“I do.” I bent over and untied my shoes. “Your feet will still get wet, so I suggest taking off your shoes.”
“These boots are waterproof.” Jace winked. “They’re specially made and everything.”
“They look like normal combat boots,” Thistle argued.
“Well, they’re not.” Jace wasn’t nearly as enamored with Thistle as he was with me. “We’ll be fine. Treks like this are exactly why we bought these boots.”
“Knock yourself out.” I helped Aunt Tillie remove her boots after finishing with my sneakers. “I have a towel.” I held it up for emphasis. “The water is cold, but it doesn’t take long. We’ll dry our feet on the other side.”
“Is that what you did yesterday?” Clove asked.
“Yeah. It’s a well-honed system now.”
“We should’ve just bought waterproof boots,” Thistle groused.
“Well, it’s too late for that.”
I took the lead, which didn’t sit well with Aunt Tillie, but given her age, Thistle and I silently came to a meeting of the minds in which we forced her to walk between us. It took only three minutes to pick our way through the shallow spots, and once on the other side, Jace was appropriately impressed.
“How did you guys figure that out?”
“We’ve been forced to visit this place on occasion for other stories,” I replied, drying Aunt Tillie’s feet first. I dosed them with a bit of warming magic when the guys weren’t looking, and she seemed none the worse for wear when pulling on her boots.
Once Thistle, Clove and I were settled, I pointed toward the trees. “We have to walk through there a bit. I didn’t see an agent when I was here yesterday, but that doesn’t mean they haven’t branched out. Keep a close watch. Whatever you do, don’t walk completely out of the trees when we get to the field. They’ll be able to see you if you do.”
Jace mock saluted. “No problem. You’ve already proven your worth to this team. We’ll totally listen to whatever you have to say.”
“Great,” I said dryly, shaking my head as Thistle moved to my side.
“Someone has a crush on you,” she sang under her breath.
“He does not. He’s like ... fifteen.”
“I asked when they were packing to leave at the Dragonfly,” Thistle countered. “They’re all nineteen. Ryan made sure to tell me they were adults ... and mature ones at that.”
“Nineteen?” I felt sick to my stomach. “They’re children.”
“They’re children with equipment we need.” Thistle sobered. “Plus, if the Feds catch wind we’re out here we can always sacrifice the kids during our escape.”
That sounded mean ... and kind of brilliant. “I don’t know if I’m comfortable with that,” I hedged.
“Fine. Go to jail. I’ll abandon you, too.”
I scowled. “You’re a true joy. Has anyone ever told you that?”
“I tell myself that every day. I don’t care what you say. I’m not going to jail, and if we have to sacrifice these idiots to save ourselves I’m fine with it.”
“At least you’re finally embracing the lessons I taught you when you were younger,” Aunt Tillie announced, pushing through Thistle and me to take the lead. “Better late than never, huh?”
Thistle didn’t take the comment as a compliment. “I’ll abandon you, too, old lady.”
“You won’t get the chance because I’ll be sacrificing you,” Aunt Tillie shot back. “Now ... keep up. I’m dying to see what they’re doing out here. I bet it’s diabolical. In fact, I bet they’ve already taken some of the aliens into custody and they’re looking for the ones that got away.”
“I thought it was like Invasion of the Body Snatchers,” I challenged. “That means the aliens are like worms ... or goo ... and manage to hop into people to take them over. How is it possible the government took goo into custody?”
“I don’t know.” Aunt Tillie’s irritation was on full display. “Do I look like I’m up on the latest government containment facilities? I just know they did it.”
“Fine.” I held up my hands. I was starting to feel foolish regarding the whole alien thing. I wanted to go back to my drone hunch, but we were already out here, so it seemed unwise to voice that opinion. “Let’s see if we can find some aliens, shall we?”
“The odds of us actually finding aliens is three-thousand-to-one,” Morgan interjected imperiously. “Either the federal government has already destroyed them or they’re long gone. We might find tracks, though.”
