CELESTIAL INVASION In HIS Image

If there is life out there God created that life.

CELESTRIAL INVASION

In His Image

 

By Nancy Lee Shrader

 

 

 

 

Introduction

Is there life out there? Is there life on other planets—and if there is life somewhere beyond the stars, should they be embraced, or feared? Is it just possible that beings from another planet are here now? What would they look like? Do they look like us, or like monsters? Do they have human characteristics like us, just maybe more intelligent? Are they friendly? On the other hand, are they just biding their time, waiting for us to lower our defenses, so they can systematically destroy the human race? People of Earth have wondered for years and often looked for the answer to these questions. Do they pray? Who or what is their god? Moreover, if, there is life out there, is it just possible that God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is their God too? God created us in his image, so who’s to say that he didn’t create others—another Earth in another solar system? Do we really think that God only had the power to create one world, and could only find the time to listen to our prayers, our hopes and our dreams? In addition, if there is life somewhere out there; then is it safe to say that God created that life. God created all life everywhere—here, and beyond the stars.

 

In a far off galaxy of an unknown solar system, twelve spacecrafts embark into the unknown in search of a primitive planet called Earth. Tragedies befell the ragtag convoy throughout their journey. Early in the flight they encountered a magnetic field. The space convoy was violently sucked deep inside the black slithering worm hole in space. All twelve spacecrafts were spit in different directions through time. Maron Solar Force carrying the kings and queens of the United Twin Planets was now separated from their interstellar convoy. Thousands of its citizens were lost before their spacecraft finally came to a halt. For all they knew, the other spacecrafts in their convoy had been destroyed upon entry. Ten long years they remain trapped until God stretched out His mighty hand and opened a door, which led to Earth and their lost people.

 

 

 

Chapter One

West Virginia Crash Down

 

 

Night fell aboard Maron Solar Force One as it traveled through the vastness of space engulfed inside the enormous worm hole. Darkness had been a constant, surrounding them during the day, but becoming blacker if that were possible during the night hours. Queen Malondra described the night’s gloom like being buried in a tomb deep beneath the ground on the dark planet Cadar. Like on Cadar, no stars lit up the night skies and the two moons were nowhere as if they had vanished; their essence sucked dry by the slithering worm. In Malondra’s many dreams she is carried far out into space. She views Maron Solar Force One trapped inside the slithering worm. In each of her dreams she sees the face of the demon that holds them captive. It suddenly turns in the darkness glaring at her, and in that brief moment its red eyes burn right into her soul, and then while she floats through space viewing their plight; she watches in slow motion as the demon joins its host, becoming one with the slithering worm. In her mind’s ear she hears its diabolical laugh as it sucks her back inside the spacecraft, leaving her shivering in fear. However, on this night her dreams had a different feel. She did not come in contact with the demon this time. Fragments of light push through the darkness and instead of floating in deep space in her dream; she is becoming one with the Light, and she feels its warmth enveloping her. She didn’t wake up shivering in fear; she awakened calm and serine.

Morning came again for the survivors aboard Maron Solar Force One. Darkness loomed heavy, encompassing the giant spacecraft just as it had all the mornings before, since they entered the black hole. There had been no beautiful sunrises or sunsets to mark the beginning, and ending of each new day—only the depressing darkness that enveloped the lone spacecraft. The beautiful twin sunrises, and the pink and purple sunsets they had so loved were now a thing of the past, and only obscure shadows fell across the dimly lit spacecraft as the kings of the United Twin Planets opened their eyes to yet another bleak morning. They did not expect that this day would be any different; however, a change had been taking place in deep space during the past month and had finally come full circle during the previous night. Something was about to happen that would change their lives forever. A gateway was opening that would lead them on a path to enlightenment.

During the ten long years, the small band of space travelers had never faltered in their faith that God would see them through to the end of their journey, even during the darkest of days. God was still beyond the darkness, and the light of His countenance would soon break through the darkness leading them into a new beginning for their people. The royal families prayed unceasingly for the unification of their combined peoples, knowing in their hearts that God’s plan for them would be to His glory, and the amalgamation of their collective intelligence. Their divine gifts had been dormant during their excursion through the darkness of the black hole, but their gifts were erupting from deep within their subconscious mind, displaying the glory of Almighty God. Queen Malondra’s gift of prophecy was returning, and soon the gifts of the others would be in full force.

 

King Armaiss and King Zandar had long ago resigned themselves to the fact that God’s plan for them was to live out the rest of their days lost within the enormous back worm hole that slithered its way through space. However, sure in their belief that all things somehow would work for good to the glory of God, and God will bring their children back into the light someday in their distant future. The last thing they expected was that their everlasting excursion through space would soon come to an abrupt end—and not their ending of choice by any stretch of the imagination. What they had feared in the beginning was about to happen, expulsion from the black hole, and their destruction or could it be possibly a new beginning, and the survival of their species.

They had long feared that their spacecraft would disintegrate if it ever left the black hole, breaking into minute particles, but to remain would be a long drawn out death sentence. Their depleting food and water supplies were almost exhausted, but what really worried the two kings was the oxygen level; it was dropping much faster than anticipated. It had been a well know fact that nothing could exist once sucked inside a black hole, but here they were, alive, and trapped inside for ten long years—a fluke of sorts. So it was a very real possibility that they would also survive the ejection from their dark prison? Had the entire Treckeon science community been wrong? Perhaps it was the exit that brought about destruction—not the entry, but who really knew for sure—no one had ever returned to confirm what the scientific community believed to be fact. Perhaps every spacecraft that ever entered, and believed destroyed were still locked inside or ejected into another dimension. These years lost, and adrift in the desolate blackness, with each day blurring into the next left them with many different speculations, which kept them going—giving them hope that one day they would find their way to Earth or maybe even back to their home planets of the future, at a time when their home was no longer a poison realm. Without these speculative daydreams all hope would have been lost in the bleakness of their surroundings, but they did have to admit that there were more good days than there were bad, and they lived for the good days.

