by Gerri Hill
“Colonel Sutter, if you would just get Lieutenant Duncan for me. He’ll—” Corey paused. “I know you’re in charge, but you’re not hearing me.” Another pause. “I’ll go directly to General Brinkley if I have to.” Corey’s jaw clenched. “Thank you,” she said tersely. “Now, if you’ll get Duncan.”
“They don’t believe you?” Dana whispered.
“He’s a goddamn jerk,” Corey said.
“Who’s Duncan?”
“He’s the one who suggested that it might not be a meteor,” Corey said.
“Okay, good. He’ll believe you then,” she said.
“I hope so.”
Dana motioned to one of the large tents that were set up off the road. “I’m going to go check on Butch. Miss Jean has the horses and Lucky.”
“Okay.” When she turned, Corey grabbed her arm and pulled her back. “I haven’t forgotten.”
Dana frowned.
“About your parents,” Corey clarified.
Dana nodded briefly. “Thanks.”
* * *
After what seemed an eternity, Lieutenant Duncan finally got on the phone.
“Captain? Colonel Sutter says—”
“Just listen to me, Duncan.” She blew out a breath. “You were right all along. It wasn’t a meteor. It’s some kind of a spaceship.”
There was only a slight pause. “Jesus,” he nearly hissed. “Are you serious?”
“Frankly, I wish I wasn’t,” she said. “We’ve got to quarantine this area. We need to send in more troops. We need—”
“Captain, we’ve deployed two platoons, thirty men in each,” Duncan said.
“When?”
“Two days ago, ma’am.”
She ran her hand over her hair. “Do you still have communication with them?”
“Not any longer, no.”
“And you’ve not heard from the original squad, have you?”
“No, ma’am. Not since we got a message that they’d found the helicopter. It was a garbled message, but we were able to make out that much, at least.”
“They’re gone,” she said bluntly.
“Gone? What do you mean?”
“Dead. Killed. Or worse,” she said.
“But—”
“Just listen to me,” she said, cutting him off. “They…they use the bodies somehow. Like a puppet or something. They take over the body. It’s a dead body, but it’s still a functioning body,” she said, her words coming quickly. “They take it over, use it, manipulate it. Like a puppet,” she said again. “They…they speak, but it’s not normal.” She remembered Jean’s description of Hal. “Like they’re disoriented.”
“Excuse me, ma’am…but they?”
“Yeah, they. Whoever—whatever—is in the goddamn spaceship,” she said loudly. “It’s up on Baker’s Ridge, that’s what the locals call it. We need to deploy a missile, hit it head on. We need to take it out. We need—”
“Whoa, Captain…that’s way over my paygrade.”
“Listen to me, Duncan,” she said. “It looks like it crash landed. It burrowed into the ridgetop, making this ravine, this crevice, maybe two hundred feet long,” she said. “The craft itself appears to be intact, but I’d say nearly half of it is buried in the rocks. Whatever it’s made out of, it’s some kind of very hard metal. There didn’t appear to be any damage at all from the crash. There was no explosion, no fire. Hell, I don’t even know if a missile will take it out.” She took a breath, trying to slow down as she realized how fast she was talking. “I know this all sounds crazy, Lieutenant, but I assure you, it’s very real. You’ve got to convince Sutter. The troops you sent in are in danger. We need to quarantine this whole area,” she said again.
“I’ll…I’ll tell him everything you said, Captain. But…well, he’s not going to believe me. I’ve heard that you and General Brinkley are close…well, I mean—”
“Are you suggesting I need to go over Colonel Sutter’s head, Duncan?”
“I’m suggesting it wouldn’t hurt, ma’am. Of course, please don’t tell Colonel Sutter I suggested it.”
She again ran her hand over her hair. “We heard gunfire this morning. Some last night as well. Where were the troops headed?”
“One platoon was going to the crash site. The helicopter,” he clarified. “We got a hit on the tracking devices. Five of them, anyway. They were up on one of the ridges. The second platoon was going there.”
