by Lucas Flint
“Yeah,” I said, nodding. “I take it you’ve heard of him?”
“Of course,” said Nightbolt. “More than a handful of my own students have tangled with him in the past. Not to mention he was hired to kill me once.”
“He was? How did you survive?”
“Limbs can break in all sorts of interesting ways if you know how to do it,” said Nightbolt casually. “A fact that ZZZ found out the hard way when he tried to kill me, to put it lightly.”
“But I thought I was the first target he failed to kill.”
Nightbolt chuckled. “ZZZ losing to me was a big embarrassment to him. I imagine he probably kept quiet about his failure to kill me in order to protect his own reputation and business.”
Despite what Nightbolt said, I wondered how he could possibly have beaten ZZZ without any powers. Rubberman and I had a hard time beating him, and we even had help from Myster and Cyberkid. Yet Nightbolt had apparently defeated him all on his own, even breaking some of his limbs. That filled me with newfound respect for Nightbolt, although it also caused a question to pop into my head.
“Who would want to kill you?” I asked. “Some old enemies from your past?”
Nightbolt opened his mouth to answer, but before he could, there was a loud, sharp knock at his front door. We both looked over at the front door, but due to the fact that it didn’t have a window, we couldn’t see who was knocking. Whoever it was, they must have been in a hurry, because they knocked incessantly.
“Coming,” said Nightbolt in a raised voice, rising from his chair and making his way around the kitchen table to the front door. “Hold your horses, I’m coming.”
Remembering that my identity was supposed to be a secret, I put my helmet back on my head and tightened the straps just as Nightbolt opened the front door and said, “Hello?”
I leaned back in my chair in an effort to see who was standing at the door. It was a very pretty young Hispanic woman, probably not much older than myself, with long black hair and bright eyes which were very distracting. She didn’t look at me, though. Her eyes were on Nightbolt, an expression of relief crossing her features when she saw him.
“Mr. Owens,” said the woman in a thick Mexican accent. “I am so glad that you are here. I thought you must be here because your truck was parked outside, but I also worried that you might be sleeping or perhaps had gone for a walk or something like that.”
The young woman was rambling, but I have to admit it was kind of cute when she did it. Not as cute as Greta, but I thought she probably had no trouble getting the attention of the guys around here.
“Naw, I was just having lunch with a visitor,” said Nightbolt. His expression turned serious. “What happened? You seem to be in a hurry.”
“Yes, I’m sorry,” said the Mexican woman, rubbing her hands together anxiously. “It happened at my father’s ranch. The cows—”
She broke off, a distressed look on her face, and sobbed for a moment, while Nightbolt said in an urgent voice, “What happened to your father’s cows? Teresa, can you hear me?”
The Mexican woman—Teresa—stopped sobbing and looked at Nightbolt. “They’re gone.”
“Gone?” Nightbolt repeated. “What do you mean?”
“They were stolen,” said Teresa. “Stolen again by the demons in the sky … by the aliens which have been tormenting my family for so long. And we need your help.”
CHAPTER THREE
Nightbolt didn’t even ask her for clarification about what she meant by ‘aliens.’ He just told her to go on ahead and tell her dad that we’d be at the ranch as soon as possible. Although Teresa looked very emotionally distressed, she managed to get to her blue truck (which looked a lot nicer than Nightbolt’s) and head back to the ranch, while Nightbolt and I got into his truck and followed her, leaving our beans on the kitchen table. I was still hungry, but I forgot all about my hunger as we followed Teresa’s truck down the road to her father’s ranch.
As we bumped along the road, I looked at Nightbolt and asked, “What did Teresa mean by aliens? And what did she mean that they had been tormenting her family for so long? She’s not talking about illegal aliens, is she?”
Nightbolt snorted. “Of course not. Better term is ‘extraterrestrials,’ though I think she has a hard time with that word because English is her second language, so she and her family just use the word ‘aliens.’”
