Signs

Chapter 3: Beginning of the End

A/N: This gets more suspense-ish - is that a word? If it's not, I don't care! I use a few lines from 'Signs'. I also use a few lines from the song 'Hero', which has more to do with 'Spider-Man' then an alien invasion... Oh well! (Skips off happily singing into a large crop circle.) Dooty-doo- dooty- dooty-doo-doo-doo-dooty-doo... (Readers shudder in fear.)

Lady Thrax raced down to the farm house.

"Ma'am, can I borrow your radio?" she asked a surprised woman who lived at the farm.

"Who are you? What are you doing in my house?!" the woman demanded.

Dib stepped in the doorway, he saw Lady Thrax fiddle with something, he realized it was a mind eraser thingy from 'Men in Black'. He shielded his eyes while Lady Thrax pressed the side of her glasses, sunglasses covering the lenses.

"Why I'm here is none of your concern. I am nothing more than a figment of your imagination." she said, in a flash of light, the woman sat down in a chair, and stared out the window. Lady Thrax took the radio and walked out the door, dragging Dib out by the collar of his jacket. Lady Thrax heard the sound of someone crying. She turned around, letting Dib go. A little girl, about five years of age was sitting in a rocking chair, crying. Lady Thrax bent down next to the child.

"Hey, what's wrong? Why are you crying?" she asked in a sweet voice.

The little girl sniffed.

"Who are you?" she asked, clutching a brown teddy bear closely.

Lady Thrax sat down on the porch. Dib smiled, he could tell that Lady Thrax really wasn't as heartless as she claimed. But, he wondered, maybe all teenage girls have maternal insticnts.

"My name is Abri." Lady Thrax said. Dib was thrust out of his thoughts by hearing Lady Thrax say her real name. The little girl sniffed again.

"My name's Heather, are you one of the bad people?" the girl asked.

Abri looked shocked.

"What bad people, sweetie?" she asked, trying to sound calm.

Heather held her teddy bear even closer.

"The bad people who were here last night. They made the weird shape thingy out in Mommy's wheat field." Heather said.

Abri's eyes widened in fear. She cleared her throat and hoped to regain her gentle voice as to not frighten the girl.

"You- you * saw * what made that circle in your mommy's field?" she asked.

Heather nodded.

"Unh huh."

Abri took the little girl's hand.

"What did the bad person look like, honey?" she asked.

Heather looked at the barn. She pointed at the roof.

"Like that."

A small gray creature with white glowing eyes stared back at the three of them. Abri gasped. Dib's mouth fell open. Heather continued to point at the creature.

"I'll be right back, sweetie, okay?" Abri said to Heather.

"I don't want to be out here by myself." she said.

Abri looked at Dib for help. Dib mouthed his name to her.

"Heather, this is Dib, he'll take you inside, you can talk to your mommy, I'm going to make sure that the bad thing won't hurt you, okay?" Abri said, cupping a hand to Heather's chin. The child nodded. Abri felt crushed by the look in the girl's eyes, fear, worry- why worry?

"Be careful. I'll see if my mommy will let you two stay over." she said. Abri opened her mouth to speak- but she saw how scared Heather looked and nodded.

"Okay, we won't be able to find place to stay anyway."

Heather laughed just as a clap of thunder rolled.

"What's so funny?" Dib asked.

"She sounds like Dr. Suess!" Heather said. She took Dib's hand and slid off the chair and led him inside. Rain began pelting the farm house. It was one of those disgusting warm summer rains. Abri climbed up the side of the farm house, slipping once and cutting her leg on a jagged piece of aluminum siding. She made it to the roof and found the little gray being still there. It said nothing. It just looked at her.

"What do you want? Why are you here?" the human asked. Still, the creature said nothing. Abri licked her lips nervously.

"Are you friend?" she made the sign that aliens most commonly make, the 'live long and prosper' sign. The alien gave another gesture that would have made Abri laugh had she not been fearing that she may fall off the roof.

"You naughty little thing!" she said. The creature jumped foreword, then, with amazing strength for such a little body, jumped like a kick boxer, pushing Abri off the roof. It was a long fall, Abri watched the ground come closer to her.

"God have mercy." she whispered. She hit the ground with a thud. She didn't get up.

From inside the farm house, Heather screamed, she had been looking out the window the whole time, she saw Abri fall off the roof. She ran out the door, her mother and Dib following. Her mother and Dib caught up with her, Heather was on her knees, shaking Abri. She was crying harder now.

"Wake up, Abi, please. Wake up. I already lost my Daddy, I don't want a friend to die too."

Dib bit his lip. Heather liked Abri. He could tell that the girl had never had a friend. He could also tell that Abri was hurt. Heather's mother spoke up.

"Come on, let's get her inside." she said. She and Dib got Abri inside. Heather got a first aid kit. Once inside, Heather's mother began to make sure Abri was still alive.

"Is Abi gonna be okay, Mommy?" the five year old asked. Abri awoke, she touched Heather's long blonde hair.

"I think I'll live." she said weakly. She fought to sit up, but was held down by the shoulders by Heather's mother.

"You need to lie still, Abri. You had a nasty fall. I'm Mrs. Greenwald by the way." she said. She listened to Abri's heart.

