Old Man Pitt picked up the newspaper and stared at it a moment. Quickly he reached in the glove box and pulled out a small bottle of moonshine. With the flick of his wrist, he tossed the bottle out the open window and then glanced up in time to see the spacecraft disappear into a low-hanging cloud.
“Show me the way, Lord. I saw the light.”
The sudden blip on the radar screen at Area 51 caused the technician to sit up and take notice. It was like the other day—only a few quick beeps and then it disappeared again. The technician quickly wrote down the coordinates and made a notation into the log but that was all he did for the moment.
The school air conditioning system still wasn’t running up to full capacity, so during lunch hour most of the kids sought the refuge of the outside under trees. The slight breeze was the only relief anyone would get from the hot desert sun.
Bobby found a spot away from all the rest of the kids. He never did feel like he had anything in common with any of his classmates. That was, everyone except Shelby Mall. There was something different about her. She genuinely welcomed him when he first came to school months earlier. Although she didn’t seek out his friendship further, she was always there with a quick greeting and made his usual mundane life at school something to look forward to.
Shelby walked up to Bobby, who was just staring up at the sky. She looked down at Bobby; he just smiled at her.
“Thanks for what you did yesterday,” Shelby said with her usual smile.
Bobby sat up and leaned back on the tree. “It was nothing.”
Shelby sat down on the grass next to Bobby, Indian-style. “What did the principal say?”
“Blew me off,” Bobby laughed mockingly. “I should know something in the morning.”
“Why the morning?”
“I guess they have a meeting this evening and I’m on the agenda.”
Shelby just shook her head. “If I had my way it wouldn’t be you in the principal’s office.” Shelby reached over and touched Bobby’s hand in the way someone does when they care deeply about a person.
Bobby did not know what it was about Shelby that made his heart skip a beat whenever he saw her or was near her. He only hoped she was not playing with him or his heart
Old Man Pitt nervously paced Sheriff Mall’s office. He held up the newspaper. Finally, he stopped in front of the sheriff’s desk and shoved the newspaper at Sheriff Mall.
“You got to do something,” he argued.
Sheriff Mall just looked up at Pitt. He appeared puzzled. As long as he had been Sheriff, he had been dealing with the demons that followed Pitt after one of his bouts with the home brew. But he had never seen him so riled. Sheriff Mall did not want to let on that Pitt’s sighting of the spacecraft delivering newspapers was not the only complaint he had that morning.
He was just at a loss as to how to deal with these complaints, especially given the Star Trek convention that was going on. He had just assumed it was a stunt to get more publicity for the convention center, so the less he made it, the better off it would be, so he thought.
Sheriff Mall finally turned to Old Man Pitt. “What do you want me to do? It was delivered on time.”
Old Man Pitt slammed the newspaper on the desk. His hands shook.
Sheriff Mall was not sure if it was from his drinking or the idea of seeing a spacecraft.
“Aliens delivered this, I’m telling you.”
“Have you been drinking your hooch again?”
Old Man Pitt made the sign of the cross and then raised his right hand.
“As God is my witness, this came out of a spacecraft.”
Sheriff Mall fought back the urge to laugh. He glanced up at Old Man Pitt and then at the newspaper on the desk. He finally nodded his head.
“I’ll call the Daily News and ask if they’ve hired aliens to deliver the paper,” he said and then paused a moment. “Where did you get it?” he asked quickly.
“Highway 375, near the base.”
Sheriff Mall wrote down some information on a note pad and then glanced up at Old Man Pitt. “Maybe they got it on the radar.”
As hard as he tried, Sheriff Mall could contain himself no longer and burst out laughing. It angered Old Man Pitt, who just turned and stormed out of the office.
CHAPTER 18
Even though the desert heat was unbearable to most, Jane appeared to be immune to it. She was outside doing her calisthenics in a scantily clad outfit. Unlike the day she did them in the nude.
Unknown to Jane, John was standing at the door watching her workout. He had a hard time pretending not to be affected by what he saw.
Jane used the pole for the clothesline to do chin-ups. She counted as she pulled herself up. Once done with thirty, Jane hopped down and started doing jumping jacks. John just stared as her breasts bounced with every jump she took.
While he watched Jane, the small flat-screen television on the counter was turned on to a Las Vegas channel broadcasting the news at the convention center.
Bobby walked into the kitchen. He glanced at John at the door and quickly cleared his throat.
“What’s up?” Bobby asked, going to the fridge and pulling out a can of soda.
John quickly glanced down and then turned away from Bobby. “Nothing,” he said as he stammered while looking guilty.
Bobby walked over to the door where John was standing. He glanced outside at Jane and then turned back to John as he popped the soda lid.
“You have been spying on her?” Bobby asked.
John appeared embarrassed and then turned to Bobby finally. “I haven’t been feeling well.”
Bobby took a sip of the soda and then looked at John for the longest time. “Why, what’s the matter?” he asked finally.
John cleared his throat. “I think I’m expiring.”
Bobby turned to John with a puzzled look on his face. “Expiring?”
John replied, with a grave look on his face, “Yes.”
Bobby was at a loss for words. He knew John was concerned about their health since arriving there days ago. It was evident from the way he looked at the medical box and the broken syringes. Up until then, Bobby hadn’t given too much thought to what it meant until now.
“Does this have anything to do with those syringes that were damaged?”
John just shook his head as he avoided looking at Bobby. He finally turned to Bobby. “In your world, you call it dying.”
Bobby laughed for a moment, trying to make light of John’s remark, but the look on John’s face told him he was serious.
“You’re young. Why would you think you are dying?”
John glanced down a moment before answering. “My body parts are becoming rigid at times.”
“Like when?”
“I don’t know. It just happens without warning.”
Bobby glanced at the back door at Jane exercising, and then he turned to John. “Could it be when you watch Jane exercising?”
John stammered a moment. “Well,” he said but then stopped. He looked around and then leaned into Bobby and whispered, “Yes.”
Bobby raised his eyebrows and then smiled uncontrollably.
“My dying makes you laugh?”
“You’re not dying, man. You’re experiencing life.”
“It feels funny,” John added quickly.
“It’s perfectly reasonable. Here on earth when a man is attracted to a woman, he has feelings.”
“Feelings?” John asked with a puzzled look on his face.
“Certain body parts become rigid, so to speak.”
Bobby found it difficult to explain the birds and the bees to John. It was hard for him to believe he had no clue about the changes to his body. But then he was not from this world. Bobby took a deep breath and then quickly added,