Cuddy knelt down next to her, still having trouble breathing, but he could see by her expression she was okay. She swallowed hard and tried to speak. “How did you …?”
“Don’t try to talk, Momma.”
She swallowed again, this time croaking out the words, “There are others …”
“I know. Hold on …” Hurrying into the kitchen, he returned moments later with a glass of water. “Drink this.” He waited for her to take several sips. “I need to get back out there. Will you be all right?”
She nodded. “How did you do that … his hand …”
“I don’t know … not really.”
“I got one of them, too … did you see?”
“I saw, Momma. Guess they picked the wrong humans to mess with.”
Cuddy heard the same inner voice—the AI orb again communicating with him. He didn’t understand how that was possible.
I still await your orders, Cuddy Perkins.
Orders? Where are you?
I am where you left me … at the barn.
Cuddy made his way through the kitchen, then onto the porch. Jackie and the orb were still where he left them, hiding in the barn doorway. Off to his left, more Howsh were milling around. Seeing both the sheriff’s and Officer Plumkin’s police vehicles on fire he wondered if they’d died in the flames. Turning to face the barn, he made eye contact with Jackie, who looked nervous. She mouthed the words: What should we do?
Cuddy, telecasting mentally, which had become a surprisingly natural talent, said, Orb … I want you to protect us. Go destroy the Howsh … all of them … if you can.
Cuddy then turned around, reentering the house, as he recalled what was lying on the kitchen floor. Just around the corner, he saw the dead Howsh his mother had shot. Extending out from beneath his legs was the muzzle of a weapon. Cuddy used his foot to roll the body over and snatched the strange-looking rifle up from the floor. Holding it in his hands, he found it heavy, and also strange, to grasp such a thing. Yet, upon looking it over, it didn’t appear particularly difficult to use. He had no experience with guns, but it had a trigger and he knew which end to point at the enemy.
More plasma fire erupted outside, but sounding somewhat different than what he heard before. Making his way through the kitchen and onto the porch, he used extra care not to be spotted. Jackie, he noted, still huddled in the barn, though the AI orb was not there. Jackie pointed toward the spacecraft and shrugged.
He saw the orb momentarily hover beneath the ship. Its quick movements were a blur. He noticed two Howsh bodies, lying prone on the ground near the gangway, and briefly wondered if that was the police officers’ handiwork or the AI orb’s.
The two Howsh he’d spotted earlier, lurking around the side of the house, began firing their weapons toward the road—in the orb’s direction.
How many are there? he wondered. He watched the AI orb stop long enough to fire off more bright blue energy bolts from its two outstretched articulating arms.
Cuddy brought his attention back to the weapon he held in his hands. Lifting it up, he placed the stock firmly against his shoulder—just like he’d seen done in so many movies. He stared down the muzzle, noting three sets of sights, then lined up all three with the Howsh alien, standing by the corner of the house—some thirty or forty feet away. He pulled the trigger. A bright-red plasma bolt hit the side of the house, missing the target by several feet. He fired again, this time missing by only a foot. Unfortunately, he had gotten the alien’s attention, who was now bringing his weapon around toward Cuddy’s direction. Cuddy fired again, this time taking little aim, and it was a direct hit onto the alien’s chest. He watched the alien drop to the ground. He’d never purposely harmed another living thing—never in his life—and now he’d killed two beings in a matter of minutes. He didn’t want to dwell on that.
Cuddy noticed the second Howsh had moved forward, had assumed the position held by his dead comrade. When the alien looked across, from around the corner of the house, they made eye contact. Raising weapons at the same time, they fired simultaneously.
Chapter 26
Cuddy was hit hard by something coming in low—in from his right side. The momentum lifted him off his feet and jammed him up against the house. A series of plasma bolts sizzled past him in the air and undoubtedly would have killed him, except for Jackie, who had careened into him. Still stunned, he watched her grab the alien’s rifle from his clutches, then spin around and fire the weapon. Cuddy hadn’t been aware the Howsh alien had steadily advanced on them—was less than twenty feet away. Jackie continued to pull the trigger, though the Howsh alien was obviously on the ground dead. Dead, and on fire, from more plasma fire than necessary.
