Aliens in the Allagash

by Gary Striker

  Jane grabbed Steve around his arm and smiled.

  “What I have now, you can’t put a dollar sign to. I cannot, in my wildest dreams, accept your check for one million dollars, or for that matter the house or the Jaguar. I will keep my normal salary, but that’s it Amigo”!

  Cruz saw that the bond between Jane and her man was built on things that riches can’t influence. It made him envious and aware of other things that mattered much more than money.

  “I can see that I am not going to be able to negotiate with you, so here’s what I’m going to do”, Cruz stated with a smile, “But first you have to understand that your welfare means more to me than anything else in my life. I hope you can respect that”?

  Jane looked at Steve with a distraught look of betrayal.

  “You can go to the bank and willingly deposit that check or I will do it for you. Steve, remember what my mama said! She was never wrong about anything that mattered. Please allow me to be selfish for a moment and share in your happiness. I always thought that feeling good about yourself was a pile of bullshit. But you guys showed me different. This is how I want to do it. That’s all I want. What you have, you guys earned! All of it”!

  Once again, the master of control and persuasion set the stage. He directed a flawless performance that silenced the audience. Jane hugged Cruz with tears in her eyes and held on. What she hadn’t come to grips with was the underlying motive for Cruz’s actions. Chances were not too good that they would ever meet again.

  “So which one of us gets the bride”, Steve asked as everyone burst into laughter?

  “Remember, Jane, you wouldn’t let me pay for a pizza at the Bald Eagle”, Cruz recalled, “You’re going to have to change your ways if we’re to get along”.

  “You’re just as thick as he is”, Jane scolded Cruz with a slap to the chest.

  Cruz spent the day making preparations for departure. Thanks to Colonel Harris, his flight crew was granted a waiver for operations within the Temporary Flight Restriction zone. Cruz got more than he bargained for in conversation with Mr. ‘O’. Business operations at the docks were hectic with ships lined up for unloading. Apparently, the need for essential goods had escalated to panic mode as the word of extraterrestrial invaders spread like wildfire. Delivery of worldwide goods had been compromised due to influences of climatic trends and environmental abnormalities. Cruz was also informed that Darren’s laboratory at Cal Tech had vaporized, along with many casualties. Steve’s Matter Correlator device was retrieved by the rightful owners.

  Jane looked Cruz in the eyes.

  “You’re leaving, aren’t you”?

  “We have to go, Jane. You already know all the reasons”.

  Lucy sided with Cruz while showing no shortage of tears. The emotional impact was just shy of overwhelming as an epoch experience was about to close.

  “We’ll need to leave as soon as we get our things together”, Cruz announced, “Lucy and I will stay the night in Caribou. The Captain advised us to be ready for immediate departure, depending on timing of the flight operations waiver. I believe he wants us to sleep on the airplane”!

  Cruz and Lucy stood transfixed at the doorway with their bags. Jane held tight to her man while trying to control her emotions.

  “Here”, Jane said as she offered an audio C.D. to Cruz and one to Lucy. “We planned to have a going away party at the Fiddleheads, but this is the best I can do on short notice”.

  “What is it”, Lucy asked with a puzzled look?

  “This is ‘The Acadian Rose’”, Jane said with obvious deep feelings for what she handed her friends, “It’s a collection of traditional tunes that my father played. He wrote three of the songs that his band recorded. He loved playing around the Valley and always packed a full house. I play ‘The Acadian Rose’ when I need a lift. It’s kind of a special brand of Cajun music that everyone smiles to”.

  “I’m probably going to wear this out, Jane. I know what we’ll be listening to on the way to Caribou”, Cruz said with a smile!

  And with the last of big grippy hugs and tears of separation, Cruz held up Jane’s C.D. and uttered two words, “Acadian Rose”, as he and Lucy disappeared toward the Bald Eagle.

  “Oh my God, Steve, we’re alone! I don’t know if I can take it”, Jane said as she pleaded for relief.

  “So, tell me sweet thing”, Steve said as they headed back into the house, “did Santa’s Little Elf make the right decision a couple of weeks ago”?

  Jane pondered the question of her lifetime as she prepared French 75 cocktails and set the table.

  “I think you already know the answer to that question. I’m just worried…about everything”.

  “Worrying is not going to help”, Steve returned, “We’re going to do what we do for as long as we can. We’re pretty beat up right now, so let’s take a break and enjoy those French 75’s”!

  Jane smiled and forced all the bad things behind her. Life was good, even though nagging questions kept haunting her.

  “What are we going to do”, she asked while toasting their evening cocktail?

  “Since we have no way to communicate with anybody, tomorrow we had better take a trip into town and hope for the best. It seems that we made full circle back to the pioneer days. From what Cruz said, our alien visitors are systematically dismantling everything. We are in a great situation here to provide for ourselves, and we’re pretty good at it”.

  Jane looked a bit puzzled about all of the other ramifications they were facing.

  “What about the kids”, Jane asked, “and what about school, and Santa Claus? You know how they look forward to the seasonal activities. And what about us”!

