I was hoping that Joe and Sue Maxwell, UFO Watchdogs Extraordinaire, would feel otherwise.
I handed out jobs and everyone got to work. Grandma had a ton of supplies in her storage sheds and in the basement, but we still had to make a few store runs. I sent Amy on those—I didn’t want any aliens leaving the house, and I needed to be around to supervise the work party.
By the time I had to go meet with the Maxwells, everything was in place. Well, kind of. The dress rehearsal wasn’t perfect, that’s for sure, but I was hoping that performing in the near dark would mask some of the sloppiness of the rush job on production.
Amy and I were out on the porch at quarter to nine as I got ready for my second meeting down at the park. Studying myself in the window’s reflection, I messed up my hair, then tucked in half of my shirt and left the other half hanging out.
“What kind of a look are you going for there?” Amy said.
I untied one of my shoes. “Disheveled.”
Amy regarded me with one raised eyebrow. “Mission accomplished.”
I kept looking at my reflection and practiced making desperately-worried-and-horrified facial expressions. “My performance starts before the one back here, remember?”
Amy moved closer and put her hand on my arm. Her voice was quiet. “David. Do you think this is going to work?”
“I have no idea.”
She flashed me her lopsided smile. That freckle patch on her nose crinkled up. So cute. Man, I must really like her if I noticed something like that at a time like this. But my stomach was still all twisted up with nerves.
“What are you smiling about?” I said.
“That’s just one of the things I like about you.”
“What do you mean?”
“Trying something is always better than doing nothing. Most people do nothing. All the time.” She reached up and mussed my hair a little more. “But you try stuff even if you don’t know that it’s going to work. Even if it has, in fact, very little chance of working.”
Was she making fun of me? “Um, thanks…I think.” I checked the time. Again. “I guess I better get going.”
Amy leaned over and gave me a quick peck on the cheek. “You’ll do great.”
Now it was my turn to smile. And I even felt better as I made my way through the gate and down the road. Like maybe I could do almost anything, after all.
I ran most of the way to the park, not because I was a little late (that was planned—it would be better for them to be there waiting for me), but because I wanted to be out of breath.
The sky was getting dusky by the time I made it to the park, but I could see Joe and Sue over at the same picnic table. I turned the speed up a notch and raced across the softball fields. As soon as I knew they were watching me, I craned my neck and glanced over my shoulder, in the direction of the B&B, then whipped my head back again. I did this a few times.
When I got to the table I collapsed onto the opposite bench, panting heavily. I stared over their shoulders, into the distance, focusing on nothing.
“Oh, my. Are you okay, young man?”
“Whatever is the matter?”
The look of genuine concern on their faces made me feel a little bit bad. After all, they did seem like nice people. But then I thought about ten thousand nice people invading Forest Grove. That made it easier to continue.
“It’s started again.…” I tried to make my voice shaky, but I didn’t want to overdo it. It came out in sort of a choppy whisper.
Joe Maxwell stood up. “What’s started?”
“Is everything all right?” Sue got up and started to come around to my side of the table, but I waved her off.
“It’s happening. Again.” I searched the darkening sky. “Oh, no…”
“What?”
“There’s going to be a full moon tonight, isn’t there? It’s always the worst when there’s a full moon.” I figured someone who watched the sky as much as they did must be aware of the phases of the moon.
Joe Maxwell nodded, his forehead lined with confusion. “As a matter of fact, there is. But what does that have to do with the bed-and—”
“Not here!” I hunched my shoulders and scanned the park, making it look like I was searching for eavesdroppers. There were none, of course, but I lowered my voice anyway. “I can’t tell you here. If anyone finds out, the b-and-b will be ruined. You have to come see for yourself.”
They exchanged a meaningful glance. “See what?” Sue said, her voice a little breathy with excitement.
I took a deep breath, then let it out slow. They leaned over the picnic table eagerly. I took in another big breath. More leaning until they were practically lying on top of the table.
I lowered my eyes and winced, as if giving up the secret was actually painful.
“You were right.”
“We were?” They looked at each other again.
I nodded slowly. “Yes. About the bed-and-breakfast. There’s something…something very, very strange going on there. Something secret. Unnatural. Not of this world.”
“I knew it!” Joe said. He sprang up and waved his arms in the air in triumph, then swept Sue up in a bear hug, lifting her right off the picnic bench.
Sue grabbed Joe’s head with both hands, knocking his toupee sideways. “We found it! We finally found it!” She was basically screaming right in his face.
He certainly didn’t mind. He laughed and swung her around some more. “How many years have we been at it? And now we finally get to see…”
Joe trailed off. He must have finally looked over and noticed me. I had dropped my head into my hands and was shaking it back and forth.
“Young man? What’s the matter?”
“We already told you, dear, we’re on your side.”
I brought my head up carefully, as if it weighed a hundred pounds.
Then I slowly dropped my hands from my face. And were there a few tears there, shining in my eyes, as I bravely held them in? I think there were. Man, I was a better actor than I thought. “It’s true—there is something strange going on in that house.” I shuddered all over for effect. “But it’s not aliens.”
