Brian Saves the World, Maybe

Chapter 26 - Under Duress

When Brian saw the sign, flashbacks of square dancing at a party in grade school accosted his mind. He had been paired with Samantha Powell, a fourth-grader nearly twice his size. She had spun her partner 'round a bit too hard, and Brian had wound up on top of a three-layer cake. There had been more frosting on his clothing than the cake when his friends pulled him off.

No way I'm square dancing, he thought.

Do you see a cake nearby?

Brian scowled.

"I need to visit the lady's room," Jessica said. "Be right back."

Now what? Brian thought. It's going to be at least three hours before Dale gets here.

As Brian waited for Jessica, something caught his ear. A group of men were talking loudly off to the side. The primary speaker, a red-faced man very likely affected by too much moonshine, had said the words, "aliens" and "government coverup." He stepped closer to the conversation.

"I'm tellin' you, Jake was no liar. And he wasn't crazy neither. He found something, and the government didn't like it. That's why he disappeared."
I think we found a redneck Dale, Brian thought.

"Uh-huh. Right. What did he find?" Another man asked.

"Said he found someplace up the mountains where birds was dyin'. Found a whole pile of 'em. Said he even saw one fall out o' the sky as he was standing there, like it hit some wall no one could see. Anyways, he was tellin' everybody about it, and next thing ya know, he's gone."

Brian's eyes widened. That has to be Borae.

Agreed, TV said.

"Did he say where exactly this was?" Brian asked.

The red-faced man looked Brian up and down. "You been listenin', have ya?"

"Sorry, I couldn't help but overhear. You were talking kind of loudly."

The man scrunched up his lower lip, as though he were trying to swallow it. "Where you from, exactly?"

Brian frowned. "Out of town."

"That so?" The man scowled. "You a gov'ment spook?"

"What? No!"

"Uh-huh. Tell ya what, we'll take ya up there, so we can all see it, firsthand."

Brian didn't like where this was headed. "Well, I appreciate the offer, but I'm meeting someone here tonight."

"Oh, got a partner for the dance, eh?"

"Err, yeah."

Didn't you say you weren't going to dance?

Shut up.

"Boys, why don't we just wait and see what kind of woman a fella like this can fetch, eh?"
The men laughed loudly.

Just then, Jessica returned, and the red-faced man whistled. "Not too bad!" He clapped Brian on the back.

"What's going on?" Jessica asked.

A voice spoke over a loudspeaker. "Alright folks, it's time to start the square dance. Everybody get your partners!"

The crowd cheered.

Brian looked at Jessica, trying to somehow tell her with his eyes that what he was about to say and do was happening under duress. "Okay, let's dance!"

"You want to square dance? Really?"

Brian glanced at the red-faced man. He was staring at them. "Hahaha, of course I want to dance! That's why we're here, remember?"
He winked at her.

Jessica's mouth opened, as if she were going to say something, but nothing came out. "Sure, okay!" She finally said.

Bluegrass music began playing, and the man on the loudspeaker said, "Swing your partner, do-si-do!"

Brian took Jessica's hands and began moving, mimicking the motions of other dancers. They swung around.

"'Round again and off we go!"

They swung around again and then separated, as others were doing. Brian could see the man was still watching them.

As they danced, Jessica was looking at him with a strange expression. He wondered what she was thinking.

The first dance lasted about 5 minutes. Brian looked around for the red-faced man, but couldn't find him. "Let's go!" He said to Jessica, pulling her along by the hand.

"Oh, you don't want to do another? We have some time to kill."

Brian didn't answer. They walked quickly, finding an alley he hoped would lead them out of the crowded areas.

"What was that all about?" Jessica asked, looking at him with a quizzical expression.

"I'll tell you once we find someplace safe."

"Safe?"

The alley led them to a smaller street. They walked along it for a while until it reached a corner.

"Well, hi there, folks!"

Brian turned in surprise. It was the red-faced man again. His friends were with him.

"Leaving the party already?"

"Uh, yeah, we've got someplace to be."

"Oh, that's a shame. Was gonna take ya on a little ride."

"Another time, maybe."

Brian heard a sound behind him, and started to turn. Everything happened quickly. Two pairs of hands grabbed his shoulders, and he was yanked to the left. He heard Jessica scream.
Brian was pulled around a corner, where a minivan sat, engine running.

Brian struggled to see where Jessica was. She was being held by one man, off to the side. He needed a way to get her free. Just before they pulled him into the vehicle, he grabbed the device from his pocket and threw it at her. He saw it land somewhere near her feet, just as the van door closed.