Chapter 13
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As we moved through the woods, I reminded Bull of the trap that I had run into on the other side of the ridge during my attempt at recon. Had I not been lucky, I would have surely been crushed to death by the prearranged rock slide. We slowed our pace and began a thorough search as we moved along. If we could locate one of the demons' traps, perhaps we could figure out a way to use it against them. We were open to all possibilities.
The next large gully that we came to was rigged. We had to go down into it and then up and out the other side to get to where we were heading. The trip wire was well camouflaged, but we knew what we were looking for and found it in time to prevent its trigger.
We would have to make use of our ropes, as the sides of the gully were too deep to simply climb into and out of. It was similar to the other gully, which made it the perfect spot for the rock-slide trap. There would be no way out once the trap was sprung. You could not outrun the big, round boulders in the rough, steep terrain.
Once in the gully, Bull retrieved the rope we had climbed down with and set about rigging it so that we could climb out the other side. We carefully stepped over the wire one by one and then each made our climb out. I struggled with my broken hand, but was able to make the climb with a heavy pull from my friend.
After another hundred yards, we were due southeast of the Woods Ridge summit and approaching a smaller ridge that was again only a hundred feet below it in elevation. It was also heavily wooded, offering good cover.
We dropped our packs and again planned out and implemented our defense. Our position was just under a thousand feet from the bulk of the alien base. From the new point we could just see the edge of the mother ship. It was protected on two sides by large, rocky outcroppings and partially nestled under some large trees to keep it hidden from above.
As the others began stacking up a new defensive rock wall, I made my way back to the gully. I sat for several minutes working out a strategy for how I might use the gully against them. I reasoned that if I could lure one in by the rock pile, I might be able to set the trap off from further down.
As I thought about it, my mind wandered back to when Bull and I were teens, when he was still interested in joining the army during WWII. At the time, I had decided that I would be joining with him... if the army would have me. We had set up a fairly decent obstacle course to train, so that if we did get called into service, we would hopefully be in decent shape.
One of my contributions to the course had been a rope tied to a thick tree branch next to a steep bank. You would have to run full speed at the rope. If you came in at the proper angle, grabbed it, and then contorted your body just right, you would swing around the tree and up and onto the top of the bank.
Bull had quickly mastered the skill, but my best showing had been to grab a root protruding from the top of the bank and then to pull myself up the rest of the way. My usual attempt left me just short, where I would slam into the side of the bank and slide back down. It had been just one more thing that I had blamed on my height disadvantage.
With the rope swing being my only idea, I decided to set it up as close to what I had done so many years before. If I had to use it, I hoped that maybe my increased weight and a downhill run would be the trick needed to propel me up and out of the deep gully. It was all I had, but at least it was something.
I found a good, stable tree that would offer a similar setup. After rigging my escape rope I made my way back to the others. I immediately told Bull of my idea. He gave me one of those looks with a half smile and his head cocked to one side. I was sure the picture in his head was of me slamming into the bank and then sliding back down just before being crushed by the rolling boulders. I brushed off his skeptical look, as the image in my own mind had been one of a narrow but heroic escape.
With our defensive position once again set up, we turned our observance back toward the alien base. Through the remainder of the afternoon, we had only seen the one damaged demon and the mother ship. We wondered if there was still another one lurking about looking for us. All we could do was guess.
As the sun began to once again set, we talked about how we might take on the remaining enemies. “Divide and conquer” was still our best strategy. But we needed to know where the other demon was, if it existed at all.
The damaged demon had continued its routine of processing samples and then carrying them around and stacking them beside the mother ship. There was not much left in the pile of animal bones and other items around the front side of the camp. It made us wonder if the information-gathering mission was coming to an end. We would have to make our final move before they made an attempt at a getaway. We stayed up most of the night going over what we might do.
It was decided that Bull, Allie, and Susi would lie in wait around the east side of the ridge for the damaged demon while I took up position in my previous recon spot among the shrubs, just below the mother ship. It would be my job to distract the mother ship, if need be, once their gun battle with the damaged demon began.
If the mother ship made a move, I was to make it aware of my position and then run. With luck, we would be able to once again reduce their numbers by taking out the damaged demon. If successful, we would then make plans for our assault on the mother ship.
