SKY WOMAN OF GROOM LAKE

by Charlie Peart

  “You’re not imagining it, Laura.” The words, although not voiced, came clearly into Laura’s mind.

  Then Amie continued her thought-speak. “Let yourself relax, and accept it. Not everyone can pick up on mind-speak as readily as you. You are very open to me, very trusting. You want to communicate with me, and I with you. But it is much easier for me to talk to you this way, rather than vocally.”

  Laura laughed and then thought, “This is so amazing. It’s a wonderful experience. I must be telepathic.”

  “All humans have some ability. Most block it through fear.”

  The two spent the next twenty minutes in rambling mind-speak. Laura, although hesitant at first, quickly became very good at it. Amie was delighted to have a friend to share with, and a bright woman at that who caught on to the telepathy so quickly, after all of the days alone in that hideout. It brightened her mood and she was suddenly feeling much more positive about their upcoming journey.

  “Hey, everything all right in there?” Terri asked in a loud voice, so that she could be heard over the motors. Terri’s sudden appearance in the cabin doorway caused both Laura and Amie to jump, so intensely had both been concentrating on their conversation together.

  Laura emerged from the cabin to speak to Terri. “Everything is good. I feel like a psychic.” Laura put on a comedic air, “I am able to talk with Amie now just using my mind. It is so incredible!” She gushed with excitement at her newfound skill.

  “You’re kidding? You mean you are actually talking to that extraterrestrial using telepathy?”

  “Yes.”

  “Oh my God! I can’t believe it!”

  Terri told Laura she was jealous. She wanted to sit with Amie and see if she could do the same. “Hey, why don’t you sit here with Doug. Be the mate for a while. I want to try and see if I can do that, too.”

  Laura moved out of the way and Terri went into the cabin to sit with Amie. “So, how you doin’? You ever been on a boat before?” Terri tried, while looking expectantly at Amie.

  But Amie, once again, said nothing to Terri, and only shook her head to indicate a negative response.

  “So what’s with this psychic stuff? You want to send some message to me?”

  Amie could sense that Terri was a generous, kind-hearted soul but limited by a one-dimensional personality. Terri would never have enough confidence to open herself up to accept a unique experience. Terri was definitely not ready for the mind-speak experience. A few minutes later, with no communication between the two, neither verbal nor otherwise, Amie proved she was right in her assessment. Terri was disappointed, but tried not to show it.

  “Okay, well let me know if you need anything,” and Terri returned to sit beside her husband at the helm. “I guess I don’t have what it takes to interact with her,” she admitted to Laura, somewhat sourly.

  As they now were beyond the St. Lucie River, Laura re-entered the cabin and asked Amie if she would like to come outside for a while and view the scenery. Amie was happy to do so, not particularly enjoying the confines of the cabin. They pushed on, passing under the Roosevelt Bridge and through the Stuart waterway; Amie’s wig blowing in the wind as the boat picked up speed.

  “Running Free” was abeam the marker to the inlet. “We’re on our way to the Bahamas,” Doug shouted to Tom, now sitting in the aft jump seat.

  Doug turned to Terri and asked her to man the helm.

  “Do you need a break, hon?” she asked, concerned for her husband.

  “Not really, but I want to talk to Amie before we get very far from land. Just keep it in a slow cruise for now, okay?”

  “Sure, I can take over, no problem. What’s going on?”

  Doug lowered his voice, hoping Amie would not overhear him. “I’m not sure what’s going on, and that’s the problem. I just wonder what the hell we are really doing. I mean, where exactly am I supposed to take her, and how long will this adventure be?”

  “Well, I thought we were just going to drop her off on a cay beach somewhere and that’s all Nick expected of us. Do you think there’s more to it than that?” Terri questioned, her mouth practically pressed to Doug’s ear in hopes that the wind would cover their conversation.

  “That’s what I want to find out from Amie.”

