Boy Gone

by Mark Wayne McGinnis

  “No one would believe me. I’m just a little kid.”

  “Yes, right now you are. But by the time you are an adult, you, or someone even better qualified, will need to be ready.”

  “I don’t understand. Why can’t you start moving people off Earth now if it’s going to get so dangerous there? What are you waiting for, Seve?”

  “There are certain things you still do not understand. Not yet. Your Human race will require a specific environment to survive in. A planet nearly identical to Earth would be best.”

  “Yeah … like Hope. You already told me how perfect it would be here.”

  Seve shook her head. “Well, as similar as this planet is to your own, there are some monumental differences here as well.”

  “Like what?”

  “Like, during the day, when dual Sun-like stars rise on this side of the world, the radiation produced from them is much too strong to survive in for long. Along with that, some of the indigenous life forms here would devour Humankind in short order.”

  “Like the Kammie?”

  “The Kammie would be the least of their problems, I’m afraid,” she said.

  “This planet doesn’t sound like a good place for Humans,” Scotty added.

  “Maybe not perfect, but it will have to do. Our scientists are in the process of perfecting what we refer to as Dyad-Geneses.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Later, Scotty, after the other children have been retrieved and we meet at the congregation site.”

  Scotty didn’t know what congregation meant, but suddenly, as the Romper craft began to rise off the ground, he no longer cared. “Where are we going?

  “To retrieve the other children, scattered here in the area,” Seve said.

  A spotlight then came on at the front of the vessel, illuminating the forward landscape. Silently, the craft began to move—more like glide—several feet off the ground. Again, the terrain looked somewhat Earth-like. But there again, maybe not. Squinting his eyes to better see out into the darkness, he saw what at first appeared to be regular evergreen-type trees—but no. These were actually crazy weird in shape. They didn’t grow straight up like normal trees should, like on Earth, but these grew just as tall, and then bent back downward again—in effect, making tall oblong circles. He saw a number of the trees grew out into multiple connected circles—having a kind of curly-cue pig’s tail effect.

  A hillside, not far away, had large outcroppings of dull gray rock. At least rocks were the same here. He thought of home. He thought of Massachusetts.

  “Seve?”

  “Yes, Scotty?”

  “How did I get into these retarded-looking clothes?”

  “Onboard the ship. When it first arrived here, in Hope’s upper orbit, you were extracted from your pod. You awoke, although you do not remember it. You were then dressed in those clothes and immunized for this particular environment.” Seve, noting a confused expression on his face, added, “You were given medicine so you wouldn’t get sick while here on Hope.”

  “And then you just sent me down to the surface by myself … even with all the dangerous animals lurking around?”

  “That’s basically correct. Time is short and we are forced to hurry. In fact, the ship has already moved on. Left for another endangered planetary system. Understand, there are just too few of us Vallic to stay around here. As I mentioned before, it will be survival of the fittest from here on in. Now hold your questions until later.”

  The Romper had picked up a bit of speed, forcing Scotty to reach his hand out to steady himself. Several times he thought he saw something strange— caught in the spotlight—little more than a fast-moving blur. A creature he had nothing in his memory bank to compare with, other than it was alive, dark, and moving fast. Bigger than a bear, even a gorilla, but smaller in size than an elephant. He glanced back at Seve’s projected image but found it gone—Seve was gone.

  The Romper, beginning to slow, descended, setting down onto the ground. The craft wobbled at first then steadied. Glancing around, the landscape looked similar to what he’d first seen when he awoke not so long back. When the Romper’s side door slid open, Scotty didn’t move. In fact, he searched for a way to shut the door since there were big man-eaters running about outside.

  Encircling the top of the Romper, additional lights pulsed on illuminating a circle thirty to forty feet into the trees and into the low-lying scrub brush. The tree’s long black shadows cast away from the Romper like reaching limbs. Scotty peered out, trying to see something, anything, out of the ordinary—something that might resemble another kid. Then he saw it: Two legs extending out from a cropping of trees. Scotty closed his eyes, took in a long breath, then slowly let it back out. It didn’t help any that he was still scared; too scared to go out there. Moving over to the open doorway, he stood at the threshold and shouted, “Hello? Can you hear me?” and waited.