  With cleanup chores done and coffee brewing, Steve smiled at the pleasant surroundings that he had grown accustomed to in a very short period of time.

  “What are you grinning at”, Jane asked as she served the hot steaming coffee?

  “You know what I want right now, Sugar Buns? And it’s not what you’re thinking”.

  “Damn”, Jane laughed, “and just what is it that you want”?

  “I think a few bars of Acadian Rose might be just what the doctor ordered”, Steve requested, “What do you think”?

  “I think you’re a romantic at heart, you big softy”!

  Aliens in the Allagash

  Chapter 29

  Reconciliation

  Steve pulled the covers over his head as Jane rousted her man for breakfast. Getting up seemed pointless as there wasn’t much that this day or any other day was going to offer. It marked one day closer to the end, was all, as predicted by the infamous Doomsday Clock, which predicted the end of the world as we know it. However, there was the curiosity factor. How were their friends coping, and was there news of a breakthrough that could save humanity?

  Steve struggled to combat his inner feelings as the day needed to be attended to. Jane had prepared Acadian Ployes and moose meat sausage with biscuits to get the morning started and indeed, what was needed to entice his stomach.

  “I feel like I’m off the clock, Jane”, Steve said surreptitiously, “It’s a strange sensation to have nothing that requires attention”.

  “Well, I need your attention! Drink your coffee. I don’t know how long the phone has been out, so we need to know if anyone has been trying to contact us”.

  “I wonder what’s up with the local phone service”, Steve asked?

  “It’s handled by a company in town. We can stop by on the way in and find out”.

  “At least we have power”!

  Except for limited military presence, Fort Kent was a ghost town. The only vehicles that they passed on the way in were two convoys of armor and transport vehicles.

  “Now I do wonder what’s going on”, Steve asked as they pulled into the phone company parking lot.

  “It looks like they’re closed, Steve”, Jane said as the office appeared dark.

  “Let’s head over to see ‘Duty’.

  Only a few patrol cars
were present in the lot of the Headquarters building. ‘Duty’ was assessing additional damage to the entranceway.

  “Good morning, ‘Duty’, what’s going on”, Steve asked?

  “Major Greer received orders to pull out as soon as possible. He lost two infantrymen last night when Cheyenne’s friend decided to leave. The U.S. Army Command remanded the battalion to their home base until they come up with a game plan”.

  “Where’s Darren”, Steve asked?

  “He tried to call you. They left last night with Cruz. He deciphered some code from the alien. He tested it on Marie without success. Half of the hospital staff has left. The locals are hanging in there”.

  “Our phone is out”, Jane said, “and where is everybody”?

  “We were advised to leave the area. I don’t think anyone did, but they’re not coming out. Besides, where would we go”?

  “I saw several houses boarded up”, Steve noted.

  “Gary sold every gun he had and all of the ammunition. Everyone is fortifying”.

  “What are you going to do”, Jane asked?

  “Well, that’s a good question! This building is trashed. We can’t use it. It’s not safe. The only thing left is the animal shelter, and Dee is taking care of them with the other rescue members, but I think she’s going to take those critters home. So, I’m going home to my wife. I haven’t seen her for two weeks. We’ll handle any calls from there”.

  “And what are we doing about the invaders”, Steve asked?

  “We’re on standby until further notice from the Military Command. Until then, we protect ourselves the best we can. Command is having some kind of big pow-wow today. We should know something later”.

  “We got that from Colonel Harris. It’s a last ditch effort, at least the way I heard it”, Steve assessed.

  “Hey, it looks like my cell phone is working”, Steve said with his happy grin, “It’s Darren”!

  “Hey buddy, where are you”, Steve asked?

  “We’re in Chicago. We just managed to get fuel, thanks to Cruz’s contacts in the shipping business. Most of the commercial flights are grounded. The airport is like a ghost town, except for military traffic. We heard that downtown got trashed”.

  “No-go on Marie, huh”?

  “Sorry, no. She was totally non responsive and the X-Rays showed no change. Cheyenne was around when his buddy decided to leave. The Laser-Taser had no effect, so we left it walk through a wall and disappear. Nobody got hurt, except the building”.

  “Well, thank goodness for small favors”, Steve said, “We’re here now with ‘Duty’. He declared the building unsafe. When do you expect to be in L.A.”?

  “We’re not. Airport services are a mess. We’re headed to Long Beach Airport where Cruz has his air operations business”.

  “Gimme a call when you guys get in”, Steve requested.

  “Will do, gotta go, we just got taxi clearance”!

  “Is anything open in town”, Jane asked ‘Duty’?

  “I think the Swamp Buck is. Paradis had the grocery store open earlier. I don’t know about now since his delivery truck was a no-show. The shelves looked pretty barren”.

  “The Bald Eagle had a fuel delivery this morning”, Steve said, “but he wasn’t sure when he’d be back”.

  “Let’s go see if we can get some lunch”, Jane suggested.

  “Thanks, but I have to secure this mess, and then I just need to go home”, ‘Duty’ said complacently.

