The Cat's Tongue (Horror Story)

Originally published on Triond

 Tony Wilson sat on the couch and picked up the newspaper. The headlines were about a murder. The killer had not been caught and the police had published a special phone number for anonymous tips.

 Tony's cat rubbed against his leg. "Meow."

 "Aye, Tiger. What's the matter?" Tony picked up the cat. "You hungry?" After petting the cat for a few seconds, he gently placed it on the floor.

 He placed some dry cat food in the cat's bowl and ensured that the other bowl was filled with water. The cat walked up to the bowl and ate the food.

 Tony heard his son, Jason, talking to a friend as the front door opened. "Bye" Jason waved and turned toward Tony. Jason removed his backpack and laid it on the chair.

 "What's the matter?" Tony saw the tears rolling down Jason's face.

 Tony led Jason to the couch where they both sat down. He waited for Jason to stop crying.

 Alice came out of the kitchen. She sat on the other side of Jason.

 Jason barely voiced the words. "Mom."

 "Yes, honey." Alice kissed Jason on the forehead.

 "Timmy died." Jason wiped his tears with his shirt sleeve.

 Alice and Tony glanced at each other. Timmy was Jason's best friend. Timmy would come over and play with Jason every day.

 Tony used the remote control to turn on the television. They listened to the latest reports about the murder. A eye witness claimed the killer was six feet tall. The eye witness only saw a silhouette of the killer but he said it looked like the killer was dressed in some sort of oversize cloak that covered the killer from head to toe.

 "Where do people go when they die?" asked Jason.

 "They go to Heaven." Alice smiled.

 "Can they ever come back?"

 "No, honey." Alice kissed Jason on the forehead. "They stay in Heaven and they watch over us from there. " Alice looked tenderly at Jason. "I think heaven is the kind of place folks just don't want to leave."

 "Can we see them when they are in heaven?"

 "We can always see them with our hearts." Alice suddenly remembered Jason's birthday party. "Would you like a picture of Timmy for your bedroom? Pictures can help the heart remember."

 "Yeah. Maybe that would be good."

 Alice left the room for a few moments and returned with a photo of all Jason's friends gathered round the kitchen table while Jason blew out the birthday cake candles. She pointed to Timmy. "See? There he is."

 Jason grabbed the picture. "Gee. Thanks, Mom! Do you think Timmy would like my having this?"

 "Of course, he would!" Alice smiled.

 The cat jumped up on Jason's lap and licked his hand. Jason giggled and said. "Awe, go on! Tiger! Stop kissing me. You silly old cat."

 Jason fell asleep on the couch. Tony carried Jason into his bedroom. Alice removed Jason's shoes and laid him on the bed. The she covered Jason up to his shoulders with a blanket and kissed him goodnight.

 Tony and Alice entered the living room just on time to see the news broadcast about Timmy. The reporter said Timmy's family was killed by a person dressed from head to toe in a long cloak.

 "Its good that Jason fell asleep and did not hear this." Alice turned off the television. "Would you like some tea before heading to bed?"

 "Sure." Tony entered the kitchen and sat at the table.

 Alice poured water into the coffee maker and turned it on. The kitchen window was facing the back yard. Suddenly Alice gasped as she pointed out the window. The moon light shone on a cloaked figure about seven feet tall.

 Tony ran into the bedroom and got his gun out of the closet. Then he ran out the back door yelling "Stop!"

 The cloaked figure tried to run but fell to the ground. Tony removed the cloak only to find a 14 year old boy on stilts. The boy was laughing.

 "That's not funny, Frank Watts!" Tony picked up the cloak. "Get up!" He grabbed the boy by the arm. "We're going to see your dad. Now!"

 Alice had been watching from the kitchen window. She ran out into the backyard and approached Frank and Tony. She was about to tell Frank about Timmy.

 "Tim ..." Her voice faded as Tony shook his head back and forth.

 Then she returned to the house.

 Frank Watts was the neighborhood prankster. He had frightened young children on many occasions. On the previous Halloween he had dressed as a bear and recorded the sound of a bear on a digital recorder. Then he had hid in the shadows and played the tape whenever a youngster came by.

 Alice opened the back door and entered the kitchen. She sat in the chair and realized her hand was shaking. She thought about the tea. Then she opened the cabinet door and removed some brandy from the top shelf. She put a tea bag in the cup, poured some hot water in and let it brew. Then she poured some brandy in. She sipped it slowly.

 She heard Jason moving around. She walked into his bedroom. "What's the matter, honey?"

 Before Jason could answer, Alice saw the open window. "Who opened the window?"

 She picked up Jason and turned toward the door. That's when she saw the cloaked figure. It was upright in the doorway. The surface of the cloak had numerous knobs designed to hold its victim. It looked more like a large tongue than a cloak.

 Alice backed up toward the window. She turned and held Jason out the window, looking at the ground five feet below. She did not drop Jason for fear he would get hurt. She screamed as the cloaked figure grabbed her leg and pulled both her and Jason back into the bedroom.

 Alice and Jason laid on the bedroom floor. She was unable to free her leg. She let go of Jason and told him to run. The cloaked figure wrapped the cloak around her and pressed the cloak against her face. She let out a smothered scream as she felt excruciating pain.

 Jason darted around the figure and grabbed a souvenir miniature baseball bat from his dresser. He repeatedly hit the cloaked figure with the bat. "Leave my mom alone!"

 Tony was outside the front door. As he opened the front door, he heard Jason. He ran into the bedroom. He released the safety pin on his gun and shot the cloaked figure. The cloaked figure lay lifeless on Alice.

 Alice laid there after Tony pulled the cloaked figure off her. She had been stabbed several times. Tony phoned the police and an ambulance.

