Battleground Earth

by Gerry Griffiths

  She switched to the next frequency.

  Again, she repeated the call sign of the International Space Station used by American astronauts and got nothing.

  Even though she wasn’t getting a reply, it didn’t mean there wasn’t a ham radio operator down on Earth that might eventually hear her. They could be on the other side of the planet for all she knew. Or maybe they had turned off their radios to conserve power. Or maybe she and Rob hadn’t fixed the antenna properly.

  Or maybe everyone was dead down there and it was all a big waste of time.

  She wasn’t ready to give up hope.

  Not yet.

  She was about to try another frequency when she noticed something on Rob’s visor. She turned her body so she could lean in and take a closer look.

  Thin, whitish shapes detached from the convex shield and floated in front of Cass’s face.

  The back of her head started to itch. Something was crawling in her hair. She reached up, combed her fingers through her thick curls then looked down at her hand...

  And watched in horror as tiny alien life forms wriggled on her palm.

  22

  “The drive up to the observatory is rather treacherous,” Celeste said, clutching her seatbelt harness cinched tight across her chest. She held onto the handgrip above her side window as they came up on another curve.

  “What happened to your last driver?” Ryan asked.

  “Said he didn’t like heights. Gave him vertigo.”

  Ryan had to admit the drive up Quimby Road and over the first mountain had been a hazardous trek with its narrow roads and hairpin curves, each bend so tight that he was forced to slow down to the posted speed limit of ten miles an hour. It was a tedious drive; one that Ryan didn’t relish having to repeat too often.

  He gunned the powerful engine halfway into the turn as they headed up a short straightaway only to have to slow down as they came upon the next curve, which was frustrating. Still he took the opportunity to rev the muscle car with a quick burst then eased on the brake, releasing some pent-up tension. “How far is it from the Dish to the observatory?”

  “Twenty-five miles. You know this isn’t a race.”

  “You’re the one that wanted me as your driver.” Ryan downshifted into a lower gear as they headed down a steep stretch of road that took them to a T-junction where he turned right onto Mt. Hamilton Road. He was able to speed up a bit as the roadway was a little wider with fewer turns but it wasn’t long before he had to slow down as they were back to traversing up the mountain.

  He shot a quick glance over at Celeste and saw her peek over her shoulder before snapping her head around to look out the windshield.

  “What’s with the arsenal in the backseat?” she asked, referring to the two M16 assault rifles, the open duffle containing three fully loaded handguns with additional full clips, and 20 boxes of ammunition.

  “It’s in case we come across any banditos,” Ryan said.

  “This isn’t Mexico.”

  “Okay, highwaymen.”

  “Now you sound like Robin Hood.”

  “I think you get the idea.”

  For the next fifteen minutes they continued up the winding road, each nerve-wracking curve giving them incredible panoramic views of the haze-shrouded valley below and the undulating mountain ranges stretching as far as the eye could see.

  There were no guardrails to prevent them from driving off the side of the road and plummeting down the sheer precipice. Even though there was no opposing traffic on the extremely narrow two-way road, Ryan had to be on the lookout for rockslides and sections where the blacktop was pitched higher than the ground, creating a groove. One wrong turn and one of the mustang’s front tires could slip off the pavement and cause Ryan to lose control of the car—and down they would go.

  Ryan clutched the steering wheel with both hands, sat forward a bit, and pulled the back of his sweat-covered shirt away from the leather seat. “Why’d they have to put so many turns in this road?”

  “Lick Observatory was built in 1876 and the only way to get building material up the mountain was by mules and horse-drawn wagons, which meant the road couldn’t be very steep.”

  “Makes sense.” Ryan checked his speed as they came to another hairpin bend. He gazed out at the sprawling vista for a split second but quickly returned his attention back to his driving or he would have driven off the road for sure. Now he knew exactly what the other driver meant when he said he had experienced vertigo. “How high is this place?”

  “Just over four thousand feet.”

