The Call of the Others

Chapter 27

Alice was the only one to notice Aliens #3 and #4 die outside. My friends are out there… They were so close. Mr. Woodward was out there, too, sporting a crossbow. A crossbow? Really? She didn’t know that the “Mr. Woodward” out there was really Scott, so Alice was left under the false impression that her friends were okay, just out for a joyride. Well, thanks for inviting me.

When the lights went out in the hospital, Joe didn’t think about himself. Or the family next to him. Or his dad. Or his mom. Or Frog. Or Alice. He thought about Rod Serling. Joe was secretly an avid fan of The Twilight Zone. They were always showing reruns on TV. Aliens were a constant subject. They were typically the antagonist, but not like the Joker or Hitler. Like Darth Vader. He was misunderstood, and he returned to the good side. The extra-terrestrials on The Twilight Zone were misunderstood. Typically, they were never bad. Except for that one on Maple Street, when they were trying to invade earth, but even then, they hadn’t actually hurt anyone. How did Rod Serling come up with this, and believe it? Those aliens outside—they wanted to hurt people. Cassandra and Rod Serling were in their own little bandwagon for alien rights. Joe would remain sane. He might as well forget about Frog and the alien from last summer. He wished his friends were here. Where were they, anyway?

Charles, Martin, and Cary had a chance. Their hotel was right there, literally right next to them. When Scott turned his back—which he did a lot, when he was trying to drag the aliens away from a public place to dispose of them—they could have run in. But all they could do was stare stupidly at Alice and their classmates inside. They were so close to running away, but they didn’t. Scott came back after cremating the bodies. He surprised the kids by handing them their own guns.

“We have to pick up the pace,” he explained. “You shoot something that isn’t an alien, you’re dead.”

Martin aimed the gun at Scott’s head. He smiled and laughed. Scott cowered and said, “What do you think you’re doing?!”

“Guys, guys!” Martin said to his friends. “Aim at his head! It freaks him out!”

They all did. Scott squirmed and regretted his decision. Maybe his fears weren’t so absurd.

“Ha, ha! Look at him!” Cary laughed.

“Seriously,” Scott warned. “Stop it.” He gulped. “Or else.”

“Or else what?” Charles laughed, almost maniacally. “What are you going to do about it?”

Are they actually going to shoot? Scott wondered. Wait…What’s that?

Scott smiled, suddenly. The boys’ smiles vanished. It was only fun when Scott was scared. Scott wasn’t scared. Why would he be, when he had three boys in between him and Alien #5?

“So, wait, if there are alien germs, why aren’t we in hazmat suits or something?” Preston asked, watching Mr. Woodward roll the body out of the sewer water.

“Because I’m immune to these things, with the pills.”

“And I’m not,” Preston said, getting nervous.

“The agency won’t let you die,” Mr. Woodward reassured. “If you died, it would raise too much suspicion.”

“Well, that makes me feel fantastic,” Preston complained. He found a bucket and started scooping up contaminated water. It was an icky green color. Preston held back his puke.

“So what’s the rest of the plan?” Preston asked.

“Pfft, what plan?”

“Seriously.”

“We’re going to clean up the city, make it safe, and hey, while we’re at it, we might as well save your friends.”

“Do you think we could save my friends now, and then clean up the city later?”

“No.”

“Why?”

“Because I said so.”

“Can I hear the reasoning behind this?”

“No.”

“Please?”

“No.”

“Pretty please?”

“No.”

“Then I’m going to save them!” Preston ran out of the sewer, throwing the bucket at Mr. Woodward. Screw this crap, Preston thought.

As soon as he climbed out, a semi truck almost crushed him. He scrambled out, not thinking clearly because of his adrenaline rush and near-death experience. What was that? The fifth one this week? An unseen hand dragged Preston out of the road to the safety of the sidewalk.