“Oh, shit,” she murmured. “That’s Baker’s Ridge. I saw the bodies. There were twelve bodies up there. The three crew members, five from your squad and four civilians,” she said. “It looked like they were using them for food.”
“Oh, God,” Duncan said. “So we sent them up to Baker’s Ridge? That’s where you said the…the spaceship was?”
“Yes. It’s at the top of Baker’s Ridge, in the crevice. And we’re in a world of hurt, Duncan. If that squad made it up there, made it even close to the ridge, then we’ve got to assume they’ve been compromised.” She closed her eyes for a moment. “Fill Sutter in. I’m going to call General Brinkley.”
She disconnected before he could say more. Yeah, the squad had most likely made it to the ship. That’s why there was so much gunfire. They were using the weapons now. Whoever the hell they were.
She stared up into the darkening sky, trying to remember Harry’s direct number. When she called, he answered on the second ring.
“It’s me,” she said. “And you were right. It’s a clusterfuck any way you look at it.”
Chapter Forty-Seven
As the last of the light faded from the sky, Dana stood beside Jean and watched as Daisy was loaded into the trailer along with Gretchen. She wasn’t certain how Corey had managed to get the trailer here so quickly. Since Corey had gotten off the phone, she’d been rather quiet and hadn’t offered much information. Of course, they hadn’t had any time alone to talk, but she assumed that was going to change.
“I really wish you wouldn’t go back there, Dana,” Jean said once again. “Let the soldiers go in.”
“They’re my parents,” she said. “If we go south, like Butch suggested, then I think we’ll be okay.” Dana hugged her tightly. “And you’ll be okay too. Try not to worry about us.” She started to pull away, then hugged her again. “And please take care of Butch for me.”
“Are you sure the captain doesn’t mind that we stay at her place?”
Dana shook her head. “She’s the one who suggested it. With luck, it’ll only be a couple of days,” she said, echoing Corey’s words of earlier in the day. Corey had already given Butch the keys to her SUV, which was parked at the base, along with her house keys. “And speaking of the captain, let’s go find her.”
They spotted Corey and Butch leaning over the hood of a Jeep, looking at a map, both of them holding flashlights over it. It was odd to see flashlights that worked, but according to Corey, they were three hundred yards from the outage “zone,” as she called it.
Corey looked up as they approached. “Hey. Got the horses loaded?”
“Yes. Looks like they’re about ready to leave,” she said, pausing to ruffle the fur on Lucky’s head. She motioned to the map with her other hand. “We have a plan?”
“Yeah, I think. If you head directly south from here, you’ll hit Cat Creek,” Butch said, pointing across the road. “Just follow the creek all the way to the bridge, then get out at the road.”
Dana nodded. “At the same bridge we got out on. Only from the other direction.”
“Right. Get out at the bridge. There’s that drop-off downstream. You know the horses can’t make that,” he reminded her. “You’ll need to go around it.”
“Okay. Follow the creek how far?” she asked, looking at the map.
“Follow it back to the county road, where you and I first hooked up with it,” he said, tapping his finger on the map. “Right here.” He stood up. “And you’ll check on my folks too, right?”
“Promise,” she said.
; He sighed. “I should be going with you. I could—”
“Your job is to take care of Miss Jean,” Corey said. “You’ll be safe at my place. Besides, you need to get some rest. You had no business being out on horseback today as it was.”
“Why can’t some of the soldiers go with you?” Jean asked.
“They’ve got their hands full,” Corey said. “And…well, we’re kinda going in unauthorized.” Corey looked over at her. “And against orders,” she added.
“Will you get into trouble?” Dana asked.
“Doesn’t matter,” Corey said dismissively.
Dana knew she had been on the phone four different times, but she didn’t know who all Corey had spoken to. She hoped Corey would fill her in later.
“Captain Conaway? We’re all set, ma’am.”
“Thanks.” Corey said to the soldier who had walked over, then turned to Butch. “Time for you two to get out of here, I guess. You remember the directions to my place?”
