Vanish (20 page)

“What is this?” Conner said.

Howard glanced back. “Oh, that’s just my harvester. Well, plus some modifications. You know, they don’t like the light. And they seem to hate loud noise even more.” He chuckled. “I need to run ’em off from time to time.”

Helen walked up. “What are they? What are those things?”

Howard held up his hand. “Best we get back to my place and talk, though. They don’t ever go very far, and they’ll be back before too long.”

Conner surveyed the Jeep. It was dented and crushed. Numerous long gashes—as if from claws—cut across the crumpled roof and front fenders.

Howard climbed a set of steel rungs to the cab of the tractor. He motioned for the others to join him. They all climbed up as well. Helen squeezed into the cab behind Howard. He pointed to a grated ledge along the side. “Grab hold of something. I’ll get us turned around.”

Conner, Mitch, and Devon stood on the grating and held on to whatever they could find. Howard shifted the massive tractor into gear. It lurched forward and rumbled off.

From his vantage point, Conner examined the field. The lights illumined a fifty- or sixty-foot diameter around the harvester. He could see the tracks the vehicle had made on its way to them. Howard was obviously following the same trail back.

They rolled up a broad incline until it crested. Conner gasped as he looked down on a ring of what appeared to be stadium lights, pointing outward, encircling a farmhouse, a barn, and a few small outbuildings. A bevy of lights was set up inside the circle as well. They lit up the fog like a small town.

They rolled into the compound, and Howard shut the tractor off. As they climbed down, Conner looked around. Bars of lights were rigged up on every building. In the center of the compound was a large pole with what appeared to be an air-raid siren mounted at the top. He could hear several gas generators running. Power lines crisscrossed the ground.

“Watch your step,” Howard said as he led them across the yard into the main house.

They found themselves in a large kitchen lit by more than a dozen candles. Howard stamped the dirt off his boots. “Y’all must be starving.”

Conner was thirsty more than anything else. The others indicated the same.

Howard motioned to the cupboard next to the sink. “Go ahead and help yourselves. My fridge hasn’t worked since the power went out. And I’ve needed every generator I could get my hands on just to keep the lights running.”

They poured themselves several glasses of water each. Howard brought some snack crackers and bread from a pantry, along with a jar of peanut butter.

“It ain’t nothing fancy,” he said. “But I’m stocked up pretty well.”

Conner was still shaken from the experience in the Jeep. The discoloration on his wrist had now spread a few inches up his forearm. What was particularly disconcerting was the intensity of the pain he’d felt as the creature made eye contact. It was as if they were controlling that as well.

Howard inspected the marks on Conner and Devon. “I have no idea what that is,” he said. “Although I never had the occasion of one of them suckers touching me.”

As they sat down around the table, they related their account to the old man: their encounters with the creatures, their hallucinations, and Conner’s seizures.

Howard listened to it all quietly.

“Do you know what’s going on?” Helen leaned over the table. “What those things are?”

“Ma’am, all I know is the obvious. Those things out there ain’t of this world.” Howard pointed at the back door. “They got a ship or something out in the woods. That’s where they seem to congregate.”

Mitch frowned. “They may have one at the bottom of Lake Michigan, too.”

“I wouldn’t doubt it.” Howard nodded. “If what you say is true, seems like they’re just as dangerous in the water as on land.”

“But they do have a weakness,” Conner said. “They don’t like bright light and, apparently, loud noises.”

“That’s true,” Howard said. “I’ve been able to keep ’em away at night. And they don’t seem to be too active during the day.”

Conner nodded to the window. “How many generators have you got keeping this place lit up?”

“Oh…” Howard squinted. “I got six running and two spares. But I’ve had to use every drop of gas in a twenty-mile radius to keep ’em running.”

Mitch nodded. “So that’s why all the gas tanks in the cars we found were dry.”

“Yeah-boy,” Howard said. “I siphoned those off a long time ago.”

Everyone grew silent at that comment.

“Wait a minute, wait a minute,” Conner said after a moment. “Exactly how long have you been out here?”

