Synopsis:
Scott was on his way west to meet up with his friends to start a new life in L A. What he came across in the desert after his car broke down would change him forever. He wondered if his friends would recognise him once they finally met again. He didn’t think this was what his friend’s intended when they said, "start a new life."
Chapter Sixty-Eight
They waited, as more and more people gathered. Some of them were clearly identified as being in the National Guard. Kim warned them not to linger at the window in case someone got trigger happy and decided to let loose.
"What if they storm the place?" Sara asked worriedly. She didn't want her daughter's safety endangered by someone trying to be a hero.
"We sit tight, when I brought the ship here, I took some precautions, in case this situation eventuated," Kim reassured her.
Kim led them downstairs and showed them a grey metallic cube about three feet square. A cable lead into a wall socket, Kim went and pushed a button on top and a series of indicators started flashing softly on the top of the cube.
"There, the house is protected now," Kim stated with satisfaction.
"Um what happens if they cut the power out?" Sara asked, knowing from several movies that this was a common tactic in similar situations.
Kim laughed.
"No, this isn't being powered from outside sources; it's actually a special field generator that does two things. It uses the network of the power cables that run through the house to spread a protective force field throughout the walls and ceilings. It's a smaller version of our meteorite screen we employ on our ships. It usually flows through the metallic hull of the ship and generates a shield that forms about four feet from its surface. As the condo hasn't metallic cladding except for the roof, it's using the metal in the wiring as its conduit, if you want."
"So we are in a big protective bubble," asked Jenna, holding onto Cathleen and Alan protectively.
"Yes, the field fills in the gaps and protrudes out through the walls of the house to protect the walls themselves."
"Oh crap!" exclaimed Sara suddenly. "What about our cars? They will be outside the field."
"Check out the window," Kim grinned.
When Sara looked out the window that looked out over the driveway, she saw the three cars parked there with what looked like a cable running between them and one connecting them to the house.
"You wired them to the house?" she asked, surprised at Kim's foresight.
Not me personally, but yes I had them protected just in case," Kim confirmed.
"Lucky, we walked to Cathy's and back, so our van should be safe in our garage," Jenna mentioned, hopefully.
The sudden ringing of the phone seemed to shock them into silence.
"Don't answer it," called Kim, as Sara instinctively moved to answer it.
Kim went and lifted the receiver and then promptly hung up. She then took the phone off the hook and laid it down while she fetched a device that she then substituted for the phone cord at the socket.
"That will stop them bothering us and prevent them listening on the line with an infinity bug." Kim explained.
"If they want to bug us, won't they just use those directional microphones that they point at the windows?" Countered Kevin, resignedly.
"They could-" Kim started, as a bullhorn drowned out her words.
"THIS IS THE POLICE; EVEYONE IN THE HOUSE IS TO COME OUT ONE AT A TIME WITH YOUR HANDS ON YOUR HEADS..." The rest of the message was muted and finally went silent, as Kim fiddled with a setting on the grey cube.
"As I was saying, they could, until I adjusted the field so that now, even sound waves cannot penetrate in either direction," Kim continued calmly.
"I take it, that you have a plan other than our abject surrender?" William asked, to which Kim answered with a smile and a nod.
"Yes, but we have to wait till they make their next move."
Amelia, seeing the children fidgeting, announced that it was nearing dinnertime and asked the girls to help her in the kitchen. The boys went upstairs to check out the area in the gathering dusk.
You said the cube had another use?" Sara questioned, suddenly remembering.
"That's true, so what do you film buffs think they will try next, seeing it's getting dark?" Kim asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Turn the power off?" Cindy prompted. She recalled a film where the FBI did that in some old action film that was in one of its numerous reruns. Meant to scare, it had enabled the bad guys to enter a vault, from what she remembered.
"And the prize goes to-" Kim beamed, giving a flourish towards Cindy.
As if on cue, the lights that had just been turned on, flickered, and then went out. A disgusted voice in the kitchen, announced that it wasn't just a light fuse blown either. Kim went to the cube and pressed a button, whereupon a slightly louder hum heralded the return of the lights.
"How long can that keep going?" Bob asked interestedly, looking closer at the cube.
"Longer than required," Kim answered enigmatically, giving little away.
"Won't we need to open the main fuse? What if they short out the cables?" an alarmed William warned.
"Then they better be wearing protective clothing, the flashover will be quite severe," was Kim's reply.
"That sounds like there will be thousands of amps available," Kevin mused. "Won't that fry all our house wiring, seeing its not designed for that kind of load?"
"You are right on both counts, but the field the cube is producing has a very curious effect. Any metal it travels through becomes a super conductor, so even small diameter wire can carry extremely high currents without over heating," explained Kim.
"Wow!" came from several male voices.
"So how long will we be stuck here?" Asked Sara. "We only have food for several days, with all the extra mouths to feed."