 The police arrived and removed the cloak from the killer. The ambulance arrived a few moments later and took Alice to the hospital. Alice's operation lasted seven hours. Doctors expected her to survive.

 Headlines appeared in the local newspapers and on the Internet. The story described Alice's horrible experience and the heroic efforts a her five year old son Jason. From that moment on, Alice referred to Jason as "My little hero."

Phantasm

PHANTASM

Let me tell you a story about a guy named Joe. Joe was the last surviving member of his family. His parents passed away many years ago and his brother passed away within the past two years. Joe did not seem lonely at all. He was quite content to live by himself and rarely had any visitors. Often he would be in his home for days without any contact with the outside world.

When Joe went out, he would visit the local donut shop and converse with a few old friends. He often talked about how rich he was. But people misinterpreted what he meant. One day he told his friend, Ralph, that the riches he was talking about were not temporal goods. Ralph did not believe him. The rumors about Joe being rich were widespread. People heard that he had a wall safe. As these rumors spread from person to person, the story become more and more exaggerated until some people said he kept $500,000 in thousand dollar bills in that safe. Ralph believed the rumors and made plans with his friend Frank.

The road was pitch black. The only light was the light of the half moon and a living room light in the house across the street. Joe's house was dark. Only a night light was illuminated.

Ralph walked around the side of Joe's house and removed a window cutter and a suction cup from his tool box.

Joe did not hear the window cutter cutting a large hole in his living room window or the suction cup used to pull the window out. He was in his second floor bedroom. He was viewing videos of his family. He was laughing and talking even though no one was present in the room.

Ralph peered in the window. There was nothing unusual about the room. The wall to wall carpeting looked new and was clean. The couch sat in against the far wall. A beautiful coffee table was on the far side of the room. An ash tray on the coffee table contained three cigarette butts. A pack of cigarettes and a cigarette lighter lay beside the ash tray. A shot glass and a bottle of liquor lay next to the cigarette lighter. The couch was behind the coffee table. Two pillows were on the couch. On the wall above the couch was a framed picture of Elvis Presley with a guitar in his hand and a microphone in front of him.

Ralph climbed in and walked slowly and quietly to the front door. He was wearing gloves. He remembered that the front door squeaked. He removed a small container of oil and a cloth from his tool box. He dabbed the oil on the hinges. Then he unlocked and opened the door.

Ralph's accomplice, Frank, entered the living room. Ralph gently closed the door and proceeded to the far end of the coffee table. He removed the shot glass from the table and placed it on the floor. Then they moved the table to the center of the room.

Ralph and Frank removed the pillows from the couch and stood up on top of the couch. They worked together to remove the framed picture from the wall and gently lean it against the same wall near the floor. Then Frank got back on the couch and inspected the lock on the wall safe. He picked the lock with a pin and opened the safe. Frank searched through the papers in the safe. He uttered a four letter word and said, "It's not here!"

Frank closed and locked the safe. Then they hung the picture on the wall. That's when they heard footsteps. The sound appeared to be coming from the kitchen. They withdrew their guns and slowly approached the kitchen entrance. As they reached the kitchen entrance, they saw the back door. It was closed. The kitchen table was surrounded by four chairs. A box of donuts and two cups of hot steaming coffee were on the table. Beside each cup was a napkin. They heard the sound of someone shutting the refrigerator door.

Ralph and Frank looked at each other. They stood perfectly still and silent. No sounds came from the kitchen for the next few minutes. Frank peered into the kitchen. He pointed his gun at the refrigerator only to find no one was there. Where could the person be? Inside the refrigerator? He opened the refrigerator door. There was nothing inside except a quart of milk, some cold cuts and a loaf of bread.

Ralph was perplexed. "I don't get it."

Frank put his gun away. "Lets get out of here."

As they came back into the living room, Ralph spotted a shadow moving across the window he had cut a hole in. Ralph pointed his gun toward the window, but Frank grabbed Ralph's arm and pointed to the front door.

Someone was knocking at the door. Ralph fired his gun three times, leaving two bullet holes in the front door. The front door opened. Nobody was there. The porch light went on. The kitchen radio started blasting music.

The third bullet hit Frank. Frank fell to the floor with blood seeping out of his shoulder.

A neighbor heard the gunshots and called the police.

Ralph saw depressions in the shape of the shoe appear and disappear on the wall to wall carpeting. Then he heard a soft taunting voice, "The coffee and donuts are waiting for you. Come and have some."

Ralph fired his gun in the direction of the footsteps. He felt something grab his arm, but he did not see anyone. Something was pulling him toward the kitchen.

"Let me go!" Ralph yelled as he flailed his free arm. His arm was released.

Ralph was perspiring. His hands were shaking. His face was pale. He dropped his gun. It didn't make any sound when it hit the plush carpet.

In the bedroom, Joe was laughing as he watched his favorite video. He mumbled something about how wonderful it was to live with his deceased family members.

Between the bed and the wall there was a blank outlet cover with two screws holding it to an outlet box. It was about twelve inches above the floor, but it did not contain an electrical outlet. It did not contain any money either. It contained something much more valuable. It contained all Joe's memories of the good times he and his family had on a single electronic chip. This chip provided the medium of communication between Joe and his deceased family. And every time Joe watched the videos, the spirits of his deceased family would roam the house.

Joe heard sirens as the police car pulled up in front of the house. He turned off the monitor and walked down the stairs. He walked across the living room and opened the front door. The police entered and placed Ralph and Frank under arrest. Frank was sent to the hospital for a few days. Then the police sent Frank and Ralph for psychiatric evaluation after hearing their mumbling about ghosts.

