“Just don’t hurt it. Maybe it’ll try to communicate with us.”

  “I’ve seen enough movies to know that aliens don’t appreciate their ships being knocked out of the sky.”

  “That’s science fiction,” Ben said.

  “Damn right, and now that shit just got real.”

  John led them into the woods, following a familiar path they’d created over years of exploring the area. At least the thing had crashed on the side of the forest with fewer trees. A lot easier to get to it.

  John used his knife to hack away some stray branches that dared to block his path. He pointed. “It’s over there. I can see it.”

  Ben couldn’t see it at first. He followed John and listened for any voices or mechanical noises that might verify its origin as from Earth. The top edge of the object only appeared after they pushed through tall grass. Beyond the grass, a section of the forest floor swelled up from the impact.

  John ran up to it without hesitation, holding his knife out at his side like some skilled warrior. “This is awesome. I told you it was aliens. Believe me now?”

  Ben didn’t answer. If it belonged to the military, they would come to claim it soon. It was an advanced aircraft. Something way beyond any high tech he’d ever seen or imagined. The craft created a small crater with most of it lodged deep into the ground. The domed top half rose to their waists and stretched out a little longer than a school bus, with tapered points at each end like a giant silver football. It had landed horizontally—if those points were sticking out from its sides—but it was difficult to tell which end was up. Leaves and branches dotted its surface, and it had flattened dozens of trees on its way down.

  No dents or imperfections on its surface. No signs of life.

  John moved within a few inches of the object, stretching out his hand to touch it.

  Emmie groaned. “I wouldn’t mess with that, John. Maybe it’s dangerous.”

  “Of course it’s dangerous. Alien technology is dangerous, but I’ll need to explain what I saw to everyone on the planet, so I better find out.”

  “What if aliens crawl out of that thing and abduct us?”

  “They might. And then we’ll run like hell. Every man for himself.”

  “John, I’m your sister! You got to protect me.”

  “Every man for himself, Sis. Ben will protect you if he wants.”

  Emmie stared into Ben’s eyes.

  “I’ll protect you,” Ben said, “but it won’t be aliens chasing us. It’ll be government agents rounding us up.”

  “You still don’t think this is a UFO? You’re nuts.” John ran his hand across the surface, then yanked it back. “Oh man. This thing’s hot.” He stared at his palm. Red like a bad sunburn. “The government doesn’t make stuff like this.”

  “It’s a secret spy plane, or an advanced drone.” Ben studied the contours. “I bet the feds are on their way right now.”

  “They’ll arrest us if they see us here,” Emmie said.

  “They might arrest us, but not because it belongs to them.” John turned to Ben. “You saw how that thing moved before it came down, right? You see anything fly like that before in your life? Of course not. This thing isn’t from Earth.”

  “Well, we don’t have cameras, and I don’t see any aliens, so let’s get back to the house and get them before the feds show up.”

  John clinked his knife against its surface as he circled around to the side of it. “I’m not afraid of anything, feds or aliens. Don’t you want to find out what’s inside this thing? I mean, technically it landed on our property. That means it’s ours.”

  “I think the government would disagree.”

  “When we get back to the house, are you going to call them?”

  Ben paused. “No.”

  “You’ll call them and rat us out, won’t you?” John turned the knife toward him.

  “I said no.”

  “Better not say anything. We need to keep this a secret as long as we can. At least, until we record it and reverse engineer their technology.”

  “Reverse engineer it? You’re only seventeen. Did you even pass science class?”

  “We’ll work on it together. After we figure out how it works and record everything, then we’ll post it all online before anyone can shut down the area. As soon as the news is out, the feds will storm in and take it away, just like they did at Roswell. You just know there are aliens in this thing. Do you want the feds to take the aliens away and hide the truth?”

  “What do you know about Roswell?” Ben asked.

  “I read three books on it.”

  “You don’t know everything.”

  “Well, I know enough.”