Armaiss, the king of Uron woke early, with an uneasy sensation that left a hollow place in the pit of his stomach. There was something unusual in the air on this particular morning—a strange feeling that niggled deep in his subconscious mind—one that he could not put his finger on. The blackness of the gigantic wormhole seemed to envelop him much more than it had on previous mornings. Something in his surroundings was amiss, and caused the hair on the back of his neck to prickle against his skin. Armaiss attempted to shake off that uneasy feeling, but it only seemed to get stronger. He glanced over at his wife Darlama, sleeping peacefully beside him. Her beauty had not faded over the years. In fact, she appeared to be even more beautiful than the day of their wedding, eighteen years ago. He often wondered if there was something within this black hole that kept her from aging, but that could not be, the children had grown normally. Perhaps it was her Talonian heritage that kept her youthful appearance. She had kicked off the covers during the night, so Armaiss smoothed the blanket up over her tiny frame. Lovingly, he ran his fingers through her long silky black hair. Her hair was as silky as their four-year-old daughter Abella. His heart almost burst with the love he felt for this beautiful creature—his queen—the woman to whom he had promised the galaxy. His eyes suddenly displayed an all-consuming sadness, because all he had given her was the obscurity of this black hole, but that wasn’t true. Armaiss gazed down at her expanding abdomen, and he knew that he had given his lovely wife her heart’s desire—a son and a daughter, and soon another child would fill those gorgeous eyes with even more love. The children were the one bright spot in this ordeal. The bleakness of their surroundings never seemed to darken their spirits. It was all they had ever known. He left quietly, so not to awaken his sleeping wife. She needed her rest with the birth of their third child drawing near. The emptiness of the slithering wormhole had not stopped life from renewing itself with each new birth. Life would go on just as God had intended it to do.Armaiss walked quietly to the door of their sleeping chamber, and pushed the panel next to the door. The door opened, leading to the long corridor that encircled the great spacecraft. He looked back, the sadness in his eyes replaced by the love he felt, gazing lovingly at his sleeping wife. With one last look, he bent down, and stepped through the door, which closed automatically behind him. He walked down the long corridor, his steps quickening as the uneasy feeling filled his mind once more. He did not stop in the dining chamber for a steaming cup of Talonian tea as he usually did; he went straight to the communication chamber hoping that the instruments would explain the strange feelings that seemed to envelop his mind. The tea there wasn’t as good as Malondra’s, but would infuse him with the needed caffeine. His eyes scanned the instrument panel upon entering, searching for inconsistencies. Everything seemed to be normal, so he pushed the button on the tea maker, and waited for his cup to fill. With cup in hand he sat down at the communication desk to study the panel a second time. He couldn’t find anything that gave him pause, but still the uneasy feeling kept him on edge that entire morning. His eyes remained glued to the instrument panel, awaiting answers to his unanswered questions.

 

Zander, the king of Maron woke an hour later with the same uneasy feeling that plagued his counterpart. He had felt the same uneasiness several times during their flight, but nothing ever gave him pause, so he pushed it to the back of his mind. He reached over to the other side of the bed, but it was empty. Malondra must have gotten up early to prepare breakfast, allowing Darlama to sleep in this morning. Zander left his sleeping chamber, and then headed for the dining chamber. The same edgy feeling was pushing its way to the forefront of his mind. Without a word to his wife, Zander quickly exited the dining chamber, turned right, and headed for the communication chamber, sure, that the instruments would erase completely the troubled sensation that still niggled at the back of his mind. King Zander was sure he knew what was causing this uncomfortable feeling. It was the emptiness that echoed throughout the massive spacecraft like the echoes from a tomb. It seemed at times that he could actually hear the voices of the dead. Thousands of his people had died in route, leaving ghostly echoes throughout the spacecraft, in a way almost haunting.

 

Malondra sat in the quiet dining chamber sipping her favorite herbal tea. She looked up as her husband opened the door, but before she could speak, Zander turned suddenly exiting the chamber. Malondra wondered only for a moment about her husband’s quick departure. He had been on edge for weeks, and had often over the past week got that faraway look in his eyes, as if he had forgotten something, and hurriedly left to finish what he had been doing, but it was strange this early in the morning. She was sure that he had just come from the sleeping chamber where she had left him sleeping only moments before. It must have been something he had been working on the previous evening. She let the thought go, and went back to sipping her tea, while she decided what she would serve for breakfast. Today was Darlama’s turn to prepare the morning mean, but Malondra had noticed the night before that Darlama seemed more fatigued than usual, so she insisted on preparing breakfast.

Malondra had always been an early riser, enjoying her quiet time watching the two suns rising over Maron. With her eyes closed, she could imagine the beautiful twin sunrises of the past, reminiscing on happier times, and the meals prepared in the palace on Maron. She smiled, thinking of how well her cooking skills had improved while aboard Maron Solar Force One. There was no one else left alive to wait on the royal families, and over the years, she the Queen of Maron had become quite an accomplished chef.

 

Armaiss checked the spacecraft’s instruments, and nothing had changed, but the feeling that all was not as it should be kept the hair prickling against his neck. The instruments displayed that they were in the trajectory pattern of Earth, directly over the state of West Virginia. It had become a game and a geography lesson for the children as they tracked each country of Earth as the spacecraft passed over. Armaiss was surprised how quickly they could point out each place down to the smallest islands. His image of the children calling out answers had only taken his mind off the mysterious uneasiness for a brief moment. He sat in the communication chamber staring at the instrument panel, and listening to the silence that filled the empty chamber, allowing the sound of his own heartbeat to become an annoyance. In a crescendo effect, his heartbeat became a deafening echo thumping within his psyche. Armaiss rose to leave the chamber before he became so distraught with the silence. He wanted to scream at the top of his lungs, but that would only scare the children. He was glad when Zander entered the chamber. Zander’s footsteps seemed to drown out the thumping sounds that had been echoing through his conscious mind. It was then that they both felt a low vibration tremor throughout the chamber.

