“Mona, what about Pep? Is he still in the ship? It doesn’t seem fair that an innocent little dog should be caught up in all of this.”
“He got loose, and I really don’t know where he went. But dogs have good instincts. If none of us survive, there’s a good chance that Pep will. Or maybe somebody’ll find him and take care of him.” With a tear running down her cheek that Rob didn’t see, she added under her breath, “I hope.”
In seconds, the tranquil moment was gone. They returned to talk of reality.
“We’ve got to make some quick decisions, Mona,” he told his partner, thinking that without a precedent to go by the difficult situation presented almost insurmountable problems.
Solutions, even ideas, seemed to lack clarity. Every answer they came up with seemed either wrong or ridiculous. Only one thing was in their favor.
Mona suddenly blurted out elatedly, “Rob, I recognize this area. I came through here before. We’re just on the other side of the gully. I know the way back and it’s not far now.”
“Okay. Good girl,” Rob said.
It seemed foolish to walk into a trap, and if Torpi had captured Eric, that’s what it would be. But alternative choices were even more formidable.
They could try to get close enough to check things out, but they couldn’t see inside of the ships, so that would tell them nothing conclusive. Mona wondered if Torpi had left; what then? What were Rob’s chances? Did Eric have the knowledge to help Rob? Would he even know what the insertion or the chemical in the blood was? Unlikely? Impossible? Who knew?
But Mona and Rob couldn’t just stay in those woods. Time was of the essence in saving Rob’s life. When they finally spotted at least one ship, they stuck close together and headed straight for it.
Chapter 9
THE LITTLE DOG WENT trekking through the woods without a care in the world. The bell Mona found to put on his collar jingled softly with the rhythm of his trot. Totally unaware of the world of inner and outer space, Pep continued merrily on his way, thinking that he followed his mistress. With his nose leading him in the direction of his home, Pep increased his pace as he headed for Mona’s apartment. He had a long, long way to go.
Up above, mysterious things took place. There was no longer any doubt in Eric’s mind as to what happened. He could see for himself that all the remaining space ships left on Svar had been activated. He still did not know whether it was done by friend or foe. Despite the fact that they used all available electronic equipment, he could not establish contact. Static and squawking sounds filled the airwaves. Torpi broke in with wild threats, threats he had no way of carrying out. To compound the problem, interference came from United States planes near the area. They desperately tried to find out what was going on.
“There is a space ship out there,” one pilot reported excitedly. “No, wait. I see more than one. Three are advancing. They seem to appear and disappear at will.” He then gave his location and requested that other planes be sent to the area.
All that did not presently concern Eric or his crew. Their primary interest was to communicate with the other ships so they could find out their loyalties and their intentions. If they were friendly, Eric would solicit their help. If not, well, he would have to deal with that in another manner. It was time to make a move.
He advised his crew of his actions. “Before they veer too close to Earth and into more crowded airways, I think we should lift off. Perhaps then we can make contact with them.”
Neither Lydia nor Marcus disputed his decision. Mona and her mission to bring them food was temporarily disregarded. They prepared to go into the air. In minutes, they were up and on their way. As they neared the other ships, Eric glanced behind. As expected, the Alien’s ship followed their lead.
It might complicate matters for both ships to be in the air. Whether the arriving ships could tell which was which worried Eric. Anxiety was also voiced by Marcus who said, “Eric, Torpi is smart. He knows that unless we establish communication with the incoming ships, even if they are on our side, they can be of little use to us. Torpi lifted off knowing full well that our ships are identical. How can the other ships take sides? We must make our presence known as Svarians. Then, if those ships want to support us, they will know who to help. If not, there is no hope anyway.”
Exerting all the expertise he possessed, Eric adjusted the controls of the radio. Noises came forth, but no clear words. Torpi must also have been having trouble. Either he stayed off of the air or he could not get through. Even if Eric did establish contact, he only had a fifty-fifty chance of help. After all, when he left Svar, Torpi stayed behind. He had plenty of time to convince the Svarians that Eric had deserted them. For all Eric knew, Torpi might have had himself declared their new leader. Without communications, Eric had no way to vindicate himself. All was left to fate.
