by Bill Bush
Red Fox looked irritated. “That’s ridiculous!”
“It’s true,” Chili said calmly. “For over sixty years we have maintained several secret communities where we have been breeding, raising, and training Snader/human hybrids. We needed people to look like humans but have Snader blood and loyalties. We have gradually placed them into society where they have worked hard to gain positions of authority.
“President Charles is the daughter of a Snader father and a human mother. She was raised underneath the salt mines in Hutchinson, Kansas—right in the middle of this country. She was educated and trained by Snaders. When she became an adult she went to their colleges and used her gifts to work her way up to become Vice President of the United States. That left her in position to become the leader of this country and one of the leaders of the world when we assassinated the President and framed the Gudes for it.”
Eric noticed that the President, to her credit, remained quiet, allowing Chili the opportunity to win over Red Fox and his companions.
Although resistant and slow to come around, Eric watched as Chili convinced Red Fox and the other Snaders that cooperating with them was in their best interest. Eric didn’t think it should have taken as long as it did. It seemed obvious to him that Red Fox and his two hundred and ninety-three spaceships didn’t have a chance of surviving. The best they could hope for was to cause a lot of destruction, fear, and panic.
In the end, Red Fox agreed to join President Charles and Chili in their quest to take over the world.
Red Fox turned to one of his men and said, “Potts, order all our ships to fly immediately to Camp David.”
Potts stepped out of the room.
“I will have my men show you and your friends to a building with rooms you can stay in,” President Charles said to Red Fox.
She turned to one of her Aids. “We will need to call a press conference as soon as possible. No, never mind. We can’t wait for the press. We will address the nation from here. I need to be on the air in a few minutes to address the world about the spaceships in the air. We can’t have panic and misperceptions about what is happening.”
“Yes, Ma’am,” the Aid said. “I’ll have everything ready in less than ten minutes in the media center.”
“Fine, thank you,” President Charles said.
She turned again to Red Fox, “Have your group gather down by the lake after they arrive. I would like to welcome them.”
With that, they all left the room—with an invisible Eric sneaking out with them.
Chapter 20
The companions stared in disbelief.
Flipper's living room was trashed. The furniture was torn and upended, windows were broken, and papers were scattered everywhere. Flipper noticed his mom’s figurine collection scattered across the living room floor broken in pieces. The only thing that wasn’t damaged was the television hanging on the wall. It was on a news channel.
The reporter talked about the assassinations from the night before. Everyone was mesmerized, but Flipper didn’t hear a word. He ran through every room in the house, yelling for his mom. Of course, Allison had told him what she had seen—that Dell had taken his mom and disappeared—but he didn't want to believe it.
Every room in the house looked like the living room. Almost everything they owned was damaged, broken, or destroyed. He entered his room and immediately saw his comic book collection scattered and in pieces. Flipper let out an agonizing sigh. The house was in chaos and both of Flipper’s parents had been taken.
He sat on his bed and cried.
***
Downstairs, Fox, Nicole, Dyson, Jake, Chezlor, Alya, Josh, and Allison were glued to the news reports. They expected an abundance of news about aliens since the Snaders had ascended from below, but they were stunned at the reports from all over the world of assassinations by the Gudes. They saw a replay of President Charles’ speech from earlier in the morning.
A panel discussed the sightings and videos of spaceships flying all across the globe. The majority of the spaceships were spotted around the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Central America, but there were many flying over the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, seemingly on their way to the rest of the world. There were even a couple of reports by people claiming to have seen a red alien.
There still hadn’t been any communication received from the spaceships, so the speculation on what was happening abounded. Finally all the countries of the world had something in common—they were afraid and didn’t know what to do next.
Militaries from around the world were preparing for the worst. The commentators noted that it was extremely odd that the United States, with the most powerful military in history, still didn’t have any planes in the air. If it wasn’t already, the world was on the verge of major panic.
A reporter broke into the panel discussion to announce there was breaking news. “Most of the spaceships have changed course and they all appear to be heading in the direction of Washington D.C. There has been no official word … wait … we are receiving a feed directly from President Charles now.”
“I know there is a lot of unrest from the events of the last twenty-four hours. I want to start by saying that there is no need to panic. Everyone please return to your homes. Let me explain what is happening and why I am asking you to remain calm in spite of these unprecedented and frightening events.
“Unfortunately, the government of the United States, as well as the governments of many other countries, has been keeping secrets from their citizens for many decades. I pledged to be transparent with you this morning, and as I have learned more of the secrets, that is what I am doing now.
“The spaceships you have seen in the air the last couple of hours belong to a race of aliens known as Snaders. They are a different race than the ones who attacked yesterday. The Snaders have red skins and have been on the Earth for centuries, secretly protecting the people of Earth from potential foreign invaders. Until their appearance this morning I knew nothing about them.
“When they heard the news of the assassinations, they felt responsible that they missed intercepting this devious plan. In light of these events they decided the best way to protect us was to sacrifice their anonymity. They left their hideout to fly all over the world and strategically place themselves in places that would allow them to best battle against any ensuing attacks.
