Danny Flash and the Alien Crash

CHAPTER FIVE:

I got into my room and placed the metal object on my desk. I had to cradle it in my left arm using my calf to keep it propped up with my knee upon the desk, while I used my right hand to straighten out some papers, throw them in a haphazard pile and then push that pile to the side.  There was just enough of a clearing on the desk to place the metallic object.

I set it down, plucked one or two leaves off the top that had stuck from the forest outside.  I then turned on my swivel light above the table and shone it down on the metal object. I sat down on my chair and felt the subtle squish of my wet pajamas. I stood up, took off my pajama bottoms, and wiped my legs with a tissue to dry them. I put the pajama bottoms in the hamper, and the tissues in the trash, grabbed another tissue and wiped down the chair, and then sat and studied my object. It sure did look like a missile.

What was I doing, bringing it inside our house?

I swung the swivel light around to the back of the object and peered inside the hole, where the wine smell had been coming from moments earlier. All I could see was a deep dark nothingness inside. Even when I swiveled the light all the way down and shone it all the way into the tube, I could see the metal cylinder going inward, but then suddenly darkness. I reached my hand in and felt a clank. I realized the darkness was actually black metal and a grate, where the exhaust ended. On the other side of the grate must have been where the fumes were coming from. I flipped the metallic object around to study each side, and as I flipped it, I heard that small "Weeeee!" noise again.  This time it didn't sound like something decompressing, it sounded like a tiny voice.  I flipped the metallic object once more, each time having to lift it off the desk and twirl it a quarter of the way around, and set it back down because the talons didn't allow it to roll easily.

Upon flipping it this time, I noticed what looked like a small door on the side of the object. It was maybe three or four inches tall, and it was flat.  There were no hinges that I could see, but it definitely looked like a door. It must be a compartment that opens up to something, I thought. It must be the way that the scientists or technicians get to work on the missile, or whatever this thing was.

I tapped the door.  There was a tap back.  I pushed my chair away from the desk - startled. Was there something inside the missile?  I swiveled the light back up to the top of the metallic object and studied the door.

There was a tiny gap between the edge of the door and the edge of the cylinder. It looked like just enough to put a flathead screwdriver into, to be able to pop or pry the door open. I was sure that that must be how the scientist got in and out using some kind of flat object to pop open that door.  And then I wondered what would I find inside?  What on earth was tapping back at me?  I tapped the door three times more, and three times more a tap came back to me.  Naturally I followed that with a tap that had a unique rhythm.

"Tap tap tappity-tap."

"Tap tap tappity-tap," came the response.

"Hello?" I said to the metallic object, which seems silly because I didn't expect a missile to talk to me. But if there was somehow something inside, maybe it would make a noise.

"Wheeee..." went the metallic object, except this time instead of that "wheeee..." going up, the "wheeee..." went down.

"Tap tap-tap-tap. Tappity-tap-tap," I tried.

"Tap tap-tap-tap. Tappity-tap-tap," the missile responded.

I shot out of my chair and ran to my dresser. I opened the bottom drawer where I kept a tiny screwdriver set, mostly just to pull things apart that my parents didn't want to use anymore, or toys that were broken, or sometimes toys that just needed their batteries replaced. I located the flat head screwdriver, grasped it by the handle, and brought it over to the missile. I took a deep breath, thinking back to an old TV show that I saw. I didn't know the name of it, but it was about someone trying to dismantle a bomb. In the show the bomb had a timer, clearly letting you know when it would go off.

And the people were struggling to get the bomb open and cut the right wire.  They had said if they cut the wrong wire or made a wrong move, it would speed up the clock and make the bomb explode early.  There was no timer on this missile, as far as I could tell.   But I certainly didn't want to speed up any clocks that might be hidden inside!  I gently slid the screwdriver between the gaps, my curiosity outweighing my fear.

I pulled on the screwdriver, pulling it towards my body, pushing the metallic object away. The door wouldn't give. I pulled harder. Still the door wouldn't give. I pulled harder still.  Suddenly there was a "pop!"  I looked down, expecting to see the door wide open and the contents of the missile inside on display for me.  But instead, I just saw the shaft of the screwdriver jutting out with a ragged edge. I still had the handle in my other hand with another jagged edge where it had broken clean off. I pulled the shaft of the. screwdriver out and set it on the table.

"Tap. Tap-tap-tap?" the metallic object spoke to me.

"Tap. Tappity tap-tap," I responded, changing the pattern.  For a moment, there was silence, and then suddenly the door opened.