Burnt Cabin

Burnt Cabin
By
Raman Jalota

   It appeared crystal clear to Jana. The razor sharp lights of the spaceship sliced the fog in the air, illuminating the countryside. There was a faint smell of pine, hanging in the air with the fog. The ship was roughly twenty meters in diameter, about 15 meters above the ground with its raised dome at the top spinning. It hovered motionless for a few seconds and then gently settled on the ground. The top stopped spinning and the lights in the dome started to dim. A portion of the front slid back revealing a small door and a ladder slid down from the opening.
   Her grandmother came walking out of the craft. That’s grandma. How did she end up in the spaceship? Jana shook her head trying to make sense of what she saw when a purple colored metallic being hurried after her and put his shining metallic hand around her grandmother’s waist. Her grandmother turned around with a smile on her face and looked into the being’s eyes. Jana screamed with fright and woke up. The pictures of Pelicans on her bedroom wall were reassuring. She turned on the bed lamp and sat wondering.
    It is only 4’O clock. What the heck? I can start early today. She got up, put on her jogging suit and headed for the beach.

…..

   She jogged for forty-five minutes then took of her shoes and sat on the beach, relaxing, running her toes through the sand.
   “You have pretty feet … and lovely toes.”
   Jana turned and saw a friendly woman slightly older than her standing next to her. “I … I didn’t see you. You startled me.”
   “I am sorry, I come here to jog too. It’s kind of early for me today. The sun’s barely risen. I have seen you here before though. I think you jog earlier than I do. I don’t get up this early often. I am Mary Ann. ”
   “I am Jana.”
   “Not Jana the teacher?”
   “How do you know that?”
   “I have been curious about you. I have just moved here and I have heard about you from the cashier at the bank.”
   “Why would someone talk about me?”
   “I think I told her I was moving in the old Manor house by the beach and she told me you live here and jog to the beach. Do you want to stop by one evening at my place for a drink or just a chat?”
   “Sure.”

…..

   Hogos sat on the metallic chair behind the large Green desk wringing his hands; “We haven’t got much time. The survival of our race depends on you, Doctor.”
Doctor Kedar shook his head, “What can I say, Hogos. It’s useless; all my genetic biology and the teams of my researchers can’t reverse this process.”
   “But I can’t accept that … the whole Vulcan race will be wiped out in a few years if we can’t reverse the virus that’s making all our females infertile.”
   “Sad to say, our only hope is to go back to the blue planet and find an interspecies survivor from Captain Darr’s trip there. He mentions in his memoirs that he had mated and reproduced with a woman from this planet … I think he called it earth. Do we have someone there already escee?”
   “We had sent three teams of explorers to find a female link, several months ago. So far we have not had any luck.”
   Another Vulcan came running into the chamber. He stood at attention near Hogos’ desk.
   “Yes Markus, what news do you have?”
   “We have heard from our agent in Texas. He thinks he has tracked a female survivor from Darr’s trip. He’s getting ready to test her for genetic markings and fertility.”
   Hogos stood up. His purple face was lit up, “Hope … there’s hope for us yet.”

…..

   Jana sipped the bloody mary Mary Ann gave her. “Hmmm tastes really good. Can I have another one after this? This is really good.”
   Mary Ann smiled, “This is my specialty.” She laughed, “I learned it from Martha Stewart. How long have you lived here in Texas?”
   “Oh, last eight years. I left Branson, Missouri when I was 17. I was tired of living at home while my mother had all these affairs with the weirdest people.”
   Mary Ann’s curiosity was aroused, “Weird .. like how?”
   “She always gyrated towards strangeness. She had an affair with a snake charmer; and a midget who boasted of being a Canadian mounty; hippies … you name ‘em she had ‘em.”
   Mary Ann was grinning while her mind was racing, “Is your mother still alive Jana? Back in … where did you say … Missouri?”
   “Naah … mother passed away three years ago. I didn’t ever think I will miss her, but I do.”
   “Do you have any other family here?”
   “No.”
   “In Missouri? Any brothers or sisters?””
   “Some cousins maybe. I am the only surviving child. My mom had twins; me and my brother RJ. I was born first. I always teased him about that … being born first … by thirty minutes.”
   “What happened to him?”
   “He developed a strange skin rash when he hit puberty. His skin started to turn blue and purple. The doctors couldn’t tell what was wrong.”
   “That’s metamorphosis!”
   “What … I thought that only happened to …butterflies and such.”
   Mary Ann’s eyes seemed to roll in her head, “Oops, what am I saying. I must be getting drunk. Do you want another?”