I probably shouldn’t have been surprised, given all of the weird stuff I’d seen in this business already, but I still said, “But aliens aren’t real, are they? They just exist in science fiction TV shows and movies.”
“Oh, aliens are real, all right, and they’re stealing cows,” said Nightbolt. “They’ve been a problem in this part of Texas for a while. You just haven’t heard about them.”
“How come I haven’t heard about them?” I said. “Space aliens abducting cattle sure seems like the kind of thing that the media would be all over.”
“Because we’re trying to keep it hush hush,” said Nightbolt. “The government doesn’t want the rest of the country—or the rest of the world, for that matter—knowing about these alien abductions that keep happening here in West Texas. And for once, I agree with the government that this is not the kind of information you want spreading far and wide. It would scare too many people.”
“Is that why you have a letter from the White House?” I said. “Was it about these aliens?”
Nightbolt nodded, albeit grudgingly. “Yes. You weren’t supposed to know about that, but I guess it’s too late now. Just keep it to yourself when you go back to Golden City. Otherwise, you could get in big trouble with the feds, and the feds are the one group in the country you definitely don’t want to piss off.”
A part of me thought that Nightbolt had to be pulling my leg, but he spoke very seriously through his whole explanation. “But what are these aliens like? Where did they come from? What are they trying to accomplish?”
“If we knew the answers to those questions, boy, we wouldn’t be driving to Teresa’s father’s ranch to investigate the disappearance of some of their cattle, now would we?” said Nightbolt. “All we know is that the aliens first appeared out here ten years ago. We thought there was just a cattle thief around here, at least until we saw the alien spaceship ourselves.”
“Wait, you mean you’ve seen an alien spaceship before? In person?”
Nightbolt nodded. “Yep, although it wasn’t very close. Still, even my old eyes knew that that was no weather balloon or experimental government aircraft. It appeared one night near my house over a year after the first cattle disappearances. It didn’t stick around for long, but it hovered long enough for me to see it with my own eyes. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to see its crew, but that’s fine by me, because I got sick just looking at the damned thing.”
“Do you have a picture of it?” I said. “Not that I think you’re lying or anything, but I’d like to see it for myself, if possible.”
“I did get one picture, but I’ll show it to you later,” said Nightbolt. “If you’re lucky, perhaps you’ll get a chance to see the spaceship today.”
I didn’t know what to say to that, so I looked out the windshield at Teresa’s truck in front of us and said, “Who is the girl? Teresa, I think you said her name was?”
“Teresa Gonzales, daughter of Jose Gonzales, who owns and runs Dusty Ranch,” said Nightbolt. “I’ve known them for a while, since Teresa was a little girl. They’re a good family, hard-working and honest.”
“Is that why we’re going to her ranch?” I said. “This seems kind of like something a working superhero would do.”
“I may be retired, but that doesn’t mean I’ve stopped helping people,” said Nightbolt. “On the contrary, when you’ve been in the superhero business for a while, you don’t just lose the desire to help people when you retire. I don’t run around in my old costume punching out crooks and criminals anymore, but I’m willing to help out friends and neighbors when they need it.”
“Are you w
orking with the government to deal with the aliens?” I asked.
Nightbolt waved his hand in a vague way. “Kind of. They don’t pay me to deal with the aliens, but they do consult me pretty regularly, partly because I live here, partly because I’ve had experiences with extraterrestrials before.”
“You have? When?”
“A while back,” said Nightbolt. “But that’s a story for another time. For now, we need to focus on getting to the ranch. With any luck, we’ll find some evidence that might be able to help us understand the aliens better. I also want to get there before the government does.”
“Why?” I said. “If you’re working with the government, why does it matter if you get there before them or not?”
“Because I don’t trust the feds, that’s why,” said Nightbolt. “At least, not entirely, and certainly not in the area of extraterrestrial activity. Luckily, Teresa went to me first, so I doubt the feds will show up until later, by which time they won’t be able to mess anything up.”
“How does the government mess things up?”