"I have trust in your government, things will come to a head before we need to diet," grinned Kim, seeming unperturbed by her own prediction.
Suddenly, the illumination from the interior lights was being augmented by bright flashes of light coming through the windows from outside. The boys called out from upstairs, that searchlights were sweeping the house.
The lights flickered once and returned to normal, just as the boys reported seeing a bright flash further down the street.
"Looks like they tried shorting out the cable," Kevin announced, having gone upstairs to check.
Eating the meal that Amelia and the girl's had prepared, was done in silence, as everyone's thoughts were on what was happening outside this seemingly normal everyday occurrence. Even so, everyone remembered to thank Amelia and her helpers for the nice meal.
Maggie turned on the TV to see if there was any news being shown of the siege. There was one channel reporting live, but they were obviously being denied the relevant information, apart from the fact that a flying saucer had been seen over a particular house. The reporter was getting little or no information, as to why the house was being surrounded, by the tight-lipped police that were keeping the public at bay. A view of the house from a news chopper some distance away, showed a window where two figures were shown, glued to the windows. The slight vibration in the picture showed that they were using extreme magnification to get the shot.
Sara's call to the boys to move away from the window, proved to be too late, as the reporter excitedly reported shots fired. Someone had decided to take matters into his own hand and fired at the figures outlined by the light inside.
The two boys didn't see or hear the impacts, which the sniper fired, as the bullets ricocheted away into the darkness, but they certainly saw the effects following that brief fusillade.
Every man surrounding the condo was feeling on edge. Hours earlier, they had been part of something strange, involving the safety of Earth, some just had vague flashes of memory of being part of something bigger than themselves, being connected to all who were in a life or death struggle against an implacable enemy. Others experienced more, depending on certain factors, to the point of knowing who the enemy was and who had been doing the fighting.
When the sudden orders to surround a house that had reportedly had a huge spacecraft hover over it, came, it was understandable that fear was high in their minds. The sound of a ricochet, at night is never pleasant and it always sounds like it's closer than it is. The men reacted instinctively, and fired their own weapons. The initial bullets had been angled up at the second story windows and their ultimate path had them pass harmlessly over the house to land, spent, into the ocean behind.
Not knowing about the protective shield, those that fired heavy weapons at the house at eye level, found themselves facing a hail off death, as the bullets and shells bounced off and came back at men positioned further around the perimeter of the house. Luckily, a rocket-propelled grenade that had been fired, showed what was happening, as its flame showed it bouncing off, narrowly missing some officers before it exploded harmlessly on the beach. Fire withered away as shouted commands to cease-fire were passed around. Medics rushed in to see to the wounded, fortunately, most were wearing body armour and only six had minor flesh wounds.
The house with its lighted windows, seemed to mock them with its seemingly undamaged appearance. Silence reigned as the police and the military men conferred on phones to others higher than themselves.
Inside, Sara gave the boys a talking to, despite her relief that they were okay. They gathered around the TV, watching for the next turn of events. Kim seemed to think that there would be at least one more attempt, before they gave up.
It wasn't long in coming. The reporter showed a tank coming along the road, as was gabbing on about futile fire fight, he'd just witnessed. The police were not happy about everything being filmed, and had tried to move him further away, but once the tank arrived, their attention was diverted to more important things.
The tank rumbled up towards the condo, deciding to use the driveway as a good means of approach, despite there being several cars in its way. Sara winced as the tank started to mount her car; even knowing it was supposedly protected the same as the house. Nearly everyone has seen a car being crushed by a tank. Everyone in the house, bar Kim, held their breath, as the tank climbed even higher. As soon as the tracks lost their purchase on the driveway behind it, the cushioning field protecting the still unflattened car, gave the tank no grip at all. The tank hung in the air for what seemed like forever, before it slipped over onto its side, leaving it at an angle of 45 degrees.
Undeterred, it used the track that was now in contact with the ground to move it forward past its obstruction. As it righted itself, and moved forward, its barrel hit the field surrounding the house. The tank stopped dead, with its tracks tearing at the ground uselessly. After digging two nice trenches for five minutes, it backed off, obviously having been given orders to withdraw. This time, it avoided the cars and made its own exit, by smashing a hole through the fence.
Silence reigned again. Kim suggested that everyone get some sleep, as tomorrow would be a busy day. Reluctantly, everyone agreed and people found places to sleep either in the bedrooms or on the couch, some having to resort to inflatable mattresses in the lounge. Sleep came slowly, but it eventually took all into its soft embrace, as those outside kept vigil.
To be concluded.
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© 2005 by Prudence Walker. All Rights Reserved. These documents (including, without limitation, all articles, text, images, logos, and compilation design) may be printed for personal use only. No portion of these documents may be stored electronically, distributed electronically, or otherwise made available without the express written consent of the copyright holder.