Their faces crumpled. “What do you mean?”
“Nothing. Look, I’ve already said too much.” I pushed myself away from the table and stood up. “You know, I really shouldn’t be dragging you into this. You seem like nice people. Just take my advice and stay far away from that place.”
“Oh, no.” Sue frowned and wagged her finger at me. “You’re not getting rid of us that easily.”
“Please. I promise, this is not something you want to see. Not something you want to get mixed up in.”
I took a few backward steps, but the Maxwells came out from behind the picnic table and hurried toward me. Joe bent over and looked me in the eyes. “Young man, we have been waiting our entire lives to get into a house like that.”
Sue stepped up next to him until all three of us were crammed into my personal-space bubble. “And we’ll be getting in there with or without your blessing.”
I sighed heavily. I glanced over my shoulder in the direction of the house, then at the ground. “Okay,” I mumbled. “Meet me around the back of the b-and-b. At midnight.”
“Midnight?”
“Why does it matter when—”
“Trust me.” I turned around and started walking away. After a few steps I stopped and twisted around to face them. “But never say that I didn’t warn you.”
At five minutes to midnight, Amy and I were wrapped up in our sleeping bags on the back porch. The full moon gave the surrounding forest a silver sheen.
We didn’t talk much. The house was as prepared as it was going to get—everyone inside hopefully ready and waiting in their places—and this thing was either going to work or it wasn’t. Instead we just watched the stars until we finally heard muffled whispers and scraping noises moving along the side of the house.
“Showtime.”
Amy nodded and gave me a thumbs
-up.
Joe and Sue Maxwell appeared at the foot of the stairs, blinking up at us in the moonlight.
“What are you kids doing out here?”
I put my finger over my lips and cast a worried look at the house. Then I crawled out of the sleeping bag and made my way down the steps, followed by Amy.
“We never sleep inside on full moon nights,” I whispered.
“Never.” Amy also cast an uneasy glance at the house and quickly looked away.
“This is Amy,” I said. “She works here too. And she is aware of…you know, everything we talked about.”
Joe and Sue Maxwell nodded, but they were obviously distracted. “Are you going to let us in the house now?” Joe leaned forward eagerly.
Amy gasped. “Are you really sure you want to do that?” She looked at me, wide-eyed. “I thought you were going to talk them out of it.”
“Believe me, I tried. They’re very determined.”
“Indeed we are.” Sue’s tight little smile did not make its way to her eyes. “Now if you don’t mind, let’s drop the cloak-and-dagger routine and get started with the tour, shall we?”
I shot Amy another exaggeratedly worried glance and then sighed as I looked back at Joe and Sue. “If you insist.” I lifted a camping lantern off the porch steps and walked along the back of the house. “Follow me.”
We made our way to the set of storm doors that led down into the underground cellar. Joe helped me force them open, and the rusty hinges protested with a screech. It was a nice touch.
Only the top few stairs were visible; the rest plunged into the blackness below. I stepped down and turned on the lantern. The sphere of light it cast made it possible for us to slowly make our way down, but it was still plenty gloomy.
We stopped at the base of the stairs, the lantern creating a parade of shadows from all of the clutter and oddly angled walls that formed a maze of hallways. It was like a rabbit warren down there.
“Before we go any farther, I need to tell you the whole truth,” I said.
Sue was brushing cobwebs out of her hair. Perfect. “Yes? And what is that?”
“Well, about the house…I already told you, we don’t have aliens here. But something way worse is going on. Something that explains all of the bizarre things that happen around here. And why we have to be so secretive.” I took a deep breath. “The house is…well, you see, for as long as anyone can remember, the house has been…”
“Go on, David. Just say it,” Amy whispered.
“This house is haunted.”
I was expecting a bigger reaction, but Joe and Sue Maxwell just looked confused for a few moments, then they both shook their heads and scoffed loudly. “Oh, we already told you, we don’t believe in that nonsense.” Joe said. “Pure fiction.”
Sue pursed her lips and gave a dismissive wave. “And we have no interest in it, either. That stuff is icky.”
“We also told you that we aren’t going to be easy to get rid of. This is very disappointing.” Joe leaned forward and squinted at what could be seen of the murky cellar. “If you’re not going to give us a proper tour, I suppose we’ll just have to summon all of our friends and do this the hard way.”
“And we’ll come in through the front door. At a decent hour of the day.” Sue sniffed and turned to go back up the stairs.
Amy gasped again, right on cue.
“What is it?” I said.
“L-l-l-look,” she breathed.
Joe Maxwell just shook his head and moved to join his wife on the stairs. “If you honestly think we’re going to be afraid of a dark basement and some—”
“Shhhhhhh!”
Joe fell silent. Amy hid behind me, clinging to my arm and peering around my shoulder into the darkened reaches of the cellar.
“What was that?” she said.
“I don’t know.”
I held up the lantern as we shuffled forward together.
“Not sure I want to know.…”
“There!” Amy pointed to a rustling movement up ahead, but it could have just been a shifting shadow as the lantern swayed a little in my grip.
We pretended to ignore Joe and Sue Maxwell and crept deeper into the cellar. Amy squeezed my shoulder when we heard their feet scraping along the cement floor, following us.