  Ben grunted and stared back at the object. “It’s not doing anything. If there is an alien in there, shouldn’t it be coming out now?”

  “Just give it some time.”

  “Maybe it’s injured,” Emmie said.

  John continued tapping the tip of his blade against the surface. “Maybe I should try to cut it open.”

  “There’re no doors.” Ben moved in closer.

  The surface was smooth without seams. One big hunk of molded metal. “You want to try throwing some rocks at it? Maybe that’ll get the alien to come out.”

  Ben moved in and pressed his palm against the metal where it tapered out to a point. He only touched the surface for a moment before pulling away. Hot like a cookie pan just taken out of the oven. Hot… like it had passed through the Earth’s atmosphere. A satellite? “Do you think anybody else saw it?”

  John shrugged. “If they did, they’d be rushing over in their trucks right now, but I don’t see anybody. The neighbor is a mile down the road, but maybe they’re not home.”

  The object rumbled and hummed to life. Its smooth metal surface lit up, radiating a cocoon of light.

  Ben backed away, staring at the thing with wide eyes. “Something’s alive in there.”

  John held out his knife, while Emmie grabbed a baseball bat-sized branch from the ground.

  “Good,” John said. “I hope it opens the door. I want to see the damn thing.”

  Ben stared at the mound of black dirt next to the object. A stray worm wiggled its way down toward the ground. The object’s hum, like a living being vocalizing, filled the air as they stopped talking. No birds. The gentle afternoon breeze drifted through the trees. All the animals had run away or gone into hiding. Nothing was crazy enough to hang around that object, except the three of them.

  “What will we do if aliens come out of it?” Emmie asked. “What would we say to them?”

  “Who says they’d want to talk? They’re probably hostile.” John circled around to the object, peering along the edge where it met the ground and across the top. “There’s got to be an opening somewhere. A door or a window.”

  Ben joined John’s search for openings, but he was more concerned that the thing might attempt to lift off or explode.

  “I feel kind of weird,” Emmie said, “like something is pushing against my brain.” Emmie put her palm on her forehead.

  “Might be the alien doing that,” John said. “Trying to get into your mind to control you. That’s what they do.”

  “I don’t like it,” she said. “We should go back to the house.”

  “I have a better idea,” John said. “Go back and get our cellphones while Ben and I wait here.”

  “I don’t want to come back here again. I don’t feel good.”

  “You’re just scared. Don’t you want to see the alien? Nothing cool ever happens in this crappy little town, and then this thing drops right in our backyard. This is so freaking awesome, Emmie. We’ll be famous.”

  “I just want to throw up.”

  “Feel free.” John motioned to the side. “We’re in the forest. But why don’t you run back to the house, get our cellphones, throw up, then hurry back out here.”

  “Do you want me to get your rifle?”

  “That’s a great idea. Better yet, no. Grab that long knife I’ve got hanging over my dresser. The machete. Maybe that’ll come in handy.”

  “All right.” Emmie walked away bent forward holding her head.

  “Should we go back with her?” Ben asked.

  “She’ll be fine. What if something happens after we leave? We’d miss it.”

  “I don’t think you should have shot it down, John.”

  “Geez, I was just playing around. How was I supposed to know it would drop like a rock?”

  Ben stared at the craft. “You must have hit it just right. If there’s a dead pilot in there, the government will figure out we had something to do with it. Maybe you shined the laser in his eyes.”

  “They won’t figure it out because the only pilot in there is an alien, and who the hell is he going to tell?”

  Something cracked on the object like metal striking metal, and the thin outline of a circular door a few feet across separated from the rest of the craft. The door lit up as if on fire, then disappeared. The opening stood black until something moved in the shadows within the craft.

  Ben and John scrambled back and hunkered down behind some fallen trees. John gripped his knife as if ready for battle. The opening to the craft was near the ground.

  John inched up and Ben pulled him back down. John scowled at him.