Consequences of a Malicious Act

Sam Maxwell was sitting on the couch reading a newspaper. He periodically glanced at his cleaning robot. Sam was proud of this robot. It was his first prototype and it was selling like mad. He had designed this robot to handle all household chores except preparing and serving meals. His second design was a landscape robot that took care of the lawn and bushes and also shoveled the snow. His third design was the kitchen robot who prepared and served meals. The kitchen robot was malfunctioning.

Sam's laptop was on the coffee table. It was powered up and displayed the design of the coordination unit inside the kitchen robot. The coordination unit coordinated the software unit with the mechanical movements of the robot.

Sam had detected malicious viral activity in the coordination unit. Sam figured that the virus probably infected the computer before the software was transferred from the computer to the robot. The aim was clearly sabotage. Sam suspected that the culprit was a disgruntled employee who had been fired six months ago.

The doorbell rang. The cleaning robot opened the door and invited Sam's good friend, Jack Wilson, in.

Jack had designed the maintenance robot which was capable of repairing all other robots. It was also capable of finding it's way to any home. This was the maintenance robots first repair off the site.

The first thing Jack noted was the cabinet blocking the kitchen door, but he did not say anything.

"Hi Jack", Sam closed his laptop and rose from the couch. He extended his hand across the coffee table. After shaking hands, Sam offered Jack the reclining chair adjacent to the couch.

Jack thanked Sam and sat down. "Hi Sam, How are you?"

"Fine. And you?"

"I'm okay." Jack took out his remote control and activated the maintenance robot which was in Jack's truck. "So what is the problem?"

Sam lifted his leg up and rested it on the coffee table. Then he pulled up his blood stained pants and unwrapped a nasty cut on his leg. The blood had begun to clot. Sam pointed to the cut.

"How did that happen?" asked Jack.

"I requested a cup of coffee. The kitchen robot came out and attacked me." Sam took the remote control out of his pocket, "I deactivated the robot, but it can reactivate itself at will."

"That's what I figured when I saw your kitchen door."

They heard a loud noise. The kitchen robot had slammed it's mechanical arm against the door.

Then they heard the doorbell ring.

The cleaning robot opened the door. The maintenance robot came in and proceeded toward the kitchen door.

"We have to manually remove the power source from the robot."

Immediately after the maintenance robot moved the cabinet over, the kitchen robot pushed the kitchen door open real hard. It tackled the maintenance robot and both fell to the floor.

Sam limped over to the kitchen robot and laid over it. He grabbed the kitchen robot's arms.

The kitchen robot stood up and bent over while yanking it's arms forward slamming Sam on the floor beside the maintenance robot.

The maintenance robot grabbed the kitchen robot by both arms and pushed the robot against the cabinet.

Sam was stunned. It took him a few moments to rise to his feet. The kitchen robot grabbed Sam's legs and slammed Sam body against the floor again. Then the kitchen robot started twisting Sam's leg.

"Jack, Jack, Where are you?" Sam yelled.

The front door opened and Jack came in. He pointed a gun at the kitchen robot.

The kitchen robot released Sam and grabbed the maintenance robot, using it as a shield.

Jack hesitated. The history of the maintenance robot flashed through his mind. He recalled the years of research, the repeated request for government funding, the assembly of the maintenance robot, the programming and testing of the robot. Not knowing about the virus; Jack assumed that after this incident, there is no way he would receive funding to build any robot.

Jack lowered the gun.

The kitchen robot lowered the maintenance robot to see what Jack was up to. Jack quickly raised the gun and fired in an attempt to disable the robot's visual cortex. The bullet went through the kitchen robots head and into the door. The kitchen robot fell to the floor.

The maintenance robot quickly rolled the kitchen robot over and loosened the cover on the kitchen robots upper back. Then the maintenance robot reached in and removed the power source.

Sam sighed in relief. Suddenly the kitchen robot grabbed Sam's leg and squeezed. Sam yelled in pain. Jack fired the gun again and the kitchen robot released Sam's leg.

Sam looked at Jack. "Residual energy."

Jack shook his head in agreement. He took out his cell phone and dialed the police. He told them to send an ambulance.

The Light House

Originally published on Yahoo Voices

The work day was almost over. The last tourists were leaving the lighthouse and traveling down the dirt path toward the beach. Rocks protected both sides of the path from the water. The hundred year old lighthouse belonged to the local historical society. Every day from 8:00 AM to 4:00 AM, Mr Hansen would give tourists a little education of the history of the lighthouse. The tourists could view excerpts from the logbooks and the old lantern. They would learn about the duties of the lighthouse keeper before lighthouse were under the control of the Coast Guard. Mr Hansen was 85 years old. He worked at the Lighthouse before the Coast Guard donated it to the Historical Society. Now Mr Hansen would clean up the place. But today was different. Today Mr Hansen would remain at the lighthouse beyond 5:00PM. As the tourists traveled up the beach to the road, a truck pulled up and parked. Several men got out of the truck, walked across the beach and started down the path to the lighthouse. Mr Hansen was about to have visitors: Some had been invited. Others had not.

A few blocks from the lighthouse, a boy's voice filled the air with happiness. "Schools over!" Little Tommy ran home from school with joy and enthusiasm seldom matched by an adult. He was anxious to show his mom his report card because he got good grades in all subjects. "Yahoo!!" He jumped over the low fence surrounding the freshly cut lawn and ran toward the front porch. He jumped on the porch skipping a few steps and opened the door. "Mom! I'm home!" He yelled waving the report card.

His mom was in the kitchen making a salad. She wiped her hands with a towel hanging on wall and took his report card. "Very good!" she said, "Very good." she paused, "You are not suppose to wear your bathing suit to school."

Tommy looked surprised.

"Its sticking out of your pants." She tried hard not to laugh.