The one thing haunting us was the prospect that one other demon was likely still out there and unaccounted for. Where was it? What might it be doing? Was it observing us at that moment? We had no way of knowing. All we could do was to move forward with our best assumptions about each of those questions.
At first light we once again broke camp, with Bull, Allie, and Susi working their way northeast while I went in a roundabout northwesterly direction. It took me forty-five minutes to get into position. The mother ship was still in its previous routine, with the rotating eyes coming around every fifteen seconds.
Scott was tied to the same tree, although he looked to be unconscious. I didn't see either of the demons moving about, so I guessed the damaged one was probably on the other side of the ridge. I watched for fifteen minutes, ducking my head back down every fifteen seconds for the first few minutes before finally deciding on just sitting and listening for the beginning of the action.
I had taken Bull's binoculars and had used them to get a better look at the supposed severed hand. I was elated to discover that whatever flesh it was, it was not human. It meant that Kyle might still be out there somewhere, and he might just be alive. It was a good feeling to once again have hope.
As I continued my observance of the mother ship, I next heard a small buzzing sound and poked my head up just enough to see what was happening. The mother ship had stopped rotating its eyes. They were now fixated on the damaged demon standing before it. A moment later a second demon emerged from behind the mother ship as it released itself from its dome-shaped cutout.
The second demon looked very different. It had a red body and protrusions coming from its top that gave the appearance of multiple short antennas. I could only guess it was some sort of communications array. And I was not liking the ominous red color.
I wanted to alert the others, but I had no way to do so. What if both demons made their way around to the other side and the others were discovered? If they were captured or killed, the only avenue left open to me would be to try to make it over to the Cherry Lake dam and to alert the world.
What if the demons decided to leave while I was gone, and what if they took my friends and family with them? My blood pressure began to spike as the two demons turned and began walking toward the others.
I was just about to spring up and give away my position by firing Susi's .22 when the red one stopped and turned in front of Scott. As the damaged demon continued its walk, the red demon began to poke and prod Scott in an effort to wake him, or to check that he was still living; I could not be certain of which.
As Scott's head began to bob around and his face winced, the red demon turned back and pro
ceeded to walk back past the mother ship and along the ridge in the other direction. This was the turn of events that we needed. With any luck, the others would be waiting and would get the drop on the damaged demon, once again cutting down their numbers.
As I watched the mother ship once again begin to rotate its eyes, the damaged demon disappeared around the ridge to my right. The red demon then disappeared around the ridge to my left. My remaining task was to wait for the gunfire to begin.
As I sat down in my brushy hideaway awaiting our attack, I noticed something moving in the rocks just above the mother ship. I only got a quick glimpse of it, so I was unsure of what it was. Was there a third demon? Were we still way outnumbered I wondered?
My growing dread turned into pure excitement when I saw two human figures running up the hill behind the mother ship. It was Craig and Kyle! Kyle was alive! In my elated state, I poked my head up just in time for the mother ship's eyes to stop rotating and focus directly on me. I was had. At that same moment the sound of gunfire could be heard from the other side of the ridge. The assault had begun!
The demon mother ship then began to stand fully up, which gave it a height of fifteen feet. It was much larger than its demon offspring, and my bat would only be able to reach its legs if I had to fight it.
It lifted one leg slowly in my direction. This was the first time I had seen it move, and a chill suddenly went down my spine. I realized that this thing could be just as quick and agile as the smaller ones. And it could possibly fly...
At that same moment, a thunderous explosion went off just behind the mother ship. The large boulders that had once been its protectors suddenly became its demise. One of the boulders slid down into the ship, pinning two of its legs to the ground. The mother ship was thrown hard onto its side.
The blast also sent a concussion wave in my direction, knocking me backwards onto the ground. I lay there stunned for several seconds before the fog began to clear from my head. Somehow Kyle and Craig had gotten hold of dynamite and had managed to use it against our biggest foe.
As the mother ship struggled to free itself, both Kyle and Craig ran back down the hill to set Scott free. Luckily, Scott had been tied to a large tree facing away from the blast. Once the two attackers had Scott freed, they began to make their way east around the ridge toward where the others were. They were just moving out of view when the red demon came sprinting back toward the mother ship.
