Chapter 4: Battlefield

Naomi was very friendly once you got past her hard shell. She offered me dinner. I told her it was fine but she insisted. Afterwards I helped her with the dishes while she went to check on her grandma mainly to make sure she ate all her food. For a moment I felt like we had been friends for a long time but I knew it was just the circumstances that allowed my presence here.

"Tommy," I turned. It had been a long time since she used my first name so much. At work it was always Stone this and Stone that. "I'm sorry for keeping you. If you must really go, I'll take you to your home."

I shook my head. "I'm sorry, Naomi. It's just, well. I'll tell you," I walked towards a chair and asked her take a seat. "I won't blame you if you laugh or don't believe me, but I'll tell you."

I explained everything from the night of the discovery to Sherriff Marston claiming Leon took it to the trembles. Afterwards I just stared at her expecting a hysterical laughter from her and my face reddening.

She looked away probably thinking how ridiculous this all sounded.

"I believe you, Tommy."

"You do?" I was shocked. The coffee machine beeped and she stood up and made herself and me a cup. I took the cup and smiled. She sat down and looked at me and for a moment, I felt relieved of worry.

"I am actually glad you too have experienced this. A couple of nights ago, when the carnival was in town, I was driving home when I saw what looked like a mechanical shark jump out of Mr. Simmons' cotton field and then dive back in. I don't drink nor abuse any type of substance and I know what I saw wasn't my imagination. I just didn't feel like anyone would believe me. Thanks to you, now I can relax a little more."

"We should check it out." She concluded.

I was speechless. Okay, so there is this great, big mechanical shark in Mr. Simmons' cotton field and now she wants to check it out? I agreed even though not understanding what I had just done.

Again, darkness fell and we only had an emergency flashlight to aid us. At least a baseball bat would help. I thought about what a bat could do to a giant, mechanical shark and felt dumb. I guess the flashlight was fine. If anything were to kill us out there, at least we would be able to see it before it did.

The drive there was calm. We shared a couple more details of what each of us saw. A cat. A shark. Where were the Discovery Channel cameras when you needed them?

We arrived at the field's entrance. It was open. Naomi's Toyota was silent so that would help. She turned off the lights and turned into the dirt path. Mr. Simmons was just like you could imagine and old farmer to be. Don't mess with him or his land, you wouldn't get shot. She drove slowly while I kept an eye on the house and field. His bedroom light was on, but then again, it always was. Naomi saw a side road way smaller than the main one and stopped next to it. The car would fit but we knew it was probably going to get stuck. I didn't mind walking.

We tried to aim the flashlight to the ground at all times. Cotton plants are short anyways so it wasn't like we needed to walk much but at the same time all Mr. Simmons needed to do was look outside and he would catch us. We arrived at where Naomi guessed was the spot. I scanned it with the light. There was no hole but the ground was soft like it had been tilled. I turned off the light and sat down. Naomi did the same.

We sat silently, waiting for trembles or giant sharks to jump out, possibly beneath us. That would be great, right? After what seemed an eternity, we decided to leave. It was close to midnight and the temperature was falling. I stood up first and helped Naomi to her feet. As we took our first step a giant, white shark like thing came from the earth and flew high into the air probably a couple hundred feet. My amazement came from the fact that it made almost no sound. In the air, with only the moon's light to help, I saw its sharp teeth and menacing shape. With such grace, it again dropped into the earth and dove into the field like it was water. It was amazing. At this point, it was time to panic. Naomi took my hand and stood next to me.

"I told you." She said almost in a whisper so the shark didn't hear her.

Again the thing jumped out, the biggest difference came when it didn't dive back in but used what seemed to be jet like thrusters that allowed it to slowly glide down into the earth. It stared at us. A similar glass to that of the cat adorned its forehead. I now assumed it could possibly be a cockpit which also led me to believe that perhaps this was some military testing operation, we just happened to stumble upon.

But it charged at us.

I wanted to run but my feet were planted. I felt like it didn't make a difference. Something that big would kill you if you ran left or right. I closed my eyes and covered Naomi who cuddled in my arms.

I awaited the painful impact but instead heard a roar. Wait, sharks don't roar. I turned and to another eventful surprise, the cat that Leon had discovered came out charging at the shark. I noticed its front paw glowing and right before the shark got to us, it pounced on it slicing it's side leaving a deal of raw cables hanging from the now presumed dead machine.

We could only stare in awe as we saw the magnificent event. The glass cover of the shark opened and I could tell someone or something jumped out. I picked up my flashlight and aimed it. No one. The other machine, the cat, opened its glass cover and lowered its head. We were amazed to see a girl walk out with no bruises or cuts. She began walking at us. Another growl from the cat made her stop. She seemed very much like us, if she was some sort of alien, we now knew they looked just like us. Maybe prettier.

"Who are you?" I asked in my most straightforward voice trying to hide any hint of fear.

She smiled and motion for her machine to settle down.

"I'm Rio Toros and this is my Liger."