by Bill Bush
Josh sat up. “He said he wanted us to show him where the colony was.”
Flipper could hear the discouragement in Josh’s voice. He felt it too. “I wish he would come back and show everyone that we were right.”
Suddenly Josh stood up, “Look!” Flipper and Allison jumped to their feet.
“I don’t see anything,” Flipper said.
Josh was animated. “I saw a Gude! He was only there for a second, but I'm sure I saw him!”
“Where?” Allison asked.
Josh walked toward the bushes. “Over here.”
“I think you imagined it,” Flipper said.
Josh looked perplexed, but finally consented. “I guess you’re right.”
Allison looked around. “I don’t know. For several minutes now I’ve had that feeling I get when an alien is nearby. I sensed it even before Josh said he saw the Gude. I think he might be right.”
Allison had discovered that when she was close to the aliens that she could “feel” their presence, even when she couldn’t see them.
They decided to look a little harder. Flipper used his dad’s wheelbarrow to peer over the privacy fence and into the neighbors’ yards. There was no sign of a purple alien anywhere.
Finally Josh gave up and plopped on the ground. Starring straight up he said, “Do you think anyone will ever believe us?”
Flipper and Allison sat back to back so between the two of them they could see the whole yard.
“Some guy from TMZ believes me,” Flipper said. “He keeps calling, but my parents won’t let me talk to him.
Again, Josh suddenly shouted, “Holy cow! Look out!” He covered his head with his arms and curled his body.
Flipper and Allison looked up.
“I don’t see anything,” Allison said.
Flipper shook his head. “I don’t either.”
Josh was still on the ground in a fetal position.
Allison bent down beside him. “Josh, what happened?”
Josh was breathing heavily and his face was white.
Flipper wasn’t sure what was going on, but Josh was starting to scare him.
“What was it?” Allison asked. “What did you see?”
Josh was noticeably shaken. “I-I … I saw a Gude falling from the sky. Then just before he reached the ground he disappeared.”
“Are you okay?” Flipper asked.
Josh glanced around several times, then said unconvincingly, “Yeah, I guess so.”
Flipper normally would have a hard time believing Josh, but he could tell Josh believed he saw a Gude.
After looking around the yard again and not finding anything, Allison said, “I don’t know what to think. I don’t feel anything. Not since the first time Josh thought he saw something.”
Josh got defensive. “I DID see something!”
Before Allison could apologize they heard screaming from above, and all three of them looked up. Flipper recognized Chezlor falling from the sky directly toward them, screaming and flailing his arms and legs like he was out of control.
Flipper, Josh, and Allison screamed and dove out of the way as Chezlor disappeared just a few feet above them.
They were still screaming when Chezlor, Jake, and Alya appeared in the yard, Chezlor laughing hysterically.
Flipper quickly jumped to his feet when he saw his friends. His legs were still wobbly and he almost fell back down. “Chezlor, you’re crazy!”
Chezlor said something but was laughing too hard for it to be audible.
Alya apologized for him, looking primarily at Josh and Allison. “I’m sorry. When we found out we got to come visit, Chezlor couldn’t resist pulling a prank. We spied and saw that Flipper wasn't alone. Well, Chezlor got really excited.”
Josh and Allison stood again.
“Dude, that was awesome!” Josh stuck out his fist and waited for Chezlor, who just stared at him.
“Make a fist and we lightly tap them together.”
Chezlor shrugged his shoulders, extended his arm and made a fist. Josh hit his fist against Chezlor’s. “It’s called a fist bump. Welcome to Earth.”
Flipper introduced Josh and Allison to Jake, Chezlor, and Alya.
“What are you guys doing here?” Flipper asked excitedly.
“Fox and Nicole will be here in a few minutes,” Jake said. “They want to scout the underground Snader colony.”
On cue, Fox and Nicole appeared in the back yard.
They said hello to Flipper, who introduced them to Josh and Allison.