Amy let out a little shriek and we both froze. The Maxwells stumbled to a stop just behind us. The movement up ahead was now unmistakably distinct from the surrounding shadows.
I held the lantern over my head and out as far in front of me as I could, casting a dim circle of light ahead of us.
There were Kanduu and Kandeel, the outline of their bodies hazy and indistinct at the very edge of the light, doing just what we had rehearsed: scuttling back and forth in the hallway. If you knew about their alien chameleon skin, you could just barely tell that they were assuming the dark color of the walls and blending in, then sliding along until they popped out at a different place, taking on the lighter tone of the floor as they scampered across the hallway.
But to Joe and Sue Maxwell, it must have looked like a whole group of little kids was walking right through the walls.
Ghost kids.
This time the gasp did not come from Amy.
Did that mean they were buying it so far? I snuck a backward peek.
Sue was merely frowning, straining her eyes to try to make out what was happening in the hallway. But Joe had his fist pressed up against his mouth, and his arm was trembling a little.
I advanced slowly, careful to keep the little aliens right at the edge of the light. They dashed back and forth, perfectly maintaining the illusion of going through the walls. The Maxwells crept forward with us. It was so quiet that I think we were all holding our breath.
And then Kandeel started laughing.
Great. She picked a perfect time to get even more comfortable on this planet. She was going to ruin the whole thing before it really got started.
I knew I shouldn’t blame her. After all, she was just a little kid alien, and I was the one who had put her up to this. She probably thought it was pretty funny to be chasing her brother around in the dark. I sighed. I guess we’d have to figure out another way to—
There was that gasp again. I turned. Joe Maxwell was chewing on a couple of his knuckles. And Sue looked a little more uncertain than she had a minute ago.
Amy reached up and switched the lantern off. And then I got it. Kandeel’s squeaky little giggle, echoing in the darkness of a cellar at midnight, was extremely creepy. The kind of thing that would give people goose bumps if they were watching it happen in a horror movie.
I admit it: even I was kind of creeped out, and I knew what was happening.
The laughter faded. Silence settled all around us. When Amy snapped the lantern back on, the circle of light in the subterranean passageway was empty. Perfect.
“I don’t think I can go any farther,” Amy said.
I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Mr. and Mrs. Maxwell have traveled a long way to get here. We owe it to them to show them everything.”
“You certainly do.” Sue was frowning and craning her neck to see farther into the hallway.
“Actually,” Joe Maxwell said, “I’m not so sure we need to see more of—”
Crash! Bang!
The cellar doors slammed shut behind us (courtesy of the Pink Blob and a couple of the alien kids who had been hiding in the bushes out back). Joe and Sue Maxwell jumped. (Okay, I jumped too.)
“Nowhere to go now but through the cellar,” I whispered.
A low, rhythmic chant started up behind a closed door at the other end of the hallway.
As we made our way down the hall, the chanting intensified. I hurried past the closed door, Amy clinging to me, but Sue stopped. “What’s supposed to be going on in there?”
I shook my head, not looking back. “You don’t want to know.”
“Let’s listen to him,” Joe Maxwell said. He grabbed his wife’s hand and attempted to pull her pa
st the door, but she dug in her heels.
“No way, mister. We’re going to get to the bottom of all of this.” She reached for the doorknob.
I hurried back, the light seesawing crazily from one side of the darkened hallway to the other as the lantern swung in my grip. “I wouldn’t do that if I were—”
Sue pushed the door open and the chanting got louder. The Arkamendian Air Painters were using their native language, so it sounded (I hoped) like ancient priestesses or whatever using some long-forgotten language. Very creepy.
And the visual was even better.
They were completely covered in hooded robes and doing a slower, more somber version of their floaty circle dance around a “cauldron” (actually a cast-iron smelting pot we had found in the storage shed). The bottom of the cauldron was lined with candles, so the reedy aliens were lit ominously from below.
And their creations looked perfect. A tangle of dark shadows rose from the cauldron and swirled around the room in time with the rhythm of the chanting. For all the Maxwells knew, a group of restless spirits was being summoned from the Underworld. At least that’s what I was shooting for.
Some of the shadows emerging from the cauldron curled toward the ceiling and roiled there like storm clouds while others streaked along the walls, spinning around and giving the entire room an evil-kaleidoscope vibe.
Our little group stood there gaping at the eerie scene until a few of those floating ribbons of gloom came straight at us. We ducked as the living shadows shot over our heads and drifted down the hallway.
Amy dug her fingernails into my arm (a little too convincingly, I might add) and cried out in alarm. That was the Arkamendians’ cue. All of their heads shot up and they looked straight at us. The chanting cut out suddenly, leaving an eerie silence.
The cowls of the robes hid their faces in darkness, but that just highlighted their eyes. They were glowing red. A dozen pairs of devilish eyes fixed us with unwavering stares.
One of the Arkamendians shot her arm straight out to point at us, and she spoke in that raspy, radio-just-out-of-tune voice. The message was a simple one: “Get. Out.”
Aliens in Disguise Page 15