Aliens in the Sky

S
pooksville seldom got really hot. Nestled among the hills beside the ocean, Spooksville was usually cooled by a breeze preventing it from becoming uncomfortable, even in the middle of summer. But in the last half of July, only a couple of weeks after Adam Freeman and his friends got trapped in the Haunted Cave, the temperature rose sharply. At midday the thermometer burst past a hundred degrees. To get away from the heat, Sally Wilcox suggested they head up to the reservoir.

“We won't go in the water,” she said. “You don't want to do that. But it's always cooler up there.”

The four of them: Sally, Adam, Watch, and Cindy were seated on Cindy Makey's porch, drinking sodas and wiping their sweat-soaked foreheads. Adam stared at the half-burnt-down lighthouse—less than a quarter of a mile away—where he had wrestled with a ghost earlier in the summer. He felt as if he were about to catch fire. He couldn't remember it ever being so hot where he used to live in Kansas City, which was known for its hot summers. He wondered what had brought the heat.

“Why can't we go in the water?” Cindy asked.

“Because you'll die,” Sally said simply.

“There are no fish in the reservoir,” Watch added. “So there's got to be something unhealthy about the water.”

“But Spooksville gets its water from the reservoir,” Adam said.

“That's why so many children in this town are born mutated,” Sally said.

Cindy smiled. “You were born here, Sally. That explains a lot.”

“Not all mutations are bad,” Sally replied.

“The water is filtered before we drink it,” Watch said.

“What's filtered out?” Adam asked.

“I don't know,” Watch said. “But it must be
toxic stuff. The filtration plant has a habit of blowing up every couple of years.”

“Why's it cooler at the reservoir?” Adam asked.

Sally spoke. “Because Madeline Templeton—the witch who founded this city two hundred years ago—tortured fifty innocent people to death up there. The horror of that event psychically reverberates to this day, making the whole area cold as ice.”

Cindy made a face. “And you want to go up there to cool off?”

Sally shrugged. “There is horror on almost every street in Spooksville, if you look deeply enough into the past. On this exact spot, where your house was built, Madeline Templeton once cut off a kid's head and fastened it onto a goat.”

“Yuck!” Cindy said. “That's gross.”

“Yeah, but the kid was supposed to look like a goat anyway,” Watch said.

“Yeah,” Sally agreed. “Maybe the witch did him a favor.”

“I don't know if she tortured the people at the reservoir to death,” Watch continued. “I heard she just made them go swimming in the water, and their skin turned gray and their hair fell out.”

“I would rather die than lose my beautiful hair,” Sally said, brushing her brunette locks aside.

“I think the area is cooler because of all the subterranean streams,” Watch said, finally answering Adam's question. “If you put your ear to the ground, you definitely hear gurgling water.”

Adam wiped away more sweat. “Well, should we go up there?”

Cindy was doubtful. “The Haunted Cave is up there.”

“The Haunted Cave can't hurt you unless you're stupid enough to go inside it,” Sally said.

“Thank you, Sally, for reminding me of my past mistake,” Cindy said.

Sally spoke sweetly. “Don't mention it, Cindy.”

“The Haunted Cave is high above the reservoir,” Watch said. “We can't ride our bikes up that far, but we can take them as far as the reservoir. We could be there in less than twenty minutes.” He tugged at his T-shirt, trying to cool off. “I wouldn't mind hanging out up there till it gets dark.”

“What do you think is causing this heat?” Adam asked.

“Could be an inversion layer,” Watch said.

“Or a curse from Ann Templeton,” Sally said. “Madeline Templeton's seductive and evil descendant.
She likes the heat. She likes all us kids to suffer in it.”

Adam shrugged. “I'm for going,” he said, glancing at Cindy, “if it's all right with you.”

Sally leaned over and spoke in a
loud
whisper in Watch's ear. “Notice how our dear Adam doesn't make a move without checking with his sweet Cindy.”