About that time, Rob and Mona approached the clearing where the space ships landed. Rob kept his thoughts to himself, but Mona voiced her fear.
“I wish I were with Pep, Rob. I wish we both were. Wherever my little dog is, he’s in a safer place than we are. How did we ever get into this, anyhow? We’re going back to space ships willingly. Nobody even knows we’re still alive much less caught up in such an impossible, unbelievable situation. So how can anyone help us?” She grabbed his arm by the elbow. “Rob, I’m scared,” she said in a quivering voice.
Shifting his bag of groceries to one arm, he put the other around Mona and squeezed her to him. In consolation he offered, “If it’s any help, I’m scared as hell, too. But it’ll all work out. Somehow, someway, we’re going to get back to civilization safe and sound. One day, we’ll be able to laugh at all of this.”
Mona was unconvinced. But she felt ashamed because Rob was worse off. He doesn’t even know what they put in him, she thought. He could die at any moment and here I am complaining. I should be trying to make him forget his problem. Instead, I’m making things worse. In an effort to compensate, she reached up and kissed him on the cheek. He smiled a crooked smile. Despite the seriousness of the situation, Mona could not help but think: Rob’s really my kind of guy. When we get back —
Her romantic thoughts were interrupted. They’d reached the landing spot, but she was shocked to see that no ships were there.
“What the hell is going on?” Rob questioned.
There was nobody to answer. Just then, a roaring sound made him look up. What he saw was frightening.
Flashes of light nearly blinded him. The sky looked like it was filled with the most elaborate display of fireworks any Fourth of July professional show could produce, only more so. Space ships appeared everywhere. It was obvious that they fought each other, but impossible to discern what type of weapons they were using or who was who. All the ships looked identical. Neither Rob nor Mona could determine which ship belonged to Eric or the Aliens. In the mass confusion, winners and losers seemed the same. The ships annihilated each other. Nothing like this battle had ever been seen from Earth before. What a spectacle it was.
When the final explosion came, it rocked the ground beneath Mona and Rob’s feet. It was so forceful that they shook for a few minutes, feeling its impact like that of an earthquake. Afterwards, they saw that their groceries had been scattered in the winds. Cans shot out of bags like cannon balls out of a canon. But that wasn’t important now. The need for that food was gone. The space ship’s occupants should have no further use of food or pills. From all appearances, the Svarians desire for mortality had been fulfilled.
With Rob’s arms encircling her, Mona grieved. Her friends had perished. She had not known them long, but she knew them well. They’d formed a bond, and their relationship with each other may have been brief, but it was strong. In her lifetime, she expected to find no others quite like those Svarians. It was strange to have close-knit ties with beings from a different planet. She knew it was something she could never explain to anyone. Deep in her soul, she felt a loss. Mona broke into uncontrollable tears.
P
atting her back, Rob tried to be comforting. “I know. I understand. But remember you had an experience no one on Earth has ever had. You lived with people from another planet and from a time far in the future. Be glad you had a chance to know them, even if only for a little while. Maybe someday, you’ll share it — even write a story about it that’ll convince others that it’s true.”
Mona didn’t accept his appraisal of the situation. Rob didn’t know, and he didn’t understand. His experience with the Aliens was different from her own. Still, she appreciated his efforts. It helped ease the pain. Little by little, Mona regained her self-control. She had to, for she knew they must leave. Somebody would be coming. With all that commotion in the air, someone was bound to hear and see it. In silent mutual consent, the two reporters left the scene.
As soon as they reached a path leading to the highway, they heard sirens. Rob commented, “They got here quickly enough this time.”
Mona countered with a little joke, “Bet they came for a different reason. The O’Haras were probably fighting again and the police were called. They probably don’t even know about the space ships.”
Rob didn’t understand, but whatever it was about, he was glad to see something make Mona smile.
