“Alright, let’s get going,” I said and went out the door. David and Yahn followed me and soon we were heading through the woods in the direction of Harold Chambers’s farm.
We went into the woods and walked for what seemed like forever. Every now and then, we would have to go through an open field or cross a road which we did, with the utmost caution. We kept to the backcountry and managed to keep from being spotted until David saw a familiar sight through the trees. [G2][G3][G4]
“There’s the barn and the windmill. Yep, this is Harold’s place alright. Haven’t been here in twenty years and everything looks just as run down as it did then. You two stay here and let me go and talk to him. He will be more likely to help us that way.” David walked through the field and went to knock on the door of a shack that looked as if it might fall in at any moment.
"Who are you and what do you want?" Harold said, flinging the door of his shack open. He held a laser gun, which looked to be a very old, rusty model. [G5]
"Harold, it's me, David. I know it's been twenty years, but surely you remember your old friend," David said as he put his hands in the air. [G6]
“David? I heard you were dead,” Harold shared as he lowered his gun.
“No, not just yet. Feel practically dead some days.”
“Where have you been hiding out?” Harold inquired as he came up and put his hand on David’s shoulder.
“Padure. I had to hide out once I became an outlaw.”
“Beautiful place I hear. What can I do for you, old pal?”
"My friends and I are fugitives and we need to disguise our identities. Do you still have the shape shifting device?"
“Sure do, it has grown into quite the business I tell you. You would be surprised how many people want to change their identities these days. I just saw something about you and your friends.”
“We don’t have time to explain, but they are good people and don’t deserve the situation that they’re in. I have to warn you, though, one of them is a Karkastian.”
“You are keeping some strange company these days, old pal. I heard all about this on my virtual reality player. You guys are being portrayed as public enemy number one. You rescued the girl from being executed and shot up the cops. Pretty crazy stuff for an older timer like you,” Harold said.
“Yeah, it was an unjust execution and we had to stop it. I don’t have time to go into all of the details.” David was getting a little impatient.
“Alright, guys, you can come out now!” David shouted to us. We came out of the woods and Harold looked at us suspiciously. He was a thin, bald man with brown slits for eyes.
“Nice to meet you, I’m Jessie and this is Yahn,” I said, extending my hand. He shook it and eyed Yahn with the same suspicion.
"Harold, we have no time to lose. Can you take us to the shapeshifting machine?" David asked.
“Sure, sure. Technically it’s the SS78-Kx," Harold corrected him. He led us to the back of his shack and opened the door of a metal barn. Towards the back of the barn, there was a clear tunnel connected to a control panel. [G7]
“Alright, whose first and what do you want to change into?” Harold asked as he sat down in a chair in front of the control panel.
“Eh, how about you choose for us. We need to look like a normal human family that’s on vacation,” David suggested.
"Hmm, alright. Who wants to go first?" Harold asked. [G8][G9][G10]
“I’ll go,” I answered, a little reluctantly.
“Ok, young lady. Hold onto the rail as the conveyor takes you through the tunnel. It won’t hurt a bit; just feels like you’re being tickled all over for a few seconds,” Harold shared as he made some selections. He kept his choice for my identity private. I walked up the stairs and entered the tunnel. Harold pushed a few buttons and the tunnel began to light up with pulses of electromagnetic energy. The narrow floor beneath my feet began to move and I began to feel a tingling sensation that started at the top of my head and moved down my body. Once I came out the other side of the tunnel, a large mirror awaited me. I looked in the mirror and was shocked to find that I was now a middle-aged man with dark hair and a mustache. I couldn’t help but laugh at my new appearance.
“How do you like it?” he asked.
“Very interesting choice,” I said.
“Well, you don’t want to be caught, do you?”
Soon, David and Yahn went through the machine, and their appearance was even funnier than mine. David was now a five-year-old[G11][G12] boy with red hair and Yahn was a tall, busty brunette female.
“Wow, you look pretty hot,” I teased as Yahn came and stood beside me. His expression showed that he wasn’t the least bit happy about being changed into a girl.
“Alright, Harold, what do we owe you?” five-year-old[G13][G14] David said.
“Little boy, you don’t owe me nothing. It’s the least I can do for an old friend,” Harold said, kneeling down to David’s level. David glared in response.
“We need to get going,” Yahn stated.
“You’ll be needing a hover car to cover ground faster. I’ve got just the thing.” Harold waved to us to follow him to the very back of the barn. He took a sheet off of the vehicle and showed us an older model, silver hover car.
"She's old, but in [G15]excellent[G16] shape,” Harold said with pride.[G17][G18][G19]
“Buddy, I will do my best to repay you some day, if I can,” little David said. “We will back once we’ve purchased a space cruiser to transform back into our former selves.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to stay that size? You two better do the talking. If David opens his mouth, you will look suspicious for sure,” Harold laughed.