  “Stay down,” Ben whispered to him.

  “I want to see it.”

  Ben shook his head. He glanced back to where Emmie had gone. How would they keep her safe when she returned?

  The alien screeched near the open door and Ben glimpsed the top of its body as it flowed from the spaceship. An icy chill ran up his spine as he gasped. Without a doubt, an alien. It didn’t walk like a human at all. Its thin gray limbs stretched out as it dropped below his line of sight.

  Ben’s heart raced. It would come out and find them. They needed to get back to the house.

  Nothing to protect himself, except John’s survival knife, and that would be no match for the thing that stepped out of the spaceship.

  A sinking feeling flooded his chest. No government aircraft. This thing was much worse. Who would believe such a thing existed? He teetered on the edge of sanity as the thing screeched again and rustled through the leaves near the crash site.

  The alien thumped against the ground, scratching its limbs through the dirt. It huffed out a breath as a pile of dirt flew into the air and rained down a few feet away. More exotic sounds, low moans and high-pitch screeches, filled the air as it tossed huge piles of dirt away from the ship. Was it digging itself out?

  John rose, then ducked again. He moved in and whispered into Ben’s ear, “It’s digging a hole.”

  A hole for what?

  Ben turned back toward where Emmie would enter the forest again. Would she come back before that thing was gone? He considered trying to get out of there and warn her, but the forest floor was littered with twigs—he’d make too much noise. If the alien was violent, they’d be an easy target.

  Several more bursts of dirt shot up into the air and across the leaves and grass.

  John peaked again. He stared longer this time, then gestured for Ben to look.

  Ben rose and witnessed a black hole about the size of a manhole cover near the opening to the ship. More bursts of dirt blasted from the hole.

  John leaned in and whispered, “That thing’s working fast. Maybe it’s trying to build a home.”

  The forest went silent for several minutes while the thing hunkered in its hole until a branch snapped behind them. Emmie had returned.

  Ben gestured for her to stay down and keep quiet. She staggered as if she were drunk.

  “Something’s wrong with Emmie,” Ben said.

  John stared at the spaceship. “She’s just tired.”

  Emmie met Ben’s gaze and walked over to him holding John’s machete. She dropped it on the ground near John and dug out two cell phones from her pockets.

  “What’s going on?” she whispered.

  “It came out,” Ben said. “The alien.”

  Her eyes widened. “It’s real?” She handed Ben his cellphone and gave John the other one.

  Ben nodded.

  “We should call—” Emmie grabbed his shoulder. “I don’t feel good.”

  Ben pressed his hand to her forehead. “You’ve got a fever.”

  “Go back to the house if you can’t handle it,” John said, putting away his survival knife. He grabbed one of the cell phones from the ground and snapped several pictures of the spaceship. He turned to Ben and gestured at the other cell phone. “You record the video. Just film everything.”

  “I’ll be okay.” Emmie stared at the spaceship. “Where’s the alien?”

  “It went down that hole,” Ben answered.

  “Do you think it might try to eat us?”

  “Probably.” John stood up and stepped toward the door of the spacecraft.

  “Where are you going?” Ben asked him.

  “In there.”

  “No, John,” Emmie said. “Stay away from that thing.”

  “I need to get a better look. Nobody will believe us unless we get good evidence.”

  “We can’t tell anyone about this if we’re dead,” Ben said.

  John shrugged. He crept around the trees toward the open door. Small branches cracked with each step, but nothing came up from the hole. Maybe the thing had dug so far down that it no longer heard them. He maneuvered around the hole in the ground, keeping the machete’s blade between him and the hole. He gestured for them to follow him.

  Ben wanted to run, but Emmie stood and wobbled forward.

  “Maybe you should wait here,” Ben said to her.

  “I want to see too.”

  He put his arm around her and steadied her until they came up next to John.