"My mommy's a nurse." said Heather to Dib proudly.
"She'll fix Abi up in no time."

Mrs. Greenwald sighed.

"I'm afraid it's going to take more time then a few minutes, Heather." she told her daughter gently as she covered Abri up with a blanket, who fell asleep in seconds.
"She's got more than a cut. She's got some broken ribs. I think she'll be sick too, she looks like she's gone without sleep for a while."

Dib nodded.

"She has, she's been studying for something." he said.

A boy about Dib's age walked in, he was soaking wet. He looked from Mrs. Greenwald, to Heather, then Dib, then finally Abri.

"What's with the brood on the couch?" he asked. Mrs. Greenwald and Heather looked appalled.

"Graham!" said Mrs., Greenwald.
"Watch your language! The young woman is Abri, she and her friend Dib are here to find out something... I can't remember what. Anyway, She was on the roof looking for- something and fell off. She and Dib will be staying with us for a while."

Dib tried hard not to laugh. The thought of the mind eraser was funny. Mrs. Greenwald turned on the TV to the news. An news caster appeared with a little box on the side with the top story.

"All across the world, crop circles have been appearing, even in broad daylight. Stranger still, all the circles are the same formation. Every. Last. One. And they all seem to be happening hours between one another. There have also be hundreds of reported accidents near the sights of the crop circles. Could this be some type of coincidence, or is something trying to warn us?" Mrs. Greenwald quickly turned off the TV when she noticed Heather's scared face and that Abri stirred at the caster's last six words. She stood up, making sure that Abri was back to sleep.

"All right, Graham, Heather, time for bed." she whispered.

"Mom- the crop circle-" Graham started.

"I'll have no more of this alien nonsense." said Mrs. Greenwald firmly.

"Mommy, can I sleep out here with Abi and Dib tonight?" Heather asked.

Mrs. Greenwald opened her mouth, but no words came. She looked to Dib, who nodded.

"Okay, darling. No more news, you hear me?" her mother said.

Heather nodded, still clutching her teddy bear. She walked down the hall and came back a moment later with some pillows and blankets. Dib took a pillow and a blanket and made himself a little bed on the floor near the fire place. Heather however, made herself a makeshift bed near the couch where Abri lay. The little girl looked at the teenager and smiled.

"Goodnight." she whispered.

Dib smiled to himself. He'd never seen anyone take such a shine to someone they just met. He tried to sleep, but he couldn't. Too much was on his mind. He heard Abri moan slightly in her sleep. Heather looked up from where she lay and got on her knees. Dib got up and stood behind her. He watched as Heather gently lifted Abri's arm and put her teddy bear under it, then lay her arm down. Abri woke up in surprise. Heather quickly ducked down back under her covers. Abri smiled, but she looked like she wanted to cry. She fought to turn over on her side. She succeeded and found that Heather was now fast asleep. Abri lay the bear next to her, she smiled as Heather's arm embraced the bear.

"I never knew anyone could be that caring." she whispered to Dib. She turned slowly onto her back.
"It's hurts...Seeing someone so innocent, upset like she was. I could hear her crying, wanting me to get up. In my mind I wanted to, but my body wouldn't respond. I don't know what's wrong with me. Normally, I would've ignored her. When I had Mrs. Greenwald's radio... I didn't. I guess- I guess I'm just growing up. Maternal instincts. Guys are lucky, they really have nothing to worry about." she said.

"Hey, guys have fatherly instincts once and a while." Dib said.

"You won't for another few years. But some of the boys at my skool, well, even the dumbest of the jocks would behave fatherly if they came across a lost child. I mean, we had one of the other students' moms come into class once. I caught my boyfriend playing with the little three year old boy the mother had tagging along with her. I miss him. He hasn't contacted me over the summer. To be honest, I don't think he likes me anymore. We had a fight the last day of skool- I wonder if he's still angry. Like it matters anymore, we'll all be dead soon anyway." Abri went on, she sighed.

"Goodnight, Dib." she whispered.

" 'Night." he said, walking back to his blanket on the floor.

Abri stared at the ceiling. She sang a little bit of a song she knew.

" Now that the world isn't ending
It's love that I'm sending to you
It isn't the love of a hero
And that's why I fear it won't do..."

She felt a tugging on her coat sleeve. She looked down.

"Heather?" she asked. Dib looked up, he couldn't sleep ether.

Heather sighed.

"Abi, could- could you tell me a story?"

Abri looked surprised, she'd never been asked that before.

"O- okay. Um, here we go. Once upon a time there were some pretty pictures appearing in fields. No one knew what these pretty pictures meant, but they wanted to find out. So, one day, two people came and went to a place where one of the pretty pictures were. While they were there they met a very nice little girl. The two people wanted to find out why the pictures were in the little girl's field. They learned at the pretty pictures were made by something that wasn't very nice. More and more of these pictures began popping up all over the world. Still, the two people wanted to figure out why the pictures were there. They also wanted to find out what they meant. They found one of the not-very-nice things that made the picture and made it go away...." she stopped, not knowing what to say.

Heather was nearly asleep.

"How does it end?" she asked, hugging her teddy bear.

Abri laid back down and sighed.

"I don't know."

A/N: HOLY CRAP! Is that fluff?! Am I writing fluff?! (Runs off screaming.)