“You’re kidding me, right? Well, the government agents assigned to this particular case love to confiscate the evidence before I can look at it. And when I ask to see it, they’ll say I don’t have clearance for it, which is funny because then they’ll turn around and demand that I turn over any evidence of the aliens I have just because I am sort of working with them. Someday I’d like to tell those agents that they don’t have ‘clearance’ to look at what I have, but they’d probably arrest me for obstructing a government investigation or whatever if I did that. It’s fun to think about, anyway.”
I didn’t say anything to that, mostly because I was still trying to wrap my head around the revelation that aliens existed and had been abducting cattle from a small ranch in the middle of West Texas for over a decade. Granted, after learning about the existence of black magic, nothing should have surprised me, but I just wasn’t as experienced or jaded as Rubberman or Nightbolt were. That would probably come with time, but for now I was just going to feel as lost and confused as I usually did, whether I wanted to or not.
Soon, we arrived at Dusty Ranch, a small ranch that was literally just outside Los Congrejos. There was a medium-sized ranch house near a large red barn, but we didn’t head over there; instead, we followed Teresa’s truck to the ‘field’ just beyond the barn. I put the word ‘field’ in quotes because, although it was where the ranch cows were let out and allowed to roam freely, it had very, very little grass, and what little grass it did have was small, gray, and rough. I didn’t see any cows, either, although I saw plenty of their dried droppings in the hot West Texas sun. I was grateful I’d brought along my helmet, because I was pretty sure that the stink from the cow droppings would have made me gag. Nightbolt, on the other hand, didn’t seem bothered by it, but given how he’s lived out here for so long, he’s probably gotten used to it by now.
Teresa took us out to the very center of the ‘field,’ where we found another truck parked. This truck was a solid black, although the tires and lower half were covered in dust and dirt. A Hispanic man in his early fifties, wearing dusty old coveralls and a broad hat, stood by the truck, but waved at us as soon as he saw us. I assumed he had to be Jose Gonzales, Teresa’s father, because Nightbolt waved at him without hesitation.
We stopped next to Jose’s truck and climbed out of our own. As we climbed out of our truck, I notice Teresa approach her father and tell him something in Spanish. I couldn’t hear what it was, but it must have been bad, because Jose suddenly looked very worried. His worried look was still on his face even when Nightbolt and I walked up to him.
“Howdy, Jose,” said Nightbolt, extending a hold toward him. “I heard from Teresa that you’ve had problems with the, ah, visitors from above, yes?”
Jose shook Nightbolt’s hand, though his expression didn’t change much. “Yes, it’s true. And in the middle of the day, too. We usually miss cattle during the night, but this time they did it when the sun is still high in the sky.”
“Really?” said Nightbolt, stroking his chin. “Either they’re getting bolder or they have another reason for abducting them during the day. Did either you or Teresa see the visitors?”
Jose opened his mouth, but then he noticed me and stepped back. “Who is this man? Is he with the government?”
“No,” said Nightbolt, shaking his head. “Forgive me for not introducing my friend to you. You can call him Beams. He’s the sidekick of one of my former students and he’s staying with me for the next four weeks to do some training. You can trust him.”
I expected Jose to smile and treat me nicer when Nightbolt introduced me. Not because I was famous or anything, but because most people were always excited to meet superheroes or sidekicks. Even the lowliest sidekick could be treated as a celebrity, because most people didn’t interact with superheroes or sidekicks on a regular basis. It was kind of like how people treated actors and actresses.
But instead, Jose seemed to look at me with even more suspicion than before. He muttered something in Spanish under his breath so quickly that I didn’t catch it, although I thought it sounded like a curse word based on the tone he used. Spanish class was one of my worst classes, so I wasn’t surprised I didn’t understand him, although I felt a little embarrassed just the same.
Teresa, on the other hand, looked at me with more interest than before. She didn’t approach me, but her body language relaxed, like she felt like she could relax now that I was here. Maybe Teresa liked superheroes more than her dad, although that didn’t explain why her dad distrusted me on the basis of my profession alone.
