Jimmy's Dreams: Some Dreams Are Nightmares

by Saxon Andrew

  Rachel looked at them, “They know we have a survival facility here. Do you want them to go back and tell other units about us?” The crew was silent and Rachel yelled, “DO YOU!!!”

  William said, “You’re right. We didn’t think it through.”

  Rachel’s eyes were moist as she said, “You need to do the shooting next time.”

  William shook his head, “We are nowhere near your skill at using the cannons. I’m sorry for my insensitivity. I know what this must have taken for you to do it.”

  Rachel lept out of the chair and ran out of the hangar. Summer met her at the elevator and took her in her arms. Rachel started crying and Summer rocked her back and forth in her arms. Finally, Rachel looked up with tear filled eyes and said, “I’m ok. It had to be done.” Summer nodded and turned with Rachel to walk home.

  Chapter Twenty

  Eighteen months passed and the Project was not threatened again. Every one settled in and stopped going outside. The temperature was dropping but the stream kept the temperature in the valley in the upper forties and the animals were getting along well. But outside the valley, the temperatures were near zero all over the planet and most everything living was dying. Humans, animals, and plants were dying from the bitterly cold temperatures. And still the volcanoes spewed ash into the atmosphere. The countries that were spared the effects of the asteroids’ impacts were now dying of starvation. Food was running out and the mass extinction of life on Earth was well underway.

  Jimmy was walking with Summer, Rachel, and Ayet in the south tunnel when he heard Patrick, “JIMMY! THE SATELLITES SHOW THAT ALIEN SHIP MOVING TOWARD US FROM AROUND THE PLANET!!”

  Jimmy’s eyes narrowed and he flagged one of the carts down. He jumped in with his family and they accelerated away. They ran to the control room where Tom, Candice, and Juan were staring at the wall monitor showing the feed from the satellite. They’re breaking and coming to a stop.” Juan stared at his console and shook his head, “It looks like they’ll come to a complete stop directly above our valley.”

  Jimmy said, “Suzette, what’s the status of the space-cannon.”

  “Operational. I’ve sent power to the controls and have it rotating as we speak.”

  Juan looked at Jimmy, “What are you going to do?”

  “I’m going to shoot that ship down!!”

  Summer said, “What about Rachel’s dream?”

  “That’s one I’m going to change!! Suzette, track that ship and let me know when you have the cannon locked in on it.”

  “I will.”

  Jimmy stared at the monitor with eyes little more than slits. These creatures were going to pay for what they’ve done.

  • • •

  An hour later, the large vessel came to a stop above the valley. Jimmy asked, “Are you locked in, Suzette?”

  “I am. Just give the word.”

  Jimmy started to speak and heard, “You mustn’t destroy that ship.”

  Jimmy’s head whipped around from the wall monitor and saw a being standing between Summer and Candice. He looked like a human being but there was something about him that was…different.”

  “Who are you?”

  The being smiled, “My name is Ayet. If you destroy that ship, another will come to check on it very quickly. The beings in the ship have realized that they made a grievous mistake in their calculations and that it is going to take much longer than they anticipated before they can use this planet. They won’t be back for a very, very, long time.”

  The being disappeared and Jimmy yelled, “WAIT!”

  Suzette said, “I’ve not fired yet.”

  Jimmy sighed and shook his head. “Suzette, shut it down!”

  “WHAT!?”

  “Shut it down, that’s an order and shut down all the power systems except for the battery backups. That includes the generators in the waterfall. Now do as you’re told!! YOU GOT THAT?!”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  Everyone looked up as the lights dimmed and went to a soft light. Candice looked at Jimmy, “Who were you talking to?”

  Everyone in the room looked at him and Jimmy’s expression was one of wonder, “My father.” Candice’s eyes flew wide open and Summer said, “That’s not possible. There was no one else present.”

  Rachel lifted a shoulder, “I saw him.”

  Everyone turned to her and Jimmy asked, “Did you hear what he said.”

  “I did.”

  “What did he say, Jimmy!?” Candice asked.

  “He said that if we shoot that ship down, another ship will show up quickly to check up on it. He said the aliens have made a huge mistake and that the impacts caused more damage to the planet than they anticipated. If we just allow them to leave, they will not be back for a very long time.”

  “What did he look like, Jimmy?” Candice asked.

  Jimmy shook his head and Rachel answered, “He looked human but his appearance is quickly fading from my mind.” Jimmy nodded. “I do know he was handsome.”

  Jimmy looked at Rachel, “Get on some warm clothes.”

  “Why?”

  “Your dream is important. I don’t know why but we must go outside. The aliens will be landing shortly.”

  “JIMMY! DON’T DO THIS!!”

  “Summer, Rachel and I can avoid being seen by them. This must be done!”

  “You don’t know if they can’t see you!”

  “That’s a chance we have to take. Get changed, Rachel.” Jimmy activated his link, “Suzette can you still see the ship?”

  “I’m still using the satellite feed.”

  “Tell me when they look like they’re sending a craft down to the surface. Once you see that, shut down the satellite feed.”

