by Dan Holt
Brandon drove on to the marker he’d picked as a locator from the air. He slowed as he descended the hill then made a right turn onto a dirt road leading off into the desert. Brandon stopped the car and put it in park. They surveyed the terrain. So far, it all looked the same.
“Well,” Brandon said, “this is it. You ready?” Audrina paused a second.
“Yes.” Brandon pulled the gear selector into Drive and began negotiating the winding dirt road. There were ruts in places that had been driven many times. As they wound from side to side on the desert terrain, a nervous feeling crept up Brandon’s spine. He glanced at Audrina; she was leaning forward holding the sphere in front of her and breathing with her mouth open. He looked back through the windshield and strained his eyes to see the tops of the trees a mile ahead. Something from another world was there. The car wandered off the road for a moment. Brandon corrected and returned it to the ruts. He glanced at Audrina again; she hadn’t noticed the jostling of the car. Her attention was focused ahead. She seemed oblivious of everything around her.
The Keepsake flashed. Just as it occurred the right front tire of the car blew out explosively. Audrina screamed. Brandon jerked, then braked the car to a stop and then looked at Audrina.
“You okay?” She was gasping for breath, holding her free hand on her chest.
“Uh huh.”
Brandon got out of the car, walked around the front to the passenger side and looked at the tire. It was shredded. Audrina placed the sphere on the dash and joined Brandon in front of the car. Brandon opened the trunk and got the spare, jack, and lug wrench and began the chore of jacking up the car. Audrina was standing behind him. She leaned forward and placed her hand in his shoulder.
“What?” she said.
Brandon looked around. “Huh?”
“What did you say?” Audrina repeated.
Brandon stopped and looked around again. “I didn’t say anything.”
“Oh, I thought you said something.” Brandon removed the lug nuts, switched the tires, and then tightened them again. He began lowering the car back to the road’s surface. Audrina went to the passenger door, reached in and picked up the sphere, and brought it to Brandon. He looked up at her. She handed him the Keepsake.
“Why did you bring me this?” he said. She looked confused then responded.
“Because you told me to.”
“Audrina, I didn’t tell you to bring me this,” Brandon said holding up the sphere. Suddenly Audrina became motionless. Brandon stared at her face. He shoved the Keepsake into his pocket and grabbed her by the waist watching her eyes.
“Audrina!” She collapsed. Brandon was able to stop her fall just as her knees touched the ground. He scooped her up in his arms and placed her in the passenger seat of the car. He grabbed the shredded tire, jack, and lug wrench, threw them in the trunk and closed it. He quickly got behind the wheel then checked on Audrina. She was breathing normally but was totally unresponsive. He started the car and made a U-turn in the desert then steered back onto the road and drove as fast as he could keep control of the car on the dirt road. When he came to the highway, he accelerated toward town. Upon reaching Main Street, he turned toward downtown. In a couple of blocks, he saw a police officer stopped at a convenience store. He’d come out of the store on his way to his car. Brandon hurriedly steered the car into the parking lot and over to the officer.
“My wife collapsed! Where’s the hospital!” The officer glanced at Audrina then back to Brandon.
“Follow me,” the officer said then got behind the wheel of his cruiser, turned on the lights, then entered the traffic. Brandon saw him talking into his radio. Moments later, they pulled into the hospital entrance and into the bay of the emergency room. Brandon jumped out of the car, hurried around to the passenger side and picked up Audrina. Two orderlies came out the door of the emergency room with a gurney. Brandon put Audrina on it. They hurriedly took her into the emergency room and on to an examining room. Moments later a doctor and a nurse entered the room as the orderlies exited. He quickly checked Audrina’s respiratory function, looked in her mouth, then her eyes with a pencil light. He placed his stethoscope on Audrina’s chest and listened for a moment then looked up at Brandon.
“Her pulse, breathing, and responses all seem okay. What happened?” Brandon explained the changing of the tire and her collapse for no apparent reason.
“Perhaps she got too hot,”
“No,” Brandon countered; “we were driving on a dirt road in an air conditioned car.”