This summer promised to be very hot. And Tommy would take advantage of the good beach weather. Today he looked forward to walking the path to the Light house after 4:30 PM and listening to the stories told by Mr Hansen. Tom's family knew Mr Hansen well.

He looked at the clock. It was 4:00 PM. He started for the door.

"Eat first," his mom said as she served dinner, "Call your brother and wash your hands."

"Ricky." he shouted.

His younger brother came out of the bedroom.

"Ricky got a good report card too." Mom said, "Right, Ricky?" Mom turned off the stove burner.

Ricky smiled and sat down. "Hey!" he yelled.

Mom turned and looked at Ricky.

"Tommy put more peas in my dish." Ricky complained.

"Tommy, you have to eat your peas." She turned to tend to the dirty pans.

Ricky ate and started walking away from the table. Tommy threw a pea at Ricky. It missed and landed in the sink.

Mom turned around and sat next to Tommy. "Eat your peas." She watched him until all the peas were gone. "Thats better. Now you can go out and play. Don't go swimmng without a life guard." she tapped Tommy on the shoulder as he and Ricky walked toward the front door. "And I mean a real life guard. Not Ricky. Understand?" She gave them a big towel.

Tommy and Ricky shook their heads up and down.

"Good!" said Mom, "Now go out and have fun!" she smiled as she watched her two boys jump off the porch and run down the sidewalk towards the beach.

Mom picked up the phone.

Mr Hansen had talked to Dad the other day. Tommy didn't understand much of it but he understood that Mr Hansen might have another job. Tommy wanted to ask Mr Hansen if he'd still be around to tell all those exciting stories. But he knew he shouldn't. Instead he asked mom who assured hm that Me Hansen would only be away for a short while.

One the beach, three men were roping off the area where the path led out to the lighthouse. One man took a folding chair and set it down at the foot of the path. The other men went back to the small grey car and sat in it. After a few moments, the car proceeded down the road and out of sight. The man sitting in the chair was very tired. The lifeguard's chair was about 500 feet from the path to the lighhouse. It was empty.

In the lighthouse, two men forced Mr Hansen to sit in a chair and tied him to the chair and gagged him. One man took out a pistol and pressed it up against Mr Hansen's chin, warning him to be perfectly quiet. Sweat was dripping from Mr Hansen's chin. The men looked out the window. On the horizon, a tiny object appeared on the water. A boat.

A half block down the road from the beach, Tommy and Ricky were running around and laughing. They were slowly approaching the beach. When they reached the beach, the man guarding the path to the lighthouse was asleep in the chair with his hat shading his face.

Back at home, Mom hung up the phone wondering why Mr Hansen had not answered. She did not want the boys playing on the beach if Mr Hansen was not there. She came out the front door of the house and started walking down the sidewalk towards the beach.

Tommy and Ricky ignored the sign and jumped down into the sand and over the rope surrounding the area.. They ignored the sign which said: "Keep Out." They walked toward the rocks that led out to the light house. A man was sitting in a chair in the sand. He was sound asleep with his hat on. The two boys giggled at his snoring.

"I got an idea." whispered Ricky. Ricky picked up a crab and placed it on top of the man's hat.

They both gigled some more. Then the two boys continued traveling on the rocks towards the light house. They would periodically look back at the man and giggle some more. They reached the Light House and heard some angry voices inside. Perhaps they should head back. But they didn't.

They were about to peer in the window when a loud sharp reverberating sound filled the air. They looked at each other surprised.

"A firecracker?" asked Ricky.

Tommy shrugged his shoulders. They peered in the window and saw Mr Hansen slumped over in the chair. What were they to do? They saw the boat approaching the lighthouse. They had no choice but to hide someplace so that nobody would see them. But where? The only place to hide was under the water. There were no bushes or rocks near the lighthouse. Only a steep slope on all sides of the light house. The only rocks were on both sides of the path to the lighthouse. So the boys retreated to the water. They selected a spot where they could not be seen from window or door. Hopefully they also would't be seen by the occupants of the approaching boat.

Tommy and Ricky ducked under the water and stayed submerged for as long as they could. But they had to come up for air. Their only hope was that the people would not see them surface. Tommy got an idea. They swam underwater alongside the rocks until they reached a large rock. They hid behind the rock. But it was to no avail. One of the men in the boat spotted them and yelled at them. Then two men came out of the lighthouse and yelled at them. Tommy and Ricky dived into the water and began swimming for shore. Suddenly Tommy went under. He tried to come back up. He surfaced for a moment and then went back under. The boat was approaching. One man jumped out of the boat and went underwater searching for Tommy. The other man grabbed Ricky and told him to calm down. The first man found Tommy just as Tommy inhaled some water. The man lifted Tommy up to the surfaced and put him in the boat beside Ricky. Tommy was coughing up water. The men got on the radio and called for an ambulance.

The guard had woken up to the feeling of a crab crawing on his hand. But somehow it was no longer funny to Ricky. They had Tommy and Ricky sit in the sand. They went to their car and got a few large blankets. They covered each boys from shoulder to foot in the blanket. Then the ambulance and the police arrived.

"Didn't you see the sign?" The policeman asked.

Ricky shook his head back and forth.

"You can read it from here." The policeman pointed to the sign. "What does it say?"

"Keep out." Ricky answered.

"Next time you see a sign and a rope like this, what are you going to do?"

Ricky lowered his head. "Going to keep out."

"Thats right," said the police officer, "These signs are posted for your safety."

Mr Hansen came walking down the path and approached the two boys. "It's okay. I know these boys."

"Mr Hansen! We thought you were ..." Ricky voice faded and hehugged Mr Hansen.

Mr Hansen smiled and said, "No. No. Nothing like that. We were rehearsing a scene."