  Suzette sighed heavily, “Yes, Sir.”

  She looked at Patrick and he was shaking his head as he said, “I hope he knows what he’s doing. We’re defenseless.” Suzette shrugged and stared at the Alien ship on the monitor. An hour later she saw a large door open in the hull and a white ship emerged. She shutdown the feed and said, “A ship has left the large ship, Jimmy.”

  “Summer, shut down the links, now!” Jimmy ordered. Summer shook her head, she was going to lose contact with Jimmy and Rachel. She closed her eyes and threw a switch on Jimmy’s console. She heard a click and started praying. Ayet wrapped his arms around her legs and said, “They’ll be ok, Mommy.”

  Summer opened her eyes and looked at her five-year old. He was smiling and she asked, “Are you sure?” Ayet nodded. She wondered if he was having dreams.

  • • •

  Rachel ran with Jimmy up a long corridor toward the far end of the giant underground facility. “How do you know to go this way, Dad?”

  “The drawing you made of your dream happened near the wall where the stream emerges.” Rachel nodded. They arrived at the end of the facility and ran into the north tunnel. They ran a mile down the tunnel and arrived at a ladder running up to the roof. They waited out of breath and both of them removed their jackets. Jimmy sat down on the floor and said, “I have got to get in shape. I’m getting too old for this!”

  Rachel was bent over with her hands on her knees and she managed to say between breaths, “I do work out and you stayed ahead of me.”

  Jimmy smiled, “Must be the stress.”

  “Duh, are you saying I’m not stressed? You are in shape. Quit being a mealy mouth.”

  “Hey, show respect for your father.”

  Rachel managed to stand up, “Dad, was that being my grandfather?” Jimmy blew out a breath and nodded. “I liked him. He had a good smile.”

  Jimmy snickered and suddenly heard over the wall speaker, “The speaker system is operated by the backup batteries. The ship has just arrived under the clouds and is moving toward the north end of the valley.”

  Rachel smiled, “Suzette is a talker.”

  Jimmy nodded and grabbed the rungs on the ladder, “Let’s go.” They climbed up the ladder, spun a wheel on a hatch door and Jimmy climbed out of the t
unnel. He pulled Rachel out and closed the hatch. “Are you hidden?”

  “I am.” Jimmy nodded and ran over to a small bridge that crossed the stream. You stay here.”

  “Why?”

  “Because you were alone in your dream. Meet me at the ship after it lands.”

  Rachel nodded and started walking up the stream. She heard the ship before she saw it. If moved over head and she saw six round ports under it that were emitting yellow beams. She moved out from under it, and it settled down to the ground close to the mountain wall. Steam rose out of the stream where the ship had passed over it and she stopped in her tracks. She was standing at this exact spot in her dream. A few moments later, the alien came out of the steam looking exactly like it did in her dream. It pointed some kind of weapon directly toward her and her heart went into her throat. It then moved the weapon to the left for a moment and then swept it to the right. It didn’t see her. It took some steps forward and went to the edge of the stream. It took a device off its suit and put it in the water.

  Jimmy watched from the other side of the stream and saw the alien take the device out of the water, look at it, and shiver. The eight-five-degree water was too cold for it. He saw Rachel realized the same thing. He motioned Rachel to move toward the ship. The Alien touched its water filled helmet and began talking. Rachel and Jimmy arrived at the ship just outside the ramp. He ran across the opening and whispered into Rachel’s ear, “I want you to go inside and see if you can disable this ship.”

  “Dad, if they can’t see us, they can’t hear us either.”

  Jimmy rolled his eyes and whispered, “Just do it!” Jimmy pulled a rail-handgun and handed it to Rachel. She walked to the opening, looked back at Jimmy, and went inside. She saw four Aliens pushing a large square cart. The cart was heavy and they were having a lot of difficulty getting it to move. One of them yelled and she could hear it through its helmet. Another Alien walked into the bay and she moved around it and walked in the direction it had come from. The Alien went to the cart and started pushing with the others. She went through the door and heard something over the wall speaker. The Alien sitting in a chair in front of a console, reached forward and pressed a yellow button located next to a black button on the console. She felt a vibration stop and realized the engines had shut down. The Alien exited the room and she went and looked under the console where it had been sitting. She was shocked to see an open mass of wiring wrapped with snug ties. She shook her head and crawled under the panel. She put her hand on the black button and moved over under it. She saw a black wire coming from under the panel and she followed it along the bottom until it disappeared into a large wiring junction. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her Swiss Army Knife. She pulled the scissors out and cut the black wire where it entered the harness. She tucked the loose wire into the harness and backed out. She thought about cutting another wire but was afraid she might set off an alarm.

  She stood up and walked quietly back to the bay and saw all the Aliens were now outside the ship gathered around the large device they had rolled out of the ship.

  • • •

  The Alien sitting in a chair at the front of the machine began pushing buttons and a large barrel telescoped out of the front of the large square machine. The driver activated a monitor and raised the barrel. One of the Aliens standing next to him said, “You’re going to have to widen the aperture to be able to kill all the land-life here. This depression is at least five pongs long.”

