The Aircraft Man

by Alex R. Encomienda

  *****

  The weather is scalding and cockroaches infest each trailer in the area. Dust storms were scheduled to occur from 2pm to 5pm. At eve, Larry follows the Adventurer through the last series of dust storms to find Bob’s final destination. The two make small talk all the way down the desert and speak to each other their opinions about weather balloons, swamp gas, military formation, helicopter formation, whatever gets them curious about things, the other night’s ordeal with the men and guns. None of them have a clue about what they must have been doing there that night.

  To spark something even more peculiar, Bob tells Larry that last night when he was asleep he left his radio on and he heard someone trying to contact him. Somebody within a five mile range, he reckoned. He says the person was babbling away and heard the word aircraft several times in a mix and rumble with other gibberish. This morning, he tried using the radio to get back at him, but the guy wouldn’t answer.

  There’s been no one talking about any lights in the sky today because they asked around the stores, no one saw a thing. Their UFO was a failed attempt- a sorry practical joke at best.

  Bob says to Larry that on his way to Larry’s trailer, he saw postings on two street corners that stated the FBI is monitoring the area for unauthorized aircraft activity. Larry seems excited but he knows he feels a little scared. If the FBI is tracking them for last night’s balloon, he’ll fess up before they try to zap him. Bob counters him again by saying they won’t even give him a chance to speak.

  He says once they have him confined, he’ll be completely vulnerable for undocumented experiments and treatments that will wipe his memory away. Either that or they’ll put him as the perpetrator for what they plan on doing.

  Larry comforts himself, knowing he knows nothing and the balloon from earlier was a harmless prank.

  “The dust storm is getting too bad, Bob. We gotta turn back!” he shouts over wails of speeding winds coming their way. “No, we can hack it! We got this, kid!” Bob shouts back, both continuing the same way going head on with hot desert winds.

  The pipes are rusted and old and some are flying their way along with dust blinding them. Larry lifts his hands over his face to shield him from oncoming debris.

  Larry spots a small barn in the center of a chopped up cornfield and the two run inside, hoping that in a few minutes the dust storm will pass.

  Twenty minutes pass and the storm is roaring its mightiest today, releasing five months worth of strength it’s kept away. Larry sits down because his legs are tired and Bob sits there observing his map, which has grown old and dirty by now.

  He recalls his thoughts and opinions from before and remembers times in his life where he made bad decisions- far too much to dwell over now. He remembers how he felt about things months ago, and none of it had anything to do with where he is now. He remembers last year’s Christmas season and how he loved what the days reminded him of and how different things seemed to remind him of after the holidays were over. He wishes he could go back, re do it for the joy.

  “Are you happy where you are in life, kid?” he asks. Larry, with his knees dirty from the dirt on the ground shook his head, “No. not really. Things fell apart in my life years ago.” He says. “What makes it so bad?” Bob asks. Larry shrugs, “A bit of everything. My job, my place, my lifestyle. I don’t know, I guess if I hated doing this stuff I’d do something else- yet I still do this.” He says.

  Bob stares into space while still listening. “I’m still young enough to make something of myself. To go to college, get a degree, learn something. I guess fear holds me back. Kind of sad, huh?” Larry chuckles to himself. Bob still remains serious. “When I was your age, I still lived with my mom. She gave me everything I needed, kid. Shoes, clothes, food… we weren’t that wealthy either. They made sacrifices but I never really gave back. You… you got something good, I know it.” He says.

  Larry scoffs, “Like what?” “Well, you obviously like UFO hunting. Why not study to be in aviation? You get to deal with this stuff all the time.” He replies. “I can’t do that. Then I won’t be able to venture out on my own, remember? I’ll be a sheep like the rest. People like us deserve our own grounds. The enlightened ones, the chosen ones. You know?” Bob chuckles, “Yeah, I know, kid.” He sighs, “I’m just saying, go out there and live a little. You don’t always gotta hang around some weird old guy like me.” He laughs.