I turned and ran back down through the brush gully I was in and began to make my way back around to our new camp. I had not heard any further gunfire, so I was hoping the others were successful in their assault. If so, we now had everyone free, and we could get out and let the proper authorities handle the rest.
I felt proud of our accomplishments as I ran through the woods toward our camp. We were heroes. All of us. And the world was going to know of our battles and our victory over these intruders.
As I made my way into camp, I heard more gunfire and immediately pulled Bull's binoculars out to look for the others. They should have been coming back toward me. Instead, what I saw was Bull and Susi lying on their backs and Allie crouched behind a tree with her 9mm. I saw her reach around the tree and fire off a round. I then heard the sound a second or so later.
This new demon had some type of a weapon that the others did not have. I could see a wave go out from it that slightly distorted the air. When it reached the tree that Allie was behind, it would blow bits of bark from its trunk. The battle lasted less than a minute as Allie was knocked backwards onto the ground, just like the others. The red demon immediately moved over to her and sprayed out a red mist.
I then scanned the ridge heading back around toward the mother ship. Once again I got that feeling of dread when I came across Kyle, Craig, and Scott also lying on the ground motionless. I had no way of knowing if they were dead or only unconscious. I wondered if perhaps the red mist was what had been used to drug Scott.
I moved my gaze over to the mother ship. I could see that with its one free leg it was busy chipping away at the boulder that pinned it down. It was not out of the question that if it were able to get free, it could then repair itself. It could still leave with all its treasure... including my family and friends.
As I moved the binoculars back toward the others, I was stunned. The red demon had picked up Allie and Susi and was walking with them toward the mother ship. Instead of having the normal panic arise in me, a great anger was welling up. I was not going to sit idly by while my friends and family were abducted. Not this day.
So, I put into play the only plan I had. I pulled out Allie's signal mirror that I was still carrying. I began to flash the red demon with it from my position on the lower ridge. Several flashes later, my efforts were rewarded. The demon stopped, looked at the reflected brightness around it, and then turned its red devil eyes slowly toward me.
The red demon stood still for almost a minute, evaluating its situation. It then carefully set Allie and Susi on the ground and turned fully toward me. I continued to signal away at the mechanical devil until it began running at me in a full sprint.
I had a hundred yards to cover to get to the gully. It was a straight shot and slightly downhill. My timing would have to be perfect if I was to lure the red beast into its own trap. It was my only alternative, as my armaments were Susi's peashooter .22 and my trusty bat, neither of which was worthy of going up against the red demon without the element of surprise.
I gripped my bat tightly in one hand while I continued to signal with the other until my nerves said it was time to go. I ran like I had never run before, and I reached the top of the gully just as the red demon topped the ridge into our camp. This time I just waved my bat and shouted out obscenities.
The demon once again began its full pursuit of me. I slid down into the gully, ever mindful of the trip wire, and began my run down through it. The demon closed fast and was about to enter the gully after me just as I was approaching the rope.
I reached my bat down and banged on the wire, setting the trap in motion just as the red devil entered the ravine behind me. The rocks tumbled in after it with gravity now being my friend. I reached the rope in full stride and clinched it with both hands while still attempting to hold my bat.
I could not get a firm grip on the rope with the bat and my broken hand. My hands slid down the rope as I attempted to secure my grip. I had tied a knot in the end of the rope, and when my hands had slipped to that point of no return, my grip on the rope held. I was propelled upwards and to the right in the most beautiful arc that I could have ever imagined.
My speed and my angle were perfect as I swung up and exactly onto the top edge of the gully bank fifteen feet above. As I landed, I turned to look at my pursuer just in time to see that the rocks were not gaining on it fast enough. It was going to outrun the avalanche and come out the other end of the gully unscathed.
It glanced up at my position just as it approached, and I got the feeling that if it could have smiled at me, it would have. The thing was too fast, and the trap was going to fail. Without thinking, I spun around and heaved my bat directly at it as a last gesture of defiance.