  A full minute passed before he tried again, “Hey … you need to wake up and get yourself over here, come inside where it’s safe.”

  The extended-out legs didn’t move. Whoever it was didn’t stir. Scotty recalled something Seve had told him: Let there be no mistake about what you have been chosen to do, and that is to win. Prevail over all others. And, most important, survive.

  Crap!

  Scotty stepped down from the Romper’s open doorway. Glancing left then right, he took one slow step after another. Hearing something behind him, he spun around in time to see the Romper’s door slide shut.

  Chapter 31

  Scotty hoped that none of the forest animals, the man-eaters, would come near. That the Romper’s high-powered lights would keep them at bay, at least as long as it would take him to get back inside the craft. First, though, he needed to awaken the kid, still sleeping soundly in the trees up ahead. It’ll be nice to have company, he thought.

  At ten feet away, Scotty held up and yelled out, “Hey kid … you need to wake up. We have to leave here pronto.”

  But still no movement came from the legs’ unseen owner, as they extended out into the light. The rest of the body, hidden from view, was behind two closely joined together tree trunks. Scotty tentatively approached—stealing quick glances left, right, and back over his shoulder—sensing some predator’s eyes were watching his every move.

  Reaching the extended-out pair of legs, Scotty found that they indeed were a small kid’s legs. He or she was wearing the same retarded-looking overalls as himself. He remembered now that their color was called khaki. Grandparents wore khaki. He stepped closer, spotting a darkening stain at the waistband. Something rust-colored had seeped through and into the fabric. Then it hit him. His nostrils flared at the rising acrid smell—like pennies—like copper. Unconsciously, Scotty grimaced, and took another half step to the left. Now able to peer around the closest tree trunk, he inwardly prayed that what he was seeing wasn’t Tori. He liked Tori. He continued to stare down at what he now knew was a dead kid. A corpse. But there was no way to determine just who it was since the body’s torso wasn’t even there. Something had eaten it! Appearing black in the tree’s dark shadow, glistening entrails lay on the ground—like oversized pasta noodles snaking off into the darkness.

  As both hands flew up to his mouth, Scotty wanted to scream. Wanted to cry out for help, but Seve’s words came back to him: Prevail over all others. And, most important, survive!

  Scotty forced himself to keep quiet, taking one shaky step backwards then another. His too rapid in-and-out breaths—almost like panting—made him feel light-headed. Like he’d just run a mile. He continued to stare down at what was left of the unknown kid.

  Hesitating, Scotty shot a quick glance off to his right—Did a shadow just move over there in the trees? Or was it only his imagination, working overtime? Taking a few steps back—not daring to take his eyes off the dead kid’s appendages—Scotty swallowed hard with some difficulty. His constricted throat was dry. He mentally had to use every bit of willpower to slow his breathing rate down. He
told himself he was going to be fine; that he was going to get back into the Romper and leave this place.

  In the process of taking the next step backward, he bumped up against something—something unmistakably alive. Startled, he screamed to high-heaven, spinning around to face whatever kind of man-eating monster had snuck up behind him. Scotty’s nine-year-old clenched, white-knuckled fists came up, ready to defend himself.

  “For God’s sakes, Scotty! What are you doing? You scared the crap out of me,” Tori exclaimed, looking both frightened and annoyed at the same time.

  Scotty, relieved, was forced to bend over, his hands on his knees, to catch his breath. Without looking in that direction, he lifted an arm and pointed to the unmoving legs. “I don’t know who it is … dead. Seriously, you don’t want to look.”

  He heard her walk over to the tree line. A moment later he heard her retching and throwing up. Only then did he sneak a glance in her direction. She too was bent over, her hands on her knees. They exchanged a long look.

