"He's right," Pete said. "We gotta stop them."
"How?"
"Just let me think a minute," Billy said. He took to pacing back and forth. We all held our breath, waiting to hear what he'd come up with.
After a couple minutes, he stopped with a snap of his fingers. "Any of you bring your slingshots?" he asked.
The slingshots had been a project the summer before. After some serious hunting, we'd found five perfectly forked branches out in the woods. We'd pooled our allowances and bought some surgical tubing from the drugstore, which Billy had said was much better than regular old rubber bands. For the sling part that held the rock, we cut the tongues out of some old work boots Ray had let us have. For a while, we'd carried the slingshots around with us everywhere and were always on the lookout for rocks the right shape and size to use. But that had been last summer. You couldn't take a slingshot with you to school, and most of us had gotten out of the habit of carrying them around and hadn't picked it back up when school let out this year. Mine was in the bottom drawer of the bureau in my room.
I told Billy that no, I didn't have mine with me. Ricky didn't either, but Pete did. He pulled it out of his back pocket.
"Only one of us?" Billy asked. "Jeez! Well, I guess it's better than nothing." He held out his hand. "Lemme have it."
"Why should you get to have it? It's mine," Pete said.
"'Cuz I'm the best shot."
"Are not."
"Am too."
"Are not, and anyway I ain't giving it to you, even if you are, which you ain't."
"Fine, then, " Billy said. "But don't miss!"
"I won't miss!"
We all four of us searched around for good rocks. When we had a decent handful, me and Billy and Pete crawled back to the edge of the gully. Ricky didn't want to look at the saucer men again. Truth was, I didn't much want to either, but I didn't like not knowing what was going on. And Davy would have looked, I reminded myself.
The saucer men were more or less doing the same as they they'd been before, only the one who was waving the wand was now waving it over some dead leaves instead of the trunk of the live oak.
Pete slipped a rock into the slingshot and pulled back on the tubing. Squinting one eye, he took aim and released. The bands snapped and the rock whizzed through the air and splashed into the creek with a plunk. The alien with the ray gun whipped around at the sound and fired. An electric crackle sounded and section of the creek bank glowed bright purple for a split-second—and then it was just…gone. Disintegrated.
Seeing that made me dizzy. My heart pounded in my ears and my mouth went totally dry. There was a hollow feeling in the pit of my stomach and in the palms of my hands, the kind you get on a carnival roller coaster.
Billy gave Pete a dirty look for missing. Pete ignored him and fitted another rock into the sling, took aim and shot. This time he didn't miss. The rock sailed through the air and hit the saucer man who was poisoning the water square on the back of the head. He fell over, hurt but evidently not dead. He was still moving and making angry sounds. The one with the ray gun ran to his side.
The three of us ducked out of sight and made for the edge of the woods. Ricky was gone when we got there. He'd decided to chance his parents not actually being aliens and had run for the safety of home. Billy and Pete didn't seem to notice he was gone.
"You got one!" Billy said.
"Sure did." Pete was standing eleven feet tall.
"Got him right in the old bean!"
"But they're still here," I said. "You didn't kill that one, just hurt him. And you saw what that ray gun can do."
"Don't be a wet blanket," Billy said. "Sure we didn't chase 'em off, but they're not invincible. I was sort of afraid they might have some sort of protection ray, but they don't! We can get 'em, guys!"
"We can't," I said. "We're just kids! All we got is one slingshot. They got a ray gun that can vaporize rocks. We gotta tell. We gotta." I bit my tongue. I could feel a lump rising up in my throat. I thought about Davy facing down all those Mexican soldiers at the Alamo. He hadn't cried. No, sir.
"Don't be a baby, David," Pete said. "We can get other stuff to use against 'em. It's almost lunch and my dad'll tan my hide if I don't show. I'll grab my b.b. gun while I'm there."
"Yeah," Billy said. "David, you do the same thing. Bring whatever you can think of. I'll stay here and make sure the saucer men don't move in on the town. If they make like they're going to, I'll jump on my bike and beat them there."
"We gotta tell," I said, quietly.
