SKY WOMAN OF GROOM LAKE

by Charlie Peart

  After Doug ran the boat up almost on the beach, the other occupants donned their swimsuits and gratefully hopped off into the refreshing water. Amie stood on the deck watching them, as they playfully pushed one another under the gentle waves.

  “Do you swim, Amie?” Laura eventually called to her from the water.

  “Yes, I do,” Amie voiced back.

  “Well, come join us.”

  “Perhaps I will. For a little while, but then I must sit quietly on the sand and try to communicate with my people,” Amie mind-spoke back to Laura. Laura interpreted this message to the group.

  Amie then stripped off her clothing, down to her skin-tight, protective underwear, which perfectly matched the gray of her skin, making her appear naked. Flinging her wig into the cabin, along with her clothes, she went to the stern and prepared to get into the water. Suddenly she realized the shock she had caused her fellow boat mates, because all of their water play stopped. They had never seen her without her clothes, and the sight of her exposed body astonished them as much as her bare head had previously caused them surprise. Amie climbed down the ladder and sunk below the cool surface of the water, realizing with sadness that the sight of her thin limbs, flat chest, and large head probably repulsed them all.

  The group had a wonderful day at the beach. After her swim, Amie did stroll far up the beach to be by herself. Laura and Terri sat together on a driftwood log, chatting and laughing. But they also watched in fascination as Amie, far away from them, meditated for almost an hour with her arms outstretched to the sky.

  “I feel she is reading my mind,” Terri told Laura. “I don’t like it. Do you feel like she is reading your mind?”

  “Well, yes. She does have that ability.”

  “And that doesn’t bother you?”

  “It’s the way they communicate in her world. They don’t use their voices to speak. It’s considered a primitive remnant from their past.”

  “Well, I find it unnerving. And I don’t like the way you have to do all the talking for her. Whenever Amie is around me, she doesn’t reply, just sits like a statue and watches me,” Terri revealed in frustration.

  After the group had finished their lunch on the beach, they split up. Doug, Terri, and Tom took the boat offshore to do some fishing. While Amie and Laura went for a long walk along the empty beach, picking up shells, as they mind-spoke together. Amie had retrieved her shorts, shirt, and wig from the boat, should any other boaters approach them as they were enjoying the shore. Also, Amie felt that her own group of crewmembers felt more at ease when she wore her human disguise.

  Amie began by telling Laura her real name and how it was very long and hard to pronounce and so it had been changed. She was open with Laura, telling her about her spaceship crash landing and her years of captivity at Area 51. She mentioned her fondness for her ship captain and the lonely years she and her crewmembers had spent at the pod residence at Groom Lake. She did not mention much about her own planet, informing Laura only that she was a hybrid, born to voyage around the galaxy.

  Amie also felt a need to explain to Laura that she was not naked when she was swimming, but was actually wearing her protective underwear, which even had a large protective pocket. She asked Laura if she could tell where the body suit ended on her wrists and feet. By looking closely at Amie’s body, Laura told her that she could see the fabric demarcation line.

  Amie explained that it was a special energy-based fabric, unknown on Earth, that was placed upon her body at birth and melded to her and grew with her, becoming like a second armored skin. This garb protected her from heat and cold, as well as cuts and abrasions, germs and bacteria, and even insect bites. It never needed to be removed for laundering, as it was self-cleaning through the generation of her body heat energy. And the fabric could be controlled by her thought process, which allowed openings for bodily eliminations and sexual penetration. It was a remarkable fabric, worn by all in her world.

  Amie went on to explain that her people did not wear clothing as fashion statements. Everyone looked the same, only differentiated by the medallions they wore as insignias of their job titles and rank.

  “Yes, I see you always wear yours, although under your t-shirt,” Laura stated. “It is very attractive and the blue gem stone is unusual.”

  “The medallions have other functions beyond adornment,” Amie stated cryptically, saying no more regarding that subject.