  The Alien in the chair looked at him, “Oh! This coming from the idiot that said we needed three forty-five pong long asteroids. Now this planet is freezing and will be for Nong’s to come. We were fortunate one of them was destroyed.”

  One of the Aliens whined, “How could I know there were so many volcano’s?”

  “You could have looked you stupid…”

  “Will the two of you shut up; just adjust the aperture. It’s cold out here!” Another Alien shouted.

  The Alien in the chair spun a wheel on the control panel and the barrel expanded slightly.

  • • •

  Jimmy was standing behind the weapon knowing the Aliens were going to kill all the animals in the valley. He had a knife out and was struggling on which wire to cut. He reached into the back of the cart and grabbed a red wire. Rachel came up and grabbed his arm before he could cut it. She pulled Jimmy away, reached inside, and found a black wire. She gripped it and followed it until it went into a wiring harness. She extended her right hand holding the Swiss Army Knife into the back of the cart and cut the black wire. She tucked it into the wiring harness and pulled Jimmy as she moved quickly away from the back of the machine.

  The alien in the chair stopped spinning the wheel and said, “That should do it.” He reached forward and pressed a black button on the control panel and looked out at the valley in front of the barrel. Nothing happened. He looked at the others and one said, “Press it again!” He pressed the button again and the Shuttle’s Commander blew bubbles in his helmet, “Now what have you clowns done to the disrupter?”

  “Nothing. I adjusted the aperture and that’s all.”

  “Gz check out the wiring.”

  An alien went back to the rear of the cart and stared at the wires inside, “What am I supposed to be looking for?”

  “Are you that stupid!? What kind of engineer are you?”

  “I didn’t build this thing. I just operate it.”

  “Everyone get in front and push it back on board. We have to get another on off the ship.”

  The Aliens groaned but after twenty minutes they managed to push the large cart back into the bay.” The door closed on the hull and Jimmy said, “These beings don’t appear to be half-bright.”

  “They’re out of their element, Dad. You see how much trouble they have walking on land. They can do it just like we can swim in oceans. I wouldn’t want to meet one of them underwater.”

  “There’s no doubt they come from sea life.”

  Suddenly the door to the shuttle came open and all the Aliens paraded out. One of them was screaming and it wasn’t hard to figure out what he was saying.

  “I don’t know what happened to the ship or the disruptor. They no longer work. Gz thinks that we left the bay door open too long and the wiring was corroded by the ashes in the air.” There was a moment of silence and the Alien screamed, “YOU WILL NOT LEAVE US DOWN HERE!! MY FAMILY WILL HAVE YOU BAKED AND BROILED IF YOU DO. GET DOWN HERE, OPEN THE DOOR QUICKLY, THEN GET OUT OF HERE!”

  The Alien stopped screaming and one of them asked, “What’s going on?”

  “The Ship Commander didn’t want to risk the other shuttle. If he thought he could get away with it, I think he would leave us but he knows the records will be examined if any of us don’t show up and he’ll probably be punished. As soon as the door opens, everyone run on board as quickly as possible.”

  What about the damaged shuttle?”

  The Shuttle Commander walked over and lifted a recessed handle from beside the open hatch and turned it to the left half a turn and then all the way around to the right. The open hatch began moving up and closed. “The shuttle coming for us will not stay in this atmosphere but a few moments. We’ll check the shuttle out when we come back.”

  “That could be years from now.”

  “WOULD YOU LIIKE TO STAY BEHIND AND WORK ON IT, YOU SIMPLETON?!”

  “No, that’s quite alright.”

  The Aliens waited and thirty minutes later, another small ship appeared and they rushed on board. The shuttle lifted and disappeared. Rachel ran forward, twisted the recessed handle, and watched the port open. She turned it again and it closed.

  Jimmy took her hand, “Let’s get back inside. This can wait until they leave.” Rachel nodded and followed him back to the hatch. Jimmy lifted the fake rock and pulled the hatch up. Rachel climbed down and Jimmy pulled the rock back on top of the hatch and heard a click. He pulled it closed from inside and spun the wheel. He climbed down the ladder and turne
d around into Summer’s arms; everyone was gathered at the base of the ladder. She hugged him tightly and he smiled.

  Epilogue

  Jimmy sat on top of a bunker on top of the western mountain and watched the Sled-Car rise from the valley far below and fly past. It picked up speed and disappeared to the south. It must be headed toward the community in Spain. A lot had happened in the eight years since the Aliens left. The debris in the atmosphere had finally settled out and temperatures had started to rise. It was still colder than before the impacts, but people could now live outside.

  The number of people that survived was surprising but humans possessed an incredible will to survive. Many were found around the world and brought to the cities in Europe to start over. Most of the thick layer of ash was washed away by rain making the cities usable. It often took dozers to clear away the worst of the ashes, which had hardened, but progress was being made every day. Madrid was protected from the Paris impact by the mountains in northern Spain and there was a thriving community beginning to emerge. Most of the sled-car production was moved there.