Roswell's Secret

by Vannetta Chapman

  At some point, while she was talking, Dean had stopped wiping glasses. He stood staring at his boss. Her words melded into the background as he noticed for the first time how pale and lifeless her skin seemed. Was she a phantom from some future of his—a ghost of what he might become if he let enough lifetimes slip through his hands? Her eyes met his, then she picked up her pack of cigarettes, slipped it in her pocket, and left. She didn’t wait for Dean to walk her out. The last time he’d tried, she’d threatened him with the shotgun.

  Dean locked up the bar and got into his old truck, drove to Josephine’s, and let himself into their still, dark rooms. More than once in the last month it had occurred to Dean that Sally could be involved in all of this. She had the perfect position, and she had the anger.

  But she had been right about Lucy, and that scared him. When this op ended, when he’d been assigned to the next mission without her, would he find his days had somehow slipped into the realm of black and white?

  He pulled a chair from his room and set it outside their entry where he’d still have a view of the parking lot. Lucy wouldn’t want him to watch out for her, but that was too bad. Lucy didn’t have to know everything. Checking his weapon, he made sure he had a full clip. Then he re-holstered it and waited.

  Ω

  Lucy had memorized the map of Chaves County at Dean’s insistence, not a difficult task given her near-photographic memory. She knew it shouldn’t take over an hour to get to Bluewater Creek.

  “You boys aren’t lost, are you?”

  “Course not. We grew up here.” Bubba drove with one arm out the window and the other thrown casually over the steering wheel. Every now and then, he tossed a grin at Lucy, as if still surprised to find her sitting in his truck. Billy had been on the phone since they’d left, setting up a rendezvous with their group of friends. Lucy didn’t know what worried her the most—being alone with these two or finding herself in the middle of a litter of more just like them.

  She had been prepared to worry about their drinking, but neither had touched the cooler behind the seats. Apparently, the thrill of extraterrestrial encounters provided enough of a rush for the moment.

  She peered through the windshield, but she saw only the caliche path stretching into darkness and a million stars overhead. “Are you even on the road?”

  “Yeah. Sure I am.”

  Billy flipped his phone shut. “Brandon said to meet him at the top of Long Canyon. They saw something headed that way last night, but couldn’t get there in time.”

  “We’ll have to go around. This road don’t go up to Long Canyon.”

  Lucy could hear their brains simultaneously seize on the thought at the same moment their mouths found the word.

  “Off-road,” they said together, high-fiving over Lucy’s head.

  “This isn’t a Chevy commercial, guys.”

  “No, but this is a Chevy truck.” Bubba geared down.

  “Oh, yeah,” Bubba shouted. “Hang on, Lucy girl.”

  “This won’t be like a college town ride.”

  It was lucky for the two of them she did have to hold on. Otherwise, she would have pulled out her Sig, and regulations or no regulations, she might have shot them or maybe just shot the truck in an effort to stop their harebrained scheme. Instead, she clutched the dash until her fingers ached, planted her feet against the floorboard, and still slid first into Bubba and then into Billy.

  She didn’t have to worry about them noticing her bumping against them. Any romantic thoughts they might have entertained had fled. The boys had focused on the joy of the ride, and what a ride it was.

  Her last trip home, Lucy’s cousins had talked her into riding the Superman Ride of Steel in Boston. She had walked away green and trembling. That ride paled in comparison to this one. The mad dash to the top of Long Canyon ran steeper, bumpier, and inherently fraught with danger. A drop over the side would be worse than the two hundred and twenty-one foot drop off the roller coaster. The lap buckle provided by Chevrolet didn’t inspire near the confidence the harness had—even if she had been strapped into a railroad car. Glancing at the speedometer, she thought the speed might be about the same, give or take a few—fifty-seven miles per hour.

  Maybe she should let go of the dash and reach for her gun. If she could shoot Bubba in the foot, he’d have to take it off the accelerator. The thought had barely formed when the Chevy gained the top of the rise, and the boys let out a victory cry that would have made Chief Seattle proud.

