Die Glocke

by M C Drake

  “Yeh sure Mick, you lead and I’ll follow! But take it steady for Christ sake Mick, don’t want to have to save your ass again.”

  Michael just shook his head and then got back to the task at hand.

  The two men gingerly approached the crater, which appeared to be about fifteen-foot wide. As they got closer they could see the soil in the crater appeared to be cauterized and the smell of burnt dirt assaulted their noses.

  “Maybe it was a meteorite?”

  “Yeh Ray I expect the Clark lad has a wild imagination!”

  “Like we all did at that age hey.” Ray nudged Michael on the shoulder.

  Both men let out hearty laughter.

  A twig snapped to their left and the bushes parted. Both men swung around ready to face the intruder, they pointed their torches and the handheld radio in that direction.

  Donald Ernest appeared through the bush and at the sight of the two firemen immediately raised his hands above his head.

  “Don’t shoot me with your lights boys.” He laughed.

  The two mean relaxed, “Don how you doing buddy?”

  Donald relaxed and strode over into the sweltering area.

  “Bit toasty here isn’t it boys?” He panted.

  “Yeh mate but you get used to it, what you doing ‘ere anyway, curiosity get the better off ya?”

  Don laughed, “You could say that Mick, I thought a plane coulda come down so I came to see if anyone needed my help.”

  Ray nodded “Good man but I think it was probably just that meteorite they were talking about on the tv.”

  "Guy's!" Michael said as he peeked over the top of the crater. "That don't look like any meteorite I have ever seen."

  “What are you talking about Mick?” Ray said as he turned to his colleague.

  Michael waved the two men over. “Look, its gold and… looks metallic?”

  The two men shielded their eyes from the heat haze rising from the crater. At the bottom was a gold object glinting with an exquisite shimmer, it looked smooth and undamaged from the intense heat that was created from smashing through the atmosphere.

  “What is that?” Donald asked.

  “I..I’m not sure Don, its big though.”

  “Yeah could be about the size of your car.” Don said

  The two volunteer fireman nodded.

  The growing sound of excited chatter snapped the three men out of their trance. They turned to see a large group of people walking into the area led by a very familiar face.

  “Wondered how long it would take you to get here Cal.” Ray said

  "Yeah, the Greensburg Tribunes favorite reporter is never far from any drama!" Michael said as half a smile crept across his face.

  The reporter approached them and as he shielded his eyes he to peak over the top of the crater. He let out a whistle.

  “You know me fellas, got a knack for being in the right place at the right time.” His expression darkened, “What do you think it is?”

  "The official story says it's a meteor but if you ask me it looks manmade," Michael said.

  “It sure does!” Cal agreed, he was taking pictures as he spoke.

  Cal Walter was forty-seven and at the top of his game, he had offers to work at much higher profile papers but enjoyed his friendly relationship with the other residents of Kecksburg. His round, friendly face naturally allowed people to open up to him. Cal was always clean shaven and always wore a wore a brown tweed suit that matched his eyes.

  “Can we get down there to get a closer look?” Cal asked.

  The two firemen shrugged, “if you can stand the heat then I don’t see why not.”

  By now a large group of Kecksburg residents had gathered around the crater, the heat had subsided a bit but as Michael climbed down into the crater he began to sweat and had to pause for a minute to acclimatize.

  “How is it down there bud?”

  “Bit warm mate, you coming or not?”

  Raymond lowered himself down carefully and slowly until he joined his colleague at the base of the crater, they were only a few feet from the object now.

  Finally, Cal carefully dropped down to join the two men, he was hit by the heat and took a few steps back.

  “You ok Cal?”

  He drew in a couple of deep breaths and then took his hands off of his knees, “Yeh Ray, not as deep as I thought it would be considering this thing dropped from space.”

  The firemen looked around, “Good point, we can nearly see over the top, can’t be much deeper than seven foot.” Michael said.

  The three men took a closer look at the object as the captivated audience above looked on. The light had started to fade now so Cal quickly took as many photographs as he could, the large flash threw out intense bright light every few seconds.

  The Object looked like a large acorn, roughly the size of a Volkswagen beetle. It was a bright gold color and looked smooth all over. As Cal inspected the object he had an uncontrollable urge to reach out and touch it. He reached out towards it but was pulled back.

  "I wouldn't do that mate unless you want to burn yourself so bad that your skin peels off," Michael said, he looked into the reporter's eyes and shook his head.

  Cal stared passed him for a couple more seconds before he finally lowered his hand.

  “you’re right, don’t know what I was thinking!’

  "Don't worry about it," Michael said and thumped him on the back.

  Something caught Cal’s eye, he began snapping photos furiously again. He then got out his notepad and started to draw just as quickly as he had taken the pictures.

  “What has got into you Cal?” Ray asked.

  Cal pointed, “Look.. look at the ring around the base.”

  The two men looked and then they saw it. Around the base of the acorn a pronounced ridge ran around the circumference of the object and in the center of this ridge were pronounced drawings.

  “They look like pictures?” Ray said.

