"I'm very happy I was able to provide the spark for this realization," Peter said to Walter, who was all but hopping from one foot to the other in excitement, "but I would much prefer if you calmed yourself and sat down again. Even with this piece of data, we're still a far cry from solving this riddle."

"Nonsense, it's perfectly obvious to me," Walter replied. "We are dealing with Aliens."

The youngsters exchanged puzzled looks. Peter raised an eyebrow. "And how did you come to this conclusion?"

"The futuristic landscape you described. I assume it is an advanced civilisation on a distant planet that is in danger of being wiped out by a supernova. So they found this barn, which Josh here saw..."

"My name is Joe," the teen said, but Walter waved the interruption away. "... and they appear to think it provides a solution to the problem they face on their home world."

"But how would our barn help a far away planet?" Angie wanted to know.

"It doesn't explain the skull or the overgrown car, either," Norrie pointed out. "Where do those come in?"

"Maybe they plan to kill us all to make room for their own species," Angie whispered.

"Come now, child, there's no need to assume the worst," Carolyn tried to soothe her.

"Think of it," Peter said. "The egg has not harmed anybody yet. It's even trying to communicate with us. Why would it do that if it was planning our annihilation?"

"Quite right," Walter declared. "I am positive there is a perfectly rational explanation for these images, which will come to me momentarily,"

Everybody around the table started talking at the same time, producing theories and proposing lines of action. The only one who did not participate was Junior. He felt left out, superfluous. So he quietly slipped out and made his way to the barn. He was sure if he touched the mini dome it would provide him with an image as well, which might help solve the mystery. But when he put his hand against the curved surface, no image appeared before his inner eye. Instead there was a rustling noise behind him and when he turned around he froze in shock. In front of him stood - his mother, who had died many years before.

The woman wore a shabby house dress, splattered with oil color. She lifted her hand and pointed at Junior. "Pink stars are falling," she said.

Junior swallowed convulsively. He knew that this apparition could not be his mother, no matter how badly he wanted it to be. Finally he managed to overcome his surprise and bewilderment. "I know, mom. You painted them in a picture," he said. "And you painted me in it as well."

She nodded. "It is time. Pink stars are falling," she repeated.

"What does that even mean?" Junior asked, but the woman only kept repeating the same sentence, no matter how often he probed her for clarification. In the end, the young man became so frustrated that he approached her, reaching for her shoulders to shake some sense into her. But his hands went right through he body as if she were a ghost. As Junior jumped back with a startled cry, the woman shook her head sadly.

"The pink stars are falling. Hurry!" was the last thing she said before she vanished into thin air, leaving a very scared and confused Junior behind.

AN: This week's prompt - due to Halloween - was to include something spooky or scary