran into each other and then crashed.”

  Audrina nodded. “We saw only part of the crash site, or sites. We’ve got to visit the other two; the actual sites where the ships hit.”

  The speaker continued. “Where the second ship came down was just off Old Pine Lodge Road in the Lincoln National Forest. In 1947, it was Highway 48; now it’s Highway 246, however, it’s still known as Old Pine Lodge Road. At the time the saucer crashed there was a couple camping just fifty yards away. They were there partying for the Fourth of July weekend. They saw the bright flash of light when the ships exploded then saw the ship coming at them. It cut a swath through the trees as it came in. It hit a huge rock, about the size of an automobile and cracked it in half then came to rest leaning up against it.

  “That couple was an oil field worker named James Ragsdale and his girlfriend. They made their way through the woods to the impact site and found that the violent collision with the huge rock ruptured the craft. It ripped a hole in the spaceship large enough to actually get inside.

  “Mr. Ragsdale passed away on July 1, 1995. On June 26th, a few days before his death, he allowed us to make a video about the event. We also have a book containing his story.”

  “We have to get that video and the book,” Brandon said.

  The group moved to the next exhibit. Brandon and Audrina followed. When they passed a divider, they saw, behind a large picture window, a hospital bed with a figurine of an alien lying on it and a mannequin dressed in surgical garb standing at the end of the bed. The figurine was identical to the Roswell Movie’s depiction of the alien’s appearance. Brandon experienced a solemn moment as he looked at the scene. “This scene was donated to the UFO Museum and Research Center by the Producer of the Roswell movie.” Brandon raised his hand. The guide pointed at him and raised his eyebrows.

  “Did Mr. Ragsdale see this?” “No. I wish he could have seen it. I would like to know how close it is to the real appearance and size.” Brandon nodded. The guide continued his speech as Brandon and Audrina studied the small figurine. Brandon was staring at the abdomen of the three and a half feet long representation of the alien when the guide’s voice again captured his ears…”—navel. We don’t know if that’s a true representation but if it is, it has implications on how…” Brandon leaned close to Audrina’s ear.

  “They may be very different from us.” The group moved on through the tour. Brandon glanced into the video viewing room when the guide pointed it out to the group. When the tour finished the group of people dispersed to different parts of the museum. Brandon and Audrina walked slowly around the walls looking at all the displays, photographs, and paintings. A rack of flyers was sitting by one of the displays. The sign indicated they were free. One of them titled EBE caught Brandon’s eye. He picked it up. Half an hour later, they were standing in front of a rack full of books and video tapes.

  Brandon picked up the b
ook and the video. He paid the cashier then asked if the viewing room was available. The lady gestured toward it and smiled. He and Audrina went into the viewing room, seated themselves, opened the ‘Ragsdale Story’ and began to read. Fifteen minutes later, they looked at each other.

  “This guy is for real,” Audrina said. “Oh, I envy him.” Brandon nodded then stepped up to the big screen TV and inserted the video. Following the credits and some testimonials concerning Roswell and James Ragsdale the image of an old man filled the screen. There were two other people standing as his bedside. The old man began to talk and answer questions as one who was not schooled in presentations on camera. He spoke in his own language etiquette and mannerisms. Brandon eyes widened. His gut told him that he was hearing the truth. A truth with serious implications. He glanced at Audrina; she was caught up in the video. When it finished she turned toward Brandon.

  “It’s true. One of the saucers came down in the Lincoln National Forest. It flew that far after the explosion.”

  “Let’s talk to one of the staff and get directions to the Ragsdale site. We can drive out there in the morning.” Brandon spotted an older white haired man greeting people as they came into the Research Center. Brandon approached and asked directions. He stepped around the counter and returned with a copy of a hand drawn map. The staff member briefly explained the map. Brandon then asked another question:

  “Where do I turn off the road to the Alleged Site?” The gentleman gave the directions then smiled again.

  “Thank you,” Brandon said. “This is a nice museum; we enjoyed our visit.”

  “We’ve had visitors from all over the world in the last three years.” Brandon nodded and shook hands with the older man then he and Audrina went out the door and onto the sidewalk. Brandon looked back toward the restaurant and their parked car.

  “Let’s go back to the motel and digest this information.” Audrina nodded. They returned to their car. Brandon started it then looked at the flyer titled EBE. Audrina noticed. They read it together. “It says that an alien survived until ’52,” Brandon said, “and an Entomologist was taken to examine him. The guy gave him the name EBE.”

  “I heard about that,” Audrina added. “Extraterrestrial Biological Entity.”

  Brandon and Audrina sat on the motel bed leaning up against the headboard reading the italicized words from the Ragsdale book again. The words that James Ragsdale himself spoke during the final interview.

  “Considering the way the Roswell Incident happened and the cover up that followed, this man was very lucky,” Audrina said. “He just happened to be where one of the ships came down and got to see it and to see the aliens; the people from the other planet as your grandfather put it.”

  “Ragsdale called them little people about three or four feet tall,” Brandon offered. “He said they were gray skinned and he actually touched one of them and the skin felt like a wet snake, a reptilian feel. He said he tried to pull off one of the crew’s helmet and couldn’t because it fit too tight. Was it because it wasn’t a helmet but was an exoskeleton? That would mean they have insectoid attributes. Big eyes, he said; that’s insect type. And something else, there was no windshield or windows in the ship. If those larger eyes had a much broader spectrum of vision than we do, say, including the x-ray band, they could see through the wall of the ship. No windshield needed. No wonder that the people that dealt with the discovery were frightened enough to think the public was not ready for such a revelation. There are also claims that they, the aliens, did not use voice communication as we do; it was in that movie; they used telepathy instead. That would be scary.”