  Laura told Amie about herself, as well. She talked at length about her teaching experience, and Amie seemed to take an interest in Laura’s stories about giving small children an appreciation for art. But then Laura discussed her marriage, growing very despondent as she related how she and Tom had hoped to have a family. Now, after years of trying fertility specialists and all sorts of treatments, they had given up hope of ever having a child.

  Suddenly, Amie asked Laura to sit close beside her on the warm sand. “Do you trust me, Laura?” Amie mind-spoke to her. “I am going to place my hands on you in a way that may make you uncomfortable.”

  “But why?” Laura voiced.

  “Trust me. My necklace has many purposes. I want to aid in the problem you have revealed. There is something I can do to possibly help.” And with that, Amie breathed deeply several times, removed her necklace, and pressed the blue jewel to Laura’s belly. Instantly, Laura felt a tingle pass throughout her body. The strange necklace seemed to be heating up under the Caribbean sun, to the point where Laura felt like it was beginning to burn into her skin.

  “Please have trust in me, Laura,” Amie spoke again softly.

  Laura gasped, cried out, and her body jolted several times as Amie continued to press the jewel to her abdomen. Laura’s head hit the sand, as she fell backward, writhing under Amie’s touch.

  Then Amie began mumbling strange words in mind-speak, as if entranced. The words turned into a sort of humming, which Laura seemed to hear as if from a distance. All the while, odd sounding, off-key music played in Laura’s brain. These weird sounds melded and intensified until Laura felt as if she could stand it no longer and her mind blanked out for a few minutes.

  When Laura revived, Amie had removed the medallion from her stomach and returned it as an ornament around her own neck. Amie’s eyes wore a blank stare and her pose was serene. Laura returned to a seated position beside Amie.

  So intense was the emotion Laura felt that she said nothing to Amie, as the two sat, side-by-side, on the warm sand for a long while. After Amie aroused herself from her apparent trance, the two walked in silence back toward the spot on the beach where they had all lunched. As Laura walked along slowly, she felt a small discomfort in her lower stomach area and wondered what had actually occurred between her and Amie. But when she finally mind spoke a question about this to Amie, the little alien put her fingers to her lips to denote that she wished to remain silent. So nothing more was ever said about what had happened between the two on the beach sand.

  Nearing their campsite, and with “Running Free” visible offshore, Amie told Laura that she wished to remain in seclusion for a time there. Amie would once again meditate. She stated to Laura that she felt sure that she would soon make contact with the Seeker spaceship from her world.

  Laura decided to swim by herself for a while. The strange encounter with the medallion had left her feeling oddly energized and incredibly positive and strong. The discomfort she had noticed earlier had been entirely erased and had been replaced by a feeling of almost euphoric well being. Laura enjoyed a long swim, pumping her sleek body through the waves, and finally rolling over into a leisurely float in a secluded cove she found on the other side of the rocks along their campsite.

  Amie remained seated on the beach for almost an hour, waving her medallion toward the sky in her outstretched arms and humming and chanting. As she meditated, little gusts of wind seemed to pick up the beach sand and swirl it around her body. Also, mini-water spouts played on the waves, as they lapped onto the beach. Suddenly, Amie felt a strong vibration, ampl
ified by her vest. Her body jolted.

  “They know I’m here,” Amie thought triumphantly. “At last!” If she had tear ducts, tears of joy would have flowed freely down her face in the human way.

  Her tanned skin wet with salt water, Laura returned to the campsite on the beach where Amie sat cross-legged waiting for her. Laura noticed that the little alien seemed translucent. Something about Amie’s skin tone had changed and she was almost glowing.

  Laura remarked to Amie that she appeared strangely different, almost as if an aura of light was shining around her body and, upon learning this, Amie’s mouth turned up in a little smile. She informed Laura that she had experienced a very positive contact this time. “They will be coming for me tonight, here on this spot,” Amie stated confidently.

  “Are you sure?” Laura asked, skeptically.