  Doug tapped Amie on the shoulder, as she sat staring out at the receding land, her long wig hair whipping madly about her face. He requested that she return inside the cabin with him, as he wanted to talk with her about their forthcoming trip. Amie immediately moved to the cabin door, pulling off the annoying wig and flinging it on the cabin seat cushion.

  Meanwhile, Doug signaled to Laura to join them. “Maybe you can act as a translator, seeing that you can talk to Amie better than any of us can.”

  Laura followed Doug into the cabin, where both of them were astounded to see Amie sitting there with her large, bald, gray head uncovered. Trying to mask her surprise, Laura immediately seated herself beside Amie, patting her hand in a reassuring way. Doug took a bit longer to recover his composure. He was amazed at how strange and alien Amie looked without her fake hair disguise. It was mind-boggling for him to think he had a real interplanetary being on his boat.

  Amie sat serenely and expectantly, waiting to hear what Doug had to say. He cleared his throat and got straight to the point.

  “Amie, I guess I need to know a little more about what I’m supposed to do. Is there a special place I’m required to deliver you, so you can take off with your friends?”

  Amie stared directly at Doug for a minute, reading him, and then mind-spoke to Laura. “I sense Doug is feeling uncomfortable about this trip and about me. I think he is having second thoughts about what we are about to do. Tell him that there is no special place; any of the Bahama Islands will be fine. I need only be within the Bermuda Triangle vortex area.”

  Laura relayed this to Doug.

  Doug nodded. “How long do you plan to stay there before your spaceship comes? I got the impression they could find you right away.”

  Amie understood Doug’s question but was not sure how to answer it because she didn’t know how long it would take to contact the Seeker. She had never had to do it before. It was one of those things covered in her cosmic voyager training, but never put into practice. “I can’t really say how long it will be. It will depend on how successful I am in trying to contact my ship once we get to the Bahamas.” Laura relayed Amie’s answer.

  “I guess I thought I could just drop you off on a beach somewhere and you were good to go on your own. Now that you tell me it could take some time, I don’t feel right about doing that.” Doug exhaled heavily in frustration.

  “I’m sorry. I feel I am burdening all of you. I just don’t have an exact number of days to tell you,” was Amie’s answer.

  When Laura relayed this to Doug, he looked crestfallen. He wasn’t prepared to spend more than a few days “camping out” in the Bahamas, and he knew Terri would give him grief if their “couple of days” stretched into a week or more. In his heart, he had always been only halfway committed to this project. If it were not for his close friendship with Nick over the years, he would never have agreed to help out.

  Laura reminded Doug that Nick had promised to pick up all their expenses – gas, lodging, and food – and had not put a time stipulation on this offer. But Doug still looked very concerned.

  “I guess we’ll all have to be patient then and see how things go,” was all Doug said. He then pulled a map from a cabinet and showed Amie and Laura where he was planning to take the boat. The map meant little to either of them, but Amie nodded politely and voiced, “That should work fine for me.”

  Doug exited the confines of the cabin, to take over the helm once again, while Tom entered the cabin to sit with Laura and Amie. The speed limit restrictions had ended, and Doug shouted a warning to all on board, “Okay everybody, we’re going to step it up now.”

  Terri was seated at his side, as Doug pushed the two throttles controlling the twin 150 horse p
ower motors forward and the 25-foot boat rapidly went on plane, but this time the speed dramatically increased as the boat engines roared. Spray was flying off at mid-hull, as the bow rose slightly with the increased power. As “Running Free” plowed over several wakes, created by passing boats, the bow undulated and smacked down hard on the choppy water. The boat’s movement tossed Amie around, as she sat in the cabin. Laura again patted Amie’s gray hands supportively, like a mother hen, but soon realized that she seemed to be drawing support from the very warm hands of the alien being as well.

  “Are you okay, Amie?” Laura eventually asked her verbally, still not used to the telepathy. “You look uncomfortable.”

  “I’m fine.” Then Amie mind-spoke, “Will it be bouncy like this all the way to where we are going?”