  Cal shook his head, “They are Hieroglyphics Ray, the writing of the ancient Egyptians!” He said excitedly.

  The two firemen looked at each other and then back at Cal in complete shock, “What the hell are they doing on an object that fell from the sky?”

  Cal smiled back, “I don’t have a bloody clue boys but this is amazing.” He continued to replicate the drawings.

  Freedom of the Press

  Half an hour had passed since Cal, Michael and Ray had dropped down into the impact crater to get a closer look at the fallen object. The sun had finally dipped below the horizon and the men now worked by flashlight.

  The reporter had got all the drawings and dimensions he needed and was ready to leave and write up his story.

  "I think I have enough for the Tribune so I'm gonna head back and write up the story," Cal said.

  Don who was still stood on the edge of the crater with a group of onlookers helped the reporter out.

  “Hey Mick, do you want me to get some heavy lifting equipment and try and move this sucker?”

  “No I think we better leave it until at least first light don’t you Don?” Mick replied.

  Don nodded, “What we gonna do about it tonight?”

  “I don’t think it is going anywhere but I guess me and the fire station boys can keep an eye on it until tomorrow morning.”

  “Then we can decide who we need to contact about this?” Ray added.

  "Agreed, I'll leave you boys to it then," Don said and he turned to leave with Cal.

  “Hey Cal make sure you paint me and Ray in the best light.” Michael chuckled.

  Cal turned and gave him the thumbs up, “Give me a call in the morning when you have decided what needs to be done with our new guest.”

  “Of course Cal, wouldn’t dream of keeping you out of the loop buddy.”

  The gathering of people was suffering from tunnel vision, the unexpected excitement that had descended into the woods near their backwater town, so much so that not one of them noticed they were being stalk
ed.

  Don and Cal shot a look into the bushed as a group of five men in uniforms entered the clearing. They stared in shock for a second before Cal managed to speak, "What are you fellas doing here?"

  The group of intruders shone their flashlights into the faces of the group clustered around the object.

  "First let me introduce myself, I am sergeant Moore if you behave yourselves you can call me Howard." The man nodded to his left. "This is Trooper first class Garcia and the three men to my right are Police Troopers Young, Hill, and Evans."

  The men gave a curt nod.

  Michael and Ray scrambled out of the crater to greet their new guests.

  “Evening officers.” Michael said, “I am with the local fire department, what brings the state police to our backwater town?”

  Moore laughed, “That big hole behind you might have something to do with it.”

  Cal was confused, "Hello Officer Moore my name is Cal Walker and I work for the local paper…With all due respect, how the hell do you know about this?"

  Moore did not say a word but he just clicked his fingers. Without warning the men on his right stormed towards the unsuspecting reporter.

  Trooper Young put his hand on the man’s shoulder and started to tug at the camera strap around his shoulder. “Sorry sir but we will be taking this.”

  “Oh no you won’t!” Don said and he moved to put his frame between the state trooper and the reporter. Now Don was a big man with a wide six foot 3-inch frame, he could be rather intimidating.

  Hill and Evans moved to flank the big man, “We really are going to have to insist, we don’t want any trouble or have to make any arrests.” Evans said.

  Michael and Ray headed the two troopers off so they could not get to the reporter.

  “We don’t think so boys, not until you show us some ID and tell us why you are here.”

  Trooper Hill reached towards his hip but was stopped.

  “Hill relax son, show the men some ID first, best not let this get out of hand.”

  The younger lawman relaxed a little and they produced their badges; in the glow of the flashlights, they looked very official indeed.

  The situation calmed down a bit but when Trooper Young tried to take the camera again he was met by a firm push from the large farmer. That was it the troopers and the local fireman jumped into action and a shoving contest began accompanied by lots of shouting.

  Don took a fist to the face as Young shouted at him, “You are under arrest for obstruction of a police officer, you will regret that you fucking hillbilly.”

  Don pushed the officer away from him and went to throw a punch at him but the younger Trooper ducked out of the way. The group of teenagers who were watching with a morbid excitement had started to cheer and shout as soon as the fight had broken out.

  Michael tried to radio the local fire station to call for backup and to get the local police down to them. There was no response, he tried several more times but there was nothing but static.

  “Shit where is Kev, Scott? Why the fuck aren’t they here?”

  "Don't know mate but will you fucking help me here," Ray shouted as he tried to overpower the Trooper.

  “Sorry mate.” Michael roared as he jumped over and shoved Trooper Evans to the floor.

  A single gunshot rang out and echoed from tree to tree, the group of men all jumped and the fighting stopped immediately. Sergeant Moore stood shaking his head. The teens split and started to run in fear but they did not get far before they stopped dead in their tracks and stood ghostly still.

  The smoking barrel of a military standard rifle appeared from between the trees, the red warm glow began to fade into the darkness. Suddenly bright flood lights illuminated the area to reveal a man in military uniform. Then another appeared, and then another, soon the tiny clearing was filled with men in military uniforms. All of the soldiers were armed with M14 rifles that were aimed at the civilians.

