Interstellar Gold Rush

Chapter 2

Deep in the summer-bathed forests of Western Washington, inside a large, mansion-like house, a couple of parents were saying goodbye to their son and his friend.
“We’ll be back in a day,” the father said, rubbing his son’s head. “We just need some time together in Seattle.” His foot held open the screen door as it strove vainly to close.
The mother hugged her husband lovingly. “Yes, we need a little break from Andrew,” she said, winking at her son.
Andrew smiled back. “And I need a break from you. Don’t worry, I’ll have plenty of fun with Steven.”
Andrew’s friend high-fived him, pushing him back a little bit. Steven was about six inches taller and twenty pounds heavier than Andrew, and it showed. Andrew laughed and turned to his parents, who were already jumping out the door. “Don’t forget the list of chores on the kitchen counter! And stay away from the mine!” his mother called.
“Have a good time!” he replied as they piled into their car. The Toyota Sienna rumbled eagerly to life, headlights blinking on. His parents waved in return as they pulled out of their driveway and started down the gravel road that ran down their 20-acre estate.
Andrew secretly rolled his eyes. Like he needed reminding to stay away from the mine. His entire estate was once centered around a gold mine that had run dry centuries ago. But it could still pose a danger with collapse and its confusing, twisting corridors. It was best to stay away.
The car was blocked from sight as trees lined the roadway seemed to swallow it up, car and all. The grumble of the van was replaced with the peaceful twittering forest noises, with a slight breeze rustling the evergreens.
The screen door squeaked and Steven closed it, then as he closed the main door behind it. The forest noises were blocked out and silence ruled the house. But only for a few seconds.
“Let’s have some fun!” Steven cried, heading for the game room upstairs. Andrew chased after him, momentarily forgetting the chore list on the kitchen counter.
 
A few hours later, Steven and Andrew walked downstairs. “Man, it is hot,” Steven whined, gripping the collar of his shirt and shaking it. The house had heated up during the day as the boys stayed playing Mario Cart upstairs. “Let’s open some windows.”
Andrew went into the kitchen and opened a few windows in there. He stopped for a second, taking in the view of the forest on his parent’s property. The evergreens where striving and reaching upwards for the heat of the sun, which only touched Western Washington for a very short time each year. The trees seemed to understand this as they grew at surprisingly large rates, trying their very best to grab as much sunlight before the bitter winter came howling in.
But then something else caught Andrew’s eye. A bright ball in the sky was coming down, shining a little less bright then the summer sun. The windows started shaking a slightly, and Andrew heard a very faint noise. Then he opened the window.
He was immediately overwhelming by a cracking noise. It sounded like a million thick trees cracking one at a time at machine-gun speed. It rattled the window and made Andrew jump. The bright ball in the sky got closer, very fast.
Steven ran into the room, eyes wide. “What’s happening?” he shouted, barely heard over the racket of cracking.
Andrew shook his head and covered his ears. The bright object seemed to dim a little bit, heading over the forest. Slowly it was enveloped in the trees, and the light was absorbed. The cracking noise slowed down and was gone, leaving as fast as it had come. The forest and the house were left in silence.
Andrew took a gulping breath, realizing that he’d been holding in his breath the entire time. Steven sat down in a chair, shaking.
“What happened?” Steven asked, speaking for them both. Andrew shook his head, looking over the forest again. A few brave birds twittered, trying to resume the normal forest noise.
“No idea,” Andrew finally answered.
“What should we do?” Steven tried getting up, but gave up and slumped in the wooden kitchen chair.
Andrew thought about it. His parents were long gone, so they didn’t hear it. Their nearest neighbors were very, very far away, so it was unlikely they would have heard it either. It was just them.
“Call the police,” Andrew declared.
Steven finally stood up and went over to the phone. Face serious, he walked softly into another room and started dialing.
In the meantime, Andrew looked out the window. What had just happened? A bright object had fallen out of the sky, making a sound like a thunderclap on a broken record. It had landed in his parent’s property, only about a mile from the house. How could this be explained? Aliens? A de-orbited satellite?
A few minutes later, Steven stepped back into the kitchen, looking dejected. “They didn’t believe me,” he said. “They thought I was some crazy teen doing a phone prank.”
“I don’t blame them,” Andrew replied. “What just happened was pretty crazy.”
Steven just stood there, biting his lip. It looked like he was in deep thought. That’s never good, Andrew thought jokingly.
Then Steven’s eyes glinted playfully. “Let’s go look at it,” he announced.
Andrew was immediately taken aback. “No way!” he cried. “Are you insane? Didn’t you hear the noise that thing made? It’s definitely dangerous!”
With a flick of his hand, the other waved away the warning. “Dangerous means exciting. I’m bored of playing Mario Cart.”
Andrew saw that he’d not be convincing Steven on this point. He sighed. Well, I can’t let him do it alone, he thought miserably.
“Well,” he said. “If you’re going to go, you gonna need me with you. And you need to be prepared.” He pulled out a baseball bat from next to a counter.
Steven’s smile seemed ominous and dangerous. “Let’s do this.”
 
About an hour later, the two boys were tromping through the darkening forest, armed with sticks, various non-power tools from the garage, and Andrew’s trusty metal bat. The forest didn’t seem as peaceful now - it seemed more strange, inhospitable, and secretive. Who knew what this place could be hiding?
Steven, however, looked completely unaffected by this, his playful smile as undaunted as usual. Of course, he was always the more reckless of the duo, Andrew realized as he watched his partner. He was enjoying this little adventure, totally forgetting his fright at the appearance of the strange object.
A new smell wafted on the light breeze, overpowering the scent of flowers and bark. It was the smell of fresh wood, after being cut or torn.
The trees thinned ahead, and the two found themselves on the edge of a disaster.
The trees in this section of forest were torn to shreds, pieces of them all over the place. Some hard stumps stood sticking out of the destruction, their ends frayed and mutilated. The ground was shaken up and thrown around, some section sticking out of the earth in mini cliffs and other in huge ditches. Everything looked like it had been ripped up by some warping force. It was devastating. There was even a little red thing that may have been a squirrel.
Steven only paused for a few seconds, in awe of the carnage. But even this was not enough to dampen his spirit, and he quickly moved on, following the trail of ruin. If anything, this scene made him more eager to see what had landed on his friend’s estate.
The story was completely different for Andrew. He was shocked by how Steven was able to just shrug this off. Did he not see the massacre before him? Whatever did this, Andrew did not want to meet it.
But he found himself following Steven anyway. He rolled his eyes. Steven was hopeless.
Before long the corridor of damage led to a clearing. This wasn’t just any natural clearing. The trees and ground had been ground up and stirred together in a violent way. The crater was massive.
And in the middle of it was the ship.
It was some glossy metal, shaped like a cylinder. At the end of the cylinder, which was propped on the torn up ground, where three claw-like appendages, which suspended it a few feet above the ground. The air in between the claws seemed to shiver a bit, like the distance on a hot summer day.
Andrew immediately felt a shiver pass ominously down his spine. This was bad. They needed to go.
But of course, Steven felt exactly the opposite. He walked fearlessly over, curiosity shining in his eyes.
Then the person came screaming out of the trees.