  “I don’t know, I hope not,” Laura verbally answered. Confined in the small cabin, Laura was feeling a little squeamish and, after about a half hour, excused herself to get some air.

  “Is Amie alright?” Doug asked.

  “I think so. It’s just a little bumpy sometimes.”

  “Got any Dramamine?”

  “Yes, Tom brought some.”

  “I suggest you take some; maybe Tom and Amie, too. It won’t be getting any smoother for a long while. I’ve got to push it so we can make some time. But, when we get to the Gulf Stream, maybe you three should come out here on deck. It’s a lot more comfortable ride in the open air.”

  The two black Suburbans drove down the dirt road leading to Ed Coburn’s retirement house in White City. “According to my directions, the house is at the end of this street,” the team leader said. “Slow down, this road is a rutted mess. We don’t want to go past it.”

  Less than a minute later, they turned into Ed’s driveway. The four-man team exited their vehicles. They were all dressed in normal civilian looking attire so as to not arouse concern from the local populace. They didn’t carry firearms, but each team was equipped with hand restraints, tasers, and pepper spray.

  Two men were directed around back, two went to the front door. As soon as the one patrol radioed that the rear entrance was secured, the two men in front, using a lock picking set, entered Ed’s house. They quickly scouted the darkened interior and found no evidence of Amie or anything that might belong to her. The team leader, known as ‘Tracer’, announced to the team that the house was clear and ordered them to move on.

  “Lets split up. Team two, I want you to check the woods across the street and have a general look around outside and back down the road. I’ll check the neighbor’s house along side this one. We’ll find out if they’ve seen anything unusual.” The two teams split up and went about their missions.

  ‘Tracer’ and his team mate ‘Gunner’, casually walked over to the adjacent home. ‘Gunner’ checked the rear, while ‘Tracer’ went to the front door, rang the doorbell, and eventually pounded on the door. When no one answered, he quickly picked the lock and quietly entered the house, calling out to anyone who might be lurking inside that he was “law enforcement initiating a search”. He walked straight through the home and opened the slider for ‘Gunner’.

  It was obvious that someone was living in the house, but they checked thoroughly and found no one presently at home. They then searched for any evidence of their subject and their efforts were almost immediately rewarded. ‘Tracer’ spotted a blonde wig lying on a bedroom closet shelf, and a blue pantsuit and leather jacket on the closet floor. He took pictures with his cell phone and sent them to central command. ‘Gunner’ found a purse stuffed in the kitchen pantry along with a number of cans and a bag of rice. He opened the purse and removed the wallet. The license belonged to Shelley Carson.

  “Bingo. We’ve got a confirmation. Several items match a description from the incident at Area 51.”

  Team one took photos of everything and sent them off to their headquarters. “Tracer” asked for the identity of the home’s owner and patiently awaited a reply. ‘Tracer’ eventually radioed the other team to fall back to his position. They had found no evidence of an alien hiding in the woods or the surrounding housing area.

  ‘Gunner’ received a reply minutes later that the house belonged to Douglas and Terri Ann Peyton. Peyton owned several homes in the local area, which he rented out. His main residence was in Port St. Lucie.

  “Team two, stay here in case the extraterrestrial returns. The garage is full of trash bags. You two have the unpleasant task of going through those and seeing if you come across anything of value. ‘Gunner’ and I are going to pay Douglas Peyton a visit and find out what he knows about all this.”

  As soon as they got underway, ‘Tracer’ placed a call to ask his controllers to investigate more about the Peytons. “Find out everything you can about them, criminal records, finances, friends, the whole works. We’re on the way to talk with them right now.”

  ‘Tracer’ called the Peyton’s home phone number and left a message, and then called their cell phone while pulling into their driveway.

  “Is that your phone, Doug?” Terri asked in a loud voice, over the roar of the full throttle motors.

  “Yeah, but I can’t talk now. You take it, okay”, and Doug passed it to her, as the boat bounced through the waves.