  John stepped toward the open door, shining the cellphone light into the spacecraft. “You guys keep an eye on that hole while I’m inside looking around.”

  “You’re not going in there, are you?” Emmie toppled to the side, and Ben caught her.

  “What’s up with you?” John asked her. “Are you drunk?”

  “No, John, my head really hurts now.”

  “Well, stay here then.”

  Emmie grunted and sneered at John.

  “What if there’s another one in there?”

  “Then I’ll hack it to pieces.” John waved his machete.

  The spacecraft’s interior resembled a passenger jet without a cockpit. Thousands of tiny symbols and patterns covered the walls, none of which made any sense. Pulsing colors radiated from every direction, as if the metal in the walls were luminescent.

  Not much damage from the impact, except for the surface around their feet. A section of tree had dented the craft’s shell.

  No flat surfaces anywhere. Or places to sit. The floor circled around so that whatever commanded the spacecraft must have maneuvered around without stepping on the wall symbols.

  “Holy cow!” John lit up a mound of gray and purple flesh curled up in the corner.

  Ben’s heart pounded at the sight of another alien. Its baseball-sized green eyes stared back at them.

  John swung the machete inches from its face. A wide, narrow mouth stretched open wider in a snarl, revealing rows of pointed teeth that resembled a shark. With the alien huddled in the corner, it was difficult to know how large it was—maybe the same size as an overweight man.

  Ben’s eyes went wide and his mouth dropped open. “I want to go.”

  “Record it.” John snapped several pictures of the creature with the machete pointing at its forehead.

  Ben fumbled with his cellphone. His hands trembled and his mind blanked out. He couldn’t remember how to record anything or even where to start. He pressed random buttons until a red button appeared. Pressing that, he held the cellphone up toward the alien without knowing for sure if he was recording or not. The image on the screen jumped as he backed away.

  “You’re not scared, are you?”

  “Yes.”

  “Look, it’s injured.” John focused on the far side of the creature’s body. The flesh was torn apart and purple goo spilled out across the wall next to it. “This thing’s not going anywhere. Just keep recording.”

  Ben clutched the cellphone tighter, trying to steady his hand. “Where do you think it’s from?”

  “Probably a million miles away. I guess there’s only two of them. The one that dug the hole and then this one.” John reached out his hand and touched the alien’s scalp. “God, this thing feels weird.”

  The alien squirmed as John jabbed his finger into its flesh. The creature’s legs sprawled out from under it, snaking out like tentacles, but its motions were slow. John slammed his heel down into one of them.

  The creature screeched.

  Ben winced. A sharp jolt of pain stabbed at the back of his neck.

  John laughed, staring into the thing’s eyes. “You don’t like that, huh?”

  “Don’t hurt it,” Emmie said.

  “I’m not hurting it. I doubt it has nerve endings like we do. This is an alien, remember? But it’ll die, anyway. The crash ripped its body open. Just look at it.” John moved out of the way so they could get a clear view. “We’ll have to kill it to put it out of its misery.”

  Pain spiked through Ben’s head. Nausea churned his stomach as he curled forward. “I don’t feel good.”

  “You too? What’s going on with you guys? Did you eat some rotten food?”

  Ben touched his cheek. Hot and damp.

  John frowned. “Are you going to puke?”

  “Maybe.”

  “Do it outside.”

  Ben wobbled, and his head throbbed. He pressed his hand against one wall to steady himself as his gaze met the alien’s green eyes. The thing was upset. Furious. He didn’t know how he knew, but he knew. Somehow, it was communicating with him.

  “Are you filming all this?”

  Ben lifted the cellphone again. “I think so. What are you doing?”

  John brought out his knife and brought the blade up to its eyes. “I want to see how this thing ticks.”

  “Don’t kill it.” Ben’s face warmed.

  “I won’t kill it… yet. But I won’t get a chance like this after the feds clampdown the area. Here’s our chance to let the world know the truth about aliens.”

 

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