Danny Flash and the Alien Crash

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

I slid open the glass door and stepped out into the backyard.

"Hi there sweetie," my mom said taking a long overdrawn sip of her iced tea.

"Did you have fun playing with Andrew?" my father asked. His eyes then darted behind me. "Oh! He's still here with you," he said. His eyes then floated over to Penny. "And plus one," my dad said.

"I'm. Penny," Penny said. My mom sat up, a bit too alert as her eyes darted between me and Penny. Penny and me.

"Oh," she said, as if that meant more than oh. You know how Mom's can say one word but really mean another? Or in this case, a whole bunch of other words, as if that somehow meant something of importance. I knew what she meant. I knew what she was trying to say, but this wasn't the time.

"Mom? Dad?" I said.

Something's happened too Annabelle."

"What's happened?" my dad said. He moved quickly over to me, his eyes searching inside the living room for Annabelle.

"Where is she?"

"Dad," I said, "We need to talk."

"Danny," my father said his stern wooden features especially on display.

"Dad," I said back, trying my best to sound as stern as he did. It worked as he made his way over to the seat, sat down, trying to maintain his composure, and stared at me. My mother scooted her chair over spilling her ice tea in the process, but she didn't seem to care.

"What's going on Danny?" My Mom said.

"Okay," I steadied myself. I walked them through everything that had happened to me in the last day and a half, and Annabelle's part in it, all the way up until I blacked out and awoke to find Annabelle missing.

"Oh,," my mother said. How could she get so much mileage out of that one word!

"Okay," my dad said, "So this is a game?"

"A game?" I shot back. "You think this is a game?".

My mom tried to intervene.

"Danny," my mom said. "I know you have an active imagination, and these sorts of stories can be fun at night, but right now your father and I need to know where Annabelle is. Just make sure she's okay."

"That's what I'm trying to tell you," I said. "Annabelle was taken by Mr. Not-So-Nice."

"Okay," my father said again, "I think we need to call the police."

"No," Penny spoke up. "I think it's best if you just come and see for yourselves." My mom looked at Penny and then at Andrew, studying their faces.

"You two are in on this also?"

"We're not in on anything, Mr. and Mrs. Flash," Andrew answered. "Promise. Danny's telling the truth. Come on, we'll show you."

We rushed towards the front door. I clenched my teeth as we passed the wooden figurines.

"Danny," my father's voice stopped me in my tracks.

"Yes?" I asked, sheepishly.

"What happened here?"

I turned and saw my father holding his prized wooden figurine in his hands, cupping it like a fragile egg.

"This is not the time, Spencer," my mother interjected. She moved her eyes towards the door.

"We will discuss this when we get back home with your sister," my father responded, putting me on notice, but giving in to my mother's request to leave.