  “Yes, the rescue will come, tonight.”

  “Well, I know Doug and the rest of them want to go back to Grand Cays. None of us slept well on that boat last night. We’re thinking we could have a nice dinner at a restaurant and then get a good night’s rest sleeping in hotel beds.”

  “No, my people will find me here.”

  “Couldn’t they find you just as well on the boat at Grand Cays?”

  “No, Laura, it’s not like that. It will be here.”

  “Okay. I’ll tell our crew then, when they return.”

  Chapter 27

  The rest of the crew returned around 5pm, a little sunburned and worn out, but in better spirits from an afternoon of fishing. Laura and Amie sat on the sand, waiting for them. Doug grounded the boat on the beach and motioned for Amie and Laura to come aboard.

  “Did you catch anything?” Laura yelled to Tom.

  “Yeah, but we let them go. We don’t have a way to keep them. It’s too bad, because we got some nice yellow tail and a grouper.”

  Doug informed Laura that it was time to head back. “Come on girls,” and he waved impatiently at the two, as they continued to stand on the beach. “Terri wants to get a room and take a shower, and I’m ready for that myself. I’m looking forward to a decent meal tonight at Rosie’s and then on to Jolly’s Bar. I can hear those Cuba Libre’s calling to me.”

  Laura delivered the bad news. “Amie told me she can’t go back tonight. She said they’re coming for her here. She wants to stay.”

  “What?” Terri hissed to Doug. “Did she get a phone call from outer space, or something?”

  And Terri, showing her displeasure, called out, “Come on Laura, this is getting ridiculous.”

  “Listen y’all,” Laura pleaded. “This is important to Amie. This is why we came, remember?”

  Terri now chatted in a low tone to Laura, who had waded into the water to reason with the three on the boat. “I’m getting a little tired of Amie’s mumbo-jumbo. It doesn’t amount to much. Now she has to stay on this beach? Why not do her contact thing from our boat, while it’s moored back at Grand Cays?”

  “I know. Look, I was looking forward to a real bed tonight myself. I already asked Amie if she could do that. I thought she could stay on your boat overnight, while we stayed at a hotel.”

  “And, what did she say?” asked Doug.

  “Well, she’s staying here. I mean, we can’t leave her alone here,” Laura reasoned.

  “So we all have to spend another sleepless night on this boat, so that our little alien friend can wander around the boat all night, humming and making a racket. And then, we’ll find her fast asleep the next morning.” Terri was obviously disgusted.

  “Sorry Terri, but if Amie is staying, so am I. Just leave us some things to eat and drink, and maybe your can of bug spray. I just can’t leave her here by herself.”

  Hearing this, Terri went into the cabin and shut the door.

  Tom looked a little shocked by his wife’s determination to stay overnight on the deserted beach. “If you’re serious, Laura, I can’t leave you here by yourself. I’ll have to stay with you, too.”

  Laura looked at Tom and smiled. “Thanks, hon.”

  “Oh, for crying out loud!” Doug spit out at the two of them. The whole thing exasperated him. Then he said, in a very low voice, “Great, I’m the one that has to break this to Terri. I’m the one that has to live with her, you know.” He looked pleadingly at Tom and Laura.

  The couple looked at him and shrugged. Things were at an impasse.

  “Okay, I give up. I have fresh water on the boat; we can shower here.” Doug pointed his finger at Tom and Laura, “But let me tell you, if this taxi from outer space doesn’t come here tonight, we’re heading back home tomorrow. You guys can come with us or I’ll drop you two and Amie off at Grand Cays. You can eventually find some other way home, when your E.T. pal finally manages to fly off into outer space. But, after tonight, I can’t take another night with Amie in some kind of trance or whatever, climbing all over my boat and keeping me awake. As far as I’m concerned, it’s over!” Doug turned and disappeared into the cabin to tell Terri about the change in plans.