The two alien kings had believed nothing more could happen that would surprise or confuse them. Still, Zander and Armaiss were astounded as a cylinder shaped opening materialized in the darkness of the black hole, which glowed with a kaleidoscope of color that was almost blinding. It was as if they had come to the end of the slithering worm, and a door was opening that would allow them to leave. Suddenly the control panel went wild. Earth’s date on the trajectory panel started spinning; one moment it was 2007 then it was 1851 then 1990. It kept spinning, wildly out of control. Maron Solar Force One was about to exit the large wormhole at intense speed. Looming high over a dense forest, region of the Appalachian Mountains of southern West Virginia, Maron Solar Force One initiated its decent. The worm-hole looked like a downward tunnel, and the closer they got to the portal, the brighter it appeared. At intense speed the great spacecraft was hurled into space. After ten long years, Maron Solar Force One was finally heading for its original destination—Earth, but in what time-period was anyone’s guess. In a matter of minutes from the time the dates began changing, the spacecraft broke through a sudden opening in space—a portal of blinding light, freeing the spacecraft from its dark prison. A kaleidoscope of flashing lights filled the spacecraft from every direction as Maron Solar Force One traveled through the portal to freedom, embarking on a new adventure into the vast unknown. Flashes of exploding light streaked across the monitors that scanned the surroundings outside the spacecraft, keeping a constant surveillance in all directions, and up to one hundred miles, which made it possible to steer around floating debris in the darkness of the hole, but were now useless. The spacecraft seemed to vibrate in sync with the flashes of light. The noise was deafening. The spiraling commenced almost immediately—slowly at first, but intensifying until Maron Solar Force One appeared to be a giant missile, drilling its way through space.

Suddenly the intensity grew. Armaiss knew that he and Zander had to act quickly; they had to make sure the children were safely inside the nursery containment pods, and then get the women to the Flight Deck. He was half way to the door when the frightened voice of his wife came across the intercom of the now active control panel.

"Armaiss, something is wrong! Something is terribly wrong!"

Armaiss pushed every button on the control panel, which brought the audio from every chamber throughout the spacecraft. There were screams coming from all over the spacecraft.

"Zander!" Malondra’s screams were coming from the corridor near the children’s sleeping chambers. "My God, we are going to crash. The children—Zander, find the children!"

"Mommy, I’m scared!" Princess Abella's cries were heard in the play area of the nursery chamber.

"Father! What is happening?" Amaine called out from the exercise chamber, on level four.

"Braden, where are you! What happened to the lights," screamed Alaina. "Braden, I’m afraid! Braden, answer me please!" Her desperate cries seemed to be coming from the dining chamber. They had gone there looking for their mother, but she had left when the vibrations began to look for her children.

"I’m here! I’m here! I hurt my leg. I can’t get up!" Braden screamed out in pain as he tried to free himself. "I can’t get up Alaina! Help me!"

 

Armaiss checked the control panel, attempting to locate the children. He had just pinpointed each child’s location as Zander made his way from the other side of the communication chamber. It only took one glance at the control panel, and King Zander knew where his children were. He joined Armaiss, who was already out the door, and then they ran in the direction they had heard the voices of their children. Armaiss headed to the play area first. The nursery humanoid had malfunctioned, and was rocking one of Abella’s stuffed toys, while Abella held tight to its leg, begging to be picked up.

"Everything is ok baby, Daddy’s here." Abella reached up from the floor, tears streamed down her face.

"Daddy, Nanna don’t hear me."

"Hush now, Nanna’s ok. Don’t worry now. Let’s go find your brother." Armaiss grabbed up Abella as quickly as he could without alarming the child any more than she already was, and then headed for level four, whispering soothing words as he ran. He found his son Amaine on level four, where he had been riding the stationary bike. Before the boy could ask his father what had happened Armaiss scooped him up with his other arm, and maneuvered through the fallen debris with a child under each of his massive arms. He headed for the nursery containment-pod-chambers on level six—a Talonian invention, designed to keep those enclosed inside each chamber safe, even in the event of a crash. Each step Armaiss took only seemed to push him back two. The G-force against the spacecraft even taxed his great strength. It was all he could do to hold onto one child while housing the other in a nursery containment pod. He waited to lock the first pod until both children were safely housed inside. Once his children were safe, King Armaiss turned and ran in the direction he had heard the other two children. Armaiss prayed he could get there in time to help Zander bring his two children to safety.

Zander was much smaller in stature, and did not possess the strength of the Uronian King. Armaiss knew that without help, Zander would never get his children to the nursery containment pods in time. In addition, from what Armaiss had heard over the intercom, Prince Braden had been injured. Princess Alaina was much larger than Armaiss’ five-year-old daughter Abella.

"Armaiss, can you hear me?" Zander called out. "I’ve found them, but Braden is trapped under a metal cabinet. I can’t lift it!"

Armaiss had just turned the corner heading toward the sleeping chambers, when he heard Zander’s voice coming from the dining chamber. Armaiss stopped long enough to push the button on one of the intercoms, to let Zander know that he had heard his call, and was on his way. "I hear you Zander. I’m coming."

Armaiss entered the dining chamber about ten minutes after his intercom communication. He used his great strength, and easily lifted the metal cabinet from Braden’s leg. Blood oozed from the wound. Zander quickly made a tourniquet from a dishtowel and a wooden spoon that lay near the fallen cabinet. Zander handed his son to Armaiss, because he knew that with Armaiss’ great strength, Armaiss stood a better chance of getting Braden to the medical containment pods on level eight while he headed to level six with Alaina. Zander grabbed Alaina who had been too scared to move. Thoughts of his son being trapped beneath the metal cabinet had produced a burst of adrenalin. Alaina felt as light as a feather. The adrenalin was pumping hard and fast through his veins. He knew that he would need the extra strength, if he was to get his daughter to safety.

