SODIUM:1 Harbinger (21 page)

From Salt Lake I would make my way over to the Grand Tetons and to Bull and Allie’s hotel. I would have half a day to spare before they were scheduled to depart. I drove all evening and through the night and arrived in Jackson Wyoming late the following evening.

I pulled into a local store, got directions to their hotel and then made my way straight there. It was after midnight when I arrived, so I decided to just stay in the lobby of the hotel until morning. As I waited I made use of the hotel bathroom to freshen myself up. I was a mess, I smelled bad and I looked bad. The clerk at the counter had a suspicious eye that followed me through the lobby and into the bathroom.

I took off my shirt and splashed the cold water on my face and under my arms. I then used about half of the hand towels they had available to dry myself. Finally, I put on the spare change of clothes that I had brought in my bag.

When I emerged from the bathroom I still smelled bad and I still looked bad. The clerk maintained his watch over me as I sat in their lounge and awaited my friends. It only took a few minutes before I was asked to please leave the hotel if I did not have a room. So, I slept the rest of the night in my truck.

At first light I once again entered the lobby and began my wait. It was about 8AM when Bull and Allie came walking down the stairs into the lobby. They were smiling and holding hands and looking at each other as they walked. They proceeded to walk past me without taking notice.

I called out Bull’s name and he stopped and turned. I then realized why he had not recognized me. I was 15 years older and it might as well have been 50 years given the shape I was in.

I was scrawny. I walked with a slight limp and my posture was hunched over a bit from all those years of looking down at the ground. I was sure the disheveled hair and the wild gray beard did not help.

Bull came over slowly and asked me how I was and what was I doing there. I reached into my pocket and pulled out my prize. As I held it up my hand was shaking. I told him it had taken me 15 years, but I had found the evidence that we could show the world. I told him we could finally tell our story and of how everyone would know that we were the heroes that we knew we were. I told him about how this was going to change our lives and make us famous.

His response was silence. I continued to ramble on about what this was going to mean for all of us and he finally stopped me and pointed to Allie and the two young boys and a girl that were now standing with her. He told me that he already had more than he could ever want. He did not want his life to change, because as far as he was concerned, it was already perfect.

The same feeling of anger that had come over me 15 years earlier now began to well up inside again. I was mad and in disbelief that they wanted nothing to do with my find. I had the proof in my hand that aliens existed and had been to our world!

After five minutes of my arguing and getting a bit irrational, Bull turned and signaled to Allie to take the kids away. He then turned back to me and put his hand on my shoulder. He told me that he had no interest in the device, or in the alien story, and did not want to subject his family, his children, to any part of it. He did not want the publicity or the turmoil that would come with telling about the aliens. I was angry, but at the same time, I could see that he was genuine in his concern.

Bull had been my best friend as long as I could remember having a friend. I knew I could no longer involve him and Allie or their children in my strange tale. I would just as soon cut off my own leg as cause them grief or harm.

After my moment of rage waned a calmness returned. I told him that I would not involve him, Allie or the kids in the revealing of my find. Aside from the friendship that we had shared for so many years, I owed him my life at least a half dozen times over.

As Allie began to herd the kids back up the stairs of the hotel towards their room I raised my hand in a friendly wave. Allie stopped for a moment, then smiled and continued up the steps. I walked out of the hotel lobby unsure of what to do next. There was a payphone sitting to my left and I decided it was time to give Kyle and Susi another call. I needed to see if they were of the same mind as Bull and Allie.

After ten minutes on the phone I told my sister bye. I told her not to worry as I would not involve them any longer. I was dejected. Most of my adult life had been spent searching for this bit of alien hardware and the people that I needed with me most wanted nothing to do with it.

I turned and walked into the hotel parking lot and to my truck. I retrieved my bat and then stood silently for several minutes just looking at the ground. I crossed the street and walked into the nearest woods. I felt at home in the woods. The trees and rocks had become my friends and family. I mumbled to myself as I walked deeper into them.

I rambled aimlessly through the woods for several hours. When I emerged I was standing behind a diner. I set my bat down and walked into the parking lot of the establishment. The diner had a giant teepee on one end of a long covered porch with a wooden Indian by the door. I walked onto the porch and sat down on a bench. In my new depression I was unsure of what to do with what I had and what I knew.

I did not want to go it alone with some crazy alien story in the fast paced world of 1973. Fame and fortune no longer seemed important. Without the support of my family and friends I had no desire to tell the world of my heroics.

I then came to the decision that my obsession had done nothing, but ruin my life. In that moment I wanted to get rid of the demon artifact. I wanted to rid myself of the burden it had placed upon me. I was in need of a quick solution to my problem.

There was a family approaching the diner. As they came up to the front door a young boy stopped and was making faces at the wooden Indian. At that moment I decided that he should now hold the responsibility of the alien artifact, if for no other reason than he was there.

I got up off the bench and moved down the porch behind him. As I walked I concocted a wild story about how others were after me and how he would need to protect it from them. I then grabbed his right forearm and jammed the device into his small hand before he had a chance to say no. He stood silently and listened to my 15 second rant. I then turned and walked away.