“And what good will tracks do us?” Thistle challenged.
“It will prove we’re not alone.”
“Uh-huh.” Thistle flicked her eyes to me. “We should have brought Reese’s Pieces with us. We could have left a trail that leads back to Hollow Creek and camped there until they found us.”
“Next time.” I grinned because I knew it would irritate her. “Now, cut the chatter. We’re getting close to the tree line.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Jace winked. “I’ll stick close to you to make sure you’re protected. I mean ... if you want.”
Crappity crap crap. “Maybe later.”
“I’ll stick close anyway.”
“Great.”
EVERYONE WAS SILENT WHEN we hit the edge of the trees. Jace, Morgan and Ryan immediately started hunting through their packs to retrieve items — most of which I didn’t recognize — while Thistle, Clove, Aunt Tillie and I crouched behind some heavy foliage and stared at the field.
“It doesn’t look too busy,” Clove said finally, her voice low. “Maybe they’ve found everything they’re looking for and are packing up.”
“Maybe.” I squinted so I could see the vehicles parked on the far side of the field. “There’re only three trucks over there. There were at least twenty vehicles parked there yesterday, and a good ten or so last night.”
“So maybe Clove is right,” Thistle suggested. “Maybe they’re finished. Maybe they found what they were looking for.”
“Or simply gave up.” I tilted my head to the side, considering. “The thing is, the way they were searching the grid makes me think they were looking for something small.”
“You mean it wasn’t an alien.” Thistle’s grin was quick. “Maybe it was something on the ship itself.”
“Drone,” I automatically corrected. “I’m back to thinking it was a drone.”
“Then you’re stupid.” Aunt Tillie cuffed the back of my head, causing me to shrink away from her. “It was a ship. It wasn’t a drone.”
“You don’t know that,” I grumbled, rubbing my head. “No one saw what crashed.”
“That’s because it was an alien ship with a cloaking device,” Aunt Tillie explained. “It was invisible. The cloaking device remained intact upon impact, and that’s why we only saw smoke.”
“A cloaking device? Like on Star Trek?”
“Better than that.” Aunt Tillie made a face. “I mean ... you saw that movie with the whales, right? They landed right in the middle of the park and there was a huge depression in the ground. How did someone not walk into that thing and alert the authorities there was a huge invisible ship in the park?”
“They had their sensors trained on the area and knew when people approached.” I had no idea why I was arguing the point ... other than my Star Trek love manifested in such a way I had no choice but to stand up for one of the better movies. “It’s totally possible.”
“And people say I’m nutty,” Aunt Tillie grumbled. “The simple fact of the matter is my theory makes the most sense.”
“I think Bay’s theory makes more sense,” Thistle challenged. “The reason the FBI knew to converge on the area so quickly is because the drone belonged to them. They were ready because they knew exactly where it went down.”
“No.”
Clove wasn’t in the mood to engage in an argument. “Can we just let it go? What does it matter?”
I ignored the question. “Maybe it wasn’t an aircraft crash,” I suggested. “Maybe it w
as a tactical vehicle or something and suffered mechanical failure.”
“No. It was definitely a crash.” Aunt Tillie was having none of it. “Don’t be a dunce. I’m right and you know it.”
“Just saying you’re right doesn’t make you right.”
Aunt Tillie snorted. “Of course it does. Are you new? You learned this particular lesson when you were three. I’m always right.”
“Yeah, yeah.” I shook my head and stared to the east, my eyes lighting when I caught a flash of color that didn’t belong in the environment. “Isn’t that Hank’s house over there?”
Aunt Tillie nodded without turning to see what I was pointing at. “Yeah. He lives really close to the site. I don’t think that’s a coincidence.”
“Because the aliens were coming to visit him?” Thistle asked sarcastically.
“Go ahead and laugh. Hank has been visited multiple times. The aliens want to share knowledge with him.”
That made absolutely no sense. “What knowledge? The guy lives in the woods by himself. He doesn’t have indoor plumbing, which means he craps in the woods. What could the aliens possibly learn from him?”
