The dust rose and blocked out the sun, painfully he watched the last
dinosaur limp across a vast desert in search of food. The humanoids managed
to survive, but then two or three rodents scampered down off the meteor and
climbed into the trees. The oceans returned and the forests grew and the
rodents grew also. They evolved, becoming larger and larger and then they
forced the aliens out of the trees. Then the rodents climbed down out of
the trees, and with a jolt, Edwards realized they were humans.
The humans spread like a plague and they quickly covered the earth,
thousands of them. Humans started to mine, and the skies turned red from
the heat of their forges. And so man made weapons of war. Hordes of men
clashed together and the earth was soaked with crimson waves of blood, and
the blood was mixed with that of the aliens. The remaining aliens found
themselves surrounded by a murderous group of humans. Just as the remaining
humans closed in, they blasted off into space on board a shuttle. There in
the depths of space they stood sentinel, waiting for the time when humans
had mastered their violence and could share the earth with its rightful
inhabitants.
After that particular dream, Edwards woke up, a thin coat of sweat covering
his forehead. What was going on he wondered? Was it the cause of the bomb?
It was near midnight and the only light came in through a small crack under
the doorway. I need to find out if Jake has had the same dreams or am I
crazy he thought. Or what if Jake and I are both crazy he wondered. With
those muddled thoughts in his head he fell back asleep.
The light streamed in when he opened his eyes. There was a tentative knock
on his door and Edwards yelled out. "Come in!" A pretty young nurse came in
and gave him a pleasant smile. "The doctor will be in, in a minute. Here is
some water and you can have breakfast after the doctor looks you over. Oh,
and there's a letter for you," she said. "Thank you," said Edwards.
Ignoring the water and the unpleasant thought of hospital food, he ripped
open the letter. It was single spaced and typed, very official. The letter
read;
To Major Edwards,
You are ordered to report back, ready for duty, next week, June the 2. Under no conditions are you allowed to speak of the events of May 11. The letter was unsigned. Edwards got home late that night he flicked on the lights as he walked in. Edwards hung up his coat and threw down his keys. Edwards looked through his mail there was a get well card from his neighbors across the street. They wrote, We heard about the auto accident and hope you will get well soon. What auto accident? Thought Edwards. Are the neighbors insane? Then, remembering his dreams, he walked outside to make sure his car was fine. On walking inside, Edwards noticed his mail had been thrown to the floor while he was outside. Edwards grabbed the baseball bat near the door and holding it above his head at the ready, he searched the room. There was movement in the shadows behind the couch and swung with all the force he could muster. The bat hit home but out of the corner of his eye he saw a second man behind him. Pivoting on his feet he lifted the bat above his head to strike. When suddenly the bat was grabbed from behind.
The man in front drew back his fist and swung. Edwards felt all the air rush out of him. His legs wobbled as he bent over gasping for breath. Then someone hit him with the bat and he collapsed onto the floor. Rolling over, he looked up and found himself looking at a gun barrel.
The moment he rolled over he heard the snap of several more pistols being cocked. Six men, who might have been twins as far as he was concerned, surrounded Edwards. Each one of them held a pistol, cocked, loaded, and aimed at his head. All six of them wore black suits and dark shades. They all had the same military buzz cut and each of them had the same frozen scowl on their faces.
Two of them parted ranks and a seventh man stepped forward. Unlike the others he wore a brown trench coat and no shades. His hair while still cropped short, was a dignified gray. "Mr. Edwards," he said calmly, his voice dry and harsh. "You are not allowed to disclose the events of the previous month. As far as the government is concerned, it never happened. Your neighbors believe you had an auto accident, you must do nothing o make them believe otherwise. Understand?" not waiting for a reply and obviously next expecting one, he turned around. Two of the men grabbed his arm and inserted a syringe, and then he blacked out.
On his drive to work the next morning, Edwards turned of I-85 as usual, but instead of the seeing the flat terrain stretch away in front of him he was confronted by a series of sand dunes, ridges and hills. Several bulldozers were still at work at the base of a nearby hill. A single car followed him the entire time, Edwards was expecting that. Patrols of security men fanned the area. Somehow they had changed the machine gun pit near the entrance to look like a deserted gas station. Its frame was covered in rust but the pavement was still fresh. The base had been repaired, though there was still a crater from a tank round in the ground.
He stepped out of the car and was immediately followed by a member of base security. They escorted him to his office and then locked the door. Edwards stared at the stats of a Russian fighter he was supposed to be studying. Suddenly the phone rang, jerking him out of his stupor. His secretary wasn't here. He picked up the phone, expecting a man with a pistol to come in at any moment.
"Hello," he said.
"Edwards, its me Jake."
"Jake, what's going on?" asked Edwards.