  “It’s Pamela,” she said.

  “How can you tell?”

  Tori pointed in the direction of the second tree. “Big clump of hair back there. The strands are died purple.”

  “Okay, we need to get out of here … we’re in danger,” he said, straightening up while scanning their surroundings.

  Tori looked deeper into the woods. Scotty watched as a fearful wariness settled into her eyes. Giving him two quick nods, she said, “Yeah, you’re right.” And hurried back his way. He saw tears on her cheeks. Her stare leveled onto the craft. “What is that thing?”

  “It’s called a Romper.”

  Approaching the craft, she gave him back a quick scowl. One that asked—and how would you know that?

  “It’s how I got here. And Seve was inside, though she wasn’t … um … really there.”

  After another scowl, Tori approached the side of the nearly transparent Romper craft. As the door, almost dutifully, slid open, Tori looked back at Scotty.

  “It’s safe … hop in, we need to go.” As Scotty followed her inside, the overhead lights immediately switched off. The outer landscape suddenly fell into darkness, with only the forward spotlight staying on. Scotty looked at Tori in the dim light—watched her as she glanced about the compartment and then back at him. She’s probably eleven or twelve, he figured. She was small—small body, a small nose and mouth. But her eyes were large, super-expressive. She spoke with those eyes without even uttering a word.

  “What now?” she asked, taking in the complicated illuminated dashboard.

  “We’ll probably be sent where another kid was dropped off by the aliens.”

  “Seve told you that?”

  Scotty nodded. “She said that we’re going to be pretty much on our own down here. The spaceship, the one we arrived on, has already gone to help others.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah. She said there are thousands of Humans here.”

  “Where is here?”

  “We’re on a world called Hope, a long distance away from Earth. Everything will be explained more when we next meet up. I can’t remember what she called the place. She did say that half the people here would not survive.”

  “Half?” Tori asked, and Scotty nodded back.

  “Why is she telling you all this stuff and not me?”

  Scotty shrugged. “Probably just likes me more than you.”

  Tori gave him a ha ha expression, then, crossing her arms over her chest, said, “I can’t believe Pamela is really dead. I’ve never seen a dead person before … like for reals, not like on TV.”

  “I didn’t know her. But she seemed nice enough,” he said.

  Now it was Tori’s turn to shrug. “I only knew her for a few hours. To be honest, she was kind of weird. Like she had, um, issues. That’s what my mom would say. She had issues.”

  They looked at each other with sadness. Tori’s mention of her mother brought his current, desperate situation back into the forefront of his thoughts.

  “Sometimes I wonder if I’m dreaming. If all this is really happening to me,” Tori said.

  Changing the subject, he said, “Seve said some of us will go back to Earth; some of us children … someday.”

  “Oh, and I suppose that will be you?” Tori asked, her eyes challenging.

  “I didn’t say that. Only that whoever this person might be … he or she needs to survive; not give up. That type of thing.”

  “Well, I’m not planning on giving up. Maybe I’ll be one of the ones returning to Earth.”

  The Romper now was decelerating. The surroundings outside were no longer thickly wooded forests. On the distant horizon, silhouetted against the glow of an approaching dawn, were gently rolling hills. They look far less foreboding, Scotty thought. The Romper, touching down, wobbled like it previously had.

  “So now what?” Tori asked.

  When the side door slid open, Scotty said, “I think this Romper’s like a bus. “We should look for another kid.” Tori’s eyes widened.

  Scotty stepped outside just as the overhead lights turned on, illuminating the surrounding landscape. And there, standing several paces in front of him, was Ernesto, who stared back at Scotty with surprise.

  “Some pervert dressed me in this onesie,” he said.

  Tori, standing in the open doorway, said, “Pamela is dead.”

  Ernesto’s expression instantly changed. In that one moment his tough, street-kid demeanor evaporated and he once again was a vulnerable youngster. Scared and unsure about what was happening, like Tori and Scotty.