“How to survive.”
“Whatever.” I slapped at my arm when I felt something bite into my flesh. Bug season was gearing up, and one of my greatest fears was getting Lyme disease. It was too early in the season for that. “Maybe we should pay Hank a visit to see if he knows something. He’s been out here from the beginning.”
“That’s not a bad idea.” Thistle watched our idiot alien hunters use a tape measure to gauge the length of something they found on the ground. “What are you guys doing?”
“Trying to ascertain if this is an alien footprint,” Jace answered. “We’re seventy-five percent sure it is.”
I moved to where they stood and frowned at what they considered a print. “That’s a hole in the ground.”
“It’s a footprint.”
“I think it used to be some sort of nest.”
“It’s a footprint.”
I pictured myself banging my head against a brick wall and abandoned the argument. “We’re heading over there. A guy we know lives in that house. If you want to come, you can. If not, we’ll swing by on our way back.”
Jace straightened his neck, his attention shifting quickly. “Someone lives out here?”
“Yeah. He’s a local … guy.” I was about to say “kook” but thought better of it. Jace and his friends were kooks. “He lives right over there. We figure it can’t hurt to visit him.”
“Definitely. I’ll go with you.”
“To protect me?”
“To protect the world.”
“Right.” I was starting to feel old ... and ridiculous. “Well, come on. I doubt Hank will be happy to see us, but it can’t hurt to see what he’s up to.”
HANK WAS DEFINITELY not happy to see us.
“Get off my property or I’ll start shooting!”
I couldn’t see him, but the way his voice carried told me he was in the barn. Jace, Morgan and Ryan immediately dropped to the ground and covered their heads, whispering what sounded like a prayer amongst themselves. The rest of us remained standing. This was hardly the first warning we’d gotten in the woods.
“It’s me, Hank,” Aunt Tillie called out, unperturbed. “We were checking out the crash site and then realized we were close to your place, so we came over to have a quick chat. You don’t have to worry about us trying to take over your property.”
Hank poked his head out of the barn. The door was nearly closed. I couldn’t see the gun he threatened to shoot us with, but I had no doubt he was armed. From what I could tell the guy was always carrying.
“Tillie?”
Aunt Tillie nodded. “Yeah, it’s us.”
Hank stepped through the opening, a rifle clutched in his hands. He didn’t point it at us, but he didn’t point it downward either. I had a feeling this wasn’t exactly going to be a warm welcome. “You’re supposed to whistle before you visit.”
I stilled. Whistle?
“I forgot my whistle,” Aunt Tillie responded, blasé. “I wasn’t planning on stopping by. I didn’t realize how close your place was to where we were headed. I wanted to touch base.”
Hank didn’t move from his spot in front of the barn. It almost seemed like he was trying to cut us off should we try to enter the structure. “You still should’ve whistled.”
“I will. Next time.”
Something occurred to me. “Is he the reason you always carry a whistle when you’re going hunting?”
“No. I carry the whistle because I like to scare people with loud noises. I have a special whistle for Hank. It sounds like a pretty flute.”
“Awesome.” Thistle made an exaggerated face. “Can you ask your buddy about what he’s witnessed out here? This place gives me the creeps.”
She wasn’t the only one. The house was so ramshackle it reminded me of something straight out of a horror movie. It looked like something a down-on-their-luck family would move into because they had nowhere else to go. That was before the murderous ghosts arrived, of course, and things turned bloody.
“Calm down,” Aunt Tillie ordered. “I’ve got everything under control. Hank is a good guy. There’s no need to be worried.”
“Then ask him,” Thistle pressed.
Aunt Tillie raised her hands and took a deliberate step forward. “We come in peace.”
Thistle flicked her eyes to me. “Is she kidding?”
I shrugged, unsure.
“I know you come in peace, Tillie.” Hank’s agitation was evident. “Now isn’t a good time. I’ve got a lot to do. It’s spring, and you know what that means.”