“I immediately contacted them and when I learned of their plan I persuaded them to meet with me before dispersing all over the Earth. I explained that their actions would most certainly lead to panic, and they assured me that was not their intention. The Snader spaceships are all currently on their way to Camp David, where I will personally meet with their leaders.
“I can’t tell you much yet, but I have learned that the purple aliens are a species called the Gudes from the planet Vetrix. An investigation is ongoing as to how they pulled off such a feat as assassinating sixty-six world leaders. The Snaders have agreed to inform me and the world leaders about our new foe, the Gudes, and to help with the investigation of these horrendous crimes.
“I have also invited all the world’s leaders to join in on the discussions with the Snaders as we try to decide the best plan of action to protect the Earth from the Gudes that have waged war upon us. I’m sure all of the leaders of the world will participate in our strategic discussions, whether it be in person or via another means.
“Rest assured, your government and military leaders are working diligently to do all we can to protect the people of Earth from further attack.
“Again, I beg you to return to your homes and do not panic. If we all run around in a state of alarm, it will only cause more problems, more fear, and more fatalities. Let’s do our best to work together.
“Thank you.”
“What does this mean?” Josh asked.
“It means that preventing the Snaders from taking over the Earth just got a whole lot harder,” Fox said.
Chapter 21
After addressing the nation Sandra returned to
her Camp David office. She couldn't believe after all their meticulous planning that one of the biggest threats to the success of their takeover was Snaders. She inquired through her Snader network but no one knew of Red Fox and his clan. She was thankful for their survival, just not excited about their timing. Hopefully she would soon have things in hand.
The door knocked and her secret service director opened it. “Ma'am , Red Fox is here to see you.”
”Send him in,” she instructed. “And I'm expecting Senator Langston any moment. See her in when she arrives.”
”Yes, Ma'am.”
Red Fox entered and raised his arm into a horizontal position with his elbow bent at a forty-five degree angle. She smiled, did likewise, and they bumped forearms.
”I didn't realize you were aware of Snader customs.”
”The original four taught us all about Snaders and Rex,” Red Fox explained. “I want to know how in tune you are to Snader practices.”
”You don't trust that I'm one hundred percent on board with the Snader agenda?”
Red Fox nodded.
”That's fair,” Sandra acknowledged. “I hope to help put some of the doubt to bed before we meet with your group.”
A light knock on the door and it opened.
President Charles motioned for the tall lady to join them.
”Red Fox, this is Senator Langston. She will be sworn in as Vice President in a few minutes.”
Red Fox eyed her suspiciously. “Is she a half-breed also?”
”Jade Langston is pure human.”
”Why appoint a human?” Red Fox exploded.
To her credit, Senator Langston didn't flinch. “I assure you I am as committed to this takeover as you are.”
”What…” Red Fox started, stopped, then started again. “She knows about the takeover?”
”Senator Langston had the same upbringing, same community, same indoctrination as I did. She has been molded for this role.”
”Please continue with this riveting story,” Red Fox said sarcastically.
”This plan is far more complex than you know,” President Charles elaborated. “Senator Langston is a contingency. We put pure-blooded humans in place in case we get to the point we need their support.”
”I don't like it,” Red Fox spat. “And this isn't doing anything to strengthen my support of your mission.”
”Maybe this will.” President Charles called her assistant and asked that he contact Admiral Grisder and patch him into her office. She pulled back two folding cabinet doors along the far wall to reveal a large, flat screen. Moments later the large image of a red-skinned man with dark hair and long, dark sideburns appeared on the ninety-five inch screen.
”Madam Charles, it's good to speak to you again.”
”Admiral Grisder, I have Senator Langston and Red Fox with me.”
”I must say, it's an honor to meet you, Red Fox. It's extraordinary what you've been through.”
Fox seemed a bit out of kilter. “I, um, thank you. Who are you?”
”Admiral, will you tell Red Fox about your mission?” President Charles asked.
”Certainly. I am Chief Commanding Admiral of the Snader fleet from Rex. We have eight-thousand, one-hundred, ninety-two fighter spaceships approaching the Earth's solar system. We are here at the request of President Charles. We are prepared to support her in the takeover of the planet earth and are at her disposal.”
Red Fox gaped at the general.
President Charles spoke. “Admiral. Remain outside of the solar system until I contact you. I don't want your presence detected too soon. I'll be in touch.”
”Yes Ma'am,” Admiral Grisder said before his face disappeared.
Red Fox stood at attention. “President Charles, you have my full support.”
Chapter 22
Flipper stared at the floor in front of him as he paced in a u-shaped pattern around his bed. Up and down, rapidly, he swung a clothes hanger in one hand then the other. The plastic hook snapped off in his hand and he threw it against the wall, then resumed his flipping with a hookless hanger.