"Rehearsing a scene?" Ricky asked.

"Yeah. For a movie."

"You're making a movie? Really? Could I be in it?" Ricky was jumping up and down.

"Sorry but the movie has no youngsters in it."

Ricky's face dropped.

"But I'll tell you what. I spoke to the director and he said you could watch us make the movie."

"Cool!" said Ricky

"But you have to behave and not run around while we are working. Understood?"

"Yes!"

The ambulance technicians were strapping Tommy in the stretcher while his mom was consoling him.

And in the process Tommy learned about the job opportunity that Mr Hansen talked about. Tommy realized their oversite. They had looked inside the light house window but never saw the man in the small mobile vehicle supporting a camcorder on a tripod!

When Tommy's mom and dad arrived at the hospital, they were very happy that he was okay. But they were also very angry that Tommy once again had broken the rules. They did not have to worry. This scary experience would stay with Tommy a long time. Tommy would never again swim without a life guard present . And he would never again ignore beach signs. He had learned that it was easier to listen to mom and dad than it was to learn from his own experience.

Shadows: An Alien Phenomenom

Originally published on Yahoo Voices

--

"I don't understand. It was here last night. I saw it," Jim's long blond hair swayed as he shook his head back and forth. Jim walked around the small opening in the woods. There were no soft bare spots to indicate that some alien spacecraft had been buried there. The whole area was grassy. They was in the middle of a two mile wooded area one mile outside the city.

"Are you sure it was here?" asked Gary.

"Of course I'm sure!"

"Maybe it was just a dream."

"A dream! What! You don't believe me?"

"I'd like to believe you but it just doesn't add up. You think someone took it?"

"Too big. It was buried in the ground with only the tip showing."

"What was it?"

"I don't know! How many times do I have to tell you?"

"Okay. Okay. Calm down. We'll figure this out," Gary paused, "Let's go get some breakfast."

They started walking up the dirt path toward the small cabin. A shadow swung across the cloudy sky.

"What was that?" Asked Gary.

"Whatever it was, it was moving too fast to see."

They walked past the tree stump to the front door.

They opened the cabin door. Jim turned on the radio. The soft rock and roll music filled the air. Jim often came up to this cabin to get away from the busy city life.

Jim sat in the chair and relaxed while Gary took out a frying pan and some eggs.

"This may sound crazy but ..." Gary's voice faded, "You think they're related?"

"You mean that thing in the ground and that thing that swung across the sky?"

"Well, yeah."

"I have no idea."

Gary paused, seeking a way to change the subject. "You said your uncle owns this place."

"Yep. He told me I could come up here anytime I want."

"Where'd you live before you moved into the city?"

"Here and there. My mom and I lived in many places, Jim paused, "First time my uncle showed me this place, I loved it."

"I can see why."

Gary jumped as a shadow whisked across the window. Jim jumped from his chair.

"What the hell was that?" Asked Gary.

They both went to the front door and opened it. Gary went outside and looked around.

"It doesn't make sense." Jim sat on the tree stump.

"What do you mean?"

"Shadows are caused by objects blocking a light: In this case, the sun."

"So?"

"So, where is the sun?"

Gary looked up in the sky. It was cloudy. No sun.

"I think we should leave," said Gary.

"I'm calling my mom," said Jim as he searched his pockets for his cell phone, "Where the heck is my phone?"

"Look!" said Jim.

Something huge and dark was in the trees. The boys heard a loud rumble. They raced into the cabin and shut the door.

"That was no shadow!"

Jim was searching the bedroom.

"What are you looking for?"

"My uncle always kept a gun up here."

"What kind of gun?"

"I don't know. I don't know anything about guns."

"What did he do with the gun?"

"Hunting. But that was before developers started buying up the land."

"Have you ever fired a gun?"

"No."

"Great," Gary came in the bedroom. He spotted a lock on a closet door. "Did he have kids up here?"

"Yeah. He had two boys. Why?"

"Boys grown up now?"

"Grown up and moved out."

"Got the key to that lock?" asked Gary.

Jim looked at the lock. "No. Why would the gun be locked up now?"

They heard a noise.

"Sounds like it came from the front door," said Gary.

They hesitated for a moment.

"Let me in!" the voice said, "Hurry!"

Jim rushed to the door and opened it. His younger brother Tom pushed him aside while rushing in.

The dark thing was moving closer.

Jim closed the door and leaned a chair against it.

"Are you okay?" asked Jim.

"Yeah," said Tom, "What is that thing out there?"

"I don't know," said Jim, "What are you doing here?"

"How are we going to get home?"

Gary came out of the bedroom with a rifle and a box of bullets. "Hope your uncle doesn't mind. I broke the lock."

"That's how," Jim answered Tom.

"Anyone know how to use this?" Gary was inspecting the rifle.

Jim and Tom shrugged their shoulders.

"Great."

The room slowly became darker. Jim turned on the ceiling light.

"What's going on?" asked Gary.

"It's getting dark outside," Tom pointed to the window.

"We have to get out of here," said Jim, "Now! Use the back door."

The boys went running through the back hallway and opened the back door. As they distanced themselves from the cabin, they looked back. The sides of the cabin were covered with darkness, but the back was not. In a wild panic, the boys ran into the woods.

After running a half mile, they stopped to catch their breath.

"Where are we?" asked Gary.

"I don't know," answered Jim.

"We left everything there," said Gary, "We have to go back."

"No," said Tom.

"We don't have anything," said Gary, "Not even a compass and we are not on the path we walked to get to the cabin."

"Yeah we do," said Jim searching his pockets, "Oh no! My compass! I must have dropped it while we were running!" Jim paused, "We'll have to find our way back," said Jim.

"More likely, we'll walk in circles." replied Gary.

