Mark McGinnis - The Simpleton

“And what has happened to the other spacecraft… our apparent savior… or was that the craft which was destroyed?”

“There’s no way to know, at this point, there’s still much more to come, Simon…”

Jackie had reached her father’s farm. She turned off the engine and continued to stare at the car radio. There was a good chance, Cuddy and Kyle… as well as Tony Bone were dead. Killed by the alien craft. She didn’t want to think about it. She couldn’t think about it.

She watched as Mrs. Perkins and her father extricated themselves from the Maxima. Momma helped her father walk toward the house. It should be me helping him, she thought—but, surprisingly, she was fine with Mrs. Perkins taking on that responsibility.

Jackie got out of her car and slowly followed behind them. Then, snapping out of her funk, she hurried forward and opened the front door for them. It was unlocked—always unlocked—she didn’t remember, even as a child, the door ever being locked.

Momma gently guided her father toward the back of the house where the master bedroom was located. Jackie felt numb. So much had happened—all starting days before, with the frantic call informing her that her father had had a massive heart attack. Hell… in a normal world, that would have been terrifying enough. But it had only been the beginning of a string of implausible events that were… well… beyond incredible. But was all of it a nightmare? Certainly not Cuddy’s mental transformation. Now that presented its own unique set of problems for her.

She noticed a red light was blinking on her dad’s old fashioned answering machine on the kitchen counter. She pressed play and listened to a series of well-wishers for her father’s quick recovery. There was a message from the pharmacist about new prescriptions being ready for pickup, and then there was a message for her. It was Brian. He was worried sick about her. Couldn’t understand why she wasn’t picking up on her cell phone. She tried to remember where she’d left it—then remembered she’d last had it in her pocket when she’d been taken aboard the Howsh ship. She brought her attention back to Brian’s voice

“Babe… if you get this message, please call… day or night… Jackie, let me know you’re all right.”

She listened to the phone machine say, “End of messages.”

She looked up to see Momma was coming down the hallway.

“He okay?”

“Yes… wants to rest for a while.”

“I can’t thank you enough for helping with Dad… It should have been me—”

Momma waved her words away. “It’s a welcome distraction with everything going on. The attacks around the world… Cuddy and Kyle gone.” Momma gestured toward something undefined above.

Jackie said, “I found a radio station… while in the car. Reports about the attacks on the other side of the world.”

Momma’s attention was piqued, “Well? Anything about… the boys… what they were trying to do?”

Jackie nodded. “There was a third ship… it must have been them… the report said it attacked the other two ships… up in space. One was definitely destroyed… not sure about the other one… it may have reentered the atmosphere.”

Momma stared back at her, waiting for Jackie to continue.

“I don’t know, Mrs. Perkins… there’s no way to know. I guess all we can do is wait.”

Cuddy awoke to the loud, grating voice of Tony Bone. Clearly upset, he was complaining about his nose.

“…of all the places on my body I could have been smacked… an arm… an ear… hell, my nuts, but no… I get hit again, right in the nose!”

Cuddy slowly sat up, realizing Kyle was crouched down next to him.

“Easy there, little brother, you hit your head pretty hard.”

Cuddy thought back to the last thing he’d seen—the Howsh spacecraft coming right at them, from out the observation window. “We’re… still alive!”

“Thanks to you. You and the orb. How you did what you did, making that ship disintegrate, like that…”

Cuddy’s vision was only now clearing—capable of focusing on his surroundings. The AI orb still hovered in front of the forward console and Cuddy noted they were again up in space. He glanced over at Tony, now seated with his back up against the opposite bulkhead. Dried blood covered much of his lower face along with practically all his T-shirt.

“Sorry about your nose, Tony.”

“It’s not your fault, Cuddy. It was already reinjured.” Tony gave Kyle a mean look.

“Can you help me up, Kyle?” Cuddy asked. With the help of his brother, he climbed to his feet. He wavered then steadied himself. “Orb… where are we? What are we doing back in space?”

“On three occasions I attempted to return to Earth’s atmosphere. Of those still functioning sufficiently, Earth’s strategic defenses—primarily ballistic missile systems—are all on high alert. The Revenge has taken numerous direct hits and our ability to cloak our presence is no longer possible. Added to that, our protective shields are ineffectual.”

Tony, sounding nasally, asked, “Can’t we just tell them who we are… that we’re the good guys?”

Cuddy and Kyle looked at each other. Kyle shrugged and asked, “Is that possible?”

The orb stopped what it was doing—as if momentarily considering the question—then replied, “This vessel has a variety of communication capabilities, including radio frequency transmission.”

“Who would we talk to?” Tony asked. “I mean, who would believe us? We’d sound like prankster ass-clowns…”

Kyle nodded and pointed a finger at Tony. “That’s why you’re going to contact your father… the sheriff. Who else do we know who has any clout? Since he’s been on this ship, it won’t be all that far-fetched.” Tony gave back a pained expression.

“What’s the big deal?” Kyle asked.

“I don’t know if he’s even out of the hospital yet. And I don’t get along very well with him, anyway.”

“Tough. Would you rather die up here? Be atomized by a fucking missile from Iran, or maybe Poland? You want to die from a Polish missile, Tony? Would that make you happy?” Kyle asked.

Tony started to laugh at that. “Fine… um… you, orb, do you know how to connect to, communicate with, the Woodbury Police Dispatch? That’s always the best way to get ahold of my father.”

“Stand by… I will attempt to make the necessary connections.”

“Whatever,” Tony said, rising to his feet. “He still may not believe me.”

Cuddy wasn’t sure Tony was right about that, since the sheriff had been taken prisoner too—had been a prisoner on this same alien ship. It wouldn’t be that much of a stretch to realize his son was still on board.

They were startled by the sound of loud static, then Sheriff Bone’s craggy voice, blaring into the bridge compartment: “Who is this…? This is a police emergency frequency.”

Tony looked around the compartment, like he didn’t know in which direction to address his words.

“Just start talking, Tony!” Kyle said, annoyed.

“Dad? Um… it’s Tony…”

There was a long static pause before the sheriff spoke again. “Tony?”

“Yes… like… your son.”

“Where the hell are you? I’ve been looking for you, damn it. What are you doing on this frequency?”

“Just listen, Dad… I want you to know I’m not fooling around here. This is for real, okay?”

“I’m extremely busy, son. I’ve just gotten back from the hospital… what is it?”

“I’m up in space. I’m still in the Howsh ship. This is the spacecraft that just destroyed the other two spaceships… like over Russia.” Tony shook his head and stared over at Kyle then Cuddy. He mouthed the words, He thinks I’m pulling his chain.