I had no idea what the boy might do with the device and I no longer cared. If he threw it down I hoped it would get swept up and thrown in the trash forever. I was finished with the aliens and for the first time in 15 years a real sense of calm and peace came over me. I walked around the side of the building, collected my bat, and proceeded to walk into the woods, never looking back.

I never found out what the boy did with the item and for that I was thankful. A wide grin was on my face as I walked the several hours back to my truck. I had come to the conclusion that I had proven to myself all that needed to be proven. I was free from the knowledge that had become my obsession.

I then drove north for several hours and the first little town I came to I decided to call home. I would shave and clean myself up. I would transfer what little money I had in Sacramento to the local bank and I would live out my final days as just another normal citizen.

I was sure the aliens would one day return, but it was no longer an item of my concern. Our handful of ordinary citizens had beaten them once. I believed there to be no reason why we could not do it again. But it was a fight in which I no longer felt the need to be involved. My war was over.

As the days went by I would always keep one reminder of my fight for survival. My old hickory Hillerich & Bradsby S44 baseball bat. It sat, standing on end, leaning against the wall in the corner of my bedroom. If the aliens were ever to return… and if I should feel the need to join in the fight… my trusty friend would be waiting, always ready to be swung in my defense.

What’s Next!

This Human is asking for your help!

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I sincerely hope you have enjoyed reading this book. The first chapter of the next book in the series is provided below, I hope you enjoy it as well! Or, get the next in the series,
SODIUM:2 Apocalypse
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SODIUM

2 Apocalypse

Chapter 1

It all started in 1973 — I was nine years old. My parents had saved for several years for a family vacation out west to Yellowstone National Park. They had planned a two week trip by car leaving from Detroit the day after school let out for the summer. The baby blue family Rambler had been packed the night before. I remember being all excited before we left the house.

I never expected to have the fate of the world placed in my hands. One could only be amazed at how such a tiny device would change the course of history. Man was not aware that other beings, hostile beings, inhabited our little part of the universe. We had only recently set foot on the Moon.

We were not prepared to protect Mankind from hostiles that we had no idea even existed. Man had easily risen to the top of the food chain here on Earth. He was clever, resilient and bold. There had never been a test of Man’s ability to survive like the one that was coming.

Our trip that day was to Indian country. All I could think about was fighting Indians and hunting grizzlies. Most every young boy back in the early seventies had dreams of being either a cowboy, a soldier or both.

After the first day’s drive we pulled into a motor lodge outside of Sioux Falls on the eastern end of South Dakota, even with the excitement of the trip it was a tiring ride. We unloaded the car of what we needed for the night, checked into our room and went promptly to bed. After 16 hours on the road… the thrill was gone.

The following day was an early riser and back on Interstate 90 to Badlands National Park at the western end of South Dakota. My Dad had filled my brother and I with stories about how the Badlands was a big meteor crater. The meteor had come from Mars and fallen from the skies thousands of years before. As gullible kids, we spent the afternoon looking for Martians behind every rock. It was a spectacular place and could easily be mistaken for an alien world by any nine year old.

My Dad’s antics were all that was needed to convince me that the Martian story was true. But try as we did, my brother and I were unable to track down a single alien. After a full afternoon of hunting and site seeing it was back to another motor lodge along I90 for the night.

Again we rose early the next day for a long trek in the car. Our next adventure was to Little Big Horn and Custer’s Last Stand. After my disappointment over not finding any Martians I had high hopes of fighting Indians. Every hundred miles along the interstate it seemed we would pass an exit that had a trading post with a teepee out front. It was definitely Indian territory and my brother and I were keeping a sharp lookout for any signs of trouble.

This was by the urging of our father who had again filled us up with wild stories the night before. It was his attempt at adding excitement to our journey and keeping us occupied during the long rides. I was a little frustrated by seeing all the trading posts that advertised Indians, but we had not seen a single one. I had guessed maybe the Cavalry kept the Interstate protected, or they otherwise would not be allowing us to travel on it.

After a night, a full day and another night at Little Big Horn we were ready to move on to Yellowstone. I remember being very disappointed that the only Indian we had seen was a wrinkled old man with a feather in his cap. He was smoking a pipe and sitting outside the visitor center at Little Big Horn. The old Indian certainly was not hostile and he certainly was not interested in my scalp.

After three adventurous days in Yellowstone, seeing the geysers, mud pots and buffalo, it was on to the Grand Tetons. We arrived at the Grand Teton Visitor’s Center at about eleven thirty in the morning. Hunger was on all of our faces.

The ladies in the visitor center directed us just down the road to a diner that served buffalo burgers. The diner, the Double S, was constructed to look like an old western building covered with weathered plank siding and a metal roof. It had a covered front porch with rocking chairs and a big wooden Indian by the entrance. The left end of the building had a giant teepee attached for drawing in tourists like ourselves. The smell of grilling buffalo was in the air and the hungry travelers were eager to get at it.