  The Swamp Buck was open with only a few of the regulars scattered around the mostly empty tables. The waitress informed them that not all of the menu items were available, but lunch would still be good.

  “We’re closing today”, the waitress said with a forlorn look, “We’re not able to get supplies. I don’t know what I’m going to do”.

  The common theme among the residents was confusion and bewilderment. Steve decided that this was not happening to them. Lunch was served in the usual delicious Swamp Buck style. The sight of Lonesome Pines Ski Area was very picturesque and inviting. The snow continued to fall as early winter was making its presence known. Sightings of the alien creatures were more numerous now as well as unexplained lights traversing the night sky.

  “Jane, we need to take care of business”, Steve said, “First, we go get hitched, and then for our honeymoon, we need to get back to Eagle Lake, take care of a few things, and make plans”.

  “Hitched”, Jane asked in her humorous tone of dissatisfaction?

  “Yeah, you know, what’s the word? Oh yeah, I remember, married”!

  “Why I ever decided to marry a moron like you is beyond my comprehension”!

  Steve sported his dummass grin knowing that the status of the future Mrs. Slattery was about to change. A short ride to Jane’s church found the place vacant except for the Pastor and a few concerned congregation members. Jane introduced everyone to Steve and publicly requested a marriage ceremony as soon as possible. Everyone pitched in to get it done, including volunteers to serve as witnesses. The Pastor was extraordinarily obliging while assisting with the necessary forms and certificates. Steve was more than impressed, but not surprised.

  “This couldn’t happen anywhere else”, he thought to himself, “This guy is one cool dude”!

  The ceremony was traditional, serious, and administered under the covenants of the church. It was a beautiful setting. The Pastor bestowed the right of marriage upon his subjects as Steve verbalized the two magic words. Jane gave her Pastor a huge hug before making the rounds to all of her friends.

  “I can’t believe what I just did”, Jane expressed while coming to grips with her own disbelief! “How long were you planning this, Romeo”?

  “I don’t know, maybe ten minutes. I was thinking about it over coffee at the Swamp Buck. It seemed like the right thing to do”!

  Everyone welcomed relief from the stress as the uplifting mood swing couldn’t have come at a better time. Jane and Steve bid everyone farewell as the congregation members showered the new couple with rice.

  “Not much more than an hour ago, I was Miss Lefebvre. Now I’m Mrs. Slattery. It’s time for you to find out what that sweater really cost you, mister”, Jane said with her tenacious rant.

  The Paradis Supermarket shelves were picked through as Jane noticed her owner friend scratching his head in one of the isles. Steve was busy gathering various canned goods and other necessities. Jane showed off her temporary wedding band along with her monster engagement ring. Mr. Paradis departed for the back of the store as Jane joined Steve in the liquor isle.

  “Look at these shelves”, Steve pointed out, “The first thing to go in time of crisis is the alcohol”.

  Not a bottle of any type of alcoholic beverage was left on the shelf. Mr. Paradis returned with two bottles of Moet and Chandon Champaign.

  “Oh my God”, Jane said with surprise.

  “Here, congratulations! I try to keep some of the good stuff around for such occasions”!

  Jane loaded the last sack of goods as Steve focused on a few elderly people making their way across the parking lot.

  “These folks don’t look good”, Steve noted.

  “Everyone’s stressed”, Jane said.

  “No, I mean they don’t look healthy”, he said as he looked in the car mirror at his own image.

  “Those are older people. They will be the first to show signs of oxygen deprivation”.

  “We can’t help them, can we”?

  “No Steve, they are at the mercy of God”, Jane said sympathetically.

  On the way back to Eagle Lake, they encountered a vigilante gang of hunters as Steve slowed the car.

  “What are you doing, Jessup”, Jane asked as she obviously knew the group of former students.

  “We’re going to kill those Martians, Miss Lefebvre”.

  “Jessup, go home before you get yourself killed”, Jane demanded.

  “I can’t, Miss Lefebvre. My grandma’s not feeling well, and neither is Scott’s. I
know that if we kill those things, they’ll do better. We saw one earlier”.

  Jane and Steve pleaded to no avail. This was indicative of how things were at this juncture in time.

  “We have to go home, Mrs. Slattery”, Steve instructed his new bride with a smile, “We need to get some things in order, just in case Jessup’s alien friends decide to pay us a visit”.

  Steve did his best to lighten the mood, but the underlying tone was somber and sullen as they pulled into the Bald Eagle Convenience Store. A few people were discussing the state of affairs as they filled fuel cans, exchanged ideas, and compared their survival plans.

  “This is certainly a very unique time. No one is panicking”, he thought to himself as his cell phone came to life.

  “Hi Cruz, I trust you made it home”, Steve asked?

  “We did, but just barely. The pilots were having some performance and control problems, but they handled it. Remarkable guys, for sure. They said it wasn’t the aircraft”.

  “Would you like to say hello to Mrs. Slattery”, Steve asked?

  Cruz was beside himself with joy and congratulations as he expounded on the perfect union of two perfect people.

  “He’s happier than we are”, Steve whispered to Jane with a smile, “He must be oxygen deprived”!