by JD Lovil
He gave the group the high sign, from where they had discreetly secreted themselves during Tom and Sally’s summit. They all filed back into the RV, or out of the back room of the vehicle, and clustered about the table to get caught up in the newest details and other data morsels.
A half hour of conversation, suitable to the streets of whatever city the tower of Babel existed in, completed our initiation process for the angelic Sally. Tom would complete her induction ceremony himself sometime that night. Markus mentioned that the RV would need another full tank. They all made ready to find the nearest station, and then they were rolling.
The first gas station they came to was out of gas, but they were delayed a few moments as the old geezers who ran the station inquisitively examined the RV, motivated by why the thing ran so quietly, and mystified by the absence of a carburetor. Tom patiently explained that the vehicle had a fuel injection system instead of a carburetor. It turned out that they had worked on a few newfangled diesel tractors with fuel injection, but they were unaware of any over the road vehicles using that technology.
Tom extricated the group from the conversation with the geezers with a remarkable lack of loss of life, and they continued to the next closest gas station that the geezers had described. A couple of minutes more travel found them at the gas station, which as it turned out was on the very periphery of the town, and next to a great expanse of range filled with cattle, and close at hand was a large tank, where several cows were sucking up water, and slapping their tails happily at the surrounding cloud of flies.
When the RV ground to a halt, the men exited the vehicle to see to the gassing, and to surreptitiously guard against attackers, while the women relaxed and caught up on that secret gossip that they had been holding back on sharing while the men were listening. Bailey took the opportunity to dash out of the RV and run happily into the nearby field to chase the cows grazing and watering there.
Markus took charge of gassing the big vehicle while the rest of them leaned against the side and watched the dog chasing the cows and wagging his tail furiously. It was when the herd split to avoid being subjected to the indignity of being nibbled at by the canine that the guys noticed something strange. There appeared to be several cows lying down next to the tank, and from their positions it was obvious that they were very dead.
Having a good fifteen or twenty minutes before the fuel tank would be full, the men (sans Markus) made their way over to where the dead cattle were lying. When they came upon them, they noticed there were several parts missing on the corpses, and other parts of the cattle were present, but stacked neatly in a manner that suggested that they were superfluous matter in an operation that had been conducted.
One cow had been dismembered entirely, with the horns, ears and other head parts arranged neatly in somewhat the same positions that they would have occupied if the head of the cow had exploded neatly. It reminded Tom of the sort of labeling and placement process that a shade tree mechanic would use to disassemble and reassemble an automatic transmission.
The same neat stacking of body parts was evident for the rest of that cow. Most of the other cattle lying nearby were not treated the same, but were missing several of their body parts, mostly vital organs. In every case that Tom could see, the organs and body parts were removed and dissected with surgical precision. None of the bodies had any insects on them, even though the living cattle in the vicinity were besieged by all manner of insect pest.
Bailey had abandoned his chase and approached the bodies when the men had done so. He cautiously approached the nearest body and sniffed it carefully. After he had sniffed it, he backed away from the body, and refused to come near it again. It was unusual for Bailey to be shy, so Tom took note of this reaction, and filed it mentally under the label of ‘might be important’.
“Anybody have a clue what happened here?” George asked the group. “I have heard of something like this in the UFO weirdo blogs. Anyone here want to claim this has something to do with aliens?”
“We don’t have to, you already have!” Markus gloated. “George’s aliens have been gourmet hunting in the herd. A few onions, some peppers and garlic, and they could sauté up a fine meal.”
“Whatever happened here, I suggest that we load up and head for the next town.” Tom stated. “We are not charged with solving every little problem we encounter. Let the locals deal with this.”
“We have a problem with that.” Charla chimed in as she came up. “I saw Bailey haul ass across to that ranch house over there.” She said and pointed to indicate which one she meant.
“Okay, everybody, load up. We will roll over to that house, pick up the dog, and decide if we are leaving immediately, or if we want to stay the night before we head out. That is assuming that we don’t meet opposition to that idea.” Tom stated.
In about three minutes, everybody had loaded up in the newly fueled RV, and they were rolling toward the indicated ranch house. As they neared the homestead, Tom noted that there were none of those indications of life in evidence, no television murmuring in the background, no voices, and no movement. The only life that could be heard or seen was the quiet sounds of Bailey padding about in the area between the backyard and the barn at the back of the house. He cautioned everyone to be on their guard, and then they were there.
They pulled straight into the area where the dog was sniffing about. Everybody got out and walked over to where the dog was working. As they got near, they could see a family of three, all disassembled in the same manner as the cows in the field next door. As soon as the people got there, the dog backed out, and ran to the backside of the barn.
The group settled in to examine the crime scene in more detail. One of the strange differences in this scene from that in the field was the presence of a circle of burnt grass and dirt, surrounded by a strange geometric pattern composed of grass which refused to lay any other position except where they found it. If one dragged the grass it was made of to some other position, it would return to its original position. It was Markus who found a magnet, and showed the group that the grass now held a magnetic charge.