  Terri didn’t recognize the identity of the caller. “I think it’s one of those calls where the ID is blocked, Doug. Let’s forget about it.” She passed the phone back to Doug, who placed it in the small cup holder next to his seat.

  “No one’s home,” Tracer announced to his partner, after ringing the bell several times. “They aren’t answering the phone either. Let’s check the neighbors to see if they know where the Peytons might be.” The men walked next door and found an elderly neighbor in the driveway washing his car.

  The talkative man told them he didn’t know when Doug would be back. “He left this morning on his boat. Doug and Terri had another couple with them. Doug said he was going to be gone for a few days. Asked me to take care of his two cats and his dog for him while he’s gone. Doug and Terri go on trips a lot. They went to Arizona for two weeks back last summer. I took care of their house, watered their plants, watched over things, walked the dog. I have their key. They really appreciate having me to watch over their property. I’m a good neighbor. They were gone two weeks. I do that for them. Try to be neighborly, you know. Why you asking about them? Is there a problem?” The old man took a breather from his lengthy answer and suddenly eyed the dark Suburban and the two men in sunglasses suspiciously.

  “No sir, I’m his uncle. My friend and I are passing through, and I just wanted to stop by and say hello.”

  “Uh-huh. Uncle you say?”

  “I haven’t seen Douglas Peyton in a while. You wouldn’t mind letting us in would you?”

  The old man, who had been so open with them previously, suddenly became stubborn and suspicious. He shook his head slowly and stared them down, “No, I’m not going to let you in. Doug might know you, or maybe he doesn’t, but I sure don’t know you.”

  “I need to write him, my nephew Doug, a note. Can’t you just let us in for a few minutes?”

  “You two wait here. I’ll get you some paper at my house and you can write him a note. You don’t need to get in, I’ll get it to Doug when he comes back.”

  Team one waited on Doug’s front doorstep, debating whether they should break into the house, as the neighbor seemed to be taking his time coming back. ‘Gunner’ walked around looking in the windows of the house and ‘Tracer’ went back to the car and radioed his controllers to let them know what he had discovered from the neighbor and to find out if there was any other information.

  “We checked his bank statements. Guess what? There’s a check made out to him last month from Nicolas Rossi for five hundred dollars. That’s a connection we didn’t know about. Get hold of Rossi, you will need to have another talk with him.”

  A county sheriff’s car pulled into the driveway at this point, and the Team One members found themselves in a discussion wi
th the deputy regarding their intentions. The old man next door emerged, and the four men had a chat. After Team One presented their credentials to the cop, he instantly backed off and requested the neighbor to let them all in the house. The neighbor opened the door with his key and took the dog for a short walk, while the cop and the two government men searched the home. Finding nothing suspicious, Team One returned to their vehicle and proceeded to Nick Rossi’s house in Palm City.

  Terri and Laura had taken seasickness tablets soon after they left the St. Lucie River Inlet. Amie had declined their offer of motion relief, and it appeared that such an illness, common to humans, did not affect her. The two women soon lay down in the cabin to rest and Amie sat by Laura’s feet, meditating and thinking her energy strengthening thoughts.

  When the boat had plowed across the ocean for about two hours, Amie left the cabin to join the men and look around. Tom immediately relinquished his seat beside the boat captain. Seating herself in the comfortable “first-mate’s chair”, Amie watched the boat cut through the waves, feeling freer now than she could ever remember. Two dolphins passed by, swimming alongside for a while as if they were following the boat, and she watched them until they swam out of sight.

  According to the GPS, they were doing about 25 knots, Doug told her. Amie could see that the seas were fairly calm at the moment, and the sky was blue and clear, but she could also see a boiling thunderhead directly ahead in the distance. It looked like heavy rain was pouring from the cloud. “Are we going to go right through that?” she asked Doug.

  “Well, it’s right on our course, but I may have to steer around it if the rain doesn’t let up.” Doug knew that the rain wasn’t the real problem. Lightening, heavy downdrafts, and 8-foot waves were what he worried about.