They looked up at the clouds.

"Looks like we're in for some rain," said Jim, "Maybe Gary is right."

"But that thing!" said Tom.

"May not even be there anymore," said Gary, "Lets go back and find out. Hopefully we'll find our way back before it starts raining." Gary wanted to say, 'if we find our way back at all,' but he didn't.

A shadow crossed the ground. The boys ran for a short while and then slowed down.

"So much for it not being around," said Tom, "Are we headed in the right direction?"

Gary and Jim shrugged their shoulders. They walked for an hour and stopped.

"Where are we?" asked Tom.

Gary felt a wet spot on his forehead. Then another and another. The rain came down. There was no shelter except the trees.

The boys got under a large tree.

"If we see that shadow again," said Gary, "No panicking and no running."

"What!" Tom exclaimed.

"That shadow is our only chance to get out of here." replied Gary.

They heard a loud sound.

Tom looked around anxiously.

"That was not the thing," said Gary.

"How do you know?"

A lightning bolt hit the ground along with a loud sharp thunder.

"That's how." said Gary.

During the next lightning strike, They saw the large dark thing. It had surrounded them.

"I think I'm beginning to understand," said Jim, "Whatever this thing is, the shadows are it's scouts. The shadows tell it where we are."

"Nice theory," said Gary, "Lets see if we could walk through it."

"Are you kidding?" asked Tom.

"Do we have a choice?" asked Jim, "It's closing in on us."

In seconds the boys were buried in the darkness within the thing.

--------------------

Jim's mom was in the kitchen, talking on her cell phone.

"Honey, I'm worried," she said, "I sent Tom out to get Jim and they haven't returned yet."

She heard dad's soothing voice, "Don't worry, sweetheart. Call Bart and ask him to check his cabin. That's probably where they are."

"Honey, can you take some time off and check? I tried ringing Jim's cell phone. He's not answering."

"That's strange," replied dad, "Okay. I'll be taking off in five minutes," dad paused, "Phone Bart."

Ten minutes later, Dad and Bart came in the front door.

"Home already?"

"I assume you want to come," said dad, "Was Gary with Tom?"

Mom shook her head.

"Better call his parents," said Bart.

Bart, mom and dad arrived at the cabin ten minutes later. Mom got out of the car first.

"Jim, Tom," she yelled while looking around.

No answer.

They tried to open the front door. It wouldn't open.

"That's strange." said Bart.

"There's Jim's phone," said mom as she walked over to the tree stump and picked up the phone.

They walked around the back to find the door wide open.

"Jim always leaves the door wide open," complained dad. He heard music.

"They broke the lock and took out the rifle. Seems like they left in a hurry. Here's the compass I gave Jim." Bart picked the compass up off the floor. Bart looked around and walked out the back door.

"Looks like they were trying to keep someone out," Mary pointed at the chair leaning against the front door. She turned off the radio.

"We'd better start searching for them," said dad, "Block the front door. Run out the back. Seems like they are in trouble." Dad took out his cell phone to call for help.

Nobody noticed the dark thing sinking into the ground down the dirt path.

-------------------

The lights came on. The boys looked at all the bright spots on the walls. Then they saw the shadows come flying in. The shadows dispersed across the room: Each one appeared to be in a different section of the walls and landing on one bright spot after another.

A portion of one wall became translucent and the boys were able to see the path to the cabin. A few minutes later they were able to see the cabin. They saw Jim's mom and dad through the cabin window. Then they saw Bart in the back of the cabin. Soon they were able to see the complete wooded area. They saw hundreds of people arranging several search parties. The people became smaller and smaller until they looked like tiny dots. The boys were mesmerized by the beautiful view of the wooded area and the city. Then their view was obscured by clouds. At length, they found themselves looking at the moon, the earth and the stars.

"Where's Gary?" asked Tom.

"I don't know," responded Jim.

------------------------

Bart came back in the cabin. He yelled for Jim's mom and dad, but there was no response. Then he saw Gary standing by the front door.

"Gary, are you okay?"

"Yeah."

"Where's Jim, Tom and their parents?"

"They're on the spaceship."

"What spaceship? You're talking crazy."

Gary didn't respond. He knew that no one was able to see the spaceship except those the alien wished to show it to. It was visible to Tom, Jim, and their parents; but not visible to any one else.

"Well?" Bart sounded impatient.

Gary paused. Then as he saw a shadow moving across the wall, he said, "If you don't believe me, explain that." He pointed at the shadow.

------------------------

Jim, Tom, mom and dad stared in awe at Pluto. They were on their way to another world in another galaxy. They were the first people to visit that world. Many more shadows would visit Earth. And many more people would visit the world of the shadows.

Hostile Aliens

Originally published on Yahoo Voices

The elderly gray haired lady had lost some dexterity in her fingers and used a cane to walk. But she still managed to get around. She lived in a small one floor house about a tenth of a mile outside a small town filled with retirees. She had an old Chevy parked in the driveway. Every evening she would retire to her favorite rocking chair in the living room with some cold wine.

She was sitting in her rocking chair in the living room when she heard a window shatter in the bedroom.

"What the heck -- " she asked herself softly while putting her feet into her new slippers. She rose from the rocking chair, drank the remaining wine and put down her glass. She grabbed her cane.

It wasn't the cost of replacing a window that annoyed her. Her deceased husband had left her in good financial shape. It was the fact that someone had broken one of her windows. There were no children living in the area. Who would commit vandalism? She had no enemies and had been very kind and generous to the people in town.

She walked out of the living room and by the oak chest in the hallway. She peered through the kitchen at the bedroom door. To her surprise, it was shut. The phone was mounted on the wall within her reach. She picked up the receiver and listened. No dial tone. She put down the receiver.