  “We have to go,” Scotty said. “There are man-eaters out there.” He gestured with his chin, toward whatever existed out there beyond the Romper.

  Chapter 32

  The auto-piloted Romper made three more stops along the way. Three more kids, ranging in age, were coaxed to hurry onto the transport craft. From what Scotty gleaned, from each of the two girls—Courtney and Tiffany—and from the boy, Trent, was that they all met the female alien, Seve, on the spaceship. Also, that they were abducted exclusively within the United States.

  Curious about something, Scotty moved through the huddle of kids to get closer to Tori, now talking to the newest boy, Trent, whom he’d overheard was also nine. Chatting together, sitting cross-legged on the floor, she looked up as Scotty approached. Kneeling down right in front of her, she raised her brows at him questioningly. Scotty held up two fingers and gently poked the upper right side of her chest.

  “Hey … knock it off, perv!” she said.

  Scotty readjusted his aim, about to poke her again, when she slapped his fingers away. Holding up a balled fist, she looked angry; more than ready to throw a punch.

  “Was there anything in that pocket, Tori?” he asked, ignoring the fist now threatening his face.

  “What are you talking about?” Tori asked with a sneer.

  “The Romper craft we’re in now, I had it in my pocket. When I woke up it was right here.” Scotty patted his pocket.

  Tori’s eyes shifted toward his chest pocket then back to his face. “This craft … in your pocket? Bullshit!”

  Scotty turned his attention to Trent, also poking his chest pocket. Nothing was in there either.

  “Hey! You need to stop poking people like that!” Trent exclaimed, but with far less fury than Tori exhibited.

  “Honest! I’m telling you both that when I woke up there was this little bulge in my chest pocket. About the size of a matchbox car, I took it out, discovered a little button on the bottom and I pushed it.”

  Standing above them, Ernesto said, “You’re smoking the ganja, kid.”

  “No … really! The little device began growing, expanding right in my hand. It got too heavy to hold on to so I dropped it on the ground. It stopped growing when it was about the size of a bath mat. Then a yellow circle rose up.” Scotty looked up at Ernesto then over to Tori. “Do you remember another yellow circle?”

  Tori nodded but looked uncommitted,
while Ernesto just shrugged. Trent said, “Yeah, I remember the yellow circle, back on the ship.” Ernesto rolled his eyes.

  “Well, I stepped up onto it, the circle, I mean. And, like right away, things began to happen. This Romper craft began to take shape all around me.”

  “Why did you get a Romper, and not us?” came a voice above him. It was Tiffany, her dark-red hair pulled back into a ponytail. Her freckled face made her appear younger, Scotty suspected, than she actually was.

  “Are you saying you’re special … more important than the rest of us?” Tiffany asked.

  “No, I’m not saying that at all. I have no idea why I was given the Romper device and you weren’t.”

  “Seems like you are saying that,” Courtney said, standing next to Tiffany. Both girls glared down at him.

  “Hey, if my boy says he had a Romper in his pocket, he had a Romper in his pocket,” Ernesto said, coming to his defense.

  “The point I’m trying to make is this: It seems the aliens … those Vallic … are taking some pretty big risks.” He looked at Tori. “You and I know what happened to Pamela. What if it had been her, holding the Romper device in her chest pocket?”

  “Who’s Pamela?” Courtney asked.

  “A chick who no longer has a chest pocket,” Ernesto said flatly.

  “So, what’s your point, Scotty?” Tori asked.

  “I don’t know if I have a point. It just seems like … it’s all so unorganized. The kidnapping. Our abductions. What they want from us … ” Scotty said.

  “They want something from us?” Courtney asked.

  “You didn’t know? We’re here to save the world, Missy,” Ernesto said.

  “My name is Courtney, not Missy, and that’s ridiculous. As far as I can tell, none of us are that special. I know I can’t do anything special,” she said, with a self-conscious laugh. “I can’t even ride a bike.”