“Any family history of unexplained fainting spells?”
“No.” Bandon persisted. “None.” Audrina began to stir then opened her eyes. Brandon quickly grabbed her hand and called her name. She sat up and looked at him.
“What happened?” she said.
“Are you okay?” Brandon said.
“Of course I am; why wouldn’t I be?” Audrina looked around the room. “Where are we?”
“At the hospital. You collapsed out on that road to Doctor Rainwater’s house.” When the young doctor in attendance heard Brandon’s explanation, he leaned toward his nurse. “Go get Doctor Rainwater.” The nurse hurried out the door.
Doctor Elizabeth Rainwater pushed the curtain aside and entered the examining room. The young doctor and nurse left. Brandon was talking with Audrina. He turned around to greet the doctor.
“You wanted to see me?” she said. Brandon glanced at Audrina. She nodded. Brandon nodded in agreement.
“Yes, Ms. Rainwater. Is there some place where we could talk?” Elizabeth searched Brandon and Audrina’s faces, paused a moment, then nodded.
“My office. Follow me.”
“Ms. Rainwater, this might be a little difficult to explain. A special device led us to your house…”
Elizabeth straightened up in her chair. “Did you arrive here in Roswell Wednesday just before noon?”
Brandon and Audrina looked at each other. “Yes, yes we did.”
“Oh my God!” Elizabeth said, “You have the Initiator!”
Brandon and Audrina looked at each other for a moment then Brandon reached into his pocket, pulled out the Keepsake, and held it up. “This?”
Elizabeth’s eyes widened. She reached and took the sphere and stared at it. “Where did you find it?”
Audrina turned to Brandon. “Go get the letter for Ms. Rainwater.”
Brandon stood. “Excuse me, I want to go to our car and get something that will explain what we are doing here.”
Elizabeth nodded. Brandon left the office. Elizabeth turned to Audrina.
“You fainted in the desert on the road to my house?” Audrina nodded.
“Did you hear a voice talking to you before you fainted?”
“Ah, Yes!” Audrina said. “I thought it was my husband talking to me.” Brandon stepped through the door into the office with the letter in his hand. He explained where and how he got the letter then handed it to Elizabeth. She unfolded it and read it, glanced up at Brandon and Audrina, then read it again. “We knew the Initiator was back in the area. The Locator started flashing just before noon Wednesday. It indicated that this would come close then go farther away, then close again, then out of range.”
“Locator? What’s the Locator?” Brandon said. Elizabeth paused and leaned back in her chair as if collecting herself. After a few moments she looked at Brandon and Audrina.
“I don’t know any other way to tell you this except straight out. One of the crewmembers of the spaceship that crashed in the Lincoln National Forest survived and is living at my house.”
Brandon and Audrina stared at Elizabeth for a moment. “Oh, my God!” Brandon said.
Audrina leaned forward. “Is it there, now?!”
“It’s a he, and yes, he’s there, now. His name is Orion. My father gave him that name when he found out where he’s from; the Orion star cluster.”
“I’m sorry,” Audrina said. Elizabeth smiled.
“Don’t worry about it. The first
time I saw him, when I was twelve, that’s what I said. What is it? That was fifty years ago. We, my parents and I, were camping in the Lincoln National Forest on that July 4 weekend when his ship came down and crashed. We were a quarter of a mile from where it hit. We heard the storm and the big explosion north of us. We thought it was lightening hitting the ground or a tree or something. Just before daylight, while sleeping in our tent, Orion, hiding in the trees, approached our campsite and spoke to my father; ah, to his mind. Dad woke up, raised up on one elbow, looked out the tent door, and saw Orion. He was standing there trembling. Dad said that at first he thought he was dreaming. But, Orion spoke again. He was saying, “Help me.” He was holding one arm that was limp, with the other.
“Dad woke us and told us about him and that he was going to help him. At the time, we didn’t know where he came from. I thought he was neat. It took my mother a while to calm down; but she did. We took him home with us. That day, Dad, being a doctor, was called to the base in Roswell, sworn to secrecy, and then asked to do autopsies on the bodies they found in the crashed ships. That’s when Dad fully understood where Orion came from.