“We will,” I said, surprising myself with my new, booming male voice.
“No one will be able to recognize you now. If you wanted, you could probably stay on Earth with these disguises so long as David gets himself into school,” Harold continued to joke.
“I think you’re having a little too much fun at my expense,” David stated in his five-year-old voice.
“Ok, we had better get going,” Yahn stated in his female voice, making me laugh.
“Why don’t you let me drive, honey?” I had to laugh at the sound of my voice again.
"Best stay away from the main hover ways. There are bound to be a few checkpoints set up and you don't have valid ids on you," Harold said. "I'm afraid I can't help you with that." [G20][G21]
"I can't thank you enough, buddy. We'll be back soon with a space cruiser in tow," David squeaked. [G22]
We thanked Harold and got in the hover car. The controls in the car were primitive by modern standards, but it was in good condition. I put the car in gear and we headed for the country. It felt good not to have to worry about being spotted by anyone, although being a man took some getting used to. Finally, after an hour or so, we came to the outskirts of the city. The forests and fields gave way to hover dwellings and tall, glass towers. The noise of hover cars replaced the relative quiet of the country. We stopped at the first space cruiser dealership we could find. We had very little money, so we were going to have to steal [G23][G24]the cruiser.[G25][G26]
A salesman in a shiny spacesuit came over to us as we looked over various models. All of the salesmen at that shop wore that same outfit, which made them look a little silly.
"I see you're checking out the S-150, but I have to say that it is not going to give you the fuel economy and space that your family will need. Where you headed?" [G27][G28]
“Mars,” I said, not wanting to reveal our true destination.
“Ah, well that won’t take you all that long in this beauty,” he said as he walked over to a larger, sleeker model. It was much more spacious with two rows of seats in the front and a large cargo deck in the back. It was equipped with four thrusters instead of the usual two.
"This is the KLD-459, a little more expensive but well worth it for the speed, power, and spaciousness," he said. [G29]
“Can
we test drive it?” I asked.
“Sure, just need a driver’s license for the person driving it and I need you to fill out this document,” he said as he pulled out a compact digital screen and handed it to me. We all looked at each other when he asked for a driver’s license.
“Eh, we left our licenses at home. Can we still test drive it?”
“Hmm, yeah, well, I don’t know if the boss will go for that. Wait here and I’ll go and check with him.” The salesmen went inside the dealership, which was designed to look like a space station. David went over to the cruiser and looked through the window.
“He left the keys in it. Come on, let’s take it and go before he gets back!”
Yahn got in the hover car to follow us and David and I got in the space cruiser. We started it up and took off just as the salesman came running out of the building, shaking his fist at us. We made for Harold’s farm as quickly as we could.
Chapter 7
Yahn
When we got back to Harold’s farm, we went back through the shapeshifting machine so that we could transform into our actual identities.
“Wow, you got a KLD-459! I guess if you are going to steal a space cruiser, you might as well get a stylish one. Good choice. Are you going to stay the night or take off right away?” Harold inquired.
“I’m pretty beat, myself, I think we should stay here just for the night,” Jessie said.
“Well, we better not stay any longer than that. It will only be a matter of time before they come looking for us in this area.” David was obviously nervous. He would go to the window and look out into the fields every few minutes.
“You are certainly most welcome to stay, but David’s right. You better get going pretty soon,” Harold agreed.
After dinner, Jessie and I went to our room. We were both anxious to spend some time alone for a change. I put my hands on Jessie’s back and began to rub it. She was very stiff and tense.
“Try and relax, my love. We will leave this planet tomorrow and be free of the threat of capture.”
“And then we will be without a home again, left to wander the universe.” Jessie was still not resigned to the idea of leaving her home planet once and for all.
“Jessie, no one knows more than I do how hard it is to leave your home behind once and for all, but we have to continue to believe that we will find a place where we belong. I know I’ve said it before, but I still believe it.”
“I know you’re right, but I keep seeing the look on my parents’ faces when I was in prison. I’m having a hard time coming to grips with the fact that I may never see them again.” I held her tight as a few tears flowed from her eyes.
"We are going to be alright, and you never know what fate may bring. You may yet see them again before it's all over." Jessie turned around to look at me, and I wiped the tears from her eyes. Then, we kissed, sharing a long, passionate moment. Jessie's clothes fell to the floor and she pulled me on top of her.[G30][G31]
“Make love to me. Help me forget all that I’m leaving behind me,” she whispered. I caressed her long legs and we made love, starting off slow and tender and working our way up to a feverish pace. We were careful not to try and make too much noise in order to keep from disturbing the others. We fell asleep wrapped in each other’s arms.