Butch nodded. “I’ll find it.” He then hugged Corey quickly, then did the same to her. “You take care of my horse,” he said. “I’ll see you in a few days.”
“I will. I’m sure Gretchen will be happy for a reprieve,” Dana said. While Gretchen had held up pretty well, she was ten years older than Butch’s mare. He had suggested they switch and Corey had agreed.
Jean walked closer to Corey, then brought her into a hug. Dana felt a tear in her eye as she watched them.
“I’m surely glad it was you that came to our rescue, Captain,” Jean said. “I’ll look forward to seeing you in a few days. Maybe I’ll cook up something special.”
Corey laughed. “I warned you there wasn’t a whole lot of food at my place.”
“I’ll find something, don’t you worry.” Jean then turned to her and, once again, she and Dana exchanged a hug. “You take care of the captain,” Jean whispered into her ear.
“I’ll try.”
Jean patted her cheek affectionately. “Yes…and she’ll take care of you.”
She and Corey stood next to each other, their shoulders brushing, watching as the truck and trailer pulled away, the taillights glowing in the darkness.
“Seems strange to see—hear—a truck,” she said.
“Yeah, it does.” Corey turned to her. “I’ve got the tent all set up. Our bedrolls are in there.” She motioned with her head. “Down off the road a little ways.” She handed Dana a flashlight. “Take Lucky. I’ll be there in a minute.”
Dana stared at her. “I can wait,” she offered, not really wanting to go off by herself.
Corey smiled quickly. “You’re safe here, Dana. I’m just going to find us some water bottles and get my gear packed for the morning. I want to get an early start. Before daybreak,” she said. “Which means no time for coffee.”
Dana wrinkled up her nose. “No coffee?”
“Will I be able to live with you?” Corey teased.
“Well, you’ll be taking a chance, that’s for sure.” When Corey would have walked off, Dana called her back. “Are you okay, Corey? You’ve been…well, really, really quiet. A little…distant.”
Corey walked back over to her, reaching out a hand to stroke Lucky’s head affectionately. “They all think I’m crazy. Even Harry.”
Dana tilted her head slightly. “That’s General Brinkley? The family friend?”
“Yes. Although he wasn’t quite as vocal about it as Colonel Sutter. Sutter said I was out of my fucking mind.”
“I see. Guess we’re all out of our fucking minds then,” she said, eliciting a small smile from Corey.
“I recommended a missile strike,” Corey continued. “I don’t think Harry was convinced.”
“A missile strike? Oh, my God! Where?”
“Baker’s Ridge. It’s federal land. My thought is to hit the ship and hopefully kill whatever’s in it.”
Dana couldn’t stop her hand from reaching out to Corey, and she felt her fingers slip around her arm. “But what about those that aren’t in the ship anymore?”
“I know,” Corey said quietly. “I conveyed all of that to Harry. All my concerns, my fears,” she said.
“If he’s not convinced of a missile strike, then what’s the alternative? More troops? That hasn’t exactly worked out for them,” she said.
Corey paused. “What I’m really afraid of is that they will believe me and someone will make the decision to try to capture these…these things, whatever they are, and want to study them. Research.” Corey ran a hand over her hair. “Hell, try to communicate with them.”
Dana shook her head. “They haven’t been out here, they don’t know what these things are capable of. I mean, we don’t have a clue as to how they kill, how they take over these bodies.” She stopped. “And I can’t believe we’re having this conversation as if it’s perfectly normal to be discussing aliens and body snatchers. Maybe we have lost our fucking minds.”
Corey lifted a corner of her mouth in a smile. “That would be a far simpler explanation, wouldn’t it?” Then her smile faded. “But we know that’s not the case.” She shrugged. “When they realize that what we’re saying is true, then there’ll be this big, massive cover-up and they’ll try to explain it with something even more absurd than a UFO.”
Dana watched her walk away, then she turned and pointed the flashlight down the hill, finding the tent. She flashed it around her, finding nothing but rocks and a few scrub bushes, neither large enough for someone to hide behind.