Billy stepped up close to me. "We can't, David. Anyone in town might be one of them. We got to handle this. Us. It's the only way."
"But..."
"But nothing." He laid a friendly hand on my shoulder. "This is the line in the sand," he said. "I’m Travis and this is the Alamo and we got to defend it. Can I count on you or not?"
Well, how could I say no to that?
"Sure," I said, forcing a smile. "We'll lick 'em!"
I almost believed it was true.
Billy slapped me on the back. "Good. Now get going and get back here fast as you can! Skip lunch if your moms'll let ya."
Me and Pete all the way back into town, breathing too heavy to do any talking. I could tell he thought I was being a sissy, though, just by the way he kept trying to leave me behind. He was taller than me and faster, but I wasn't gonna let that happen. It felt like my chest was on fire, but I kept up with him the whole way, until he turned off Lemmon to go to his house and I kept on straight to get to mine. Once he was out of sight, I slowed down, but I kept running all the way up the back porch and into the kitchen where Mom was making sandwiches and coleslaw for lunch.
I blew past her with a "Hi, Mom," and went to my room. I heard her tell me not to run in the house, but I couldn't make my feet stop. I got my slingshot out from the bureau and then went to my closet, where Ol' Betsy was stored. I tossed her on the bed with the slingshot, then stripped to the waist and put on the buckskin shirt Mom had made me. I grabbed the coonskin cap off the bedpost and slammed it on my head.
Putting that stuff on, with Ol' Betsy in the crook of my arm, I felt better. I was ready. Just let those saucer men try and take our town!
I was halfway down the hall when I remembered the folding knife. I hoped it wouldn't come to close-quarters combat with the saucer men, but you can bet Davy Crockett was always prepared. I got it from the shoe box in back of the closet where I kept it, along with some firecrackers and other stuff Mom wouldn't have been too happy to know I had, and slipped it into the pocket of my bluejeans.
When I came back into the kitchen Mom was just setting out a plate of sandwiches.
"Gotta go, Mom," I said. "We're playing the Alamo and it's real serious."
Mom gave me a look. "Not more serious than lunch." She pulled out my chair and made a motion for me to sit.
"Aw, come on," I said. "Can't I take it with me? I'll eat it on the way. Promise."
"David."
"Please? It's just sandwiches. Dad takes his in a paper sack all the time."
"Your father is a grown man."
I thought about the aliens in It Came from Outer Space. Had Mom been replaced by one of the saucer men? Was she trying to keep me here so I couldn't get back to help Billy stop them?
"Pleeeaaaaseee???"
Mom sighed. "Oh, all right." She went to get a paper bag and wax paper out of the cupboard. "Drink your milk while I get this together."
"Thanks, Mom!" I threw my arms around her waist, trying not to recoil at the thought that I might be hugging a saucer man. It didn't seem likely though. I was pretty sure Mom was Mom. We didn't have a secret handshake I could use to test her, but she didn't feel any different—and begging always worked pretty well on the real Mom, so I was reasonably certain.
It took me only three gulps to empty my glass of milk. Mom handed me the bag of sandwiches and I was out the door. I ate them on the run, tossing the bag into a storm drain when I'd finished with
it.
Billy was right where we'd left him at the edge of the woods. He had one hand on the handlebars of his bike and a foot up on the pedal, ready to jump on and ride through town, yelling that the aliens were coming like Paul Revere. Pete wasn't back yet.
"Anything happen while I was gone?" I asked.
"Nah," Billy said. "I went in and took a look a few minutes ago. They're back at whatever it is they're up to. The one Pete hit seems fine now. They might have some sort of rejuvenation powers. This may be tougher than we thought."
I'd sort of talked myself into thinking this was all a game. It was easy, away from the woods. But now that I was back, I was starting to get scared again. I tried to think of Davy, but it didn't seem to help much.
"What you bring?" Billy asked. I showed the slingshot and Ol' Betsy, pulled the folding knife out of my pocket.
"Hey neat!" he said, grabbing it out of my hand. "Didn't know you had this."
"Sure," I said. "Bought it with my allowance."
Billy looked at the knife a little longer then reluctantly handed it back.