Fox got right down to business. “You are the two who found the underground Snader colony?”
Josh and Allison answered together. “Yes.”
“Do you think you could find the colony again?” Nicole asked.
“Yes, I’m sure we could,” Allison said.
“Good. We want you to lead us there so we can take a look around.”
“Of course we will!” Josh said. “Does Flipper get to go with us?”
“I can’t imagine an adventure like this without him,” Nicole said.
“Flipper, your mom and I are…” Flipper’s dad started to say as he and Flipper’s mom came out of the back door of the house. They stopped when they saw the Gudes standing in their back yard. Flipper’s dad had to catch his mom when she fainted.
Flipper and Allison ran up the three deck stairs to help Dennis get her to a lounge chair. When his mom opened her eyes she saw Flipper and the Gudes again. She sat up and tried to say something, “Flipper, who … what … who…”
“Guys, this is my dad and mom—Dennis and Dee. Mom. Dad. These are my friends. This is Jake. That’s Chezlor. This is Alya. That’s Nicole. And this is Fox. He’s the one who kidnapped me. These are the aliens everyone thinks I made up when I disappeared.”
Flipper’s mom fainted again back onto the lounge chair.
Chapter 6
”The aliens are real! … No, Flipper was telling the truth! … Yeah, we owe him a big apology. Can you believe it? He was right all along! … Okay, Owen, I'll tell you all about it tomorrow at lunch.”
When Dennis hung up, Dee laid her head on his shoulder, light-headed but alert. Allison and Josh's parents rushed over when they heard about the Gudes' presence.
Dee gazed at her son with new admiration. He was twelve-years-old and she could not think of one time he hadn’t told the truth. She also couldn’t remember her eleven-year-old niece Allison ever lying. But that didn’t stop her from not believing Allison’s story about seeing Flipper kidnapped by a purple alien, or her and Josh’s story about an underground alien colony, or her son’s own tale of helping save an alien planet from a takeover. Even when Flipper and Allison gave similar descriptions of the purple aliens, Dee reasoned it away. They saw the creatures in a movie or video game. She never considered they might be telling the truth.
Now she was transfixed on every word her son spoke, as he retold his adventure on Vetrix and Rex. Five purple aliens—Gudes, her son called them—joined them in the living room, occasionally adding pieces to Flipper’s story — usually when he was being too modest for them.
When he finished, Josh and Allison retold their story of finding the underground colony of Snaders, because, well, the adults hadn’t really paid attention the first time.
When Allison and Josh finished, the parents asked Fox and Nicole dozens of questions, wanting to know all about the Gudes, the Snaders, and alien life in general. Dennis and Lavon were especially interested in the story of Bruce and Ava. If what Fox and Nicole said was true, then Bruce and Ava could be Dennis and Lavon’s grandparents. Dee couldn’t imagine what was going through their minds.
Dee wanted to know all about the computer program that supposedly selected her son to help defeat the Snaders. “How can you be so sure that the computer program was accurate in selecting Flipper?”
“We had our doubts at first, especially when we found out Flipper was a kid,” Fox said.
“We couldn’t figure out why the computer w
ould not only select a twelve-year-old, but one from Earth,” Nicole said. “But as you can tell from his story, so many things have happened to show us why he is uniquely qualified to battle against the Snaders. The fact that they have Snader, Gude, and human blood makes Flipper, your husband, Allison, and Allison's mom unique in all the universe. The Snader blood has made Flipper resistant against the Snaders’ weapons and force fields. If it wasn’t for him our planet would have been conquered by the Snaders. He saved our species and our home.”
Dee’s eyes were tearing up from pride in her son. She thought for a moment she might faint again, but she held it together.
“You heard their stories,” Fox said. “We need Josh and Allison to take us to the underground Snader colony so we can see what is going on down there. Your planet is in danger. Snader spaceships are on their way toward Earth as we speak. It sounds like we now have two separate groups of Snaders preparing to attack. We need Flipper because we believe he is the key to defeating the Snaders.”