The two alien fathers ran past their wives, who were hanging onto the railing outside the sleeping chambers. Malondra’s breath caught in her throat when she saw the blood dripping from Braden’s leg. Before she could find her voice to inquire about her son’s injury; Armaiss rounded the corner heading for the stairs that would take him to level eight, and the medical pods, since all the elevators were out of commission. Zander didn’t have to push the controls to open the door that led to level six, because all the doors had automatically opened when the vibrations began, but the countdown had begun, and they would all shut in a matter of minutes. Armaiss turned for only a moment before continuing his climb. He made eye contact with the Maronian King, who was one flight below him. Armaiss let Zandar know that Braden was in good hands, and continued on to level eight. Zander secured his daughter inside the pod next to the pod that housed Armaiss’ daughter Abella, and then headed to where he had seen his wife and Darlama.

Armaiss secured Braden inside a medical containment pod, and then removed the makeshift tourniquet Zander had applied in the dining chamber, and replaced it with an automatic tourniquet that was standard equipment inside the medical pods—another invention of the lost superpower, Talon.

Zander was almost to where he had seen is wife and Darlama when Armaiss caught up with him. Through telepathy Armaiss conveyed to Zandar that his son was safely inside one of the medical pods. His gift had returned and it surprised both he and Zandar. Turning their attention back to the task at hand, together they returned quickly to where their wives were holding tight to the rails that stretched the long corridors that encircled the massive spacecraft. Zander’s burst of adrenalin allowed him to keep up with the larger and stronger Uronian King.

"Armaiss!" Darlama screamed. "Are the children all right?"

"Yes, I found them before we found Braden, and Alaina."

"Zander, Braden’s leg was bleeding! What happened?" Malondra screamed in a high-pitched tone displaying the fear that engulfed the younger queen.

"The cut didn’t look too deep, but I think it severed a vein. I applied a makeshift tourniquet to stop the bleeding, until the automatic tourniquet inside the medical pod could be applied. I also think that his leg may be broken."

"I turned on the sleep function, so he will sleep until Darlama can heal him." Armaiss spoke up quickly to assure Malondra that Braden wasn't in any pain.

Armaiss, Darlama, Zander and Malondra pulled their way along the long corridor as fast as they could, heading for the top level where the flight deck was located in the cone of the spacecraft. The going was rough, every few steps, and they were pushed back one. The voice of the spacecraft’s computer could be heard—ten minutes till lockdown. They passed the door to level nine when the computer voice came across the intercom again—six minutes to lockdown. Visibility was limited, and it was hard to see where they were going. Lights still burned inside the flight deck, fueled by auxiliary power, while all other lights over the spacecraft were off. The reserve power fueling the spacecraft had finally depleted. The absence of sunlight made the solar panels useless, and the damaged crystal left it impossible to pull power from the reactor on their lifeless planets. Maron Solar Force One had run on reserve power for ten long years. The corridors had remained in darkness these long years, reserving power with only every other night light set on the dimmest setting. Lights were limited to the flight deck in the cone, and the communication chamber on level two, which were only turned on when manned. The only other lighted areas were the living area of the spacecraft, the recreation chamber, dining chamber, nursery chambers, and their personal sleeping chambers on level four. Now the only light throughout the spacecraft came from the last remaining night-lights in the corridors which also ran on auxiliary power. The royal families had adapted their eyes to the darkness over the years. The children especially had the eyes of a cat, and could see well as they ran down the corridors to the other lighted areas of the spacecrafts.

Without any warning, the turbulence built to an explosive eruption, as the spacecraft exited the slithering black hole, and then a sudden motionless quiet, which gave them time they needed to make themselves secure upon entry into Earth’s atmosphere. They held tightly to each other as they fled toward the flight deck.

"Three minutes to lockdown."

Armaiss entered the flight deck first, and pulled the women through the opening with Zandar pushing from the other side of the door, and just as Armaiss went through as the final countdown began.

"Thirty seconds to lockdown. Twenty seconds to lockdown. Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one."

Echoes could be heard coming from all over the spacecraft as all the doors slammed shut, locking everything down. The spacecraft was now prepared for the crash. The royals quickly preceded to their flight chairs on the flight deck; there they would be fortified against the turbulent entry into Earth’s atmosphere. The cushioned dome covering would encircle the flight chairs, and hold them fast, cushioning them from any objects that might break loose, and cause injury, while allowing them complete access to the spacecraft’s control panel. Just as Armaiss and Darlama reached her flight chair, the spacecraft vibrated even more violently, ripping Darlama from her husband’s grasp, and flinging them both in opposite directions across the flight deck. Darlama was thrown into the control panel. Injured, and unconscious, Darlama was slammed repeatedly into the control panel, with each violent vibration. Armaiss was unable to move. He was pressed tightly against the flight deck floor, by the force of entry. Even his great strength was no match against the unknown violent forces that tossed the great craft like a child’s toy.

"Darlama! Darlama!" Armaiss screamed in his despair, unable to reach his pregnant wife. Zander and Malondra were unable to come to her aid, because the force of entry held them fast inside their flight chairs. Unsecured Darlama was tossed around the flight deck like a rag doll. All Armaiss could do, was watch his wife being slammed, repeatedly against the control panel and the inner wall of the flight deck. Finally, she was slammed against the floor, which in a way was a blessing. The G-Force held her fast. Armaiss used all his strength to pull himself across the slick service of the floor, until he was by her side, but all he could do was close his hand over hers, and pray for the life of his wife and unborn child.