The man, his wife or girlfriend and their little girl had all been dissected and their body parts had been neatly stacked systematically in piles, carefully arranged to create three different sized pyramids.
The dog had done his job of alerting the group to this pile of body parts, and he quickly lost interest. The meat did not smell edible or interesting, and damn if Bailey was going to mess around with body parts that not even the flies had any use for. He wagged his tail in temporary farewell, and started sniffing about for something a little more useful, or at least more interesting.
A couple of moments of random searching, while the silly humans did whatever it is that silly humans do, and suddenly, Bailey came upon the mother-lode. In the back of the barn there were more body parts, but this time, the body had been torn apart normally, possibly by one of those lions that this town was infested with. He spent a couple of seconds gobbling up some little bits that had that scared pork taste, and then he found his prize.
Bailey found Charla about a moment later, and leaned against her to get his obligatory head pat. After she had performed her due penance, he decided that it was time to share the riches. When she finally focused on his prize, she let loose with an unrestrained scream, putting the dim image of primeval panthers and bobcats to shame.
Bailey was dumbfounded. Why would anyone react by making unpleasant cat noises, when presented with the chance to play one of the most fun games in the world; the game of Throw the Finger? He had really mourned the loss of the last finger, and he was very happy to finally have a replacement.
Everyone gathered around the voluptuous Charla, and Bailey noted that Tom surreptitiously stuck the finger into his pocket. Bailey was uncertain as to whether he should feel relief that the precious finger was being preserved, or jealous that Tom intended to preserve it for his own enjoyment.
By this time, the sun was jus
t finishing setting on the horizon, and it had been a long, long day. Tom brought up the question of if they should immediately get on the road, or should they take advantage of the presence of an abandoned house on hand to stretch out in luxury for one night, before continuing on? It took a few minutes to complete the argument, and the votes for and against split almost entirely along gender lines.
Everyone admitted that there was some small danger here from the unknown forces or entities that had conducted these dissections, and of course from the roaming lions outside, but the men thought that the number of members of the group should provide adequate protection against the danger. With certain assurances of being cautious, the group decided to stay the night.
Fifteen minutes later, the group had all immigrated en mass into the vacant house. There were four bedrooms in the house, and in tacit agreement, the men all called dibs on the bedrooms, leaving the women to either bunk up with one of the men, or camp out in the kitchen or living room. As it turned out, the women were okay with that, and Sally nonverbally indicated that Tom was an acceptable bedmate, while Charla would of course go with Sidney, and Vera started heavy flirting with Markus.
“George, Bailey was playing with a finger earlier.” Tom mentioned. “If you ask nicely, I think he would bunk with you tonight. It would be about the same size.”
In a fitting retort, George also threw a finger, but with a different intent to Bailey’s play. In a matter of moments, all had moved into their assorted accommodations and the supplies and assorted drinking and smoking stocks were distributed appropriately. George did have a bedroom to himself, which was a sad situation, but on the plus side, George had a bedroom to himself.
By the time that everyone had settled in, and had found, cooked, or begged a good meal, the time was between 9:30 and 10:00, and everyone was anxious to settle in for whatever pre-sleep rituals they wished to engage in, followed by a luxurious sleep in a non-cramped bed that they didn’t hang over the edge of, or hit some obstruction while attempting to adjust their positions.
Tom retired to the bedroom with Sally, and with minimal persuasion, he managed to talk her into a very heavy petting bout that morphed into something much better in due course. He first used his hands and fingers, then his tongue, and finally, other bodily parts to satisfy itches and urges that Sally never knew she had. Tom was quite happy with her body, slender and soft and curved in all the right places. Her breasts were small but not too small, maybe C-Cups, and just what the doctor ordered.
Sally was a very energetic and enthusiastic bed mate. She claimed to have little experience in the sexual arts. If that was true, then she had a surplus of imagination, because there was nothing boring about her performance. It took them a couple of hours to get down to the cuddling and sleeping stage, which took the form of them spooning.
Tom thought himself to be quite noble, in that he resisted the urge to dock his probe in her airlock all night, a real temptation when that gorgeous ass was pressed up against his body. Tom reached around her to cup her breasts, a nice and sensitive replacement for more sex. He wasn’t what he would call a practiced sensitive sort, but this cuddling thing could catch on big!
Tom tightened his arms around this body that his instincts were insisting on claiming as his, even though he knew that the vagrancies of existence would doubtless prove that to be a lie in the near future. For tonight, it was not a lie, and he was delightfully tired. He felt the blurry edges of sleep take him.
I stand on a small hill overlooking the battlefield. The grass beneath my bare feet is soft and slick with the blood of the fallen. The moon is risen, and the bodies glisten beneath her in her light, and some are hidden in the shadows. The full extent of the carnage is partially concealed by the stacking of the bodies in blood filled midden ponds.
Some of my brethren are near, standing in vigilant poses in the midst of the devastation. The Rakshasha and the lower ghouls are here, and the eyes of Yama flame redly from where he stands beneath the Olive tree.