…..

   She was back on the beach jogging when the early morning clouds were burnt by three spaceships. Soon air force jets started swarming over them and around them. The ships hovered unresponsive. One of the jets fired a missile at a spaceship. Before the missile reached the ship it mysteriously turned around completely and went after the jet that fired it. Other jets started firing their missiles and the spaceships turned the missiles back on them. Soon there were several jets exploding and falling in the early morning Texan sky.
    There was complete chaos. Jana ran to her car and drove blindly. She got in her garage, turned off her car and sat gripping the steering wheel, shaking uncontrollably. This can’t be happening. What are these aliens after? Why can’t our air force stop them? Where can one go to get away from them?
   She ran inside and turned on the TV. The pictures were there. Twelve jets destroyed by their own missiles, and no sign of the spaceships. They seemed to have disappeared.
   The governor was on the air urging people to stay indoors and to avoid all travel till the National Guard could assure the safety of the citizens.
   There were loud knocks on her door and her doorbell rang continuously. Jana ran to the front door. It was Mary Ann. She heaved a sigh of relief and let her in.
   “Thank God you are O.K. Jana. I came here earlier but didn’t find you.”
   “I was at the beach jogging, when the spaceships attacked. It was horrible.”
   “I don’t know about you, but I am getting out of here. I am going back to Arkansas. It’s safer back there. Texas is so flat and exposed.”
   “How will you go? When ….”
   “Tonight … after dark … what are you going to do Jana? Do you want to come with me? It’s safer in Arkansas. I have to go and pack a few things.”
   “Let me think. I will let you know before tonight.”

…..

   The three teenagers eyed each other, measuring themselves against the others. The special agent started the session, “All of you have met me earlier, I am Tony McConally. I am in charge of this operation. This is Susan, she is 14; this is John, 17 and this is Mark, 13.”
   An assistant turned off the lights as Tony clicked on the overhead. They went over the events of the last week and he concluded with, “Our conventional weapons are useless against them. However, as you saw one of the spaceships did crash and we have it in our possession. You have full access to our lab in Area 51 and that’s where you will be flying to next. Any questions?”
   Susan grabbed a third chocolate fudge from the table and said, “I would like to know the chemical composition of the metal used in the spaceship. Do we have it?”
   Mark, “Hey Fudgie, I don’t think they know what it’s made of. We have to figure out how to get through this unknown metal.”
   “Who you calling Fudgie, Mark?”
   “That’s the fifth chocolate fudge you have eaten in the last half hour. I think I have the right name for you.”

…..

    Jana stared at the device, “What is it?”
   “It’s a communicator; a mapping device … one of the latest ones. It will get us around the roadblocks. You keep driving and I will use the communicator to find the shortcuts needed.”
   They drove on the side roads in silence, turning around whenever they spotted an army post or vehicle. So far it hadn’t been too hard – driving through farms and ranches, using side roads and dirt roads as much as possible. Most of the farms they had driven through seemed deserted at this time of night.
      Mary Ann whispered. “O.K. We are getting near the last cordon. Take a left at the next dirt road .. It should have a sign saying Gulch road. We can go past the ranch, cut through the fence, drive across it and then circle back to the highway at last.”
   Jana swung the Jeep off the dirt road and headed behind the small house on the ranch. She had barely picked up an indistinct shape in her headlights when the whole ranch was lit up by several beams of light. The national guardsmen were all around them, with weapons drawn.
   “Stop, this is the national guard. Identify yourself.”
   Mary Ann was busy furiously working the keypad on her communicator and muttering words that Jana didn’t understand.
   “When I say so, make a sharp right turn and head straight up. Keep the engine running. Where the hell are they?”
   Jana had barely uttered the word ‘Who’ when several loud bangs knocked out the lights. Small fires started around the army vehicles and the guardsmen scattered.
   “Now!’ Screamed Mary Ann. Jana stepped on the gas and moved the Jeep spinning, skidding towards the fence. “Go Through it, Jana.”
   “Hold on, here we go.”