Premature labor had begun. Armaiss could see the contractions as her abdomen heaved, and her mouth contorted in pain. The spacecraft finally came to an abrupt halt, and for a brief time it seemed to be floating in space—quiet and calm. The lull gave Armaiss the time he needed to secure his now unconscious wife into her flight chair, and activate the dome covering. Armaiss noticed at that moment that her contractions were now coming hard and fast. Even in her unconscious state, the pain could be seen on her beautiful childlike face. Then just as the spacecraft began to vibrate, returning to its downward decent, Armaiss activated the protective dome over his own chair. About ten minutes later another sudden halt in motion, but much more violent, as they crashed onto Earth’s surface. The spacecraft looked like a giant drilling missile as it burrowed deep within the mountain uprooting trees—dragging them into the deep crevice that would become their home on Earth for years to come.

Still in shock, they suddenly realized that they had hit land as the spacecraft finally laid motionless within the bored out hole in the mountain. Armaiss immediately released his restraints. He scooped his wife up in his massive arms, and carried her to the medical chamber. He laid her gently on the healing table, but there were no healers left to heal his ailing wife. Panic stricken, he looked to Malondra for help. Malondra in turn looked to Zander to take care of their injured son while she helped Darlama deliver her premature baby. She wasn’t a healer, but she would do the best she could for the Queen of Uron. Malondra knew that Darlama was in hard labor, and the premature birth would be very soon. She also knew that it was too soon for the fetus to survive without a healer. If they had been on Maron, and another Healer could have been in attendance—maybe. However, here and now, there was no chance to save the premature child.

"Armaiss, I will need your help, the baby is coming."

"It’s too soon!"

"Armaiss, you have to calm yourself, or we are going to lose both Darlama, and the baby."

It was over in less than an hour. Armaiss held his stillborn baby girl in one arm, and his wife in the other. He looked down at his unconscious wife, as sobs racked his massive frame. Armaiss searched his soul while his mind screamed over and over again. Why? Why? Why couldn’t I have done something to protect you my darling, and save our child?

Malondra laid her hand on Armaiss’ shoulder, trying her best to console him in his grief. "Armaiss, I’m so sorry," Malondra soothed. She gave his shoulder a squeeze, then turned and left the chamber, leaving him alone with his wife, and their stillborn child. Armaiss’ only solace was he knew that his tiny daughter rested in the arms of Almighty God, and when their fleeting life force ended; he, Darlama, and their stillborn child would be reunited in God’s Kingdom for eternity.

 

Totally alone, the refugees were far from making any contact with the primitive race of humans, which occupied their new planet home. Moments before the enormous spacecraft erupted from the gigantic worm-hole, the supply shuttlecraft, which accompanied their spacecraft, went through. King Zander and King Armaiss had no idea where the supply craft landed or crashed on the earth. King Zander thought he had seen an explosion in the sky after the crash, when he surveyed their surroundings.

 

The rulers of the Twin Planets knew they would have to keep their families safely hidden, concealed from inquisitive curiosity seekers. They must safeguard their families from those—who out of fear might cause them harm, by using them for secret experiments, dissecting them, like so many science projects. They made the decision to stay safely within the cave. The instruments read 1993, Earth Time—seven years earlier than the data, their surveillance devices had supplied years before the war that devastated their solar system. They had arrived in Earth’s past, years earlier than the scheduled time. Where had the other spacecrafts landed, and when? Were the others still drifting inside the giant wormhole in space? There wasn’t anything they could do, so here they would stay, until the time came for their people to be reunited once more.

 

 

 

Two

K-Mines Bolt Mountain

 

It had been a long drawn out night at K-Mines on Bolt Mountain, located in a sleepy little town in southern West Virginia. The hoot-owl shift had just ended, and Maintenance Forman Dennis Hopkins, a tall electrician with dark curly hair had just finished a double shift, and was on his way to the surface. Dennis went over in his mind the events during his night underground. The Joy miner had been down most of the evening shift, and it had taken him almost the entire hoot-owl shift to get it running again. It had been one of those nights that he had wished he had stayed in school, and chosen another profession, but that was water over the dam—so to speak. He was a West Virginia Coal Miner, and one of the best electricians round these parts.

"Boy am I tuckered," he said in a low whisper as the man-trip started its slow climb to the surface. He wasn’t talking to the buddy sitting at his right because the clanging of metal against metal as the man-trip rolled along the track wasn’t a place for conversation. It was just something he did when his body was too tired to sleep, and his mind was too fatigued to think.

Dennis, and several other coal miners from the evening shift sat slumped over on the man-trip as it rattled down the tract heading for the portal on its way to the man-trip-shed. Dennis often pulled double shifts on Fridays so he would have Saturday off, but today he seemed to be feeling fatigued just a little more than usual. Dennis, and his evening shift crew members were plum tuckered from their double shift, and the four men had a hard time staying awake, even on the bumpy ride out of the mines. Mine-lights switched off one by one as the man-trip exited the portal into the light of the early morning dawn. The day shift crew members were standing inside the shed laughing and joking as the man-trip entered the shed. They were talking so loud that Dennis couldn’t help hearing what the joking around was all about. Several of the hoot owl shift crew members were talking about an eerie encounter they had while hunting on Bolt Mountain the previous night. They had seen a spaceship or something that had resembled one. Noel the shift foreman made a comment that got the other men laughing.

"How’d you know what a real spaceship looks like?" He said speaking to the rookie red-hat.

"I see them on television all the time." The red-hat who was claiming to have witnessed this close encounter said with conviction in his voice

"Yeah, and I’m sure a real spaceship would look like one that was dreamed up on a Hollywood sound stage. My guess is that you good ole boys had just a little too much beer on your hunting expedition."

"Hey Dennis, forgot my thermos again. May I borrow yours?" Terry said as Dennis got off the man-trip.

"Sure thing, just drop it off at the house after work."

"Thanks man. You’re a lifesaver."

"No problem," Dennis replied. Dennis turned his attention to the back and forth between Noel, the shift foreman, and the young red-hat as Terry hurried off to the mine office to refill the thermos.

"You idiots were hallucinating from too much beer." Noel chided.