Most people would have ran outside seeking help. But not Ann. Ann was a proud old lady determined to resolve all her problems by herself. This was her property. She was proud of it and would not yield it to anyone. As one would have guessed, she had a gun. It was actually her husband's gun properly registered. She never gave it up.

The problem was that the gun was in the bedroom. That did not deter Ann. When she heard noises coming from the bedroom, she opened her cabinet draw and pulled out a steak knife. Then she slowly approached the bedroom door.

Should she ask who's there? It would seem kind of foolish. She thought about it for a moment. Then she decided that surprise was her best tactic. She quietly approached the bedroom door. Putting her ear to the door, she heard nothing. "Maybe who ever came in left." She thought.

She grabbed the door knob and slowly turned it. After taking a deep breath, she swung the door open. The bed was undisturbed. Her first task every morning was to make up the bed. She peered into the bedroom. The dresser and mirror were also undisturbed. "So what was the noise all about?"

Then she noticed the broken glass on the floor. Pretty curtains covered the window. She got on her hands and knees and peered under the bed. "Need a flashlight." She put the knife on the dresser, opened the draw and took out a battery powered flashlight. She got down on the floor, laid her cane beside her and shined the light under the bed. Shoes were lined up in one neat row.

She slowly got up, leaving the flashlight on the floor and holding her cane in one hand while balancing herself against the bureau. The window. She moved toward the window and pulled the curtain aside. She always loved the view from this window. She often wondered why the builders didn't put the living room here with large sliding glass doors. The view was beautiful. Lots of grass on land that sloped down toward a small fresh water pond.

Suddenly she heard a noise from the bedroom closet. "Of course'" She thought. "Dumb, dumb, dumb. Where's the gun?" She opened the dresser and pulled out the gun. She viewed the cylinder. Empty. The bullets were in the closet. "This prowler is not so dumb." She slowly opened the closet door. All her clothes were on hangers. Again, nothing was disturbed. She looked under the clothes. "No feet down there."

She closed the closet door, ignoring the insect that came crawling out on the floor. She shrugged her shoulders and approached the window. That's when she noticed the tiny round object in the grass. She peered at it but was unable to make out the details.

Having satisfied herself that there was no one in the bedroom, she decided to go outside and examine the round object in the grass. She put on a light sweater and went out the front door. She went round the side of the house. There it was laying in the grass. Shaped like a disk it was hard to spot because it was the same color as the grass. She had never seen anything like it before. She looked around wondering where it came from. She never looked up. Nor did she ever suspect that her prowler was so small. Even after seeing the saucer, she was totally perplexed. Not recognizing it for what it was, but very curious about the beautiful shiny object, she bent down to touch it.

"Ouch!" she said allowed. She looked at her finger and shook it. "Wow! That’s hot."

Hot it was and so would any object be that just came through the earth's atmosphere. She turned and started for the front door when a strange sound behind her made her look back. Insects, just like the one she saw in her bedroom were coming out of the little saucer. One reached her ankle and bit it. "Ouch!" She pushed it off and ran for the front door. After opening the door and entering, she shut the door and raced to close all the windows. The strange insects were climbing up the sides of the house searching for a way in. She could see then crawling on the windows. A few were coming in beneath the front door.

She opened her kitchen cabinet and sprayed one directly with a bug killer. It didn't affect this bug. She grabbed the insect and tried to crush it. It was hard as a rock. She threw it down kitchen sink and ran the water. A few minutes later the bug came up the drain. Another came up her leg and bit her beneath the knee cap. She pulled it off and threw it against the wall. Then she noticed the swollen areas on her leg.

She opened the cabinet door and took out some vinegar. She picked up an insect and put it in the vinegar. The insect crawled out. More and more insects were entering the house. She searched the cabinets for something else that might kill the insects. She pulled out a jar of olive oil and poured some over an insect. The insect stood perfectly still.

"That's it! Oil!" She gathered all types of oil she could find. That's when she found a spray can of lubricant. She started spraying the bugs. Direct hits. As the insects came in she sprayed them one by one. But how could she ever be sure she got them all? An while later, there was no pressure in the spray can. She shook it and tried again. No spray. More insects were entering the house. She took a bottle of olive oil and poured a ring on the floor around herself while she was near the window. The insects could not get near her. She had time to think. She could use the oil to get to where she wants. But what then? The olive oil would run out faster than the spray can. She had to use it sparingly. She also needed something else. She walked to the cabinet pouring a little oil on each insect that approached her. She took out a package sugar frosted cereal and put some on the floor. The insects ignored it.

"They like blood?" She made her way to the refrigerator. She took out a raw chicken and allowed a few drops to hit the floor. The insects went after it. She got a book of matches from a cabinet mounted on the wall. She walked out the door with the chicken and the oil. She placed the chicken in the grass a short distance from the saucer. The insects came from all directions to devour the chicken. She made a ring of oil around the chicken. Then she lit a match. She tried to ignite the oil. She ran to the car, opened the trunk and took out a can of dry gas. She poured a small ring of dry gas around the chicken outside the ring of oil. Then she ignited it. Now she rushed around breaking twigs off low branches of trees and throwing them in the fire. The ring of fire slowly closed in on the insects killing all the insects that had been attracted to the raw meat.

But where there any more? Where were they? She searched around the house looking at the grass and at the house, but spotted no insects. She went inside and grabbed a jar of coffee. She emptied the jar into the garbage pail. She searched every window. Finally she found a live one. She picked it up, put it in the bottle and twisted the cap on but left it a little loose.

She got in the car and started the engine. As she drove down the road she asked, "Do you lay eggs?"

Of course, the trapped insect did not respond.