…..

   Jana’s head was slowly rocking as the Jeep sped down highway 35. Mary Ann let her sleep for a while, then pulled off the freeway onto a deserted rest stop. So far so good.
   She reached in the back of the Jeep and pulled out a bag. She opened it and took out a green box. She opened it and removed a small plastic bottle with a pointed nozzle on top. She broke the top off and placed the bottle under Jana’s nose letting her inhale the fumes coming out of the bottle.
   Good! A few more seconds and she will be under. Jana’s body shivered for a short time and then went completely limp.
   Mary Ann took a small syringe out of the same box and drew blood twice from Jana’s left arm. She transferred the blood to two small containers and put them in another silver container. She walked a few feet from the Jeep and placed the silver container on the pavement. She got back into the Jeep and picked up the communicator. She started punching instructions in it and aimed a small bluish light in the direction of the container. She waited a few minutes. The communicator started beeping and blinking. She carefully read the message, smiled and started driving the Jeep back to the highway.

…..

   Jana was running away from the aliens. My God, they are everywhere. And how useless the national guard is against them. These little purple creatures have more strength and capabilities than the U.S. guard.
   A group of three aliens sighted her and came running to her as bullets and missiles flew around them. One of them gestured towards the ocean, “Quick, we can get you out of here, before these idiots start killing everyone.” He held out his hand. She was hesitating as more shots rang out.
   “Idiots. They never learn. Hurry up before you get hurt.”
   She took hold of his hand and ran crouching towards the ocean. She spotted what they were running towards. A small circular vehicle about 3 meters in diameter was sitting at the edge of the ocean. They quickly ran into it and the alien who had been talking to her placed his palm on the panel, “Keep your head down.” The top of the vehicle slid into place and the vehicle moved into the ocean. As it sank into the water, two panels retracted on each side and the vehicle started moving at a high rate of speed.
   “I can drop you on the beach two miles west of here.”
   “But why are you helping me? What about the others?”
   “Your grandfather … because of him.”
   “My grandfather?”
   “Yes, try and remember.”
   She shook her head, “I don’t remember my grandfather ... I barely remember my grandmother. What’s …”

…..

   Hogos was smiling.   Markus shuffled around dancing, “We have her. We have the key.”
   “That was fun, blasting those guys and making way for them to escape. That should seal their friendship. Now we need her to cooperate.”
   “At worst we will still have her, we can forcibly impregnate her, we have to use massive cloning in any case.”
   “Yes, Markus. But think of the wonderful next race if she agrees to it willingly.”
   “Have we got the genetic results?”
   “I think Dr. Kedar is on his way with the results.”
   Dr. Kedar entered the room in his normal slow manner. Hogos got up from his chair and moved towards him, his hands outstretched, “So! She is it! I can tell by your smiling eyes, she is it.”
   “You are right escee. Jana has the genes of Darr. We can use her to propagate our race. Even if the race evolves to a cross between a Vulcan and an Earthling, It’s going to save us from extinction. Where is she? Is she on her way?”
   “Very soon, Dr. Kedar. Let me inform our agents.”

…..

   Mary Ann pulled off the highway and drove to the Village Inn. It was completely empty. A waitress took them to a table; “You are new in town, aren’t you? People here are just too scared with what happened in Texas.”
   “I think the national guard has everything under control, don’t they? We are from Dallas, we didn’t really see much. Just what was on TV.”
   “Some folks are saying that hundreds of people have been killed and the National Guard isn’t much use against the aliens.”
   “Is that right? Can we have some coffee?”
   Jana came back from the bathroom, her eyes were still red from sleeplessness, “So what do we do now?”
   “We will go to Hot Springs and head for my cabin in the Ouachita Mountains. There’s a beautiful lake by my cabin – Lake Sylvia. We can fish and relax there for a few days till things get back to normal.”
        Mary Ann sang as she drove the rest of the way. She turned on highway 51 and into Hot Springs. They stopped and picked up supplies from a small store and headed on highway 7 towards Russellville. Mary Ann turned on a dirt road and drove through a completely deserted stretch of road flanked by Pine trees. As she turned around a corner Jana spotted the lake. A few seconds later the cabin appeared.
   “Good we are finally here.”

…..