"No amount of beer could have caused us to hallucinate what we saw. And we all saw it."

The mine superintendant walked in the shed, silencing the UFO discussion. Terry caught up to him outside the man-trip shed, and the dayshift crew boarded the man-trip in silence. Lights switched on one by one as the man-trip disappeared into the darkness, leaving the rest of the UFO tale untold.

Dennis checked in at the mine office, filled out his paperwork, and then left for the day. His other crewmembers were exiting the bathhouse as Dennis was leaving the mine office. Yawning, Dennis gave a half-hearted wave to his buddies before heading to his truck that was parked by the guard shack. Robbie, the day guard was shuffling cards for his next game of solitaire; he only nodded as Dennis got into his pick-up truck. Dennis smiled, thinking to himself, now that’s a dog’s life if I ever saw one. He started his truck, and drove out the gate.

Dennis was having a hard time keeping his eyes open, and caught himself nodding off several times on his drive home. Halfway down Route 99 heading toward Route 3, Dennis reached for his thermos, but remembered that his buddy Terry had forgotten his thermos, and borrowed his. Dennis was sorry to see Terry leave the evening shift, but knew he had bid for several day shift jobs over the past year. Terry finally won the bid the previous week—not so lucky for Dennis. Terry would be operating the miner on day shift, while Dennis was stuck with Bailey. Since Bailey took over Terry’s position, the miner had broken down three times in the past week, when Terry operated the Joy-miner there would only be one or two breakdowns a month. Bailey is young, but he will learn, but while he’s learning; he will sure be a headache for me. Dennis thought, a little disgusted with the change.

Dennis dozed again, this time almost running off the road. Fairdale was up ahead, so he decided to stop at the Fairdale Diner for a quick cup of coffee—a little pick-me-up, before continuing his drive home. Just as he pulled onto the parking lot, he had an eerie feeling as if someone had just walked over his grave. He felt the shiver begin at the base of his spine, which moved quickly up the back of his neck. Then something caught his eye as he opened the door of his brown and cream Chevy pick-up-truck, but disappeared as quickly as it had appeared—bright lights—almost blinding. Dennis squeezed his eyes shut, but the kaleidoscope of flashing lights seemed to be embedded in his cornea. He rubbed his eyes hard with his fists. He felt a burning sensation. Then that too was gone, as if it had never even happened. Dennis decided that it was either his lack of sleep, or the fact that his eyes were still not used to the morning sunlight. He shook his head slightly, shoving the strange incident, to the back of his mind while he pushed open the door to the diner, where the strong aroma of freshly brewed coffee permeated his nostrils, drawing his thoughts away from the strange occurrence.

Grace Hopkins returned home from a sleepover at her mom’s house. The events of the previous evening had left her too afraid to stay home alone with her three children. Her aunt Mary dropped them off about eight, and she was waiting for her husband to get home from pulling his Friday night double shift. The children were sitting happily in front of the television with their little folding trays in front of them, eating cereal, and watching cartoons. Grace did not feel calm at the moment. A frightening image kept filling her mind as she paced back and forth, while watching the clock on the wall by the door. She was sure that Dennis would be able to put her mind at rest. Suddenly the telephone rang, startling her. She hurried to the wall phone in the dining room, and picked it up.

"Hello."

"Hey Hon, I’m at the Fairdale Diner. Gonna drink a couple of cups of coffee before heading home."

"You won’t be too awful long will you?" Grace asked her voice had a slight quiver as she spoke.

"No, I should be home in about an hour. Anything wrong, you sound a little strange, dear."

"Just hurry home. I miss you." Grace tried to make light of it. She didn’t want Dennis going too fast, and possibly having an accident. "See you in an hour. Love you, bye."

"Love you too."

 

Dennis sat alone at a corner booth drinking his coffee, and listening to the other patrons talk about this that and the other. A man dressed in camouflage began telling what Dennis called an old fish tale. No it wasn’t about the big fish he had caught. It was just that it was an unbelievable story. All the other patrons were laughing, like it was a big joke, but the man had a wild look in his eyes.

"I’m telling you guys, I seen it with my own eyes."

"Angus, you been drinking again?"

"I haven’t had a drop in weeks," replied the wild-eyed man.

This back and forth conversation went on for several minutes. Dennis knew that there was no possibility that what the man was talking about could have actually happened, but he sure acted like he believed every word he was saying. Suddenly the overheard conversation in the man-trip shed gave way to it being an actual possibility. Four buddies had witnessed the same thing this man had. Then the bright light that burned his eyes flashed through his mind. Dennis honed his ears straining to hear the men sitting at the counter.

"I’m telling you, I saw it crash, and I felt it too. The earth shook under my feet." Then suddenly he got a faraway look in his eyes, and then turned, and left the diner. Dennis thought it odd, but was so tired; he just let it slid, and went back to drinking his coffee, chalking it up to the real possibility that the man had mental problems, and his buddies at work had drank too much beer. He looked out the window, as the man drove out of the parking lot. Dennis noticed the gun rack mounted in the rear window of the man’s truck, and how many gun it contained. His inner voice spoke even though he never uttered a word. That cracker really shouldn’t be driving around with all those guns.

Dennis turned back around, and noticed that the other people in the diner had weird looks on their faces, as if they had finally believed what the hunter had said. Dennis was sure that these men were regulars at the diner, because all four men had been in the diner every time he had stopped in for coffee.

"I thought I was dreaming at the time, but now I’m sure that I was awakened to a slight earthquake this morning. The man at the end of the counter said to the other men sitting there.

"Yeah, I felt the earth move this morning too," said the man with the balding head and big beer gut.

"Me too," said the man wearing the John Deer hat that Dennis had admired when he walked in the diner.

"Oh if you believe any of that stuff Angus was spouting; you’re all nuts. There is no such thing as spacemen or spaceships," retorted the man with the long gray beard. "You three would believe anything you hear."