Unfortunately, the dawn brought some unwelcome visitors with it. Harold came running into the room with a look of urgency on his face.
"Quickly, you have to get going. The police are here. I'm pretty sure old man Patterson, my next door neighbor must have spotted you and called them. You know they're offering $2 million as a reward for your capture. I have a secret passage leading out of the basement. You have to leave now before it's too late!"
We threw our belongings together and made for the basement just as the police knocked on the door. David was already there when we found the passageway, which was activated by a secret lever. It was made to look like part of the wall.
We took off down the dank, dark tunnel. It smelled like damp Earth and felt very cool. Finally, after about two hours, we came out the other side in a small field surrounded by forest.
“I wonder where we are,” Jessie mused. David took out his crystal screen phone and asked it.
“Where are we?”
“You are in the dead center of Gordon County about five miles south of Franklin, Maryland,” A friendly voice spoke up.
“Not sure that’s very helpful. I have no idea where that is,” David said shaking his head. A second later, the device began to ring and Harold’s face showed up on the screen.
"Ok, you can come back now. The cops are gone. They couldn't find anything so they finally left. I told them that the neighbors must have gotten confused. I said the people that they saw were my visiting relatives that just left. They acted a little skeptical about my story, but they had no evidence to keep them here. You better get going, though. Obviously, my nosey neighbors are on the lookout," Harold shared.[G32][G33]
“Thanks again, my old friend- for everything. If it wasn’t for you, we would be in custody again, awaiting our execution.” David hugged Harold and we both shook his hand. We climbed aboard the space cruiser and I was at the helm. Soon, we began to the launch sequence and began to cruise up into the upper layers of the atmosphere. Jessie looked back over her shoulder at Earth as it became a small blue ball below us.
It felt good to be back in the quiet reaches of outer space again, but I could see from Jessie’s expression that she was home sick. I put my hand on hers and smiled.
“Don’t forget. Somewhere there’s a place for us,” I spoke softly and patted her hand as David set the navigator for planet Padure.
After about a week of space travel, Padure finally came into view. As we came closer and closer to the surface of the planet, we could clearly see that something was different; something was not quite right. The planet was still a lush green ball, but there seemed to be great patches that had lost their greenery and huge billowing clouds of smoke rose up from these places.
“What’s happening? Something’s amiss here,” David stated as he looked down on his home planet.
“It’s the Sarceastians, I’ll bet,” I said as I shook my head.
"I knew they might still have an interest in this planet, but I had no idea that they would wreak this much havoc." David sighed as he got into his chair and prepared for landing. We touched down well away from the burning sites so that we wouldn't be spotted. After we landed, we climbed up on a nearby ridge and got a better idea of the devastation. There were still large chunks of lush forest dotting the landscape, but huge areas had been completely denuded. We could see large, domes set up on tripods like gigantic spiders. There were materials coming out of pits that had been dug into the ground that was traveling up conveyor lines into the domes. We could see Sarceastians working around the pits moving about like tiny ants.[G34][G35][G36][G37][G38][G39]
“Son of a bitch! They’ve set up mining operations and they’re cutting down the forest.” David’s nostrils flared out in anger and he threw a rock over the ridge out of anger. “The Sarceastians will never rest until they’ve spoiled the whole universe!”
We went back to our space cruiser and pulled out an electronic landscape scanner so that we could see what things were like in the direction of David’s home to the east.
"According to the scanner, we should be able to stay in the forest and make our way to your house. There is a clear cut about two miles to the west, so we need to steer clear of that," I said. David seemed hopeful that we were going to be able to get back to his home, but the prospect of living there safely seemed to be fading. We loaded our backpacks with supplies and did our best to cover the space cruiser with vegetation to at least keep the Sarceastians from spying it at a distance. We took off through the forest, stopping after an hour to sample some fruit from a Gulanor tree that tasted very sweet and filled our bellies. The calm and quiet of the forest relaxed David's mood a bit until we heard the sound of a large m
achine in the distance cutting down more acres of forest. When David heard this sound, he got to his feet and put his hand on his laser gun.
“Just wait until I get even with them for what they’ve done,” he said.
Jessie and I looked at one another, but we didn’t respond. I could tell that we were both thinking the same thing.
There's no way that we can go up against so many of them Jessie shared with me.[G40]
I know but it wouldn’t do to tell David that now. He’s already so upset.
Alien Romance Box Set: Romantic Suspense: Alien Destiny: Scifi Alien Romance Adventure Romantic Suspence Trilogy (Complete Series Box Set Books 1-3) Page 14