   Jana walked back to the cabin from her early morning jog. Mary Ann was fiddling with the communicator. “Ahh … you are back. All relaxed and ready for our talk.”
   “What talk? I thought we will lay low for a week or so till things improved, and then head back.”
   “There is much more at stake here. I have information that these Vulcans … er aliens need your help.”
   “My help? What did you call them? Vulcans … how do you know?”
   “I have been in touch with them. This communicator is a Vulcan device … how did you think we managed to come through all the checkpoints?”
   “I don’t understand what you are trying to tell me Mary Ann.”
   “Jana, don’t you think there’s more to you and the Vulcans than just a few coincidences that you were on the beach when they came .. and that they helped clear our way out of the army posts?”
   “I … I don’t know. I am a little confused. I have been having some strange dreams about aliens …. Blue colored aliens.”
   May Ann smiled and held up her hand, “About this high?”
   “Yes, about four and a half feet tall. How would you know?”
   “I will tell you soon. What about your dreams?”
   “I had this dream where my grandma was coming out of a spaceship with an alien. He had his arms around her. And in another one, an alien rescued me at the beach ... he said something about my grandfather … But I don’t remember my grandfather at all.”
   “Do you remember what name your grandmother went by?”
   “Well of course Jeana … Jeana Trevor.”
   “Was Trevor her married name?”
   “I don’t remember. It may have been.”
   Mary Ann paused for a moment and proceeded, “Does the name Darr mean anything to you?”
   “It sounds familiar … what does it mean?”
   “Could your grandmother have been married to Darr?”
   “That’s possible. I feel I have heard the name but can’t be sure in what context.”
   “You thought it sounded familiar? How? Is it a family name? Think Jana. I think I know what it is.”
   “You know! What?”
   “That’s your grandfather’s name. Your grandmother didn’t take on his name for her own safety.”
   Jana stared at Mary Ann, shaking her head, “I … I don’t understand.”
   “Jana, a Vulcan spaceship crashed on earth and your grandmother met the only survivor, a Vulcan named ‘Darr’. They lived together till he could rebuild his spaceship and fly back.   She bore children from him and you seem to be the only female of that line.”
   “How do you know that?”
   Mary Ann pointed to the communicator, “I am a Vulcan too. I am here to take you back .. back to your place on our planet. You are our only hope of continuing our race. You are our only means of survival. We need you Jana. Your ancestors need you to assure the survival of their race.”
   As Jana walked back and forth thinking, Mary Ann slowly shrunk to a small bluish creature.
   “See Jana … I am special agent Carman. I am here on a mission - to take you back.”
   Jan screamed, “I am more important than any goddamned race, be it human or alien. I will do what I decide is right for me. To hell with you and your planet.” She pushed the Vulcan away from her and ran out of the cabin. She ran through the woods, unsure of her direction but determined to get away.
   Carman gave up the chase almost immediately, “I can’t keep up with her in this body. I am going to call in the troops.” She started signaling on the communicator.

…..

   Fudgie smiled as she saw Jana running towards their Jeep, “Here she comes. The aliens can’t be far behind.”
   She signaled to her and helped her in the back of the Jeep, “We are ready for the aliens. We are here to help you.”
   Jana was perplexed till she looked beyond and saw the US army troops around them, “What are we waiting for?”
   “Shh … we are waiting for the aliens.”
   They didn’t have to wait long. Three spaceships appeared over the cabin. Carman walked sluggishly out of the cabin gesturing towards the woods.
   “Now.” John drove the Jeep into the clearing as Mark aimed the strange device on top of the Jeep at one of the spaceships.
   “Fire one.” Fudgie shouted gleefully. The laser beam struck the spaceship at the seam where the top half of the ship joined the bottom half. The ship wobbled for a split second before igniting and blowing up.
   “Yeay! Just like we figured it. Let’s get the next one.”
   The second spaceship came towards the Jeep and hovered hesitatingly. Mark aimed and fired another burst and the second spaceship burst into flames. He aimed at the third one. The spaceship didn’t hesitate, it took off at a tremendous speed disappearing from the Arkansas sky. The burning spaceship fell on top of the cabin burying Carman.

The End      3496 words

Copyright © 2004 Raman Jalota. All rights reserved. No part of this electronic publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the written permission of the author.

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