“He’s only twelve! He’s not old enough to be fighting, especially against aliens,” Dee said.
“That’s what we thought at first, too, Ma’am,” Fox said. “My dad, General Jaxxen, refused to let the kids be involved or get into harms’ way. But as you heard, after the Snaders kidnapped Flipper, Jake, Chezlor, and Alya took it upon themselves to convince Nicole to help them rescue Flipper. Then all four kids were instrumental in defeating the Snaders on Vetrix. They are all heroes in every sense of the word.”
“I know, but to keep putting them in danger is irresponsible,” Dee argued.
“Besides,” Dennis added, “you said yourself that I am also immune to the Snader’s weapons. Why not choose me instead of Flipper?”
“I don’t know,” Nicole admitted. “The computer program was very specific, though. It chose Flipper, and not you or Allison or Lavon.”
“And it’s hard to argue with the results,” Fox added. “Maybe you or Allison could have helped save us against the Snaders, but Flipper did.”
”Why can't you just teleport to the colony?” Dennis asked.
Fox shook his head. “It's too risky. The Snaders have the ability to block teleportation, or more accurately to deflect teleporters. If we teleported to the colony and they have the blocking technology then we would be deflected to any point in space. That would result in instant death.”
Nicole sat beside Dee and took her hands. “I understand you are afraid for Flipper, but the Snaders are coming after your planet. And if they kidnapped Flipper before, when they didn’t believe he was a threat, I’m sure they will come after him again—this time they'll want revenge. The best thing now is to defeat the Snaders and make sure they are not capable of attacking either of our planets ever again.”
Nicole seemed nice, but Dee was uncomfortable holding her hands. She knew what Nicole said made sense, but she was a warrior not a mother. Dee's impulse was to protect her son.
“Right now we just want to go down to the Snaders’ underground colony and gather some information,” Fox said. “Josh and Allison were able to penetrate their facilities and return. That’s exactly what we intend to do again.”
Dee was not undecided. She had been through enough worry already. And Flipper had already faced dangers she wouldn’t have dreamed he would have to even face as an adult. There was no way she was going to let her son go chasing after aliens living underground. But she also knew she was in the minority, and her decision was going to be unpopular.
As much as she wanted everyone to like her, her motherly instincts were stronger. She pulled her hands away from Nicole and stood. “I’m sorry, but there is no way I’m letting Flipper go down there. And I don’t think Allison or Josh's parents are going to be too thrilled about them going either.” She glanced at them with hopeful anticipation.
Dennis stood beside her. “I agree with Dee. Flipper has been through enough—we’ve all been through enough. You can make your journey without him.”
“But MOM!” Flipper shouted.
“Honey, there is no way I can live with myself if I put you in danger and something happened to you.”
Chad and Lavon stood and Lavon held Dees hand. “Allison won't be going either,” Chad said.
Josh's dad agreed. “Josh isn't either.”
The six parents held hands and stood together.
Chapter 7
The six children—Flipper, Allison, Josh, Jake, Chezlor, and Alya—were in Flipper's back yard. Fox and Nicole had teleported back to Vetrix to discuss with General Jaxxen what they were to do next. The parents were having a parents only meeting inside.
“Your dad is certain the Snaders are on their way to attack Earth?” Josh asked Jake.
“My dad has a good source.” Jake looked at Flipper. “Dr. Needles.”
“Your dad spoke to Dr. Needles?” Flipper asked excitedly.
“Actually we all saw him before we came here,” Chezlor said.
”So he's okay?” Flipper asked.
Jake continued. “Dell, my dad’s new advisor, helped Dr. Needles and a group of Snaders escape to Vetrix.”
“Was Brianna with him?” Flipper asked.
The three Gudes looked at each other awkwardly.
”Well?” Flipper asked anxiously.