  Larry smiles partly, “I like this though, man. Venturing out to find this aircraft. To be honest, I never had a friend like you, Bob.” A small dimple shines on his chin. Bob nods slowly, “Man, kid. You really know how to make a sappy moment… but, you’re also a good friend.” He says with one of the truest smiles Larry’s seen from him. The two laugh for a moment and then begin to sigh.

  “I think the storm might have passed. We stayed in here for quite a while.” Larry says. “Yeah, I heard on the news there’d be a big one. They weren’t lying.” Bob replies. Larry stops, thinks for a second and asks, “What day is it? The 10th?” Bob squints his eyes to think, “Yep. It’s the 10th, kid. Why?”

  Larry rushes to stand up. “We gotta go; the meteor shower should be starting anytime! Hopefully we didn’t miss it! Come on!” he shouts excitedly. Bob pulls himself off the floor and follows Larry.

  *****

  They run along to Larry’s trailer while they look up to the sky. Larry rushes to grab a bag of taco chips and looks in the fridge to find there is only one beer so he decides to share it with Bob. He grabs a plastic cup and pours half for him and gives Bob the can. They pull out dirty camping chairs and sit down, relaxing now and awaiting the showers. Larry thinks he should have released their aircraft today for better effects.

  “Come on, meteors. Let it shower!” calls Bob. Larry glances down at his watch to find it is five minutes after nine. “Maybe we’ve got the dates wrong.” Says Bob.

  Suddenly a bright green comet lights up the sky for only but a second and vanishes. “There it is! It’s happening!” Larry shouts. The two snack and drink their beer for about twenty minutes and see meteors from light and sharp amber colors to dim, grey and silver colors jetting by faster than ever. Smiles sprawl across their faces and after another seven minutes the shower seems to be over.

  *****

  “I’ll see you tomorrow, Bob. The 11th. We have to find this aircraft tomorrow.” Says Larry as the two stand aside his trailer. “Don’t worry, lad. Tomorrow is the day.” He says with a smile. “Thanks for the beer.”

  Larry watches Bob walk along home which isn’t too far. He then decides to take a walk for himself. Empty his mind, clear it all to free space for more to store. Halfway down the road he notices another post, a plain white sheet of paper that reads, “FBI warning: no manmade aircrafts flown over this area.” The paper looks damp and amateur. He looks closely and finds it is written in black marker. He is able to see through the other side so he rips off the post and turns it around to see the same thing written; only stopping at “aircrafts.”

  The post is a hoax, he realizes. Somebody from the neighborhood probably posted it. They probably posted them all. He thinks Bob might have done it but changes his mind because Bob will never spoil their fun. He wonders who did it and walks back home with something new on his mind. He’ll probably never know but he’s glad the FBI isn’t involved. At the same time being relieved, he is also disappointed for some strange reason. Maybe because it would have been interesting. It would have added to their adventure, he thinks. Also, he’s bummed because he knows something like that will never happen in reality. Exciting, adventurous escapes from the FBI while pursuing their aircraft.

  *****

  During the night he dreams of a test flight of one of the military’s most secret aircrafts. It moves slow and cultivating as Larry watches its every detail, capturing it all on tape so he can be the one who’s footage gets on the news
. It looks like a blimp but its windows appear stacked, almost like a flying double decker bus but huge. That’s when he wakes up to a very good feeling.

  A 12 pack in the fridge, a big bag of chips, a 6 pack of Extreme energy drinks and one of his favorite songs was playing on the radio. He makes every second last because after today, he thinks; he’ll see a different side of reality.

  The dirt outside sweeps up candy bar wrappers and the sunshine makes his eye muscles hurt from squinting. He knocks on Bob’s door and bob opens, wearing a very peculiar t shirt. On the front it shows an alien head inside of an astronaut suite and on the back it reads, “seen something in the sky?”

  Larry thinks it looks cool but it confuses him so he asks about it. Bob says it was an idea he’s been sitting on for a while now. He also shows Larry a white weather balloon and says he found it next to his truck. It was flattened and full of their dreams.