"Edwards I'm pretty sure you've been having the same dreams I've been having. And then someone broke into my house last night. I think Edwards," said Jake slowly. "I think the government is scared. They think it's the start of an alien invasion and they don't want us telling anyone. Edwards, we're the only two people on the planet that know the truth. Those dreams were somehow transmitted to us from a fluke when that bomb went off. But the government won't believe us. They're too sacred to listen to anyone. I rechecked those records and found that our planes attacked the aliens first; I think they're a pretty peaceful group if we believe those dreams. " Suddenly Edwards realized something. "Jake," he said softly. "We're the alien invaders. Man is an alien." Then Jake began to yell. "Help...Run!!!!" The line went dead.
Edwards turned, rooted to the spot by dread. The door clicked open and one of the men in black stepped in and raised his gun. "I didn't." but words failed Edwards when the look of determination on the man's face and he turned to run. Edwards did not hear the shot but he felt himself falling. He didn't feel any pain, he just felt very...very cold. Then everything turned dark.
You are ordered to report back, ready for duty, next week, June the 2. Under no conditions are you allowed to speak of the events of May 11. The letter was unsigned. Edwards got home late that night he flicked on the lights as he walked in. Edwards hung up his coat and threw down his keys. Edwards looked through his mail there was a get well card from his neighbors across the street. They wrote, We heard about the auto accident and hope you will get well soon. What auto accident? Thought Edwards. Are the neighbors insane? Then, remembering his dreams, he walked outside to make sure his car was fine. On walking inside, Edwards noticed his mail had been thrown to the floor while he was outside. Edwards grabbed the baseball bat near the door and holding it above his head at the ready, he searched the room. There was movement in the shadows behind the couch and swung with all the force he could muster. The bat hit home but out of the corner of his eye he saw a second man behind him. Pivoting on his feet he lifted the bat above his head to strike. When suddenly the bat was grabbed from behind.
The man in front drew back his fist and swung. Edwards felt all the air rush out of him. His legs wobbled as he bent over gasping for breath. Then someone hit him with the bat and he collapsed onto the floor. Rolling over, he looked up and found himself looking at a gun barrel.
The moment he rolled over he heard the snap of several more pistols being cocked. Six men, who might have been twins as far as he was concerned, surrounded Edwards. Each one of them held a pistol, cocked, loaded, and aimed at his head. All six of them wore black suits and dark shades. They all had the same military buzz cut and each of them had the same frozen scowl on their faces.
Two of them parted ranks and a seventh man stepped forward. Unlike the others he wore a brown trench coat and no shades. His hair while still cropped short, was a dignified gray. "Mr. Edwards," he said calmly, his voice dry and harsh. "You are not allowed to disclose the events of the previous month. As far as the government is concerned, it never happened. Your neighbors believe you had an auto accident, you must do nothing o make them believe otherwise. Understand?" not waiting for a reply and obviously next expecting one, he turned around. Two of the men grabbed his arm and inserted a syringe, and then he blacked out.
On his drive to work the next morning, Edwards turned of I-85 as usual, but instead of the seeing the flat terrain stretch away in front of him he was confronted by a series of sand dunes, ridges and hills. Several bulldozers were still at work at the base of a nearby hill. A single car followed him the entire time, Edwards was expecting that. Patrols of security men fanned the area. Somehow they had changed the machine gun pit near the entrance to look like a deserted gas station. Its frame was covered in rust but the pavement was still fresh. The base had been repaired, though there was still a crater from a tank round in the ground.
He stepped out of the car and was immediately followed by a member of base security. They escorted him to his office and then locked the door. Edwards stared at the stats of a Russian fighter he was supposed to be studying. Suddenly the phone rang, jerking him out of his stupor. His secretary wasn't here. He picked up the phone, expecting a man with a pistol to come in at any moment.
"Hello," he said.
"Edwards, its me Jake."
"Jake, what's going on?" asked Edwards.
"Edwards I'm pretty sure you've been having the same dreams I've been having. And then someone broke into my house last night. I think Edwards," said Jake slowly. "I think the government is scared. They think it's the start of an alien invasion and they don't want us telling anyone. Edwards, we're the only two people on the planet that know the truth. Those dreams were somehow transmitted to us from a fluke when that bomb went off. But the government won't believe us. They're too sacred to listen to anyone. I rechecked those records and found that our planes attacked the aliens first; I think they're a pretty peaceful group if we believe those dreams. " Suddenly Edwards realized something. "Jake," he said softly. "We're the alien invaders. Man is an alien." Then Jake began to yell. "Help...Run!!!!" The line went dead.
Edwards turned, rooted to the spot by dread. The door clicked open and one of the men in black stepped in and raised his gun. "I didn't." but words failed Edwards when the look of determination on the man's face and he turned to run. Edwards did not hear the shot but he felt himself falling. He didn't feel any pain, he just felt very...very cold. Then everything turned dark.