"Wait just a minute Joe. There was an earthquake, but I thought it was an explosion down at K-Mine. It knocked several glasses off the shelf, and rattled all the dishes in the diner. Hey you over there; you work at the mines, don’t you? Any explosions there just before dawn?" The owner of the diner looked at Dennis and the other men turned to see who the proprietor was talking to.

"Naw, we haven’t done any blasting in more than a month." Dennis told the owner of the diner.

"You didn’t feel the earth move?"

"Something is shaking or rattling down in them mines, too much rumbling from all the machinery, but no nothing out of the ordinary." Dennis wondered if he should mention the bright light he had seen before entering the diner. No, he thought. That would just add fuel to the flame, and get everyone all worked up. It would be like sharks in a feeding frenzy. Everyone who owned a gun would be out on Bolt Mountain shooing at anything that moves.

Dennis left the Fairdale Diner after two cups of coffee. As he stepped out into the sunlight; he remembered the bright lights. He glanced up as he walked out the door, searching the sky for any signs of the previous incident. Had he actually seen what he thought he had? Was that hunter telling the truth, and a spaceship actually crashed on Bolt Mountain? There’s plenty of area on that mountain for a spaceship to have crashed and it wouldn’t be discovered in a million years, he thought. He shook his head hard as if shaking those thoughts right out of his mind. The sky was a beautiful shade of blue with puffy white clouds. He saw nothing out of the ordinary. It was a beautiful Saturday morning. The hunter was crazy as a loon, and he let it go at that. He got in his Chevy pick-up, and drove the rest of the way home, not giving the strange bright lights or the talk in the diner another thought.

 

Three

The Hopkins’ Home

Grace, a slightly overweight mother of three small children was standing at the door, as Dennis pulled his pick-up-truck into the driveway of their Orchard Avenue home. He thought he had heard a strange tone in her voice, when he called her from the diner, and now wondered what was wrong. She opened the screened door. It made a slow screeching sound, letting him know that the door needed oiling again, but what really caught his attention was the wild look of fear in his wife’s beautiful green eyes.

"What’s wrong? What’s happened?" He could see their two children, Laurie and Denny, still in their pajamas in their usual spot in front of the television, watching Saturday morning cartoons, so nothing was wrong there. The baby was asleep in the basinet in the corner of the living room. The children were all right. Dennis looked around the living room, and nothing seemed to be amiss there either. He noted as he drove down Orchard Avenue that nothing in the neighborhood looked out of the ordinary. It must be that dog again, he thought. That dog had been nothing but trouble since he carried it home when Grace was still pregnant with Denny. Laurie was almost two at the time. She told him that she wanted a pony instead of a baby brother, so he figured a puppy a good idea. I thought that dog was finally housebroken. It’s been about a year since Grace complained about that dog.

"You’re not going to believe what happened last night."

Dennis didn’t want to hear what Heidi had done the night before, or where she had hidden it. All he wanted to do was go to bed, but Grace was insistent that he listen to what she had to say. On mornings like this one, he wished he had never brought that puppy home, but he still had to smile at how Heidi had gotten her name. Before she was housebroken, Grace would find hidden messes to clean up in the oddest places. The dog was lying on the floor between his two oldest children, and Dennis noted that she wasn’t cowering in shame, so it wasn’t Heidi that his wife was talking about, but what could it be. Before Dennis had a chance to ask what had happened, Grace continued telling her story.

"Billy was driving home from Morgantown with the girls."

"Was there an accident?"

"No. There was no accident, and no one is hurt. Dennis, just listen. Let me finish," she insisted.

"Ok, go on I’m listening." Dennis figured if he didn’t ask any questions; he would get to bed that much quicker.

"Mary picked me and the kids up yesterday afternoon, so we could have dinner at Mom’s. Billy called about seven from somewhere on the other side of Oak Hill. He said a blue light came out of nowhere, and it stayed beside his car for several miles, and then just disappeared. Moments later, his lights dimmed, and the electrical system went out, and his car died. We thought he was just acting a fool, making light of the fact that he and the girls were stranded, but something did happen."

Dennis had only been half listening at first, but the memory of the bright light, the wild-eyed man, and the overheard conversation in the man-trip shed came to the forefront of his mind.

"What happened next?" he asked, now fully awake.

"Like I said before, he and the girls walked to a phone booth, and called home. Since me and the kids were at Mom’s; we all went with Mary to pick them up."

"Ok, you, Laurie, Denny, David, your mom and Mary went. Where did you plan to put Billy and the girls?"

"Oh there was plenty of room. Mom and me sat in the back seat with Laurie, Denny, and of course I held David on my lap. Billy sat in the front seat with Beth and Becky. Does it really matter where we sat?"

"No, I guess not. Go on."

"We were on a dark stripe of road, about half way to our destination when we saw it."

"Did you see a bright light too?" Dennis asked, that eerie feeling from earlier was back, causing the hair on the back of his neck to quiver to attention.

"No. It wasn’t a light. Mary and I both saw it. It looked like a monster on the side of the road. I have never seen anything like that before, even on Chiller Theater. Mary almost lost control of the car, but when I looked back through the rear window, it was gone."

"Did your mom see whatever it was too?"

"No, mom was feeding David his bottle in the backseat."

"I thought you were holding David on your lap?"

"I was holding David on the trip back. Mon held him … What difference does it make who was holding the baby?"

"It doesn’t. Sorry, I’m just tired."

"I saw it Daddy," Laurie said as she got up from where she had been sitting watching cartoons.

"And what did you see, honey?"

"It was a monster with red eyes." Dennis glanced at his wife, and then back at his five-year-old daughter.

"Laurie, you were asleep. You didn’t see anything. Now go on, and watch your cartoons. Look your favorite, Strawberry Shortcake is coming on." Grace motioned for Dennis to go in the kitchen where she could finish telling him what happened. Grace got Laurie settled back in front of the television. She gave Denny a case with matchbox cars to play with, and laid out a mat with a farm scene of country roads. Grace then walked over to the basinet. The baby was still asleep, so she joined Dennis in the kitchen.

