Stars, Stripes, & Strange Blinking Lights

3

The engine sputtered, coughed, and finally rumbled back to life. Bailey leaned against the side of the truck, arms crossed, watching as Luke slammed the hood shut with a grin.

"C'mon baby!" he said, wiping his hands on his jeans.

Bailey wasn't focused on the truck anymore. Her eyes kept drifting back to the horizon, where that strange light had shot across the sky. Her pulse hadn't settled since it happened, and she could swear the ground had shaken under her feet.

Luke climbed into the driver's seat, patting the spot next to him. "C'mon, let's get goin'. Night's still young."

She slipped into the passenger seat, but this time she stayed on her side, arms crossed over her chest. "You think we could drive out that way? Looked like it landed not too far from here."

Luke sighed, slouching back in the seat. "Bailey, it was probably some fireworks. Nothin' to get worked up over."

She shook her head, her eyes still fixed on the dark horizon. "It didn't look like no firework. The truck cut out soon as it flew by. You saw it too."

He revved the engine, steering the truck back onto the road. "You're thinkin' too hard. Let's just head back."

Bailey leaned forward slightly. "Come on, Luke. What's the harm in checkin' it out? Could be something worth lookin' at."

Luke groaned, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel. "I'm not wastin' gas on some light you saw. I don't care what it was. I'm taking you home."

Her jaw tightened, but she didn't argue. "Fine."

He shrugged, throwing the truck into gear and starting down the road. "Sure. I'll take you home if that's what you want."

Home was in the same direction as the light anyway, so she let it slide. But her mind was still racing, the image of that bright streak of light burning into her thoughts. The night didn't feel right anymore.

Luke glanced over at her, clearly irritated by the silence. "It was probably just some drone. Nothin' special."

Bailey glared out the window, biting her lip. She knew what she saw, and it wasn't something you just brushed off like that.

Luke snorted, smirking. "What? You think it was a UFO or somethin'? Some alien flyin' around checkin' out the corn?"

She shot him a look. "I don't know what it was, but it sure wasn't a drone or fireworks. You felt the truck die same as me."

Luke chuckled, clearly amused. "Oh, come on. Let me tell you somethin'," he said, leaning back, settling into the story. "My cousin Emma's, sister Mandy's, friend swore up and down she saw a UFO once. Said it was out by the Johnson place, middle of the night, just like this. She sees a big ol' light, says it was hoverin' right above the barn."

Bailey sighed, already regretting bringing it up.

"She goes tellin' everybody, even the news. Said she saw aliens and all. But no one believed her. They sent folks out to check it out, and you know what they found? Nothin'. Not a single damn thing. They figured she'd had a little too much to drink." He chuckled to himself.

She shook her head. "That's not the same thing."

"How's it not the same? People see lights all the time. It's never aliens. Always somethin' else—maybe a helicopter."

Bailey didn't respond.

They drove in silence, the truck rattling along the narrow road. Outside, their small town was quiet, the kind of quiet that came with a place where not much ever changed. The main street was little more than a strip of faded pavement, lined with a couple of mom-and-pop shops that had been there forever—Sally's Diner, a hardware store that always seemed empty, and an old movie theater that hadn't shown anything new in years. The single streetlight flickered as they passed, casting a dim glow over the cracked sidewalk.