“I think that’ll do it, Jackie,” Cuddy said, stepping away from the wall.
“You’re welcome,” she said.
“I guess I’m not a very good shot,” he said
“Good thing I am … thanks to my dad.” Staring down at the weapon in her hands, she added, “This is beyond cool. I’m keeping it.”
“Fine with me—keep it. Come on, let’s go see how the AI orb is doing.” He headed toward the alien spacecraft, stopping only long enough to pick up another plasma weapon that had been dropped next to the corner of the house.
“Want me to show you how to use that?” Jackie asked, still three strides back.
Cuddy didn’t bother to answer. Reaching the top of the drive, he now had a far better vantage point. Of the Howsh invasion, the first word that came to mind was battlefield. No less than eight Howsh fur-balls lay sprawled on the road, at various locations. Adding also to the body count were those slain in and around the house—tallying up to an even dozen. With still no sign of the AI orb, Cuddy ran to the first smoldering police vehicle. Black smoke still spiraled into the air from the four charred tires. Peering into the glassless window frame, there was little left to see—both bucket-seat frames, with their blackened coil springs, showed no signs of incinerated bodies. But Cuddy wasn’t sure if even skeletal remains could endure the kind of blaze that took place here. He next moved on to inspect the SUV, Officer Plumkin’s vehicle, and found the same thing. Nothing in the car’s ruins—no skeletal body in the driver’s seat.
He looked back to see Jackie collecting Howsh weapons. She’d mounted them into a pile by the side of the road and was adding another to the top.
Cuddy asked, “Any sign of the AI orb?” After first doing a cursory glance around, she replied, “Nope.”
He could see she was feeling pretty pleased with herself. Cocky, while he was still dealing with feelings of some remorse and guilt. He knew it was illogical. The aliens came here to kill Tow—as well as them. He stared up at the top of the gangway.
“Cuddy!” Momma shouted, heading their way. She’d changed her clothes and was wearing tennis shoes. Meeting her halfway, he could see she was upset. “What is it? What happened?”
“On TV … we’re being attacked!” She looked at Cuddy and then Jackie. What she had learned was reflected by the shock on her face.
Cuddy gestured toward the spacecraft. “By them?”
“Yes by them … Washington, D.C. … New York. And other places I don’t remember, all over the world. Two alien ships are firing their weapons … turning cities into rubble. Many thousands have been killed so far. It’s horrible …” she sobbed, wiping away the tears on her cheeks with her fingers. Jackie put her arms around her, pulling her close for a hug.
Maybe that explains why the military didn’t show up here, Cuddy mused. The whole world was on the brink of disaster. For the first time, Momma noticed the carnage around them. She looked over at Cuddy. She looked impressed.
“This wasn’t me, Momma. I found out soon enough I’m a terrible shot.”
She turned to Jackie. “You did …”
“No … well, just those two, lying outside by the house. But hey, you killed one too …”
Momma shrugged and nodded.
“Look, Momma … best you go back t
o the house now, okay?” Taking another quick look around, Momma headed back down the drive. Cuddy waited until she disappeared into the house.
“So, are we going to go in there?” Jackie asked.
“Yeah … I have to, my brother might be in there. You don’t have to come …”
“No … I’ll be right behind you,” she said, raising the plasma rifle to emphasize the point.
Cuddy headed up the ramp—his weapon poised to shoot anything with fur. Entering the quasi-circular compartment, he started to gag.
“Ugh … it’s so foul! This area reeks … smells like shit,” Jackie said, expressing the obvious.
While his eyes adjusted to the dimness, he slowed his pace. Jackie, right behind him added, “It’s like a damn cave in here.” His brow now furrowing, Cuddy glanced back at her and whispered,“Shhhhh!”