  Audrina was quiet for a moment. “This is getting serious.”

  Thursday morning, following breakfast, they headed north on Main street.

  “There it is,” Brandon said when he saw the sign: Pine Lodge Road.

  While Brandon waited for clearance to make the left turn, Audrina leaned forward and looked down the street then opened her purse and retrieved the sphere. Brandon looked at it then made the turn when the traffic cleared. He drove slowly until he was out of the city and then increased his speed on the blacktop road. Soon he came to a Y in the road. A sign indicated Hwy 256 was to the right; Brandon followed it. Audrina had the sphere in her hand with the hand laying in her lap. She was scanning the view out the windshield.

  The proximity sequence inside the sphere, passing in range, initiated and it flashed.

  Audrina’s eyes snapped to the sphere for a few seconds then to Brandon.

  “Did you see that?”

  “What?”

  “A flash of light!” she said holding up the sphere. Bandon’s eyes snapped to the sphere for a few seconds then he looked back through the windshield and corrected the car’s direction. He pulled over to the side of the road and stopped the car. He picked up the sphere from Audrina’s hand and stared at it.

  “It flashed?” Brandon said excitedly.

  “Yeah! It was a pink light. I was looking around when I saw a flash of a pinkish colored light.”

  They sat on the side of the road for several minutes watching the sphere. Brandon shook it. It remained its well-known smoky black color.

  “Maybe the flash you saw was a piece of broken glass beside the road or something.”

  “No, it was inside the car.” They watched the Keepsake a few more minutes; it remained inert, then Brandon glanced at Audrina.

  “Let’s put in on the dash so we can see it and continue on to the crash site.” Audrina nodded. Brandon placed the sphere on the center of the dash. It rolled to the passenger side of the car. Audrina opened her purse, pulled out a Kleenex, folded it four times then placed it on the center of the dash. Brandon put the Keepsake on it. It remained in place. He steered the car back onto the road and resumed highway speed. As the miles rolled by, every few seconds, Brandon glanced at the sphere. Anticipation began to build in him as he kept up the vigil of watching the road and the sphere at the same time. An oncoming car pulled his attention from the Keepsake for a few moments. As soon and the car was clear he resumed his vigil.

  Inside the sphere the timed proximity sequence reset and the flash occurred again.

  Brandon was looking straight at it when it happened. He slammed on the brakes and the car skidded to a stop sitting at an angle in the road. Audrina braced herself on the dash as the Road Atlas and her purse went into the floor. The sphere rolled off the Kleenex and to the right side of the car. Brandon reached and picked it up.

  “I saw it!” he said.

  “I did, too!” A car pulled up behind them. The driver honked the horn. Brandon looked through the right hand mirror then pulled the car onto the shoulder of the road. The driver pulled up beside them and looked through his right hand window.

  “You folks okay?”

  “Yes,” Brandon said. “I just dropped something. Thanks for stopping.” The driver nodded, smiled, and then drove away. Brandon looked at the sphere then at Audrina. Her eyes met his.

  “Do you know what this means!” Brandon said. “There’s something still here and this is connected to it somehow.”

  Audrina picked up the sphere from Brandon’s hand and examined the surface again. “Whatever it is has waited for fifty years,”

  Brandon nodded.

  “I wonder if what’s on the other end knows we are here.” Audrina added. Bandon sat back in the seat for a moment.

  “That’s a good question,” he said, and then muttered: “Grandpa, what have you gotten us into?” He looked at Audrina. “Let’s drive on to the crash site. Maybe this will lead us to it; whatever it is.”

  “Brandon,” Audrina said acutely, “this could be very serious.”

  “I’ve got to know,” Brandon said. Audrina was quiet for a few moments.

  “Me, too. How often do you think it flashes?” Brandon looked at her and blinked then looked at the sphere then his watch. Audrina looked at hers.

  “How long since you saw it flash the first time?”

>   “About thirty or forty minutes,” Audrina said. “But that may not be the first time it’s flashed. It may be just the first time we saw it. It’s been in my purse most of the time.” Brandon looked at Audrina then looked down, blinking his eyes in thought.

  “I wonder how long it’s been flashing. It wasn’t flashing in Wichita Falls or on the way here. We had it out in the open almost all the time then. It didn’t start flashing until we got here.” Brandon and Audrina looked at each other, then stared at each other’s eyes for a few seconds then shouted in unison:

  “Proximity!”

  “It’s a proximity device!” Brandon said loudly.

  “Yeah,” Audrina said, “and we’re close enough to activate it. It’s 9:45 a.m. right now. It flashed about five minutes ago. That means that it’s about half an hour between flashes.” Audrina opened her purse and took out a writing pad and a pen then looked at her watch again.

  “Five minutes ago would be 9:40,” she said and noted the time on the pad. “Let’s sit here until it flashes again and check how long between flashes.” Brandon nodded then placed the sphere back on the dash. They watched the Keepsake anticipating the next flash of light.

  “Just think,” Brandon said, “all the years that Grandpa had it that he never knew about the flashes. He must have found it and concealed it on his person between flashes. Then when they finished the cleanup and went back to Roswell, it was out of range. What a monumental coincidence. If it had flashed the military would have quickly taken it and went about doing what we are doing right now.”

  “Your grandfather must have never brought it out here.”

  “To him if was a special souvenir.”

  “It’s more, a lot more.” They were silent for a time. A few minutes later the flash occurred again. They had their eyes on the sphere when it happened. The light originated deep inside the sphere, radiated to the surface, then a pink flash occurred. Brandon blinked several times then looked at his watch. Audrina checked the time.