The world went into slow motion as my bat turned end over end, heading right at the red demon. For an instant, my panic returned as the bat came in too low. But low was just what I had needed. The bat struck just in front of the demon and bounced perfectly up into its leg that was just about to touch the ground.
The demon lost balance as the tip of one of its other legs skidded just up under a large root. Fast motion once again returned as the demon shuddered and then fell hard into the gully. The fast-rolling boulders quickly overtook the fallen alien and began a relentless bashing of its body and legs.
The spindly legs were the first to go, followed quickly by the half moon body and then followed quickly again by the inevitable green fog. This time I was uphill from the demon and had a prime viewing angle of its entire ending. I squatted as I watched the red devil melt away into nothingness
. Once again that feeling of great pride overwhelmed me.
When the fog had dissipated, I climbed down into the gully to retrieve my precious Hillerich & Bradsby S44 from further up the ravine. This time I was saddened, as the rush of boulders had taken a large chip out of the knob on the handle end of the bat.
My thoughts then turned quickly to the others, as they were still in need of rescue. The mother ship's attempt at freeing itself also needed to be stopped. I reached the summit of our camp and once again donned the binoculars.
A smirk shone on my face as I saw that it was still chipping away at its granite captor. I headed toward the mother ship at my fastest pace with the intent of ending its attempted escape. I hoped to once again make mankind the dominant species on Woods Ridge.
After my thousand-foot run, I arrived at the mother ship mostly out of breath. I slowed to a walk. If the ship could have seen me, it would have seen that I had a determined look on my face and a very ill will.
The ship had continued its chipping and managed to have its second leg almost free. It was lying on its side with the flat top facing toward me. The one free leg was endlessly pecking away at the boulder that held it. The ship could not see me with its eyes, but it knew I was there.
I had to stay at enough of a distance and at such an angle that it would have difficulty flinging rocks at me. It was still deadly, but without seeing me its aim would not have any accuracy.
As I thought about how I might permanently disable the beast, I stood behind a tree. I picked up a small rock and tossed it at the demon ship. The rock hit the top with a metallic thud. Just as I had anticipated, the demon's arm came whipping over its top while flipping around a knife-like blade. But there was nothing there for it to cut.
Next, it tried to grab a rock to throw, but its pincers were evidently damaged. The rock came loose, flying straight up into the air as it attempted its fling. That event gave me just the break I was looking for, as it showed I could approach it with near impunity.
Short of me getting within three feet of the ship, it had no other defense against me. It was my time to shine and to put an end to its mission. I threw several more rocks at it as hard as I could. Other than making small dents, they didn't have enough velocity to do any real damage. I next picked up a stone the size of a bowling ball and ran toward it, heaving the stone at the flat top.
The larger stone made a bigger dent and drew the arm back around to take a blind slice at me. But I was still not doing enough damage, as it immediately went back to its chipping away. I then pulled out Susi's .22 and emptied the rest of the clip into it. The result was five quarter-inch-sized holes in the top. It did not slow its relentless attempt to free itself.
Since the mother ship was unable to defend itself by throwing rocks, I walked around and climbed up onto the boulder that it was desperately trying to release itself from. It tried to reach me with its blade, but I stayed just out of its range.
I once again picked up a grapefruit-sized stone, and this time I heaved it at the point where the free leg attached to the body. The stone again made a small dent, but this time it had an added benefit. It reduced the range of motion the leg had available to it.
Using my rocket of a throwing arm, I picked up and heaved another and then another large stone at the leg's mounting point. Each hit reduced its mobility a bit further.
The ship was now having difficulty getting an effective swing at its captor boulder. I moved back around to face the top and tossed a small stone at it to retest the leg's range. It flipped the leg with the knife blade over the top, but this time it stopped short of coming around fully.
I now had free range to swing away at the top of the mechanical invader without the danger of retaliation. I made several large dents as I swung away at the flat surface. I watched as the free leg spun up in my direction repeatedly, trying to get at me.
On its third swing I had the timing down, and I took a swing of my own back at the leg. My trusty bat once again hit a home run as the tools at the end of the leg were mangled beyond usefulness. On my next swing I took out the mobility of the first joint, shortening the leg to only two sections.