  “Do all observatories have to be on the top of a mountain?”

  “It helps if you want to avoid light pollution.”

  “You mean air pollution?” Ryan said.

  “No. In order for these telescopes to work properly there can’t be cloud cover or any obscuring ambient light. The city was so supportive it even agreed to replace all their streetlamps with low pressure sodium lights, which further reduced the light pollution.”

  “Well, I’m guessing none of that’s a problem, as most of the city has gone dark.”

  “Sadly, yes. We’re almost there, but do you mind pulling over?”

  “Why?”

  “Would you rather I puked in your car?”

  Ryan hit the brakes and stopped in the middle of the road.

  Celeste flung open her door. She leaned out and hurled up her toast and coffee they’d had for breakfast at the Dish before getting on the road.

  “You okay?” Ryan asked.

  “Yeah,” Celeste said and spat on the ground. She wiped her mouth with her shirtsleeve and sat back in the car.

  They arrived at the Lick Observatory a few minutes later. Ryan turned right and followed the steep roadway that took them to the front entrance of the main building with a white dome on either end. He parked the car and climbed out of the Mustang. He took a moment to stretch and work out the kinks. He hadn’t realized how tense his shoulder and neck muscles had become due to the terrifying drive up.

  Celeste walked over to a sparse railing with only two strands of thick wire as a barrier protecting anyone from falling over the edge to a sure death. She gazed out over the terrain. “You can actually see the Bay Area from here.”

  Ryan joined her and took in the view. It was breathtaking, like being on top of the world, and to think they were just four thousand feet above sea level. He couldn’t even imagine what it must look like standing on the peak of Mt. Everest.

  There were old houses scattered about the observatory site where researchers lived and slept during the day as the astronomers worked at night. Some of the buildings had been built over a century ago.

  “What do you think?’ Celeste said, commenting on the magnificent view. “Was it worth the drive?”

  “I’ll say.”

  “Let’s go inside.”

  “Go ahead. I’ll be right in,” Ryan said. He went back to the car while Celeste started walking toward the front steps of the building. He pulled out his sidearm and checked the magazine then opened the car door and grabbed an assault rifle from the back seat.

  He ran up the steps, opened the door, and stepped into a high-ceiling alcove where there were two tall doors across from each other, an entrance to a hallway, and a large black bust of James Lick on a pedestal.

  “Take a look around if you want,” Celeste said and turned right at the hall to go talk with her colleagues, who like herself, were members of the Astronomical Consortium tasked with pinpointing the locations of every meteorite impact site.

  Ryan read the brief biography on a plaque that said James Lick was from Pennsylvania. Ryan wondered if he was Amish because he had a full beard with a clean upper lip or was that just the style for men back in those days. He thought it was strange that a man who made pianos for a living and didn’t have a scientific background would fund the money to build an astronomical observatory on the top of a mountain peak.

  He went into the hall that branched off to his lef
t and right. Photographs of the various observation domes were displayed on the walls along with blank, flat screens.

  After a while, he decided to go outside where there were wrought iron tables and chairs. He sat down to enjoy the morning sun and before he knew it, he’d dozed off.

  “Hey, Ryan. Wake up!”

  Ryan opened his eyes as Celeste gave him a stern shake. “What, don’t tell me you’re ready to go back already?”

  Celeste sat in the chair next to him. “Not just yet.”

  He noticed she had a notebook in her hand. “What do you have there?”

  “New coordinates for the latest impact sites.”

  “So, what’s up?”

  “Have you ever heard of the Phaeton Hypothesis?”

  “No. What’s that?”

  “There’s a theory that a fifth planet once orbited between Mars and Jupiter.”

  “Seriously?”

  “It was even given a name. Phaeton, from Greek mythology.”

  “Never heard of it. What makes anyone think there was another planet?”

  “When it was discovered there was an inconsistency in the distances of the planets in our solar system from the sun.”