She glanced down at Lucky, who was looking up at her. “Are you scared too?” All she got was a wag of his tail in response. She sighed as she touched his head. If she lingered here long enough, Corey would come back, then she wouldn’t have to go to the tent alone. But she didn’t want to be that needy, clingy person who was afraid of her own shadow. As Corey had said, they were safe here. They were outside of the so-called “zone.” Of course, the “zone” was only an imaginary line, easily crossed by…well, by whatever was out there.
She flashed her light around one more time, again seeing nothing out of the ordinary. But she jumped, her heart lodging in her throat as a chorus of coyote howls bounced over the barren landscape.
“They sound close. Really close,” she whispered to Lucky, who had emitted a low growl. She looked behind her, seeing the lights from the large tents set up at the checkpoint, seeing movement as a few soldiers walked about. The sight chased some of her fears away. Some, but not all.
Another sigh, then she made herself move, heading to Corey’s tiny tent. Their horses were staked nearby, and the white stallion swung his tail absently, back and forth, as if swatting at a fly on his back. The horses didn’t seem concerned with the coyotes—or anything else. She swung her pack off her back and placed it beside the tent. Lucky immediately laid down beside it.
She bent over and opened the flap on the tent, then crawled inside, never once even considering turning the flashlight off. Of course, she didn’t know why she was bothering getting in the tent in the first place. There was no way she would even contemplate closing her eyes until Corey returned.
After she took her boots off, she lay back, curling one arm behind her head, her eyes wide as she stared at the door, listening for movement outside. Lucky would alert her, she knew. Nonetheless, she wanted to be prepared for…well, she just wanted to be prepared. She reached to her side, finding the gun she’d placed beside her. She was shocked by the comfort that brought her.
Comfort, yes, but she still didn’t dare relax.
After what seemed like hours, she heard Lucky stir, and she cocked her head, listening. Then she heard footsteps on the rocks, heard Corey’s soft murmur as she greeted the dog. Dana finally let out a relieved breath, feeling some of the tension leave her body.
“Hard to sleep with that light on, isn’t it?”
“Um, no,” Dana said. “It’s hard to sleep when you’re paralyzed by fear.”
Corey kicked her boots off, then got in beside her. “Lucky will be on gua
rd,” Corey said. “Besides, they’ll have three on watch duty at all times.” Corey turned to her. “I briefed them. They looked at me like I’d grown a second head or something.”
“Why doesn’t anyone believe us?”
Corey reached over and took the flashlight from her, plunging the tent into darkness. “Would you believe us if you hadn’t experienced it?”
She paused only slightly. “No. I’d say you’d lost your fucking mind.”
Corey’s laughter rang out, and Dana joined her. It felt good to laugh. But their merriment ceased almost as quickly as it had come.
“I want to get up very early,” Corey said. “About three. We should still have a little moonlight.”
“It’s weird having time now, you know?”
“I know. And we won’t have it for long, I suppose.” Corey turned her head toward her. “Try to get some sleep. It’ll be a long day tomorrow.”
“You don’t sound tired,” she said, “but I know you’re exhausted. What’s your secret?”
“Years of practice,” Corey murmured.
Dana rolled to her side. “Do you mind if I use you for a pillow?”
Corey shifted. “Would you like me to hold you?”
“That would be really nice.”
She could feel rather than see the smile on Corey’s face as she pulled her nearer. Dana sighed contentedly as she snuggled against her. She felt as safe as she’d ever felt, nestled here in Corey’s arms. Oh, how she wished they’d met under different circumstances. Yes, they had a connection between them. A part of her wondered, though, if that was only because of the situation they found themselves in. If they weren’t under this constant duress, would they still be pulled together like this? Would this attraction be as strong?
As Corey’s hand rubbed lightly against her back, she thought that surely it would be. It felt too right being with her. Was it fate that brought them together? Was it their destiny that they meet like this? In her heart…in her soul…she knew the answer and she pressed herself even closer to Corey.
“Close your eyes,” Corey whispered. “You’re safe.”