I stepped closer with the next swing, taking out the second joint. The ship then stopped flipping its stump of a leg around. I stepped up and brought the hammer down on the final joint, bending it over and making it unable to move more than an inch.
As a last attempt at saving itself, the ship began to rock back and forth violently, using its trapped leg as leverage. I stepped around to the other side and brought my bat down hard on one of the remaining joints. A crunching sound could be heard as the second leg went silent, leaving the ship with only one last pinned leg having any movement.
The mothership continued its attempt to rock, so I brought back the bat and hit what thought would be the game winning run. I broke the final leg clean in two. The alien vessel then rolled upside down onto its top. It was now free from its captor, but it had no appendages with which to right itself.
The eye ring then spun around until the eyes were facing me. As I stared into their evil red glow, the ship began to vibrate. I was certain at that moment I was about to get fogged. I turned and ran fifty feet away before looking back to watch. If need be, I would move even farther once the green fog began to disperse.
The pride once again welled up in me, as the battle was finally over. I could now go and check on the others to see if they were OK. But I could not leave until I saw the mother ship disintegrating. I stood and watched patiently for a fog that never came. I was tempted to go back for another swing, but I thought it might be attempting to lure me in and fog me along with itself. I stood frozen in my indecision. The ship's vibration soon turned into a smooth hum.
I was then in shock as the thirty-foot-diameter half-domed machine began to slowly lift off the ground. I had not thought at all about its ability to fly! As the ship reached a foot and then two feet, I ran at it with my bat raised, bringing down what I hoped would be a final blow directly to its eyes. I knocked out one of the eyes, but the ship continued to lift slowly upward.
At four feet I took another swing, this time only denting the outside edge. I began to panic as the ship was getting away and I had no way to stop it. I took another wild swing and then another, each time only denting the outer edge as it moved higher.
As the ship lifted to eight and then nine feet, I could no longer reach it. The demon invader had kept one last ace up its sleeve and was now about to leave the game with at least a tie hand. It turned its last good eye down toward me as it continued slowly upwards. I let out a loud yell of rage at the beast and called for it to come back and fight.
But this was a machine, and it had no pride to overrule its programming. I dropped to my knees and watched in horror as the ship continued to slowly climb. The hum became more and more uniform with harmonics. I feared my prize was getting away.
Just as I had given in to the fact that it was escaping, I was shaken by a multitude of gunshots coming from behind me. It was Bull, Allie, Kyle, and the poachers. They were emptying everything they had into the slowly rising craft. The poachers each had rifles that packed a good punch, and my cohorts were all firing what ammunition they had remaining from their handguns.
I was overjoyed to see that my sister and my friends seemed to be OK and that they were making one last attempt to bring the ship down. Hole after hole opened up in the mother ship as the team moved ever closer with their deadly accurate fire.
The demon ship then began to wobble. I looked up in excitement only to suddenly realized I was directly beneath it. As the wobbles grew, the others changed clips and continued their relentless barrage. Bull ran out of .45 slugs and turned to his Kodiak bow and his final two arrows. He pulled back the bow and fired the first arrow, but the ship's wobble made the arrow skim off the surface and into the air beyond. He pulled out his second arrow and walked up under the ship, now thirty feet in the air.
He pulled back on the bow, aimed for dir
ectly under the remaining eye, and let loose his final arrow. The hum immediately stopped as the arrow entered the ship's hull and impacted something substantial. I reached out and grabbed Bull's arm and pulled him backward as the ship dropped straight down.
It landed with a metallic clang and crunching sound on the rocks that had previously held it down. Bull and I had both fallen backwards, just missing being crushed by the downed alien machine.
I then grabbed his arm once again and told him to get moving as the fog would be coming. When we reached forty feet away, the green mist began to spray into the air around the mother ship. This time, however, the cloud was much larger and was spreading faster than with the smaller demons.
We continued to run, moving back to almost two hundred feet before reaching safety. We all watched as the alien craft quickly disintegrated in the green mist. A great sense of relief came over me as I looked around at the others as they watched.
We had defeated the invaders. Our war was over. And although we might be bruised, tired, and hungry, we were all still alive. Our harrowing ordeal, at least for the time being... was over.