Howard raised his eyebrows and drew in a deep breath. “Mmmm…” His eyes traced a path across the room. “Can’t rightly say anymore. Seems like years.”

“
Years
?” Helen gasped.

Conner found himself staring at the old man and shaking his head. “That can’t be.…”

Howard just chuckled and leaned back. “I know you’re thinking this all started only a few days ago. But, son, I think these creatures have been around a lot longer than you realize.”

Conner narrowed his eyes. “How long?”

Howard shrugged. “No way to be sure. Maybe just a few years. Maybe longer.” He laughed nervously. “Maybe a
lot
longer. But if they can make you see things that
aren’t
there, who’s to say they can’t keep you from seeing things that
are
?”

Mitch furrowed his brow. “You mean they could’ve been hiding here for…”

“Not necessarily hiding,” Howard said. “Just preventing us from seeing them as they really are.”

“How?”

Howard shrugged again. “Maybe their technology. Maybe it’s some kind of biological trait.”

Conner sat up. In a bizarre way this was making some sense. His unsettling experiences on the day of the storm. The people watching him. Their white eyes. The faceless maintenance man. What if these were inadvertent glimpses behind some kind of alien curtain? He shuddered to think that these creatures had been walking among them for years. Centuries perhaps. Maybe longer.

“They could have been living among us since ancient times,” he said. “Blinding us to their appearance. They could make themselves appear like… anyone.”

Helen shook her head. “I don’t get it. That doesn’t explain why everyone disappeared. Or how you could be living out here for years while it’s only been a few days for us. How is that possible?”

“I’m not claiming to have all the answers.” Howard drummed his fingers on the table. “All I’m saying is that it’s possible you and I could be living in the same world but having two entirely different experiences. There’s no telling what they’re making people feel or see. Or believe they’re experiencing.”

“Well, the question is, what are they up to? What do they want?” Conner said.

Devon had been quiet until now. Finally he snorted. “This is getting too crazy. Y’all are talking like you believe this dude. This is all just crazy!”

“I don’t know what to believe,” Mitch said. “But I
do
know that back there in the Jeep, I was sure we were all going to die until Howard showed up. And that for the first time since this whole thing started, I finally feel a little safe.”

Howard smiled and shook his head. “Well, I don’t claim to be no expert. But I think as long as we can keep these lights burning at night, we should be all right until we can figure out what to do next. Gas is getting low, though, so if you don’t mind, I could use some help scrounging up a little more in the morning.”

MORNING CAME AND THE fog lifted; however, the gray blanket of clouds that had rolled in two days earlier still hung low and oppressive.

Conner stepped onto the back porch and looked over the yard. He had actually slept last night. And slept well. If he had dreamed anything, he couldn’t remember it.

Howard had a few spare bedrooms in the old farmhouse. Complete with actual beds. Conner had slept deeper than he had in a long time and had awakened feeling refreshed, aside from still being chronically thirsty. After several glasses of water, some bread, and a cup of coffee, he felt ready to tackle all the bizarre theories of their experience with a fresh mind. The old farmer had even managed to rig up a water heater and provided them all with hot showers.

Howard was walking up from the barn. “I ain’t seen the sun in I don’t know how long.”

Conner peered at the clouds. “You think they’re controlling the weather, too?”

“Shoot, I wouldn’t put anything past them. I figure they’re trying to make our planet to be more like their own. Maybe they lived underground or underwater on their world. Can’t stand the sunlight.”

“You think that’s it? They’re colonizing? invading other planets to populate?”

Howard chuckled. “Sounds like a bad science fiction movie or something. But it’s a thought.” His face turned serious as he climbed the steps. He lowered his voice. “I don’t want to get the others worried or anything.… I’ve been planting a garden for food, but I haven’t been able to grow a thing this last year. I don’t even get weeds. I don’t know if it’s the lack of sunlight or maybe something they’re doing to the soil.…”

Conner frowned. “Maybe some kind of contamination?”

Howard shrugged. “Don’t know. But it makes me worried about the quality of my well water. It don’t taste any different, but if they’re doing something to the soil…”

“Is there a test you can run? At least to check for bacteria or contamination?”