"That thing shoot?" he asked, nodding at Ol' Betsy.
I felt my face flush. "Nah," I said. "It's just a—" I didn't want to say the word toy "—just a replica."
"So what good is it?"
"I figure the aliens don't know that," I said. "Might scare 'em."
Billy thought on this then nodded. "Reckon so," he said.
We looked for more slingshot rocks while we waited for Pete to show up. We had a good two dozen by the time he rode up on his bike.
"Sorry," he said. "My old man was late and Ma wouldn't let me leave until he got home and ate."
Pete laid out what all he'd brought—his b.b. gun and slingshot and a strand of firecrackers. I kicked myself for not thinking to bring mine. Billy picked them up.
"This is great," he said. "We can distract 'em with these."
Only it turned out Pete hadn't thought to bring matches, so that was out.
"Okay," Billy said. "I been thinking on the plan. Me and David'll use the slingshots. Pete you use your gun. We'll crawl up to the side of the gully and on 'three' we all open fire. Take 'em by surprise."
It wasn't much of a plan, but sounded as good any. We made our way to the gully. I brought along Ol' Betsy, though I didn't really think she'd scare the aliens any. I just hadn't wanted to tell Billy the truth, that having her with me made me feel a little more like Davy, a little braver.
The aliens were still up to whatever bad business they'd been at before, waving their strange instruments around. I set the pile of rocks in easy reach. Pete had already loaded his gun and pumped the action.
We were on our stomachs now, but when Billy counted three, we'd leap up and start firing. He held up a hand, counted it off silently
One.
Two.
Three.
I stood and let the rock fly. I'd taken pretty good aim at the alien with the ray gun. It was sailing straight for him. A direct hit!
Only it wasn't.
The rock stopped three feet from the saucer man's face, like it had hit a wall, only there was no wall. Same with Billy's, which had been aimed at the same saucer man. Pete's b.b. was too small to see, but I guessed that whatever it was had blocked our rocks had blocked his b.b., too.
"Protection ray!" Billy said. He shot another rock and the saucer men for good measure, but it bounced off the invisible wall same as the others.
The saucer men stopped what they were doing and looked up at us with their silvery eyes. There was no way to tell what they were thinking, but I knew it wasn't warm thoughts about us Earthlings.
"Get down!" I yelled just as the saucer man raised his ray gun and took aim.
We all hit the ground. The air crackled with electricity. Behind us, the top of a tree glowed purple for an instant and then was gone.
"Run for it!" Pete said.
Billy threw his weight on top of him. "We can't stand up," he said. "He'll hit us for sure!"
Another crackle and this time a section of the ground not a yard in front of us vanished into thin air.
"We gotta go!" Pete said. There was a panic in his voice like I'd never heard.
Another crackle. This time a rock to our left got hit and was gone.
"Crawl back," Billy said. "Don't put your head up."
We all did, as pieces of the woods vanished around us. I'd gone maybe ten yards when I realized I'd left Ol' Betsy behind.
I had to go back. No way I could leave her. Not only would I be in trouble with Mom and Dad for not looking after my things, it just didn't feel right.
I turned around and crawled back the way we'd come.
"What are you doing?" Billy said. He was crying now, scared half to death. So was Pete. I would have been crying too, only I was too sick with worry about leaving Ol' Betsy.
She was propped up against a fallen log, just where I'd left her. I closed my fist around her stock. Soon as my hand felt that polished wood and cold iron, a calm came over me.
I hadn't wanted to fight the saucer men, but they'd come to take over our town. You didn't run from fights, not even fights you knew you were going to lose.
Instead of crawling after Billy and Pete, I stood and walked toward the edge of the gully. I was scared. But being scared don't make you a coward. Not doing the right thing because you were scared did.
Two of the saucer men had retreated to the base of the ramp that led to their spaceship, the third, the one with the ray gun, was standing in front of them. When he saw me, he aimed and fired.
I jumped out into nothingness, fell for what seemed like minutes. My knees buckled as I landed, and I had to put my hands out to keep from falling face-first into the dirt. But I kept ahold of Ol' Betsy. I'd fallen not more than a dozen feet in front of the lead saucer man. The ledge on which I'd just stood had vanished. If I hadn't jumped when I did, I'd have been disintegrated, too.
