Brian Saves the World, Maybe

Chapter 28 - Deliverance

Jessica watched in horror, as the men pulled Brian into the van. Brian seemed to throw something just as the van door began to close, and it landed near her feet. It was the invisibility device! A fat man held her by the waist, preventing her from getting it.

This is ridiculous, she thought, scowling. First, the cafeteria fiasco, then her car, and now this. She had had enough, and she certainly wasn't going to let these rednecks get the best of her. As the van drove away around the corner, Jessica elbowed the fat man in the stomach as hard as she could. He gasped, letting go of her. This bought her enough time to stoop down, grab the device, and hit the button.

The fat man looked around, eyes wide, a confused expression on his face. Jessica kicked him in the crotch, before running around the corner to see where the van had gone, leaving the man on his knees, groaning.

She ran in the direction the van had gone, looking down side streets, but it was no use. It was out of sight.

How could she find out where they were going?

The fat man! He might know. But how to get him to talk? She bit her lip in thought.

* * *

Harry was feeling miserable. Dwayne had instructed him to count to 100, and then let the lady go. But she had hit him hard in the stomach, right after 10 Mississippi, and the next thing he knew, she was gone! And then he'd felt a horrible stabbing pain in his crotch. He had never been to the doctor, but he might have heard something about this before. Was it a... a groin attack? No, that couldn't be right. A groin stone, maybe?

And what about the lady? Should he tell Dwayne that she escaped? He would be terrible angry. Still, he wouldn't be able to tell Dwayne anything until he returned, so he had some time to think on it. Besides, he was hungry. He couldn't think clearly when hungry, and a nice meal would go a long way toward making him feel better. It might even help clear up his groin stone.

On his way to Bud's Burrito Bar, Harry tripped, landing hard on the pavement. He turned to see what had made him fall, but nothing was there. Not even a toothpick. Tripping over his own feet! He needed those burritos something fierce. Before he could regain his footing, he heard a woman's voice behind him.

"What have you done?"

His head jerked around, eyes wild, but he couldn't see a thing. What the—

Harry sat there for a moment, scratching his head. Could it be his conscience? He'd heard whiskey could do that to a man, and he'd had his fair share before the street dance.

"Where did you take him?"

He flinched at the sound. "What? Who?"

"Where did you take that man?"

"I didn't take him nowheres. It was Dwayne!" His conscience was clearly mistaken.

"Where did Dwayne take him?"

His brows furrowed in confusion. "Up in the mountains. His cabin on Bo's Gap!"

"Thanks!"

Harry heard the sounds of pattering feet fading off in the distance. He sat there a moment longer, trying to make sense of it all, before shrugging, picking himself up, and continuing his walk.

* * *

Dwayne narrowed his eyes. "A harvester?" What are you talkin' about?"

Brian let out a deep breath. He couldn't see any harm in telling them a few things at this point, given the circumstances. "I've... heard of these. What did you say Jake thought about all this? You mentioned aliens."

The other men were gathering around now.

Dwayne folded his arms. "Jake figured it was aliens that put it here. And he thought the government was tryin' to keep it secret."

"He was right about the aliens, at least," Brian said. "But to be honest, I'm not sure the government knows anything about it. Besides, if the government wanted to hide this, don't you think they would have put up fences and 'restricted area' signs?"

Gears appeared to be turning in Dwayne's mind. It looked painful. "Maybe so," he finally said. After another pause, he added, "Then, what happened to Jake?"

"I don't know," Brian replied, shaking his head. "But there are other forces at play than the government."

Dwayne cocked his head. "Huh?"

Brian gave an abbreviated description of the Borae, and Observers. He left out some significant parts; namely, that he himself was an Observer, and that he had an alien in his head.

As Brian spoke, he expected the men to be skeptical—most of what he said sounded like stories from the tabloids—but, surprisingly, they seemed to be taking it seriously.

Dwayne scratched his head, his mouth half-open. "How do you know all this?"

"I'm part of a... club. We're trying to stop the Borae." He hadn't exactly answered the question, but they didn't seem to notice.

"So," Dwayne began, standing a bit taller, "How does a fella get into this club?"

"Hands in the air!"

Brian jumped at the sound. The voice had come from behind the group. They all slowly turned, hands raised, to see a cop aiming a rifle at them.

It was officer Watkins! And standing behind him, Brian could see Jessica, next to a smirking Dale.

Dwayne spat on the ground. "That you, Cousin!?"

Brian looked at Dwayne, raising an eyebrow. Cousin?

"Yep," said a voice.

Brian turned to the speaker, stunned. It was Dale.