  Bob ties a black and red bandana around his head and says this is his operation. He calls it operation aircraft man. The two set out to capture it all on video and see what it is like to experience enlightenment in more forms than one.

  *****

  Throughout his life, Bob has been giving himself ways to make a living. Almost like a child who builds wooden houses to forget about the rest of his problems. Both he and Larry share these problems that drive them closer together towards their plans.

  The sky’s sun hides behind clouds and rainbows today. It circles round and over to the other side and too soon after the second dust storm today, Bob stops and sighs. The night approaches in two hours. He stops, stares at the map and back to the infinite desert ahead of him and then looks over at Larry.

  “Larry, kid. I got something to tell you.” He says.

  Larry’s excitement suddenly becomes fear into what Bob must be admitting. He looks as if he were to speak but only listens and squints his eyes again.

  “The map I have here… well, this here, it isn’t a real map.” He blurts. Larry looks even more bug eyed and watches closely. “What do you mean it isn’t a real map? You said it was. You said it was the location of this aircraft.” He scolds desperately.

  Bob sighs, knowing he disappointed the youngster. “I’m sorry, kid.”

  Larry remains quiet, gathering the information Bob tells him and tries to sort things out. “No. I don’t believe you. You just want me to turn back so you can be the only witness to capture it on tape, huh. No, I’m coming with you.” He says. Bob nods, “There isn’t an aircraft, kid. Well- there might be. It’s just not confirmed yet.” He replies. Larry looks mortified just as he thought, and then he put his hands at his waists and turns around, back facing Bob.

  “How could you lead me on this whole time? How could you lie like that?” he asks. His voice deep and cracked. “I didn’t mean to. Here’s the truth; I heard on the radio last week, that the location to an experimental aircraft is right along this way.” He says, pointing to a deserted field.

  “I made a map to the location it was supposed to happen at just in case. But then I heard you on the radio and decided it’d be fun to have a partner through it all. I would have told you sooner but then those guys we saw the other day- they were something else. And then the FBI signs. The cargo helicopters and the bright lights… come on. We could wait around and see if something shows up.”

  Larry disregards him, wiping his face from sweat. Tears, perhaps. Both.

  “Why the hell did you lead me on, Bob?” he screams.

  “I didn’t! You lead yourself on!”

  “No, no. I trusted you! You said you’ll show me an aircraft, remember? Something I would never forget, remember? What happened to that?”

  Bob scrubs his head, “There was always a maybe. I just stay optimistic. You should try it, kid.” Larry walks closer to Bob, “Are you judging me? Because I’m right here, Bob. I’m only in my twenties, you’re like sixty years old. You don’t have much to live for anymore, do you? You have to lie to yourself, pretend, fake it. You fake everything!” Larry cries.

  “Well, what the hell are you doing? You’re no better than me, kid. You do the exact same thing. I see how you pretend to be happy with your life, that’s why I was trying to tell you to start living!” Bob scolds. Larry backs off a few inches and begins to wipe his face.

  “You’re right, Bob. I’m a failure. But so are you. You’re just some weird old guy, just like you said.” Larry hisses as he walks into the desert.

  “Where are you going? You’re in the middle of the desert, Larry!” Bob shouts.

  “I’m going home, Bob. Don’t ever try to come by anymore. We’re done talking.” He says.

  Bob sighs, obviously upset with pounds of sadness beating him up. “Larry, please.” He calls once more. Larry continues walking brushes of dirt steps after the other. He doesn’t know if he’ll keep his own word and not talk to Bob ever again or if he’ll break it, talk the next day and make up. He never had a friend before. Never did he say “I’ll be hanging out at my friend’s house”. Never did he share an energy drink with someone and laugh and talk and play around. Not until now with Bob. Yeah, he was saddened. But disappointment has his words right now.