Finally, Alya spoke up. “Dr. Needles tried to locate her before their escape attempt. He believes she was taken away from Rex.”
”General Jaxxen assigned some men to Dr. Needles to help him search for Brianna,” Chezlor continued.
Flipper stared at the ground, afraid the others might see the tears that he desperately tried to hold back.
Alya continued, “I’m sorry, Flipper.”
Her sincere concern was comforting. Flipper knew she cared—they all did, but he did what came natural to him when he was emotional. He walked away to be by himself in a corner of the yard.
His being upset was for much more than his fear for Brianna. He spent over a week away from his family, fighting for his life and a chance to come home. He had been made fun of and teased all week, maligned in the local and national press. His story was all over the internet. Everyone was having fun with that—the boy from Roswell, the site of the 1947 crash, who was kidnapped by aliens. The only people he was a hero for was the seemingly wacko websites spouting propaganda about aliens being among us.
But worse than all of that was that even his parents hadn’t believed him.
Allison came up beside him and took his hand in hers for a few moments, squeezing it tight before letting go.
He wiped his nose on the sleeve of his arm before looking up at her. Her eyes were also full of tears.
“At least now our parents believe us.”
Flipper chuckled. What would he do without Allison?
“My parents don’t think I can help defeat the Snaders.”
“What do you mean?” Allison asked. “You already have.”
“But now my parents won’t even let us show the Gudes where the Snaders are that you and Josh found. How can I be a key to defeat the Snaders if I can’t leave the house?”
“Your parents are just trying to protect you. Our parents are trying to protect us.”
Flipper shrugged. “I don’t know. The computer program was clear I would help defeat the Snaders for good, but Dad said that you and he and Aunt Lavon have the same blood. Maybe I wasn’t the one selected. Maybe it should be one of you three. At least he seems to think so.”
Chapter 8
General Jaxxen arrived in Flipper's house with an impossible task. Impossible, but critical.
With Fox, Nicole, and Dell behind him, he made his case. “I’m sorry I have to ask this of you, but your planet is in danger and we need your children’s help in gathering information. I promise they will be safe.”
“What? Like you kept Flipper safe after you kidnapped him,” Dee snapped. “It sounds to me like it was the other way around.”
“What happened on Vetrix—we had no way of knowing Sierr
a was a mole. I assure you…”
“You assure us?” Josh’s dad stood and shouted. At six foot four he could look General Jaxxen square in the eyes. “You have no credibility here. You are not using our kids as pawns in your inter-galactic war.”
General Jaxxen felt fear from no one. In fact, he thrived on conflict. This was the type of stage in which he felt most comfortable. “We have to find the underground colony of Snaders, and we need to do it quickly. Thousands of Snader spaceships are on their way to Earth and will be here in a matter of days. We are trying to help protect your planet. The children discovered a Snader colony already located on Earth. That colony could provide key information. We need them to take us there.”
Dennis stood beside Josh’s father. “Our children are not going anywhere.”
Dee was irate. “You kidnapped my son and put him in terrible danger, and now you have the nerve to stand in my house asking for our cooperation in some age-old battle you have with another species? I think it’s time for you to leave before I call the police.”
General Jaxxen looked down, scrunched his face, shook his head, and let out a large sigh. The Earthlings seemed to relax. Maybe they sensed he was about to relent.
Instead, he lifted his head and met their eyes. “I was hoping it wouldn’t come to this.” He reached into his pocket and pressed a button.
Immediately two Gude soldiers appeared—their weapons aimed at the parents.
Lavon and Dee screamed and everyone tensed. Chad stood, while Dee’s legs buckled and she sat back down. The three dads stood together, ready to fight for their kids.
General Jaxxen recognized their gesture. He could appreciate they were willing to refuse to surrender in order to protect their children. He would have done the same. But he was trying to protect the whole planet, and was in a very serious battle for the plight of the universe. He couldn’t allow a few parents to dissuade him, however much he respected them.