  Before Lucy could regain her composure over how they’d arrived, she peered out the window and had her second shock of the evening—at least twenty Jeeps and trucks lining the meadow.

  “Looks like everybody’s here,” Bubba said with a grin.

  “It’s time to party,” Billy agreed. “Come on, Lucy. Let’s kick some little green butt.”

  Lucy remained in the truck as Bubba and Billy retrieved the cooler and proceeded to do the man handshake with their buds. Only Brandon came over to introduce himself. Sized like a linebacker, with skin darker than the night, his voice was southern and soft. He shook Lucy’s hand gently as if he might break it, then backed away into the group of boys, leaving her to look out over the canyon.

  A shiver crept down her spine. It wasn’t from the temperature which had dropped to a tolerable eighty-five. What had her nerves tingling was the knowledge that they had gathered like kids waiting for a drive-in feature to start. She alone realized if they saw anything, it was likely to be a real-life thriller.

  BILLY POPPED OPEN ANOTHER Coors and smiled over at Lucy. “You can’t be nursing the same beer.”

  “Same one.” She held it up to prove she still had it.

  “I thought you wanted to get away. Loosen up a little. Have some fun.” He scooted closer, wrapped an arm around her.

  Lucy had known this was coming. Billy had been working up the courage to make a move on her for twenty minutes. Bubba sat further up in the truck bed with another girl he’d introduced as Jaz. Lucy hoped for both of their sakes the UFOs or UAVs or whatever flew through the night sky showed up soon. If not, she’d have to go for a walk or dump the remains of her drink on Billy’s head.

  “Lucy, I want a kiss.”

  She managed to squirm out of Billy’s embrace, but he seemed to think persistence won the prize.

  “I know you’re out of my league, Lucy. But it wouldn’t hurt to let a guy kiss you.”

  “I’m getting restless, Billy. I need to walk around.”

  “I can help, if you’re getting restless. Come back here.” Billy lunged for her, and nearly fell off when she jumped off the tailgate and out of his reach. She caught him in time, helped him to sit back up.

  “Wow, Lucy. You’re strong for a little gal. I reckon that’s how you managed to put Colton in his place. He’s still embarrassed about that. I’d steer clear of Colton if I was you.” Billy finished off his beer and threw it into the cooler at the front of the truck bed.

  Lucy shook her head and turned away from the truck. When she did, Billy reached out and grabbed her arm. He moved faster than she’d have thought possible given his state of inebriation—which either meant he was faking how drunk he was, or he could move quickly when he really wanted to.

  “Stay here. You smell nice. Did I mention that before?”

  “Yeah. I think you did.” Lucy pulled away but stayed beside the truck. “You have any water in the cooler?”

  “Who puts water in a cooler? I need another beer.”

  “More alcohol is what you don’t need.”

  “You’re wrong about that, little Lucy. Bubba, throw me another beer.”

  “Send Lucy for it, Billy. I’m busy.”

  “Yeah. You and Lucy come join us back here.” Jaz giggled.

  “See? They want us to join them. I won’t bite. I promise.” Billy made another lucky grab in the dark and caught Lucy with both hands. She would have no problem outmaneuvering him, but the trick would be to do it without breaking any of his bones
or calling any attention to them. So far the atmosphere had been light and festive. The last thing she needed to do was draw attention to herself, but Billy outweighed her more than two to one.

  He lifted her back into the truck like she was a doll. She had an instant to decide whether to make a scene or play along. He’d had one beer at ET’s, and two since they’d parked. Three beers in four hours. Her mind did the math. His blood alcohol level might not be past the legal limit, but he was undoubtedly closing in on a good buzz.

  Pulling her up and past the tailgate, he lowered his voice. “Let’s go to the back for a few minutes. Then, if you insist, we’ll go.”

  Billy left one hand on her arm, but had the other snugged around her waist.

  This was her chance and she hated doing it. She felt guilty of taking down a giant panda bear, but she also didn’t want to be mauled by said panda. Raising her arm in the dark, she pulled her knee back as far as she could and prepared to ram it into his midsection at the same time her hand would come down on his shoulder blade.