“It is … nice to meet you, Beams,” said Jose. He said my name with barely hidden disgust. “You have the look of a city boy about you.”
“Uh, yeah,” I said, trying not to wilt under his glare. “I’m from Golden City. Ever been there?”
“No,” said Jose flatly. “And I have no interest of going there, either.”
His sharp tone caught me totally off-guard, but then Nightbolt said quickly, “Well, now that we’re all introduced, why don’t you show us where the abductions happened, Jose?”
“No need,” said Jose. He gestured toward the other side of his truck. “It happened right here, on this very spot.”
Jose led us around his truck. When I saw the spot he mentioned, my eyes widened involuntarily.
A perfect circle had been burned in the ground. It was completely black, standing out harshly against the brown and tan dirt and sand of the field. It was big, probably about the size of two or three full-sized cows standing together, and it smoked slightly, though the smoke was very thin. Hoof prints in the dirt indicated where the cows had stood before their abduction, while odd symbols stood at each compass point.
I looked at Nightbolt, wondering if he could make sense of this. Based on his expression, he had seen something like this before, though he didn’t look happy about it.
“When did this happen, Jose?” asked Nightbolt, looking at Jose, who stood on the other side of the blackened circle.
“An hour ago,” said Jose. He gestured in the general direction of the house. “I was sitting on the front porch of the house when the phone rang. I went inside to answer it, but when I came back out, the cows were missing and this circle stood in their place.”
“You mean you didn’t see the aliens steal them?” Nightbolt questioned.
Jose shook his head. “No, but Teresa did. Right, Teresa?”
Teresa—who was leaning against her father’s truck, her hands clasped together tightly in worry—nodded quickly. “Yes. I came out of the barn, where I just fed the barn cat, when I saw it.”
“It?” I said.
“The alien spaceship,” said Teresa in a slightly breathless voice. She shuddered. “I have never seen such a thing before in my life. Only the pictures Father showed me, but I knew what it was as soon as I saw it.”
“Describe it,” said Nightbolt, turning his attention to her. “As m
any details as you remember, if possible.”
Teresa began playing with the loose ends of her long hair. “It was shaped like a donut. It had blinking lights along the sides, like Christmas lights, and it made no noise.”
“No noise at all?” said Nightbolt.
“It was totally silent,” said Teresa. “It was as big as a plane, but it made no sound at all. I probably would not have noticed it if not for its lights, which were quite bright.”
“And what happened after that?” said Nightbolt. “What did it do?”
Teresa rubbed her forehead like she was experiencing a bad headache. “The ship hovered over our cows. There was a bright light, like someone flipping on the lights suddenly in a room, and then the cows and the ship were … gone.”
“Gone?” I said. “Do you mean the ship flew back into outer space or something?”
“No,” said Teresa, shaking her head quickly. “One second it was there; the next, it and the cows were gone. It is like it vanished into thin air, like a ghost or something.”
Nightbolt tapped his chin again. “You’re sure you didn’t see it fly off.”
“Absolutely,” said Teresa. “I know what I saw, Mr. Owens. Those ships can disappear without moving. Somehow, they can do it.”
“Did you at least see any members of its crew?” Nightbolt questioned. “Any at all?”
Teresa shook her head again. “No. Nor do I want to. There is something evil about that ship, Mr. Owens and Mr. Beams, and it scares me.”
“It scares all of us, Teresa,” said Nightbolt. He folded his arms across his chest and looked at Jose again. “I’m sorry to hear about this, Jose. You’ve lost six cows already this way. How many do you have left?”
“Three,” Jose said in a flat voice. “All of them are in the barn. So far, the aliens have not tried to get them while they’re in the barn, but I’m going to add extra locks to the barn doors tonight and keep a close eye on them tomorrow when I let them out to graze.”
“Good idea,” said Nightbolt, though based on his tone, I wasn’t sure he thought that Jose’s security measures would do him any good. “Well, if this is all there is to it, I think Beams and I will head back to my home. We still have lunch to eat and a long day ahead of us, so—”