  Cal tried to shield his eyes against the bright floodlights but he could only make out the silhouettes of the soldiers. "What the hell is going on here? Who are you guys?"

  The men in the military uniforms did not answer but just remained still, pointing their weapons at the shocked people.

  Trooper hill pulled his comrade from the mud and then the three Troopers moved away from the reporter and went to stand behind Sergeant Moore.

  Finally, a voice spoke. “Lower those weapons Sergeant.”

  The military quickly shouldered their weapons and stood to rigid attention.

  “At ease.” The mystery voice said.

  The soldiers did not relax a bit, they seemed on edge.

  Out of nowhere two men appeared from the bright light and approached Cal and Don. The men wore black Hamburg hats, black trench coats, with black pants and shoes. Under the trench coats, they wore a black tie with a white shirt. Finally, and most strongly of all they wore jet black sunglasses.

  ‘What the fuck, it is pitch black but these men are wearing fucking sunglasses?’ Michael thought.

  The led man reached Cal and placed his gloved hand onto his shoulder. “I’m afraid I am going to have to insist on you surrendering that camera and your notepad.”

  The second man in black nodded.

  Cal was confused, he had started to tremble slightly when these two men approached him. They wore no identification and looked oddly similar like they were identical twins but that assumption did not feel right. These two men were clearly in charge of the situation, Cal's mind raced as he tried to think of any known situation where civilian men were in charge of military personnel.

  The first man in black’s grip tightened slightly on the reporter’s shoulder, Cal could feel the cold firm grip even through the man’s leather glove. Cal managed to stumble out a few words even as he was subconsciously handing over his camera.

  “Wh…What…What about my first amendment rights?...Freedom of the press?”

  The man released his grip from Cal's shoulder, turned to his partner who had opened a black briefcase and they placed the camera inside. The man then turned back and opened his palm and gestured towards it.

  “The notepad if you please!” It was an order.

  Cal just dumped the pad into the man’s hand.

  “Thank you, you did the right thing.”

  The second man in black spoke in exactly the same, eerie accent. “You will get these items back when we have studied them.”

  They spoke in unison, “As for your first amendment rights, they are subject to temporary restrictions until we have determined what is happening here. Do you understand.”

  Cal nodded.

  “Good.”

  The first man in black turned to the group of dumbfounded and frightened civilians.

  "The National Guard will now escort you back to your homes. You will stay there through the night and we will let you go about your business in the morning. Ok."

  Slowly the Kecksburg residents followed orders. The National Guard escorted the people back through the woods and into their homes. The people only started to shake off their primal fear as they moved away from the strange men in black.

  Cal, Don, Michael, and Ray went to follow the other towns' folk but the two unidentified men blocked their path.

  “You four are to stay with us. We have some questions for you. Once they are satisfied, then you can go home.” He smiled but it was contorted and seemed unnatural.

  The four men followed the two men in black like they were in a trance, unable to resist.

  The first man in black turned to Sergeant Moore. “You and your men are to wait here until our colleagues arrive; nobody is to get near the device until they get here. Is that clear.”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  “Good, when they do get here you are to assist them with whatever they need.’

  "Understood sir."

  The four captives were led into a large black limousine and the two men joined them in the back. The vehicle did not go anywhere but their interro
gation had begun.

  Kecksburg Event

  It was just after 20:00 as Brian slowly peeled the curtain back, he carefully peered out of the tiny crack in the fabric. Two men in army uniform stood at the end of his driveway, they chatted casually but Brian could see they were both armed with rifles. Brian noticed that Patricia’s house received the same treatment.

  ‘What the hell is going on?’ Brian thought. ‘Why are the army policing the streets?’

  A few hours earlier every one of the town's inhabitants was forced into their homes without any explanation; some at gunpoint. The military had not left since and had ejected the local police force out as well, using the station as their own headquarters.

  Brian went to turn the television on to see if the local news had any information but the damn box would not work, every channel was just static, the grey, white and black patterns scrolling across the small screen. Next, the old man went to the radio but again he was met with static; he swore under his breath.

  The old man had a thought ‘Patricia, she must be scared to death.’ Brian shuffled over and picked up the receiver but he could not get a dial tone. ‘Christ this must be serious.’ Brian glanced over to his wife who was still sound asleep, her deep breaths accompanied by a loud snore every now and then. He thought about waking her but decided against it. Brian returned to peering out of the window.

  Deep in the woods Sergeant Moore of the state troopers was startled from his sleepy conversation with Trooper Young; five figures wearing large yellow space suit like clothing appeared out of the bright lights. They wore gas masks and they walked slowly forward in a sweeping motion, holding some kind of equipment in their hands that they monitored intensively.

  “Hold it! Who are you guys?” Moore challenged, “This is a restricted area and I am not authorized to let anyone enter without the proper identification!”

  The figures ignored the state trooper and carried on watching the readouts. Sergeant Moore and the other troopers pulled their side arms and pointed them at the figures.

  “I won’t ask again.” Sergeant Moore shouted.