  After only two minutes of walking with a broken heart, he hears Bob calling his name frantically and loudly. He turns around and just as he hears Bob scream “There it is!” he sees it. Something otherworldly, amazing and frightening. Overwhelming, silent with corners all evenly spread out. A metallic sort of object, aircraft. About the size of a diesel and low altitude. He sees a cylinder shaped aircraft hovering at a steady pace and it has light green to yellowish lights on the bottom. It has no windows and it looks like it’s made of some sort of soft exterior much like a blimp. It moves slow and back and forth at times and it covers up some stars in its path. It is the most amazing thing Larry has ever seen. All of his imaginations have lead to this. All of his dreams have lead to this.

  Bob gazes up with bug eyes, not blinking for a split second, staring at the aircraft as if hypnotized by its weightless looking body. He is satisfied with where his ventures lead him. He now feels as if he redeemed himself for his mistakes and is now accepted as the true adventurer he always longed to be. He looks at Larry quickly and then back at the aircraft.

  Content with what they have, content with not having the things they wanted before and at peace with everyone and everything in life, they stare like two children at a fireworks show.

  The aircraft flies horizontally at first, makes a few spins and then while they admire the craft, it slowly plummets to the ground afar. No words come from the duo. Nothing at all but a few gulps. Larry makes the first attempt, saying, “Was that a- a UFO?” Larry sighs, “Don’t be ridiculous, Bob. That was an experimental test flight of a secret aircraft.” He turns and smiles at Bob.

  *****

  The aircraft the two saw was nothing more than a few friends who just got fired from their job at a taco joint bringing some fun to their night. They bargained with a piñata shop owner to let them use a blow up dragon balloon and wrapped it up with aluminum foil and tethered a few long lasting glow sticks to the bottom corners. It looked completely real and they even got a few call outs on their radio that night.

  The same teenagers also admitted to Larry a few days later that they posted hoax FBI warnings around the neighborhood. They said it was just a little prank they decided to do on Larry since he’d tricked them many times before. They had no idea he and Adventure Bob were so obsessed with finding the mysterious “aircraft”.

  “Hey Bob.” Larry says as he approaches Bob outside his trailer. “Hey, kiddo.” He says calmly as he adjusts a piece of wire from his truck. “You moving?” he asks. Bob sighs and wipes his hands on his jeans, “No, not exactly. Just going to see my niece in Laveen. It’s been forever since I’ve talked to anyone other than, well, you.” He says. Larry la
ughs, “Yeah, well I’m sure they’ll be honored to have the infamous Adventure Bob in town.” He winks.

  “So, what are you doing?” Bob asks. Larry leans against the truck, “Well. I’m starting a community college class next week. I’m planning to earn an associate’s degree and then transfer over to a university with god’s help. The thing is, it’s going to take a hell of a long time. I don’t have enough money to take all the classes at once so I’m just going slowly. Better than nothing, right?”

  Bob sighs and looks at him, “Yeah, right.” He stops to take his gloves off. “You’re a smart kid, Larry. I know you’ll do something great someday.” Larry smiles, “Thanks, Bob. You know, this was one of the best summers I’ve had. The best, I think. I just want to say, thanks for being by my side. Thanks for being my friend.” He says. “Even though we’ll probably never see a real secret aircraft, I’m happy we ventured out.”

  Bob snickers and rests his hand on Larry’s shoulder, “Kid… you did me the favor. I haven’t been out and did anything exciting in years. I thought those days were gone, but when I found you, boy, I knew I was in for a good one.” He chuckles. The two embrace in a hug and it almost brings tears to Larry’s eyes because it reminds him of how it is like to have a father. He wonders if Bob felt like he was hugging his own son but doesn’t bother to ask such a question. He just knows Bob likes his company and he was content with that.

  “Keep in touch, kiddo. E mail, radio, phone… stay connected.” Bob says, “Maybe we can go on another adventure someday, you never know.” He chuckles. “I’m ready when you are, old man.” Larry laughs. He begins to walk out of the driveway and into the desert heat once more. Nothing but dirt and rocks up ahead and a mild heat wave by the road where a brown over driven truck passes by.