“He decided to harbor Orion because of that experience at the base. He knew what might happen to Orion because of the fear everyone had of the aliens that were there. Dad said one of aliens at the base was still alive when he got there but was hurt pretty bad. He and another doctor patched it up and the military spirited it away somewhere. He never knew where and never heard anything about it again.
“Orion became a member of our family. He has spent the last fifty years learning about Earth from radio and TV.
“He’s the one that spoke to you. They can do that; mental projection of thought. It can cause disorientation or fainting as you experienced, however, you get used to it. Most of the time I speak aloud when I answer him. Would you like to meet him?” Elizabeth got to her feet. Brandon and Audrina stood.
“Yes!” Audrina said. Elizabeth picked up the phone, dialed, and then announced that she was leaving for the day. She hung it up, then handed the Keepsake to Audrina.
“He’s going to want this. He has one just like it. He said it was the wrong one. It is set for one of the other student’s safety device. Apparently, the Initiators got mixed up when they crashed their spaceship. The one you have activated the proximity function on his Locator; so, it’s the right one. He’s waited a long time for it.”
Elizabeth, driving slowly along the dirt road leading to her home, slowed her car to a stop just before reaching the point of the incident with Audrina’s collapse. Brandon and Audrina quickly got out of their car and hurried to her open door. Elizabeth looked one to the other.
“I wanted to warn you. Orion will greet you again about the top of that rise,” she said, pointing toward the grove of trees ahead. “When he speaks to you, just relax and let your mind work. Actually, it’s neat. You can talk to people farther from you without shouting.” She smiled then closed the car door again and eased the machine forward. Brandon and Audrina quickly returned to their car and followed. Moments later:
“Hello.”
Audrina sat up in the seat and took a couple of deep breaths.
Brandon looked at her: “Audr…”
Audrina held up her hand and calmed her breathing then spoke out loud: “Hello, my name is Audrina.”
“Dr. Compton C. Rainwater, my friend, gave me the name, Orion. Elizabeth said you were okay.”
“Yes,” Audrina said and visibly nodded.
“Bring me the Initiator.”
“Yes, okay.” Audrina looked at Brandon and smiled.
“That is spooky,” Brandon said and then resumed following Elizabeth.
Elizabeth entered the grove of trees surrounding the older two-story house and followed the winding road up into the yard. Brandon followed and pulled their car up beside hers. Elizabeth opened her door, got out, and stood. Movement in a window on the second floor caught Audrina’s eye. She glanced upward to see the curtains fall back together. She looked at Brandon; he had seen it too.
“Do you realize what’s about to happen?”
“Are we dreaming?” Brandon said, staring at the upstairs window.
“I’ve pinched myself three times,” Audrina said.
Brandon and Audrina, standing on either side of Elizabeth, watched the front door of the older home open slowly. Their eyes fell on a Creature about three feet tall, its shoulder even with the doorknob. His head, as wide as his shoulders with dominate eyes about three inches across, was mounted on a neck less than three inches in diameter. His arms extended down to halfway between the hip and the knee.
He was clothed in a single piece coverall-type suit, silvery in color, with a donut shaped device around his waist. His large eyes went from Brandon to Audrina then to the Keepsake. A small light on his waist-worn device was flashing in unison with the sphere. His skin was gray with a rugged appearing texture. Brandon looked for and found three fingers. The creature looked uncannily like the rendition on the hospital bed displayed at the UFO Museum in Roswell. Elizabeth nodded toward Orion then glanced from Audrina to Brandon.
“You two okay?” Brandon and Audrina paused a moment then nodded in unison. Orion projected to both Brandon and Audrina: Hello. Audrina smiled and replied. Brandon caught his breath and touched his head.
“You okay?” Audrina asked.
Brandon took another breath and exhaled. “Yeah. I didn’t know you could feel words.” Brandon looked at Orion for a moment. “Where are you from?” Orion looked up at Brandon.