She stopped at a gas station and purchased a few cans of motor oil. She turned on the car radio as she drove away. She heard reports of these insects in other areas.

"They have a problem." She said. "I have the solution."

The Vortex At Pine Creek

  

Originally published on Yahoo Voices.

Logan and his younger brother Nathan loved riding their trail bikes. Sometimes they would ride up and down the dirt path which paralleled Pine Creek. The path was three miles long. It stretched from an area of slate rock down to a large pond at the bottom of the hill. A wooded area was on one side of the path and the creek was on the other side.

There had been rumors of large wild animals roaming the woods. But like any other rumors, these rumors became exaggerated as they were passed from person to person. Logan found these rumors hard to believe because he and Nathan had ridden their trail bikes through these woods for years and had not encountered any wild animals larger than a fox.

Logan was seventeen years old. He was an honors student and was entering his senior year at the local high school.

Nathan was a thirteen year old honors student and was entering his freshman year at the same high school.

It was a warm, dry summer day. Logan and Nathan were riding their bikes down the path alongside Pine Creek.

Logan braked his bike to a stop. Nathan stopped alongside him.

"Why did you stop?" Asked Nathan.

"Look." Logan pointed to animal tracks.

The animal tracks were in a small area containing a few shrubs and dirt. Logan got off his bike and walked over to the tracks. Each track consisted of three claws. The tracks led across the path and down the small slope into the creek. A densely wooded area lined the other side of the creek.

Logan looked up at Nathan. "Come over here."

Nathan walked over and examined the animal tracks. "Weird. What would make those tracks? A large bird?"

"I don't know. It would have to be a pretty big bird. I think it is an animal of some sort."

"Maybe a bear?"

"A bear track has three short claws and a heavy pad."

Logan took out his cell phone and snapped a few pictures of the tracks.

"You realize it could be a prank."

Then they heard a loud roar.

"I don't think so. Let's get out of here!"

They jump on their bikes and raced down the trail toward their home. The roar became softer and softer until they heard nothing.

That evening they were up in their bedroom. Logan got on the Internet and searched for animal tracks consisting of three claws. He stumbled upon a site named 'Reptiles Today and Yesterday.'

"It looked exactly like that!" Nathan was pointing to the tracks. "That's a T-Rex. Isn't it?"

"A T-Rex?" Logan paused, "Maybe the tracks are an elaborate prank. But what about the roar?"

"If the tracks are real, we should be able to find out where the animal went and where it came from."

"Good idea!'

The next morning they rode their bikes up the trail to the area where they saw the tracks. They found the tracks and followed those tracks toward Pine Creek. They walked up and down the edge of the creek but did not find where the animal came back on land. Then they followed the tracks back into the woods. There they found a narrow path of human footprints paralleling their race down the hill the night before.

"It hasn't rained for three days. All tracks should still be here." Nathan said. "but they aren't."

"This isn't making any sense."

"Look!" Nathan pointed to the transparent silhouette of a six foot tall reptile. "Let's get out of here!"

The boys hopped on their bikes and raced a short distance down the path. Logan glanced back and realized that the reptile was running through the trees without breaking any branches. "Stay still. It can't harm us. It's kind of like it's in another dimension or something."

The reptile was unable to grab them or any other object. It lost interest and began walking away.

They followed the reptile through some thick brush and down to Pine Creek, The boys did not note the circular ripples extending from the center of the creek to its edges.

The reptile hesitated before entering the creek. The boys followed the reptile across the creek and watched the reptile materialize into a solid form. It was a young T-Rex. It turned and saw the transparent silhouettes of the two boys. The boys ran and quickly realized they were transparent because they were able to run through trees. The T-Rex chased them to the creek but did not follow them across the creek. On the other side of the creek, the boys materialized into solid form.

For the first time, the boys were able to see the T-Rex and the T-Rex was able to see the boys. The boys also observed the expanding circular ripples in the center of the creek.

"What is that?" Logan pointed to the expanding circular ripples.

"I think it's some kind of vortex."

"It's more than a vortex." Logan responded. "It might be a vortex into another dimension."

"That's why we look like ghosts to the T-Rex when we are in it's world and the T-Rex looks like a ghost when it is in our world."

"Who is going to believe us?."

"Nobody." Nathan paused, "Suppose one of us walks across the creek and the other takes a picture with his cell phone?"

"Hang on to that idea. Why hasn't anyone reported seeing a prehistoric dinosaur or anything like it before?"

"Maybe they heard the roar and never saw anything."

"Or maybe the vortex opens and closes." Logan looked at Nathan. "What if the vortex closes while one of us is on the other side!"

"The vortex won't close!"

"You don't know that for sure."

"What if we throw a nice thick branch across the creek and take a picture of the branch. Wouldn't that prove to others that the vortex exists?" asked Nathan.

"A video would be better than a picture." Logan replied. "That way they could see that the branch is real and then they could see it become transparent as it travels across the creek."

Logan got on his bike. "I'll be back." He rode his bike down the path and returned a half hour later with a video camera.

Logan filmed Nathan picking up a large thick branch and throwing it across the creek. When the branch reached the center of the expanding ripples, it hung in midair. Half of the stationary branch looked real and the other half was transparent. Two minutes later, half of the branch fell into the creek and the ripples diminished to nothing.

For several moments, the boys stared in awe at the creek. They were attempting to assimilate what they just saw.

Now the water was calm and the vortex was gone. But Logan and Nathan had visual proof of what they experienced.

 

Logan walked back to his bike. Then he realized that Nathan was still looking across the creek.

"Nathan, Let's go."

Nathan did not respond.

"Nathan, Are you okay?" Logan paused, "What's wrong?"

Nathan shook his head from side to side and said, "Oh man! That could have been one of us!"