I got to me feet quick as I could, Ol' Betsy still in my hand. She was just a toy—not even a b.b. gun—but she was made out of good, sturdy wood. I thought of Davy at the Alamo, swinging Ol' Betsy like a club, taking down as many of Santa Anna's men as he could.
I raised Ol' Betsy. The alien leveled his ray gun at me.
I reared back.
Only I didn't take a swing at the saucer man. Instead, I held Ol' Betsy out front of me, then, just as the alien was about to fire, I tossed her aside. Ol' Betsy spun like a tomahawk and landed somewhere in the brush to my right.
The saucer man flinched, looked from me to where I'd thrown the gun and back. He seemed confused.
I dug into my pocket, pulled out the Davy Crockett folding knife. I held it up for the saucer man to see.
From behind and above me, I heard Billy say, "What's he doing?" and Pete say, "He's crazy!" I guess they'd come back to watch me get killed.
I opened the knife. The saucer man stared at it for a long few seconds, then I threw it away, too.
"Davy Crockett at the Alamo" was by far our favorite of the three Disneyland programs. We'd played it so many times, it was easy to forget the other two shows about Davy. I'd been thinking of this showdown with the saucer men like Davy at the Alamo, like his last stand—my last stand.
Only it didn't have to be that way. There was something else just might work. It was worth a try.
I took two long strides forward, until I was not more than five feet from the saucer man. I planted my feet, set my fists on my hips…
…and grinned. Grinned the biggest, widest, brightest, Daviest grin I could muster.
"What in the world!" It was Pete. "He's gonna get killed! He's gonna—"
"Shhhh!" Billy cut him off. "Don't break his concentration."
The saucer man just stared. Slowly, he lowered his weapon, slipped it into a loop on his belt.
I kept on grinning.
The story went that Davy got his coonskin cap by grinning a raccoon out of a tree. He'd grinned down a bear the same way. The saucer man wasn't
a raccoon or a bear, but I figured the principle was the same.
I grinned and grinned and grinned.
The saucer man's fly-eyes darted from side to side, not sure what to make of me.
I just kept on grinning.
He removed his ray gun from his belt, waved it around, shouted something in a language I couldn't understand. He pointed the ray gun at me.
I didn't flinch, and I never let that grin fall from my face.
I don't know how long we stayed like that. Felt like hours. Flies landed on my nose and mosquitoes bit my neck and face. I swatted them away best I could, but I made sure never to let that grin drop.
I grinned. I grinned so big and so hard and so long that my jaw ached. My face cramped up.
There was another story about Davy that said one time in the dark he confused two knots on a tree for the eyes of a racoon. He tried grinning it down all night long, and when the sun came up, he'd seen his mistake. But he'd grinned so hard he'd grinned the bark right off the tree.
I thought about that. If Davy could stay up all night grinning down a tree, then I'd grin down this saucer man, no matter how long it took.
After a while, the saucer men began retreating back into their spaceship. They backed up slowly, the leader keeping that ray gun aimed square at my chest until they were all three on the ramp. Then one of them gave a command and the ramp closed back up into the ship. The static sound got louder and louder until it was all I could do to keep from covering my ears. Then, with a pop like the cork out of a bottle, the ship was gone.
Billy and Pete let out a whoop from the top of the gully where they'd been watching.
"You grinned 'em down!" Billy yelled, jumping up and down and pumping his fist in the air.
I turned to face my friends. They were smiling ear-to-ear. I took off my coonskin cap and bowed, real formal-like.
"You did it, Davy!" Billy cheered.
I tried to relax my face, it was sure sore—but I couldn't. I'd saved the town—the Earth—from the saucer men, and that was something to grin about.
BIO
David Afsharirad is the editor of The Year's Best Military and Adventure SF series and the anthology The Chronicles of Davids. His short stories have appeared in various mystery and science fiction magazines and anthologies. He lives in Austin, Texas with his wife and sons.
Parallel Worlds- the Heroes Within Page 14