As they quietly walked along, each thinking private thoughts, Mona mulled over the events of the past week in minute detail. Although she felt inclined to blame herself for Rob’s predicament because she’d let Pep out and Pep led Rob to the ship, after careful consideration, she decided there was really little to feel guilty about. If Rob was destined to get to the ship, he’d have gotten there without Pep’s help. A voice from the past came to her: “What will be shall be.” And her old bespectacled English teacher with horn-rimmed glasses slipping down on her nose came back to offer words of comfort with her quote. Fate, or God’s will, or whatever else it could be called, had more power than she did. To realize that put Mona’s mind at ease.
For Rob, it was different. To be out of a tight corner was satisfaction enough. He had no need for personal recriminations. Fate had been kind and given him a reprieve. Now, all he had to do was find out what, if anything, the Aliens put in his body. And if there was a way, how to safely get it out. The issue ping-ponged in his brain.
Slowly, the sky brightened and the sun came up. The long hard night was over, and both Rob and Mona were glad daylight was in sight. Even the gray light of dawn allayed some of the mysterious, unexplainable foreboding of darkness. But with it came a need for judgments. Nothing was really settled yet. Until Rob found out what to do to be saved, everything else was left hanging.
Rob raised the issue first. “You know, a doctor would not take me seriously,” he said aloud, so completely preoccupied with his own condition that he failed to first explain what he was talking about. At the bewildered look Mona gave in return, he realized that he’d opened a subject without any preliminary explanation.
“I mean, how can I possibly find out what the Aliens did to me? No doctor or hospital would believe my story. I wouldn’t believe it myself. Sure, they’d examine me. If they didn’t find anything, they’d be thoroughly convinced that I was a kook. I’ve got the feeling that whatever they put inside me is perfectly hidden.”
More than ever, Rob was convinced that the Aliens had done something to him. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that the odds were against their just making threats. If only he could discover what they’d done. He felt all over his body again in the hope of finding a clue. Nothing. He longed for a cigarette. God, how he could use one now. Nervously, he searched his pockets, but he couldn’t even find a loose one.
“What’s the matter, Rob?” Mona asked.
“Nothing. I was just looking for a cigarette. You don’t smoke, do you, Mona?”
“Nope. Never have. Sorry, I can’t help you there.”
“That’s okay. I don’t smoke much, but I’ve got the urge. Just nervousness, I guess.”
Seeing something too beautiful to miss, Mona changed the subject. “Oh, look, Rob. Isn’t that magnificent?”
The arc of the orange sun coming up on the horizon was a gorgeous work of nature. Much more beautiful than the glaring artificial light of Svar, it was a sign of a return to humanity. From a practical point of view, it showed the reporters which way east was, too. Knowing they were headed in the right direction encouraged them.
“Listen, Mona,” Rob yelled. “I hear cars.”
At the sound of automobiles whizzing down the highway, Rob grabbed Mona’s elbow and gave it a tug. Together, they broke into a run, ignoring the branches slapping back and scratching against their bodies. Mona’s shoe came off and she hurriedly shoved it back on her foot.
No sight could have been more welcome than that of the early morning traffic flowing down the well-traveled highway. In a moment of jubilation, Rob and Mona stood at the edge of the road, waving at cars passing by. Flopping down on the dew-soaked grass covering the embankment that bordered the road, Mona told Rob, “Gee, it’s great to be back. Those cars look beautiful, don’t they? What a wonderful feeling to be free again — free as a bird.”
With renewed energy, she jumped up and ran around in a circle with outstretched arms flapping like a bird’s wings, unconcerned with what passers-by might think.
Rob laughed. It was so relaxing to be away from the pressures of recent hours that he could not even worry about the future. He grabbed Mona as she passed, pulled her to him, and gave her a passionate kiss.
Separating, they looked at each other. No words were spoken, but each of them knew that this wouldn’t be over until Rob’s problem was solved. A new relationship had begun that would not end with episode one.