  Before she could follow through, everyone started shouting at once. It took a good five seconds for her to realize it had nothing to do with her or the blows she’d intended for Billy.

  “They’re here! To the west.”

  “They’re bigger than the other ones.”

  “No. They’re the same.”

  “Billy, grab the shotguns.” Bubba had stood up in the back of the truck and was scanning the skies with a pair of binoculars.

  Billy jumped off her and stumbled to the front of the truck.

  “I can’t find my shoes.” Jaz sounded frantic, as if being abducted barefooted was the worst thing she could imagine.

  Lucy helped search the truck bed, locating the girl’s shoes behind the beer cooler, and waited for her to put them on. As Jaz shifted toward her, something in her posture caught Lucy’s attention. She was beautiful. Her lovely chocolate skin melded with the surrounding night. Hair braided with beads at the scalp fell smoothly to her shoulders.

  Jaz shivered as she dressed. “I saw an X-Files’ episode where the aliens caught these kids necking and kidnapped them to study human mating rituals.”

  “Probably won’t happen tonight.”

  “I guess you’re right.” Jaz didn’t sound comforted as she hurried to join the others. They had gathered at the edge of the cliff. Most of the guys had shotguns or rifles, and Lucy was surprised to see many had attached night scopes.

  Brandon had been right to have the group gather at Long Canyon. He’d parked with his truck facing the edge of the drop-off. After turning on the lights, he climbed into the back, crouched behind the window and rested the barrel of his rifle against the cab’s roof. Within seconds, five others had joined him.

  Billy stood on one side, with his weapon resting on the side view mirror; Bubba took the same position on the opposite side. Starlight and a slip of a new moon provided enough light to make out their silhouettes.

  “Hold your fire until they’re closer.”

  Lucy nearly jumped out of her skin when Colton spoke directly behind her. Turning around, she felt, more than saw, his eyes bore into her, and then he pushed past.

  “They came within a thousand yards last night. Not that we stand much chance of penetrating even if we do manage to hit one.”

  “Oh, we’ll hit one,” Brandon muttered. “Come a little closer to Papa.”

  The girls had huddled in a group a few feet from the truck. The boys had taken up positions around it. Lucy stood with Colton in a no man’s land between the two. Three bright lights flew toward them. They darted in a random pattern, but continued to come closer to the top of Long Canyon. It seemed the collective curiosity of the group had drawn them there.

  Lucy couldn’t have pinpointed the exact time it took for them to arrive. One moment, everyone had their hands in the air, pointing and watching in amazement. Then, abruptly, the three lights had lined up in front of them like a sixty-eight Buick with one too many headlights. The night became day, and Lucy fought the urge to cover her eyes. If light could be invasive, this was, and the idea crossed her mind that she had been violated somehow. They had seen not just the group, their guns and clothing, and Lucy, in particular. They had peered inside her.

  “Not yet, boys.” Colton kept his voice low, as if he expected whoever, or whatever, lurked in the flying objects to be able to understand.

  As suddenly as they had appeared, the lights retreated. They were plunged again into darkness.

  The headlights from the truck only revealed the drop-off. Blinking, they scanned the emptiness, wondering what had happened, or if they had imagined it. Silence and confusion fell on the group like a blanket. Even the desert animals had lost their voices. The truckload of guys continued to clutch their rifles. The girls remained bunched together, afraid they might be beamed up. Lucy had inched toward Colton. He still stared out at the stars, as if none of this had surprised him.

  Then the lights flared on again. This time they were even more blinding, brighter than any lights could be. Every person in their group was completely exposed. Colton reached for his rifle, went down on one knee, and raised it up, but it must be impossible to see where he was aiming. Firing would be like shooting into the sun. Heads jerked away as peoples’ eyes teared. Time felt stretched, but when she thought back on it later, Lucy realized they’d stood frozen in the light only ten or fifteen seconds. Long enough for whoever was driving the crafts to take pictures. Long enough for them to see and catalogue what they needed to know.