“Nothing I got here.” Howard smiled. “I’ll put it on the shopping list.”

Conner looked at his wrist again. Up until now, he had been so concerned with escaping these creatures, he didn’t have the luxury of worrying about the rash—if in fact it
was
a rash. Now he had a multitude of questions. Was it chemical or biological in nature? How far was it going to spread? What other effect was it having on him? He had hoped it was just something innocuous, like a chemical burn or an allergic reaction to the creature’s physiology. Now that it was clearly spreading—along with the experience in the Jeep last night—he was thinking there might be some biological agent at work.

Howard had provided some fresh gauze and antibacterial ointment. Conner was grateful, but Devon rejected it. The kid seemed to be withdrawing further into himself, becoming increasingly sulky. Conner wondered if it had something to do with the rash, if maybe it was some kind of method the creatures used to influence the moods and emotions of their victims. Or it could just be the stress of their predicament. The kid was only sixteen, after all.

Conner would need to focus on this more, but he wasn’t a doctor. He had no idea where to go for answers.

“Do you know if there’s a library nearby? Or any school that might have one?”

Howard nodded. “There’s a library in town. About twenty miles up the road. We can stop by there on our gasoline run.”

Mitch stepped out on the porch and stretched with an expansive yawn. “Man, I slept good.”

Howard chuckled and slapped him on the shoulder. “Grab some breakfast, Hoss. We need to get going soon. Daylight’s wasting.”

HELEN SAT ON THE BED, drying her hair with a towel. She closed her eyes and sighed. It felt wonderful to get a good night’s sleep, a hot shower, and a change of clothes.

She had slept fitfully at Ray’s house and even more so in the Jeep. She had dreamed of Kyle… only it wasn’t Kyle, but a faceless doppelgänger haunting her dreams. Always accusing her, always insinuating this whole thing was somehow her fault. She tried to shake it off. They were only dreams. Some kind of twisted, sadistic mind game these aliens were playing with her. With all of them. And she had to keep those thoughts out of her head. She had to focus on positive things.

She got dressed and went down for some breakfast. As she passed by one of the other bedrooms, she spotted Devon sitting on the bed, staring at the floor.

She paused in the doorway. “You okay?”

Devon shook his head slowly. “No, I ain’t okay. None of this is okay.”

“I know, but you can’t give up hope. We’re still alive. We’ve made it
this
far.”

He pulled down the collar of his T-shirt, and Helen gasped. The skin over his collarbone and upper chest was covered with purple blotches. The rash, or infection, on his neck was definitely spreading.

Helen frowned. “Does it hurt?”

“Not too much,” Devon said. “But last night, when those things were attacking us… it started to burn. Bad. Like they were doing something to me. Then this morning it started to spread all over.”

Helen could see fear in the boy’s eyes. He was obviously scared to death about what was happening to him. But she wasn’t sure what she could do. He was too old to offer some simple word of comfort. He’d see through that in a minute. But she couldn’t bear to share the truth: that she didn’t have the faintest idea what it was or what was going to happen to him.

“I know you’re frightened.” She sat down next to him. “I wish I could tell you there’s nothing to worry about. But we just don’t know what we’re dealing with.”

Devon touched his skin lightly. “It feels cold, but it hurts like it’s a burn.”

Helen touched his neck. It was indeed cold, almost as if he’d had ice on it. “Conner mentioned something about trying to find some medical books, see if there’s information on anything like this.”

“
Medical books
? He ain’t no doctor.” Devon wrinkled his forehead. “What’s he gonna be able to do?”

“I don’t know. Maybe nothing. But it’s worth trying, isn’t it?”

“You think it’ll do any good?”

Helen forced a smile. “I’m not ready to give up hope just yet.”

Devon grunted. “Hope?”

“Yes. Hope, Devon. Hope of seeing your family again. And your friends.”

“Trouble is, other than Terrell, I don’t have too many friends. And no family to speak of.”

“What about your mom and dad?”

Devon grunted again. “My old man was killed in prison, and my mom’s an alcoholic. You ever live with a drunk?”