  Tom and Laura just looked at each other. When Laura jokingly made a frowny face, Tom started to laugh. “What the hell have we gotten into, Laura?”

  “I don’t know, but it sure is a great adventure,” and Laura laughed along with Tom.

  “You know though, I certainly see Doug’s point,” Tom said, suddenly becoming serious. “Both of them have been good sports about taking us and putting up with things. It’s obvious Amie has worn out her welcome with them, and if she’s still around in a few more days, I’m going to be as frustrated as Doug and Terri already are.”

  Laura looked solemn then, and took her husband’s hands in hers. “I really believe Amie got some special message today, Tom. It could be really amazing for all of us tonight.”

  They soon heard Doug and Terri going at it on the boat. Terri was threatening to leave Doug over the issue. Laura suspected this was probably a line she had used many times in the past. “No wonder Doug was angry,” she thought, “look what he has to put up with.”

  Tom and Laura hopped off the boat and joined Amie on the beach. She was sitting placidly on the sand, and Laura had a feeling she had probably overheard the entire argument. Nevertheless, Laura spoke to Amie, using mind-speak, and told her what had transpired.

  “I’m sorry I have been a problem,” Amie mind-spoke. “But it will be over soon. I will miss you both. I feel bad, causing a problem for Doug and Terri. I hope they calm down soon.”

  “Me too,” Laura voiced, noticing herself feeling extremely overwrought about poor Amie’s plight. Laura even caught herself wondering, for a second, if she was thinking her own thoughts or if Amie’s voice was somehow interfering with her own thought pattern.

  After a little time had passed, Laura looked over at the boat and saw Terri shampooing her hair with the fresh water hose. “I think everything will be alright,” she informed Amie verbally, so her husband could hear. “We can join them at their boat as soon as Terri is finished.”

  Tom waded through the tepid shallow water to the boat. “Hey, Doug, when everybody is finished washing up, let’s make some drinks. I’m thirsty, how about you?”

  “Good idea,” Doug replied, barely looking Tom in the eye, as he waited to hand a towel to Terri. “If we can’t have rum and cokes at Jolly’s, at least we have a few bottles of vino tucked away on my boat.”

  As the sun began to slowly set in the west, Terri had begun to loosen up a little, thanks to a few generous glasses of wine offered in a token of peace by Doug. “Let’s make a fire on the beach tonight,” she blurted out. “We can roast some of the hot dogs we have in the fridge. We have rolls too, and mustard and ketchup!”

  Laura really didn’t care what they did, as long as there were no more fights. But she was glad that Terri was starting to think positively about their situation for the evening. Also, she was glad they had purchased so many groceries that morning.

  “Hey that’s a great idea, Terri. Tom, why don’t you get some firewood? You were in
the Boy Scouts. I bet you know how to get a good campfire going.”

  Tom knew Laura was having fun with him, but he was all for doing something that would keep the group in a positive frame of mind. For that matter, he was hungry and, like the others, had been looking forward to a really good meal that evening. But hotdogs were better than nothing.

  “Okay, I’m on it. But what about Amie? She’s a vegan. Do we have anything in the fridge she can eat?”

  “Well, we used to have some watermelon, but that’s all gone. I believe Amie ate it all up.” Terri remarked rather snidely.

  “We bought some peanut butter at the grocery store this morning. She can have that on a hotdog bun, right Amie?” Laura turned to Amie for support, and Amie nodded her assent.

  Terri rolled her eyes and took another sip of her wine, but said nothing else. Then she got up and turned on the radio on the boat, plugged in her IPod and selected her 70’s disco music. She turned that up to the point it was blasting, gyrating a little on the deck. “Time to party!” Terri called out.

  Amie could not stand loud music, especially popular music with a heavy drumbeat. Not wanting to further antagonize Terri by asking her to turn off her music, Amie instead wisely opted to swim away from the boat for a while. Amie played in the ocean waves, diving under the water and following the antics of the brightly colored fish, while the others prepared the meal.