  When darkness enveloped the group again, the boys didn’t wait for Colton’s orders. The shooting filled the night with the sound and odor of a need to do something, anything. But the rounds simply dropped over the canyon’s edge, hitting nothing. For there was nothing they could hit. Whatever had been in the sky had disappeared.

  Thirty minutes later, Lucy was refusing to get into the truck when Colton walked up.

  “Problem?”

  “Yeah. There is.” Billy closed the beer cooler’s lid and glared at Lucy in the light coming from the open door. “Everyone else is lined up and ready to go, but Lucy won’t get in the truck.”

  “I’m not getting in, until he gives me the keys.”

  Colton peered into the cab where Bubba was leaning against the passenger door and snoring. “How much you had, Billy?”

  “A few.”

  “Too much.”

  They answered at the same time, but Billy’s words were slurred, and Lucy’s weren’t.

  “Give her the keys.”

  Billy cursed, gave her the keys, and climbed in.

  “He’s not a bad kid,” Colton said. “Just—well, a kid.”

  Lucy climbed into the truck, but she didn’t start it. She didn’t know what to think about having Colton come to her rescue. In fact, she’d been surprised about his whole demeanor during the last hour. He hadn’t acted like the petulant boy who’d made a scene at the bar three nights ago.

  “I owe you an apology about the other night.”

  She would have been tempted to brush it off, but he looked her in the eye when he said it, and he waited for her reply. It seemed to matter to him. She’d noticed he hadn’t been drinking at all, at least not that she’d seen.

  “It’s okay, Colton. Everyone gets a second chance.”

  He smiled and ducked his head, and she realized he probably wasn’t a bad guy. Then Dean’s warning tickled her ear, which irrationally made her want to trust Colton all the more.

  “I appreciate it.”

  “Tell me I don’t have to drive down the way we came up.”

  “Those idiots bring you up the caliche road?”

  “I’m sitting right here,” Billy mumbled, though he didn’t bother to raise his head from the back of the seat.

  “Yeah. It wasn’t exactly a smooth ride.”

  “There’s a better way—a good farm. Follow the group. I’ll be right behind you.”

  “Thanks.”

 
“Not a problem. I was a little surprised to see you out here without Dean.”

  Lucy thought to defend herself, but settled on a shrug. She started the truck, waited for Colton to walk away. When he didn’t, she decided to risk asking him. “How did you know what they would do?”

  “Brandon and I drove up here two nights ago. They did the same exact thing. They didn’t show last night, but some of the guys spotted them at Felix Canyon. Their pattern has been the same every time.”

  “What do you think they are?”

  Colton laughed. “Me? I’m not the UFO expert, Lucy. That would be you.”

  He smiled for the first time, slapped the truck’s side, and walked away.

  The drive down was dark, but the road was good, like Colton had promised. Billy fell asleep long before they reached the county road. Good to his word, Colton followed her down, flashing his lights once when she turned off toward E.T.’s. Instead of driving on to Sally’s, Lucy woke up Billy and Bubba and insisted on taking them home.

  “I’ll leave the truck at E.T.’s and give the keys to Sally, when I go in at noon.”

  It wasn’t the best situation, but she refused to be responsible for them driving into a post or killing someone two blocks from their house.

  They grumbled, as she knew they would, but both were too tired to offer much resistance. Billy didn’t apologize for making a move on her, but then she doubted he remembered anything before the shooting began.

  She dropped off Billy and Bubba, drove back to town and parked the truck in front of E.T.’s, refusing to look at the boardwalk, afraid of seeing the blood-splashed boards. Something lurked at the edge of her vision, and she didn’t know if she could face it tonight.

  It was now four in the morning, that notorious middle of the night when she often did her best work, but tonight she felt fuzzy. She started the short walk home, hoping the night air would clear her head.

  Of course, she’d known what the UAVs were the minute she’d seen them—and not only because of their speed and hovering ability. When they’d reversed directions, there’d been a brief moment when she’d caught them silhouetted against the night sky. It hadn’t been long, but it had been enough. She knew their model type and could send the information to Commander Martin immediately.