They followed a narrow, but tall-ceilinged passageway. On either side, the bulkheads were covered with what looked like streaks of grease. Cuddy thought of the contrast between this filthy environment and the meticulously clean Evermore. Noises were heard ahead when they reached a stairway with four, wide open grated treads. “Watch your step … something brown’s on that bottom one.”
Jackie mumbled something undecipherable.
Reaching the top step, Cuddy was presented with three options—three different corridors—and he chose the one on the right. They passed a series of closed hatchways—three on one side, two on the other. The noises were getting louder, coming from the same direction they were headed. Cuddy raised the barrel of his weapon, prepared to shoot if necessary, then stood still to listen. The noises were actually voices—and he understood what was being said.
“Screw you, Perkins … if I wanted advice, it wouldn’t be from a lowlife, redneck hillbilly like you…”
Cuddly glanced back at Jackie. She said, “I think I know that voice. That’s Tony Bone.” They slowly approached what he figured was the ship’s primary corridor. Twice as wide as the one they were now in, it formed a T-junction. He peered around the corner, to the left. All clear. Then, looking to the right, his breath caught in his chest. The AI orb was lying down on the deck. Several blackened scorch marks made it clear what had happened. One of the orb’s articulating arms was outstretched, while its other one was awkwardly curled underneath. As quietly as possible, Cuddy stepped closer and, kneeling next to it, found several tiny lights still blinking. Carefully, he took hold of the extended arm and lifted the orb up from the deck. Rising up, he held the orb an arm’s length away.
“Is it … dead?” Jackie asked.
All of a sudden, Cuddy’s mind was filled with a slew of bright flashes—incongruent images. Unbalanced, he swayed back and forth, as Jackie helped to steady him, looking concerned. It was as if his mind had been hijacked. He realized he was seeing through the eyes … eye … of the AI orb! He watched its two articulating arms—both extended out in front—fire continuous, bright-blue energy bolts. And he realized he was viewing earlier events that transpired outside on the road, when the orb was beneath the ship. Cuddy inwardly watched the orb’s battle with the Howsh. The speed in which the orb maneuvered—dodging this way and that—was breathtaking. He felt nauseous trying to track the course of those events. One by one enemy Howsh were vanquished. Cuddy watched as the orb moved up the ramp and into the bowels of the ship. Unknowingly, he and Jackie had followed the same route inside as the orb. And then, apparently, the orb met its match. Cuddy watched as a Howsh alien came into view, wearing a red sash. Worn on a diagonal, the sash crossed from shoulder to the opposite hip. The alien didn’t move like the others. He was fast; seemed to instinctively know where and how to move to avoid the orb’s plasma fire. He fired his weapon at the orb only once. And then, just as suddenly, Cuddy’s inner visions ceased and he found himself gazing into Jackie’s concerned eyes.
“Where did you go?” she asked.
Chapter 27
Cuddy still had ahold of the orb’s outstretched articulating arm. He lifted it higher and noticed, at the sphere’s apex—within the concave circular section—the aperture still emanated faint blue light. He held it up like a dead chicken, letting it sway back and forth under its own weight.
Jackie said, “Come on, maybe you can bring it with us.”
Cuddy lowered his arm. He had no intention of leaving the orb behind. Squabbling voices could be heard ahead as he and Jackie hurried across the wide, perpendicular corridor to the other side. Continuing on, and noting an open entrance on the right, Cuddy edged up to the corner and peered in. He quickly pulled back, wide-eyed and disgusted, staring blankly at the opposing bulkhead.
“What is it? Let me see!” He moved aside so she could take his vacated spot, closer to the entrance. Looking in, Cuddy heard her quick inhalation of breath. When she pulled back, turning toward him, in barely controlled hushed tones she exclaimed, “That’s horrible! They’re just hanging there … like sides of beef!”
The vivid mental image of the havoc in the adjacent compartment was all too prominent in Cuddy’s mind. No less than twenty people, almost half of them naked, were strung up, hanging by their feet, their bodies swaying back and forth. Among them were Sheriff Bone, shirtless Officer Plumkin, Tony Bone, and—closest to the entrance—his brother Kyle. Also others, who were dead. Their blackened, malformed corpses showed they’d been terribly beaten, beyond anything he could imagine.