The path he paced was the only area of his room where the floor was not covered, only because he had kicked stuff out of the way his first couple of passes to create a place to pace. He gave no thought about the stuff scattered and broken in his room. There wasn’t anything important enough to him to look for.
He thought about his mom and dad. What could he do to help them? Nothing! Ahh!
He thought about his time on Vetrix and the sound the force field around their capital city made when he put his hand into it. The sound was like a soft, electrical, vibration. Now he couldn’t get the sound out of his head. It repeated over and over and over as he paced.
Suddenly he stopped. The vibrating noise wasn’t coming from the memories in his head but from his room. He hadn't noticed amidst the scattered books and clothes lay a cell phone on the back of the overturned bookshelf, conveniently plugged into the wall. It wasn't any cell phone, it was his, that his mom had turned off and confiscated days ago.
The screen announced he had a video message waiting. He didn’t even know he could receive video messages.
He pressed the screen and that awful looking creature that took his dad appeared. He had a smirk on his face that Flipper wanted to punch.
“Flipper, in case you don’t remember, my name is Finn. What I am sure you remember is that I have your dad.” The video panned away from Finn, and Flipper saw his dad, sitting on a floor. Other than looking uncomfortable and sad, his dad looked like he was okay.
The picture quickly went back to Finn. “As you see, your dad is fine … for now. What we do with him is up to you. We aren’t interested in him—we are interested in you. You see, I lost family when you destroyed The Freezer on Vetrix. I want to have a little talk. I would like to say I was going to get my revenge on you, but this isn’t about revenge. As you have noticed by now there is a bigger plan in place. What we need is some information.
“If you want to see your dad again and want to keep your friends safe, you need to call seven-six-two-three-three-seven-seven-eight-five-three. If you fail to call us in the next twenty-four hours we will hunt you and the rest of your friends down, and you won’t see your dad again. One way or another we will get you. It’s up to you if you want anything in exchange.”
The screen went blank and Flipper stood in stunned silence.
He was so focused on flipping the phone and thinking about how he was going to get away to go help his dad that he didn’t hear Allison until she said “Flipper!” for the third time.
He quickly shoved the phone in his pants pocket. He didn’t want anyone to know about the message from Finn. Had she looked at him funny? He hoped his quick movements didn’t cause her to be suspicious. If she was she didn’t say anything.
“Flipper, are you okay?”
He started to say something but realized he was on the verge of tears again. He choked them back.
“I’m so sorry Flipper! I keep trying to think how I could have stopped Dell.”
“Allison, it’s not your fault. I just don’t know what to do.”
“A lot has happened since last night.” Allison quickly caught him up on what she learned from the news. Flipper felt like he was in a deep hole and now dirt was being thrown in on top of him.
“Why don’t you come downstairs,” Allison suggested. “We are going to get Josh's and my parents and try to find a safe place so we can all get some sleep then decide what to do next.”
Flipper wanted to send them all away so he could call Finn, but knew they wouldn’t let him do it. He had to go with them until he could figure out how to help his dad, so he followed Allison downstairs.
The conversation continued as if Flipper and Allison hadn’t just joined in.
“I have not been able to contact anyone from Vetrix,” Fox said.
“Me neither,” Nicole added. “I don’t know if it’s on our end or theirs, but I would bet the Snad
ers have something to do with it.”
“Do we know why Dell would have come back to Earth?” Jake asked.
“No,” Fox said. “Last I knew General Jaxxen and Dell were on Vetrix.”
“Can we teleport to Vetrix and find out?” Alya asked.
“I think we were fortunate to make it back here.” Nicole looked at Dyson. “I’m sure the Snaders are working on blocking all teleporting around the Earth. Unless we find a way to know where they have it blocked and where they don’t, we better not try.”
“I concur,” Dyson said. “The assassinations show that they have a complex plan in place. I don’t know what they are doing, but I guarantee a piece of the plan will be to stop the Gudes every way they can. They will block as much teleporting as possible.”
“Why would Dell tear everything up like this?” Josh asked.
“Unless he came back after taking Aunt Dee, it wasn’t Dell,” Allison said. “The house wasn’t trashed when I was here.”
“It looks like whoever did it was looking for something,” Fox said.
“What would Dell, or anyone else, be looking for?” Jake asked.
Flipper paced around the living room, flipping a pencil in his hand. “I..I don’t know.”
“Whoever it was may not have been looking for anything,” Nicole said. “It looks to me like this place was ransacked with the intention of making a mess.”
“Well, we shouldn’t take any more time discussing it,” Fox said. “We really need to get moving and find a safe place to get some sleep.”
***
Allison hadn't managed to say anything since they discovered that her house had been ransacked just like Flipper's. Her parents and her dog Anna were missing. Josh's house was in the same shape and his parents missing also.
When they couldn’t think of somewhere safe to go, Flipper suggested contacting the church. He said his parents called the church a safe place. Allison knew one of the first persons Uncle Dennis would call if he needed help would be the Associate Pastor, Owen Rodgers.
And they were in desperate need of help.