I know that many of these fallen fell to my hand, and to this staff that I carry, given me by He who sees all to the horizon, and who sees that which must be, be it tomorrow or five centuries hence. The song my staff sings is death, and with her song I am almost equal to Yama in the dealing of death.
I look to my right, and there stands she whom I await. In my memories I see her flowing red hair and the brightness of her green and inviting gaze. In my past, perhaps I knew her, and in my future I see her. She is with me in these times of blood and death, in the mirror of events she visits me, but I must go to the place which is beyond my certain gifts before I may meet her at last in the flesh.
I am saddened by the wait, but I have waited for many years, and I will meditate upon the centuries, if I must in order to claim her at last.
Tom woke to a call in the distance, behind the walls and down the hall. It is Charla, doing what Charla was good at doing, which was the emission of pointless noises. He felt something on his head, and he reached up and removed Sally’s golden dragon-scale panties from where they were parked on his head like a cap.
He got up; pausing to get in a few pawing motions at Sally’s bodies which was part humor and part playing with his current favorite toys. When they were both finally appropriately dressed, they left and found the source of the noise, where she stood in the window of the bedroom that she was sharing with Sidney, facing the North side of the house. Beyond the window, the moon softly lighted the backs of grazing cattle. It also lit the sight of several animals running in obvious terror.
There were a couple of almost nebulous light blobs floating around above the fleeing cows, and Tom could just make out a suggestion of a vaguely circular shape in the light. Under the lights, he could see small objects chasing the cattle about the fields, appearing to be two to four feet off of the ground, and about the size of your typical motorcycle, if his perspective wasn’t off.
Markus came in, and handed Tom a pair of binoculars, staying next to the window to extend the time he got to check out Charla’s well-lit and badly concealed breasts. Tom focused the glasses on the field, and what he saw was unusual, to say the least.
Each of the three small floating objects that he saw was occupied by a diminutive humanoid shaped...Something. It certainly looked like one of the ‘grays’ that the UFO people kept talking about. Big black eyes and small gray bodies were all there, but it was hard to believe that those delicate looking creatures could ride even this floating version of a motorcycle. If Tom had to put a name to what these little aliens seemed to be doing, he would have to apply the term ‘rustling’.
As if the idea of gray aliens rustling cattle wasn’t strange enough, they didn’t seem to be restricting themselves to just cows. With the binoculars, Tom could also see sheep, goats, llamas, camels, horses, deer, and far in the rear, a Galapagos turtle plodded in mild panic.
“Okay, guys. This is so fucking weird; we just have to wade in!” Tom reported. “It looks like aliens are rounding up different grass-eaters, and we have to check it out close up.”
The night was just strange enough that nobody thought of an argument against risking themselves in a pointless investigation. Tom did notice that everyone chose to arm themselves with the most deadly weapons that they possessed, and Tom grabbed a revolver and an SKS to go with the Moon Blade.
Everybody piled into the RV and they bounced across the intervening field toward the bizarre scene taking place in the moonlit field. As they approached the alien activities, the dog barked quietly from his secure position behind Tom in the driver’s seat. They passed a group of the animals that included two goats, a horse and a cow, and with the turtle showing dimly in the rear view mirror of the RV, they raced forward toward the nearest ‘motorcycle’. One of the light orb vehicles floated almost directly overhead, while the second one seemed intent on landing in front of the approaching herd. The near alien vehicle gunned toward the lander, and Tom gave the vehicle even more gas.
As th
ey came close enough to the aliens to have to decide whether to get out and interact, or ram them with the vehicle, everything went dark for a second. Even the cows and the field were hidden, as though everything was suddenly inside a deep, dark cave.
Suddenly, the moonlight was back, and several cows grazed calmly in the field. There were no longer any indication of aliens, or that they had ever existed. Of the more exotic animals that had appeared in the roundup, there was no sign. Tom regretted the disappearance of the turtle; he thought that he might genuinely have enjoyed having it around for a while.
The group returned to the house to gather up their belongings. Soon enough, they had loaded the RV, and they were prepared to continue their journey. Fifteen minutes later, they were at 63 miles per hour on their way to whatever place destiny decreed.
******
11 Of Sand and Dragons
Sally was enthralled by the vision of the endless stretch of blacktop which shared the nature of the British Empire; it seemed as if the sun never set on the Interstate, or was it rose? Whatever it was, you would think that six hours of bright-eyed observation on her part would have removed some of the fresh off this particular rose, but apparently not.
It was normal in this world that the trip would extend so long, so much so that Tom had nearly forgotten to be astonished by not yet having gained the Arkansas border. Everyone had settled back into their favorite road trip activities, which for Sally was apparently to gaze out at the world like a four year old deer in the headlights. For Markus it was reading, for George it was strumming lightly on the guitar, and for Bailey, it was gnawing on the finger that Tom had slipped him. Tom knew that Markus had noticed the finger, but none of the women had noticed yet.
The RV passed a sign which claimed that a town named Walkin, population 1869, was just seven miles ahead. Tom wasn’t sure how far that would be in Interstate miles, but it looked to be the next available resting stop, and so he planned to have a stop there when they got to it.