He wanted to rescue Kyle. Rush in there and help them all. But if he and Jackie weren’t extremely careful, they too could end up in there, hanging upside-down, like the others. Cuddy was having a hard time controlling his breathing. He didn’t think he’d ever been this scared. Too scared to move, like he was again seven years old.
“Hey … are you doing okay? We just need to stay calm … at least try,” Jackie whispered.
He shook his head. No, he wasn’t okay and wondered how she could even ask such a question.
“Well, stay here. Keep guard and let me know if anyone’s coming.”
“What are you doing? We shouldn’t separate,” he said, aware desperation was in his voice.
“Just stay here.” Raising her weapon, she then slipped around the corner.
Standing alone in the passageway, Cuddy looked left and then right and saw a lone figure approaching from the distance; one clearly armed with a rifle. He wore a narrow band of red—a diagonally draped sash. A Howsh, he was casually walking forward as if he hadn’t a care in the world. Cuddy felt a vibration in his right hand and, glancing down at the orb, noticed it was moving, trying to release itself from his grasp.
The Howsh walked right up to Cuddy, appraising him from head to toe. He was taller than he was by half a foot. Close to seven feet tall.
The orb was frantically jerking around in Cuddy’s hand so he let it drop to the deck. Paralyzed with fear, he wanted to yell out and warn Jackie, but he couldn’t speak.
A dank odor wafted around them as the alien pivoted his head about, as though trying to figure something out, then spoke in a mixture of a growl and a language Cuddy didn’t understand. The Howsh bared his teeth and raised the muzzle of his weapon and then there was searing pain in his chest—everything went black.
* * *
Cuddy awoke with an upside-down view of the same horrific compartment he’d earlier glimpsed. He was less than five feet away from his brother.
Kyle, now looking back at him, said, “Hey there, little brother.”
“Hey Kyle.”
“So … you two were what? Trying to rescue us … huh?”
Cuddy found it hard to think, even harder to speak, with so much blood throbbing in his head. “It gets a bit easier … in time,” Kyle told him.
Cuddy heard another voice, nearby him but out of sight, ask, “Who sends the village idiot to attempt a rescue, anyway?”
“Shut up, Tony!” Kyle barked.
“Are you okay, Cuddy?” Jackie asked. Hearing the concern in her voice, he tried to jostle his body around to see her but couldn’t make
it happen.
Cuddy asked, “What is this place? What’s happening …”
“Just look around, dip-weed,” Tony said. “We’re in some kind of alien laboratory. Look up … they have all kinds of nasty equipment to fuck us up with.”
“I told you, Tony, knock it off!” Kyle said.
Cuddy, struggling, looked up toward his tightly bound feet. Separated into stand-alone stations were all sorts of hanging metallic devices, along with a variety of attached hoses. He didn’t want to think about their uses.
“Shit … he’s coming back,” Tony said.
Moments later, Cuddy sensed the evil presence of the Howsh within the compartment—somewhere behind him.
“Don’t touch me!” Jackie yelled.
Cuddy jerked and squirmed until his body, pendulum-like, finally spun around. The Howsh, he noted in alarm, was touching Jackie’s hair—leaning into her and inhaling, while making a sniffing noise. He could see Jackie’s anger turn to fear, and he shouted, “Hey! Leave her alone … get away from her!”
“You don’t want to say that, Cuddy,” Kyle said, in a lowered tone. “He’ll punish you.”
“Yeah, he’ll hurt you something bad, boy,” said Officer Plumkin.
Cuddy focused his attention beyond Jackie, then toward a swaying, shirtless figure whose big belly hung down onto his chest. His face was bruised and one eye swollen shut. He noticed the sheriff was hanging next to Plumkin. “Is the sheriff all right?”
The Simpleton: An Alien Encounter Page 14
