SUNGLASESS AND ROCKETS Part 2: The Machine

CLOSE ENCOUTERS

"UFOs!" I heard Darwin exclaim.

They're UFOs, I repeated to myself petrified.

The doctor's reaction was less dramatic:

"Lucky dogs!"

The utterance gave back the flexibility to my joints. More relaxed, I dropped my eyes. I noticed that the doctor was swiftly coming down the mountain, glowing in a silver shade of the incandescence of the strong light.

"They're Bats!" he said. "The plan is working!"

The luminosity decreased. I took my eyes off the doctor and looked up. Two of the ships were flying away. In the distance, the third one was starting to descend.

"And who are they?" Darwin asked.

They?

Once more, I looked toward my partners. The doctor was almost down the hill.

"They're from the base."

I noticed that he was touching the lights on his helmet and aimed them in my direction. Intrigued, I turned around. I was surprised to see four astronauts in black coming toward us. A few feet behind, there was another ship at ground level, lifting the dust under its imposing engines.

The ship's breadth was like a Bat.

"What are you saying? I heard Darwin ask.

I just had realized that one of them, like the doctor, was clicking the switches alternatively. They were talking in Morse code...

"We're identifying ourselves," the doctor explained, precisely.

The astronauts stopped a few feet away.

"Okay..." the doctor said.

Our boss had gotten closer, still clicking the lights on his helmet.

"I'm explaining to him the reasons for our visit...and that," he clicked the lights faster, "Bilsby is on his way..."

I looked forward again, waiting for the answer.

The astronauts began to spread out. It was hard to follow them, my earthling eyes were not accustomed to such a scene, so spatial...

"What do they say?" Darwin whispered.

The doctor did not respond. Glancing at him and then, looking forward, I noticed that the light exchange had decreased its speed. It finally stopped.

"Is everything all right?" Darwin asked, now beside me.

One of the astronauts raised his hand as a sign of welcome.

"They're arresting us," the doctor explained. "Do not offer resistance, a tiny slit in the space suit is enough to freeze us..."

I felt the pressure on my back. I raised my hands immediately.

"Let's walk," the doctor said. "Everything will be fine."

I started to walk toward the huge Bat.

I still couldn't see our captors; I understood that they had placed themselves at the rear guard.

"Don't worry," our leader was trying to calm us down. "It is the fastest way to reach the base..."

I knew that the doctor was walking by, but I didn't even dare to look at him. The only thing I could catch a glimpse of was one of the astronauts, passing by. I breathed with some relief when I recognized a human face against the light of his visor...

"Now, what are they going to do with us?" Darwin wanted to know.

"If we cooperate," the doctor said. "They won't hurt us, only—"

His sentence was left unfinished by a dry "ah!" Alarmed, I turned my head, searching him, but suddenly, I felt an acute pain on my neck and everything went black afterwards...