Cindy glared at Sally. “He's just being polite. That's spelled P . . . O . . . L . . . I . . . T . . . E. Look it up in the dictionary and check the meaning. I know you've never heard of the word.” Cindy spoke to Adam. “My mother doesn't care what I do, as long as I'm home before dark.”

“My mother doesn't care what I do as long as I don't die,” Sally muttered.

Adam stood. “Then it's decided. We'll ride up and stay until sunset.”

The others also stood. Sally, as usual, wanted to have the last word.

“Let's leave before sunset,” she said. “You never know what the dark might bring.”

T
he bicycle ride up to the reservoir was harder than Adam had imagined. Even though they had to pedal on an incline most of the way, it was the temperature that really sapped Adam's strength. He was feeling wobbly when they arrived and climbed off their bikes. Fortunately, they had each brought a large plastic bottle of water.

“I feel a lot cooler now,” Adam said sarcastically as he opened his bottle and held it up to his lips. “Now that we're here.”

“It's like being in an air-conditioned mall,” Cindy agreed, playing along and reaching for her
water bottle. Her face was red from the sun and exertion.

“Give it a chance. It actually is cooler here,” Watch said, stepping to the edge of the reservoir, which was a rough oval, maybe a quarter of a mile long and half that in width. The water was a strange gray color. The surrounding bank was almost entirely devoid of trees. All of their words seemed to die in the air the instant they left their mouths. Watch continued, “It's got to be at least ten degrees cooler.”

“I feel refreshed from our ride,” Sally said, although she had already plopped down on a boulder and drained half her water bottle. “I think my suggestion was a good one.”

Cindy had brought a bag of sandwiches. Finding shade beneath one of the few trees, they sat down and ate. As they munched and talked and drank, Adam did begin to feel cooler. They had set off for the reservoir after four. It was now quarter to five and the heat was just beginning to ease up. But it was still too hot to do much exploring, not that any of them were in the mood to poke around another cave.

Watch had a pack of cards on him and wanted to play poker. Apparently Watch and Sally played
together often. Adam was curious, although he had never played the game before and didn't know the rules. But Cindy was uneasy.

“My mother doesn't approve of gambling,” Cindy said. “She says it's immoral and disgusting.”

“Those two words fit me nicely,” Sally said jokingly. “Listen, we're just going to gamble with pebbles. We start with twenty each. It's not really gambling unless you have real money at stake. I mean, how can your mother be upset if you lose a pile of rocks?”

Cindy chuckled. “You have a point. All right, I'll play as long as I don't have to wager my next week's allowance.”

Watch explained the rules of five-card stud, and for the next hour or so they played many hands. But Watch and Sally were way ahead of Adam and Cindy when it came to the subtleties of the game. Adam and Cindy quickly lost all their pebbles, and even fierce Sally was steadily withering to Watch's apparent skill. She got down to five pebbles, but finally seemed to be holding a strong hand because she bet two of them at once. Watch was unmoved; he matched her bet.

“I think you're bluffing,” he said confidently.

Sally caught his eye. “You think so, babe?” She
picked up the remainder of her pebbles. “I raise you another three. Count them.”

Watch was unimpressed. “I still think you're bluffing.”

Sally sneered. “Thoughts aren't rocks. Put your pebbles where your mouth is.”

Watch coolly matched her bet.

Sally was momentarily taken aback.

“What have you got?” Watch asked.

Sally threw her cards down. “Trash. You win. Darn.”

“It was an impressive bluff,” Adam told Sally.

“I fell for it,” Cindy agreed.

“It's not impressive unless it works,” Sally muttered.

The sun was near the horizon and they were thinking of returning home when a minor disaster struck. Cindy, still curious about the Haunted Cave, had hiked up to peek at the opening to see if it was closed. They allowed her to go by herself because she had promised not to step inside if it was open. She was on her way back down the hill when she must have stepped on some loose gravel. The ground seemed to go out from under her before she started toppling.