  “What kind of inconsistencies?” Ryan asked.

  “Mercury is 35 million miles from the sun,” Celeste began. “Then there’s Venus, which is 67 million miles away and twice the distance. Earth is 93 million and Mars is 142 million. But when you look at the distance from the sun to Jupiter, it suddenly jumps to 484 million suggesting that there’s a planet missing.”

  “So what happened to it?”

  “Well, instead of an actual planet, there’s an asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Some scientists believe it used to be the hypothetical planet, Phaeton, and due to some cosmic event the planet was destroyed and became the asteroid belt.”

  “So why are you telling me this?”

  “My colleagues and I strongly believe some of those asteroids managed to break away from their normal orbital path and are now circling our planet.”

  “You mean the meteorites?”

  “Exactly. And that’s not all. You know how scientists are always trying to prove there’s life on Mars?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Well, there’s one thing we now know for certain.”

  “What’s that?”

  “There was definitely life on the planet, Phaeton.”

  “Which would explain the alien life forms.”

  “You got it, but there’s a bigger problem.”

  “Bigger than giant bugs taking over the world?”

  “Remember that comet that supposedly killed all the dinosaurs 65 million years ago and sent the planet into an ice age?”

  “Yeah.”

  “It was estimated to be 6 miles across and created a 100-mile wide crater when it struck.”

  “Don’t tell me there’re asteroids up there that big?”

  “We’re calling it: Mother Lode. And its girth is close to 12 miles wide.”

  “That’s twice the size and you think it’s going to strike?”

  “It’s only a matter of time before Mother Lode reaches orbital decay.”

  A young man ran out of the building and came over to Ryan and Celeste.

  “You have a phone call on the landline,” he told Celeste. “It’s Mr. Tabors.”

  “Thanks.” Celeste got up from the bench. Ryan followed her inside and they went down the hall into a room that used to be the gift shop. The receiver of an old-style rotary phone was lying on a countertop. Celeste picked it up. “Hi, Milt.” She listened for a moment.

  Ryan saw a surprised look come over her face as her eyes opened wide.

  “Oh my God,” she said. “That’s fantastic news.” She placed the receiver back on the cradle.

  “What is it?” Ryan asked.

  “Milt picked up a transmission from the International Space Station.”

  “But I thought you said they were all dead?”

  “I was wrong!” Celeste yelled. She jumped up and down like an excited child about to unwrap a very special Christmas present. She was so overjoyed she gave Ryan a big kiss.

  When their lips parted, he couldn’t help but grin. “Maybe you should be wrong more often.”

  23

  By midmorning, Ally estimated that she and Gemma had inoculated over fifty livestock. The cattle had been the easiest as they were generally too preoccupied grazing and weren’t bothered by a tiny needle. The sheep and goats were less receptive than the bovine and it was sometimes necessary to restrain them. Ally had to pin the noncomplying animal to the ground while Gemma administered the vaccines that were intended to strengthen their immune systems and keep them healthy.

  Max stood close by and kept watch with his M16 cradled across the crook of his arm. He turned around and gazed up at the hillcrest. “We’ve got company.”

  Ally glanced up. She raised her hand to her brow and shaded her eyes against the bright sun. She could see the silhouette of a giant insect a hundred yards away, crawling over the low grass. That’s when she heard the sound of approaching engines on the other side of the rise.

  Ally and Gemma looked at Max.

  “Be ready to run,” he said.

  Three ATV’s came over the crest and stopped short of hitting the giant insect, which formed itself into a huge ball and began rolling down the hillside.

  “Run!” Max yelled.

  Ally grabbed the satchel with the medical supplies off the ground and dashed across the field alongside Gemma and Max. She looked over her shoulder at the massive sphere spinning after them. It reminded her of the scene in the Indiana Jones movie when Harrison Ford was trying to escape from being mowed down by the boulder in the cave.

