Disclaimer: I don't own Signs or any characters mentioned in this fic. I'm merely "Borrowing" them…. For a while….
A.N. Read and review! : )
Chapter Five: More than coincidence?
Merrill and Randa dashed though the field, going up and down the paths, taking shortcuts through the corn stalks, trying to confuse the creatures. And it was working.
Seeing the lights of the Hess farmhouse just up ahead and having not seen the aliens for a good while, they slowed to a walk.
"You think we lost 'em?" Randa asked, panting.
"I 'm not sure" Merrill answered. "It seems too easy, but who knows. They might be still hissing at each other."
"Yeah, those guys are even worse than we are!"
Merrill chuckled and looked over at her. But the smile suddenly dropped from his face when he noticed two gleaming pairs of eyes peering out from the stalks, right behind her.
Before he could say anything, something grabbed him by the shoulders.
"Merrill!" Randa cried out as two aliens grabbed her and started pulling her into the stalks on the opposite side of the path. Struggling against the creature, Merrill reached out and grabbed her hand.
"Hang on!" he shouted. But it was useless. His hand was slipping as they were both being dragged away from each other.
"Is this it?" Merrill thought angrily. "After we were all we went through?! We were so close!" It was then he felt something small, cool, and wet fall on his forehead. He heard a rumble of thunder. Raindrops started falling harder and harder. The storm clouds that had gathered earlier in the evening had finally broken.
The creatures shrieked in anguish as Merrill and Randa bolted down the path.
Back at the farmhouse, a loud clap of thunder woke Graham. He glanced out the window. He saw his brother and Randa dart through the rain toward the guest house. Graham let out a sigh of relief, looked up to the ceiling, and whispered "Thank you"
Merrill and Randa burst in the door of the guest house and into the small living room, astonished at their sudden good fortune.
"Can you believe it?!" Randa exclaimed.
"I know" Merrill replied. "What are the odds?!" There had been quite a few coincidences that night. "Or was it coincidence?" he thought.
"Was that all four of them? I thought I only saw three." Randa asked.
"Maybe you didn't notice the fourth one" Merrill suggested. "It was pretty dark out."
He took two towels from the laundry basket, tossed one to his companion, and started to dry off. Randa studied the items on the bookshelves and the mantel. There were many dusty knickknacks, some Hess family photos, and even a few snapshots of Merrill and herself. On trinket in particular caught her eye. She picked it up.
"The Chinese finger trap!" Randa said with surprise. "I didn't know you still had this!"
"Yeah" Merrill said with a grin. "You remember where that's from?"
"Oh how could I forget! We were in third grade. I had just moved here. You came over and wanted me to help you try out your new finger trap."
"And you were so pissed at me when we couldn't get it off!"
"We must've run around all day with our fingers stuck together!" Randa laughed. "Until Graham finally explained that…." Her voice trailed off. "That the harder we tried to pull away, the tighter we were tied together…"
There was an awkward silence.
"Look Randa," Merrill started. "I ...I... uh, whatever it was I said that night, at the party….I'm sorry."
Randa smiled "Me too. Come to think of it, what were we fighting about?"
"It was about uhh… well, actually I can't remember either." They laughed. "I'm gonna get some more towels." Merrill muttered and went upstairs. Randa put the finger trap back on the mantle and looked over the photos. "We really did have some great times together." She reminisced. "It seems silly to let one small argument-"
Suddenly, a loud crash from the upstairs bedroom broke her train of thought. She raced up the stairs and into the bedroom. A flash of lightning briefly illuminated the room. But it was long enough for Randa to see Merrill lying motionless on the floor and the last of the four creatures standing there, a look of pure malevolence in it's eyes.
Randa backed out of the room as the creature started toward her. She bolted down the hall, not watching where she was going. She slipped and fell just as the alien lunged at her. But when she closed her eyes, the only sound she heard was that of glass shattering. Upon opening her eyes, she saw a broken window slightly above her. She got up and looked out the window. Sure enough, there was the creature on the ground below, withering in the falling rain. "It must've accidentally jumped right over me when I fell!" Randa thought as she hurried back to the bedroom. She went over to Merrill, who was still unconscious on the floor.
"Merrill" Randa whispered. She shook him. "Merrill" He remained still. "This can't be happening." She thought, a knot forming in the pit of her stomach. "Ok, don't panic. I-I'll just go over to the main house and get help." She walked downstairs, tears forming around her eye rims.
But just then, a soft groan sounded form upstairs. Randa turned around to see Merrill coming down the steps, rubbing his head. He glanced up at the broken window.
"What happened?" he asked. "Was that the last- Whoa!" Randa leapt up and threw her arms around him, nearly knocking him over. Once regaining his balance, he smiled and returned the embrace.
The next morning, Morgan and Bo burst into Graham's room. "Dad! Dad!" they shouted. "Get up! Come outside, you've gotta come see this!" He followed his children outside, curious to see what all the excitement was about. When he got there, he noticed Merrill and Randa were already up, standing hand in hand, and looking toward the sky. Bo tugged on Graham's sleeve and pointed up.
"Look!" She chirped excitedly. "It's just like in the story!"
Graham looked up and saw what she was talking about. A huge rainbow graced the sky, a sign from above, a sign of hope.
The End
A.N. A short story, I know. I didn't have enough time for anything novel length. Thanks for all the reviews, everybody! : )