“Your Dr. Rainwater gave me a name; the name of my home. On your star charts, it’s called the Orion star cluster. My planet circles the middle star of Orion’s Belt. Your name of that star is Alnilam.”
“That’s over a thousand lightyears away. How long did it take you to get…?”
“Wait, Brandon,” Audrina interrupted. She handed Orion the Keepsake and the three of them entered the living room and closed the door. It was flashing so fast it was virtually a constant pinkish glow. Orion paused a moment then turned to Elizabeth.
“Elizabeth, when I insert this Initiator into my Locator device it will transmit a location signal to my people. They will come for me. I don’t know when they will arrive; I don’t know how close they are.” Elizabeth nodded.
Orion removed the inert Initiator and inserted the Keepsake into the donut shaped device circling his waist. The device glowed a pinkish light for several seconds then went dark. Orion removed the Keepsake and returned it to Audrina then reinserted the original. Brandon pointed at the sphere in Orion’s device.
“That one doesn’t work, huh?”
Orion projected the answer: “It’s for a device that was worn by one of the other students.” Orion then turned toward Elizabeth and nodded. Elizabeth looked at Orion and smiled then turned to Brandon.
“There’s something else about that thing he’s wearing around his waist. He can use it to disappear.”
“What?” Brandon said.
“Orion can become invisible anytime. It has made it possible to hide him all these years. When someone accidently saw him, he immediately sensed it, activated that device, and just winked out. After that it was fairly easy to talk the witness out of really seeing him.” Elizabeth smiled disarmingly.
“A cloaking device?!” Brandon said. Elizabeth turned to Orion and nodded.
Orion touched a button on the front of the donut shaped appliance. His body became transparent then winked out. Audrina gasped. Brandon reached forward with his hand. It disappeared. He jerked it back then wiggled his fingers and made a fist a couple of times. No ill effects. Again, he reached into the generated field and touched an invisible shoulder. Orion was still there. Momentarily Orion reappeared then looked up a Brandon.
“I don’t believe it!” Brandon said enthusiastically, “How does it work?”
Orion put both of his hands on the device around his waist. “This device generates a quantum field in the fabric of space and
the light rays follow the projected lines around me. Our ships have the same capability.”
Brandon’s jaw dropped. “Have you been coming to Earth and checking us out.”
Orion looked up at Brandon again then cocked his head to the side. “No. We’ve just begun exploring this part of the galaxy. Your discovery of nuclear fission brought us directly to your planet.”
Elizabeth had been quiet for some time. Orion sensed her demeanor of sadness. He spoke quietly to her in her mind. She looked up then took Orion in her arms for a moment. He circled her with his long arms. Orion spoke again to all three minds:
“Thank you, Elizabeth Rainwater, for fifty years of a safe harbor and thanks to your father for taking me in and saving my life here on planet Earth. I know a lot about you. I have much to report.”
“You know what I am thinking, don’t you,” Elizabeth said.
“Yes,” Orion projected. Brandon and Audrina looked at each other with question on their faces. Elizabeth looked up at them.
“You take Orion with you until his people come for him. I’m getting older and you two are still young and fresh. He needs someone to watch out for him until the day he’s reunited with his own.” Brandon and Audrina looked at each other for a moment and nodded in unison.
“We would like that,” Audrina said.
Elizabeth stepped into her home office, returned with her business card, and handed it to Audrina. “Call me from time to time, especially the day he’s picked up.”
Audrina nodded.
Cha
pter 9
THE CODER
Azell Harriman adjusted his thick glasses, switched hands with the heavy briefcase, and then knocked on the office door of Agent Charles Stockton deep inside the Jet Propulsion Laboratories. The door opened and a tall thin woman with close-cropped hair beckoned for the aged code specialist to enter. He was escorted to the agent’s private office. He entered the spacious room and took a seat indicated by a wave of the agent’s hand. He adjusted the nod of his head to focus through his, once again, new prescription of no-line bifocals Stockton looked up, blinked several times, closed a folder, and laced his fingers together.