"That is strange," Dennis said, as she walked through the kitchen door. He had been going over in his mind all Grace had told him, and put it together with what he had seen for himself that morning, and what the hunter told everyone in the diner, and what the red hat’s tale in the man-trip shed. "I saw bright lights in the sky on the way home this morning. I got the weirdest feeling just before. You know the feeling, as if someone just walked over your grave. A hunter came into the Fairdale Diner, and told the strangest tale. He said he saw a spaceship crash on Bolt Mountain. After he left, these four guys at the counter told of feeling an earthquake. Even the owner of the diner said that there was an earthquake, but thought it was an explosion at the mines. I confirmed that there wasn’t. Oh, and several buddies from the dayshift crew reported seeing the same thing happen as the hunter at the diner." Dennis knew he sounded like he was rambling, but since he was so tired; he just voiced all the thoughts that were running through his mind. "Grace, that thing you saw, what did it look like?"

"I have been trying to put a face to it, but each time it almost comes into focus inside my mind, and then the image disappears. Almost like something is pulling its image from my mind. It’s almost as if some unknown force is making it impossible for me to remember what I saw."

"You know that hunter who was telling us about the crashing spaceship suddenly got a weird look on his face, and just walked out. It was like his mind went blank."

"I’m scared, really scared. I was so scared last night that I had Mary stop here on the way back so I could get PJ’s for the kids. We stayed at Mom’s last night. Mary dropped us off a few moments before you called from the diner."

"Did your brother or the girls see anything else except the blue light?" Dennis was hoping that the stranded travelers had seen something that would tell him what had happened during the previous night and then again that morning.

"Beth said she saw the light, but little Becky was sleeping in the back seat. Do you think it was a UFO that Billy saw? And what was the thing that Mary and I saw. Was it a …?" Grace’s voice trailed off not wanting to think or even say the word.

"Alien! Alien is the word you are looking for. You and Mary saw an alien, and I saw a flying saucer this morning, but if we tell anyone, what we saw; all of us will be branded as crazy. Don’t tell a soul, but keep the doors locked at all times."

"What good will locks do if it was really an alien?"

"Just keep them locked at all times, and don’t tell a soul what you saw. Maybe I had better not pull any more doubles for a while."

"Wait," you said that the hunter saw a spaceship crash, and the men in the diner were talking about an earthquake, but you saw the light in the sky just before you entered the diner. You didn’t feel a quake, so it must have happened before you came out of the mines, right?"

"Yeah, but what are you getting at?"

"If you saw the light, and didn’t feel the quake. Well then, these are two separate incidents, right?"

"Yeah, they must be."

"Well, what was it that you saw. How many spaceships were there?"

"Maybe you and the kids should go visit my mom, away from here."

"I don’t think that’s necessary. If I get scared, I can just have one of my sisters, sleepover or the kids and I can spend the night with mom. And you don’t have to worry about me talking about it. I don’t even want to think about that face."

"Grace, I don’t want to scare you, but if whatever it was, reached into the hunter’s mind, and stopped him from telling us anymore; couldn’t whatever it is find you here or at your mom’s. I’m putting in for a dayshift job on Monday. Get some things packed for you and the kids. I’m taking you to Mom’s tomorrow morning."

"But what about Mom and Mary, I can’t leave them here. Anyway, there is safety in numbers. We will just move back in with Mom for awhile."

"We’ll be packed in like sardines."

"Since Arlena and Judy moved out, there will be plenty of room, not like before.

"Ok, you get some stuff packed. I need to get a little shuteye. We will move back to your mom’s tomorrow, but I’d feel better if you were out of Beckley. Still we must never speak of this to anyone. Maybe these aliens monitor our conversations. If we are quiet about all this, maybe they will leave us alone."

Dennis and Grace made a pact that day. They would not mention the incident again.

 

Dennis noticed the newspaper sitting on the mail stand by the front door. He was wide awake after all the talk about alien invaders. He grabbed up the paper, and headed for the sofa where he could stretch out to read the morning news. As he passed the television; he turned the volume down a notch. The morning newspaper was filled with UFO sightings. Besides his buddies from dayshift, and the wild-eyed hunter; the paper reported others who had witnessed more than one bright streak of light as the spacecraft entered Earth’s atmosphere. Several groups of hunters claimed that they felt the ground shift beneath their tents. Imaginations were running rampant. Dennis and Grace read the account in the newspaper, and realized that people all over West Virginia were reporting the same event. Dennis and Grace looked at each other, but said nothing.

 

Sunday dinner at Grace’s mother’s house, emotions were high, and tension filled the air so thick that Dennis could have cut it with a knife. Billy never let on that he had read the article, but his eyes told a different story. They were filled with a daunting fear of the unknown. Grace wondered if they should have gone to the authorities with what they had seen, but when she looked at her Aunt Mary, she knew she should remain silent. Mary gave her stern look, as if to say. Girl, you forget it. Secretly Grace and Dennis Hopkins worried that what they had seen was just the beginning, and more aliens had landed on earth.

  

 

 

Reviews

[JacJak]

I read yours, finally. I was a bit behind with midterms coming up.
I like the setting and plot quite a bit. The characters were so-so, they could have used some more development, but if this was only Chapter 1, I have a feeling there would be more of that. Your overall story was great, but I really did not like the redundancy at some parts. (That's just grammatical-nothing against the story itself.) I will hopefully get to rate yours against the other two contestants ASAP.

[Gandré]

This was a great fairy tale. I would read it to my children before they learn physics. I liked this and I think such a theory is not less wrong than the science. For nobody was there. I loved to read this. Thx for yr review on my epic poem. I cannot read on blackberry but I will tomorrow. Much love.