Rob gently smoothed Mona’s hair back from her face. He whistled softly, breaking the silence, then shook his head as if to clear it.
“Unfortunately,” he said, “we’ve got to get back to the matter at hand.” He rubbed his hand across the stubble on his chin. “But where do we go from here?”
The way Mona shrugged off-handedly, anyone would have thought she was answering the most mundane question in the world. But she didn’t lack compassion, nor did she intend to be frivolous. She was merely trying to get some breathing space. She looked into Rob’s eyes and said, “I’ll follow you anywhere.”
He chuckled. It gave him a sense of normality that was much needed. Back at the paper, there were many times when they had to rely on their sense of humor to keep their sanity when dealing with the seamy side of life. The little jokes they told in the newsroom kept them from going crazy.
But this break away from being serious was short-lived. Nothing was really funny about the situation. They had to act immediately. Mona backed away, saying, “This’ll just have to wait. Rob, your life’s in jeopardy. What are we going to do?”
“I know, Mona,” Rob told her as he held her hand, “we’ve got to do something fast.” With a sigh, he got serious again. “Okay, it’s obvious that we can’t stay in the Mobile area. Too many people know us here. And if I went to any hospital in town, my name would be in the news in fifteen minutes. What do you think about hitching to Pensacola? There’s a good hospital and a lot of doctors there. It’s about the closest city nearby, too. I can give them an assumed name.”
Mona frowned. “But Rob, do we have that much time?”
“I don’t know. I guess we’ll just have to take a chance. I’m just afraid I won’t get the proper care if I stay here, especially if they know who I am. They might think I’m just making this up to get a scoop on a sensational story.”
Once again, he rubbed his chin. “With this growth of beard, I’m sure I’ll look like an indigent — and I could get admitted without presenting an insurance card or a credit card in a general hospital. Anyhow, don’t they have to take emergency cases now?”
“I think so,” Mona said.
“I can pay them later,” he added reflectively. “But the problem is — how do I tell them what’s wrong?”
Mona plopped down on t
he grass with her face cupped in her hands. There was nothing she could offer.
Stooping beside her, Rob kept talking. “One thing’s certain: what happened must be kept a secret. Regardless of the fact that sightings will be all over the Mobile paper, we can’t break our story. We may have to tell a doctor, but that’s it. For now, nobody else should know what happened to us.”
Mona nodded agreement. As a reporter, she knew exactly what he meant. If the news broke, the media would be out in force. Other reporters would be right on their backs, hounding them to death. She knew just how that worked. It wouldn’t make a whit of difference that they were in the same profession. To a good newsman, a story is a story no matter who gets stepped on. It wouldn’t even matter that their interference might cause Rob’s death. They’d get their story even at that expense.
No, they could have no leaks. If they did, Rob might not have a chance to get treatment he needed. All that would have to come after they discovered whether his injection or blood-tampering was real or fake.
Rob gave Mona a hand up. She looked straight in his eyes, saying, “Let’s go for it,” and the two of them stepped right out to the edge of the highway and began thumbing for a ride.
In five minutes, a trusting soul picked them up. Pulling his rickety old pickup truck over to the shoulder of the road, he yelled back at them, “C’mon. Hop in.”
Mona jumped up in the middle, and Rob came right behind her, slamming the door. It creaked on its hinges. Mona looked at the door, and seeing that it didn’t close all the way, she wondered if the truck was sound enough to get them as far as downtown Mobile, much less any farther.
Seeing her doubt, the driver spoke up. “Old Jenny’ll get us there, miss. Don’t you worry,” he said in his coarse voice as he patted the steering wheel affectionately.
A rusty old fellow with a ruddy complexion, he looked as if most of his life had been spent in the sun. His red eyes and breath, which reeked of whiskey, made Mona wonder if her fears had been misplaced. Perhaps it was the driver and not the truck that she should be concerned about. He drove slowly and the traffic had thinned out, but she did not feel very safe. The shorter the distance he took them, the better she’d like it.
Time Will Tell Page 12