  “It’s no use, we can’t outrun it,” Max said and veered off to the left like a split end avoiding a tackle. Ally and Gemma stayed right on his heels.

  The massive gray ball spun past them and continued down the incline, scattering the animals along the way until it reached a grove of oak trees and disappeared from sight.

  “What was that?” Ally asked as they came to a halt to catch their breath.

  “Armadillidiidae,” Gemma replied.

  “A what?”

  “One hell’uva big roly poly,” Max laughed then glanced back up the hill.

  The three ATV’s came down the ridge and parked twenty feet away. The riders climbed off and grabbed their guns.

  “When did you get back?” Max asked.

  “About half an hour ago,” Julie replied.

  “We figured we were rested enough.” Ace gave Max a friendly wave. Johnny greeted everyone with a nod.

  “How’s Vince doing?”

  “Second degree burns,” Julie said.

  “Can he see?”

  “The doctors said he’ll have his sight back in a few days.”

  “Damn blister bugs.”

  “You want us to set up a perimeter?” Johnny asked.

  “Yes.” Max looked at Gemma. “How many more do you plan on doing today?”

  “How many syringes do we have left?” Gemma asked Ally.

  Ally opened the satchel and did a quick inventory. “Thirteen large doses and seventeen for the smaller animals.”

  “I’d say we have about three, maybe four hours of work left to do.”

  “We’ll set up a four-point perimeter around the two of you,” Max said. “That way we’ll be able to warn you of any danger.”

  The pastureland was relatively flat with a few undulating slopes. Every so often Max would raise his arm and signal to his team when they came upon an entry hole leading down into a large burrow big enough to drive a small car down inside. He would yell out, “Fire in the hole!” as one of the Eco-Marines tossed in a fragmentation grenade, that once it exploded, collapsed the tunnel, and buried any monstrous creature lurking down under.

  They came across a few cows that had decided to get out of the sun and were lying partially on their stomachs in the grass under
some overhanging branches.

  Ally and Gemma walked over slowly not wanting to disturb the small herd.

  “That cow over by that tree looks like it just gave birth recently,” Gemma said, pointing to the black and white bovine with the saggy underbelly.

  “Where’s the calf?” Ally asked.

  “Good question. Let’s go check in those trees. Maybe it just wandered off.”

  Gemma looked over her shoulder and signaled to Johnny who was not too far away. “We need to search for a missing calf.”

  Johnny quickly jogged over. “Let me lead the way.”

  The Eco-Marine readied his M16 and started through the trees. Ally and Gemma followed close behind. They hadn’t gone more than fifty feet when they came across a gross sight.

  “Jesus, what is that thing?” Johnny said, and aimed his assault rifle at the hideous white creature latched onto the side of the small calf down on the ground. It was as big as a tabby cat with a translucent body and was sucking the blood from its host.

  Ally could actually see the crimson blood filling up its gullet as though it were gasoline being pumped into a tank.

  “It’s an assassin bug nymph,” Gemma said.

  “Wait a minute, I thought morphed bugs couldn’t procreate?” Johnny said.

  “Did you really just say procreate?” Julie said, joining the group.

  “Uh, yeah.”

  “To answer your question, they can’t,” Gemma said. “This little bugger must have eaten an elf.”

  “What did you call it? An elf?” Ally asked.

  “Just my little nickname for extraterrestrial life form instead of alien life forms. Can you pull it off?”

  Even though Ally was wearing a pair of nitrite gloves the slimy nymph still felt creepy when she grabbed it around the head and pulled back until the proboscis was completely out of the docile calf. She placed the bloodsucker on the ground. Johnny played executioner and crushed it with a large rock.

  “Is the calf okay?” Ally asked.

  “It’s suffering temporary paralysis from the nymph’s venom. Let’s give it a few minutes and then see if we can get it on its feet.”

  “You guys better hurry up in there,” Max shouted. He was standing on the outskirts of the trees. Ace was by his side with his back turned, gazing out at the pastureland.