“What does that mean?” Clove asked.
“The power grid is more likely to go in warm weather,” Aunt Tillie explained. “That way ‘The Man’ can blame it on a storm. Hank has to be ready, because if the power grid goes, the end of the world will officially be upon us.”
Oh, good grief. I could only take so much. “Hank, we don’t want to take up much of your time,” I interjected. “We just want to know if you’ve seen anything in Potter’s Field. We know the Feds have been searching for three days. They’ve been doing it at night, too. They’re close. You must have been watching their progress.”
“They’re lying,” Hank said. “They said nothing crashed, but I know that’s not true. They tried to get me to leave my house, but I refused.”
“Did they say why they wanted you to leave?” I asked.
“Just that it was national security. I have no intention of leaving. This is my home. They’ll have to kill me to get me off this land.”
“I’m sure they don’t want that.”
“Oh, really?” Hank turned sarcastic. “Have you heard of Ruby Ridge? What about Waco?”
The last thing we needed was to go off on a tangent. “They won’t come after you. I’m sure of it.” My curiosity hopped when a noise emanated from the barn, a high-pitched warning that almost sounded like a growl. It was loud enough that Hank jerked his head to stare inside. “Do you have animals out here?”
“What?” Hank forced himself to focus on me. “No. I don’t have animals. Animals won’t survive the apocalypse.”
“Okay, well ... what’s in the barn?”
“Nothing.” Hank straightened. “Why do you think something is in the barn?”
Was he kidding? “I heard something in there.”
“You’re imagining things.”
I turned to Aunt Tillie for help. “You heard it, right?”
Aunt Tillie’s expression was thoughtful. Finally, she shook her head. “I didn’t hear anything.”
“But ... .”
She cut me off with a firm headshake.” I didn’t hear anything, Bay.” Her tone warned there would be retribution if I pushed further. “We should be going. Gather those three crybabies still covering their heads on the ground and let’s get out of here. I’m sorry about visiting without whistling first,
Hank. It won’t happen again.”
“Make sure it doesn’t.” Hank was gruff as he stood in front of the barn doors. It was too dark to see inside, yet I was positive there was something else living in the ancient building. “If you come back, Tillie, come alone. The others aren’t welcome.”
“Not welcome by you?” I asked.
Hank scowled. “Not welcome by anyone. Now ... get out of here. I have things to do, and you’re messing with my schedule.”
“We’re leaving,” Thistle promised, her eyes troubled. “Be careful, Hank. The Feds are still out there.”
“You might want to try following your own advice.”
“Oh, we will. Don’t worry about that.”
Alien Inspiration
Aliens would take one look at Aunt Tillie and run the other way. Even aliens aren’t enough to stop her.
Clove on Aunt Tillie’s power
Thirteen
Protecting the Earth from the scum of the pewter unicorn store.
“He had something in the barn.”
I waited until after we ditched Jace, Ryan and Morgan at Hollow Creek and we were on our way back to Hemlock Cove to state the obvious.
“What do you think he had in there?” Thistle asked from the back seat. Aunt Tillie called “shotgun” when we were still in the water, and the groaning about having to sit in the back was nonstop after that. Aunt Tillie was smug about the development as she set the controls so the heat blasted out of the vent at her feet, causing the rest of us to sweat.
“I have no idea what he has in there, but it’s obviously something he doesn’t want us to see,” I replied, cracking my window to let some of the heat escape. Aunt Tillie was trying to sweat us out. “Something made that noise.”
“Maybe it was an animal,” Clove suggested. She didn’t seem to be bothered by the heat. Instead of fanning herself, her eyes were closed and she looked as if she was about to sink into a nap. “Maybe he found Bigfoot.”
“It’s not Bigfoot.” Thistle wrinkled her nose. “Good grief. I’m sick of hearing about you and Bigfoot. You need to let that go.”
Close Encounters of the Witchy Kind (A Wicked Witches of the Midwest Fantasy Book 6) Page 12