“Cindy!” Adam shouted when he saw what was
happening. Sally and Watch looked over, and soon all three were running to Cindy. She hadn't toppled far, maybe twenty feet. But it was enough to pick up several scrapes and bruises. She was wearing shorts, and her legs were bleeding slightly in a few places. But that was not the major problem. As they reached her side, they saw her clutching her right ankle. Adam knelt by her side.

“Did you twist it?” he asked.

Cindy grimaced. “Yeah. It hurts.”

“You didn't break it, did you?” Sally asked, concerned. “Your bone isn't sticking out, is it?”

“If you did break it, there won't be an ambulance coming for you,” Watch said matter-of-factly. “Spooksville's ambulance drivers have all disappeared.”

“Would you two shut up?” Adam said. “Can't you see she's in pain?”

Cindy forced a smile. “It's not too bad. I want to try putting some weight on it.”

“You might want to ice it first,” Watch suggested.

“Like we just happen to have bags of ice with us,” Sally said sarcastically.

Adam helped Cindy up. The moment Cindy put
her right foot down, she let out a soft cry. “Ah,” she said, breathing heavily. “It really hurts.”

Adam pointed to the reservoir. “Maybe you should soak it in the water. It will help with the swelling.”

“I wouldn't put my foot in that water if I'd just had sulfuric acid splashed on my toes,” Sally said.

Watch strolled over to the water and crouched down. Before any of them could say a word, he reached over and cupped a handful of water. He raised it to his lips and swallowed, then nodded, satisfied.

“It could use a little fluoride, but otherwise it tastes fine,” he said.

“We should wait a minute to see if he falls over dead,” Sally whispered to Adam and Cindy.

Watch walked back to them. “I don't think it will melt your skin off, Cindy. But leave your shoe on when you put your foot in the water. The pressure of the sides of the shoe will help keep the swelling down as much as the cold water.”

“OK,” Cindy muttered as Watch and Adam helped her to a spot close to the water. Cindy sat down and added, “I feel like such a klutz, falling like that.”

“I fell,” Sally said proudly. “Once. But I regained my balance before causing myself any harm.”

“Was the Haunted Cave open or closed?” Watch asked.

“It's still closed,” Cindy replied, as she carefully placed her aching ankle into the water. “I didn't have the nerve to try to open it with one of the magic words we learned from the witch.” She twitched. “Hey, this water is really cold.”

“Some people say the reservoir is bottomless,” Sally said. “None of the bodies dumped in here over the years has ever floated back to the surface.”

“I think I'm going to talk my parents into buying a water purifier when I get home,” Adam said. He clasped Cindy's hand and spoke in a gentle voice. “Is the pain letting up?”

“Oh, Watch,” Sally said, touching her heart. “Look at his bedside manner. He's a born doctor. Dr. Adam—maybe he could be a brain surgeon.”

“It feels better, thank you,” Cindy said, ignoring Sally. “If I can just soak it for a few more minutes, I may be able to ride back home.”

“You can ride a bike with one foot,” Sally said. “Jaws does it all the time.”

“He's David Green, the kid who lost a leg to the
great white shark who stays off our coast,” Watch explained in case Adam or Cindy had forgotten.

“You're lucky there are no sharks in the reservoir,” Sally added.

“We'll wait here until you feel ready to travel,” Adam told Cindy.

Watch nodded toward the west. “The sun is setting. It'll be dark soon.”

“This is what I was afraid would happen,” Sally said. She took a step away from the water and sat back down. “There's no moon tonight. It will get black as ink up here.”

W
atch and Sally were both right. Not long after the sun left the sky, the stars started to come out. As the night deepened, the number of stars rose dramatically. Adam had never seen so many stars, nor had he ever really enjoyed the Milky Way before. The nebulous river of the galaxy stretched across the entire sky. Watch, who seemed to know a great deal about astronomy, pointed out the Northern Cross and told them about the blue-white star at the base of it.