The Time of the Heaving

I nearly fell flat on my face, which is not unusual since I'm not the most graceful person in the world.

However, I'd been walking by this particular spot for many months. it was right next to the dog's house, so every morning and every evening I'd walk right past it.

I'd never seen it before, but my foot sure found it today.

It was not good.

A remnant from God knows how many years ago left behind, in the earth. Waiting for the right time to emerge as year after year the ground would slowly push it upward, centimeter by centimeter, until it burst forth with one final push skyward.

It was a problem.

Not the least because I'd likely break my neck on it if we didn't dig it up, but it felt wrong, somehow doing that just the same.

But dig it up we did and what a sight to behold.

The large metal shaft I had tripped on was only part of something larger underneath.

Something that someone had buried with the idea that it wouldn't be found.

At first I wasn't sure what it was, but after washing off the muck and the grime - that is after we heaved the bastard up out of the ground - it didn't look like anything worthwhile.

Pappy thought we might sell it to the scrapper, but I didn't think he'd give 2 cents for it, let alone the going rate for metals these days.

But upon closer inspection I realised it wasn't something we'd want to scrap. No, this thing should be buried again, only deeper this time.

Pa had a friend with a backhoe, I'd ask him to give him a call - Pete was his name - and have him come on over to dig a trench in the back 40 - deep amongst the brambles so that nobody would ever think of messing around in there.

Pete arrived with the backhoe in about an hour, about an hour before it would get dark.

I was never so glad to see him as right then. It only took him about 20 minutes to bury that thing so deep someone would have to know what they were looking for to dig it back out. He seemed surprised to see it - which I thought was odd - but didn't say a thing...I guess he figured it wasn't none of his business.

I had a hard time getting to sleep that night, and the worst of it was, the damn dogs wouldn't stop barking their mean ass heads off.

Stupid dogs, if it weren't for coon hunting and tracking deer I'd have told dad to give them to the shelter, or maybe old man Riley years ago,.

Anyway, it was so hard to sleep I called it quits and got up to sit down in the living room with a cup of my favorite coffee.

The house was as quiet as the grave when I sat down, but that didn't last long.

The dogs had finally hushed, but only after giving a loud yelp, which never meant anything good.

Grabbing up my Pa's 12 gauge I checked to make sure it was loaded and pushed the door open to go outside when a sudden thought came to me.

Sissy, you better grab some more shells out of the kitchen cupboard. You don't know what might have stopped the dogs yelping.

It could be a whole damn pack of wolves for all you know.

As I stepped back inside and let the door swing shut I heard a scraping noise on the front porch, close.

I locked the door and sprinted towards the back of the house for the kitchen to get those shells.

By the time I made it back to the living room I saw Pappy and Frankie standing there looking at me like I'd lost my marbles or something.

I told them, "don't you hear that scratching?"

They looked at each other then back at me, and shook their heads.

No, but we was wondering what happened to the dogs - why they quit barking.

"Sissy, did you shoot those dogs?"

I couldn't believe what I heard.

"No. Did you hear a gunshot, Pappy?""

Shaking his head no, Pa shrugged and smiled. "I was just wondering, the way you've got a grip on that shotgun I didn't know what you were thinking.

I rolled my eyes at him and listened close for the same scratching sound I'd heard earlier.

"I've got to see what happened to the dogs. You coming?

"Give me a minute", said Pappy, and he went back to his room to put his breeches on and grabbed the 20 gauge.

I told Frankie to stay put, listen good and keep an eye out for anything weird.

Pa and I went out the door and walked towards the dogs' pens.

We didn't see anything out of the ordinary...unless you forget the fact that the two dogs which had been tied up in front of their dog house were now missing.

No blood, not even a piece of fur was left behind.

"I don't know what's going on, Sissy, but we've got strange goings on. Ever since we dug up that box..."

"No, that's just a coincidence. What could that have to do with the dogs going..."

A loud boom, followed by loud barking from our missing dogs could be heard through the trees to the back of our property.

We saw a bright stream of light take off into the sky like a rocket - almost too fast to even be seen.

Pa and I looked at each other.

"That's where we..."

"Yeah, don't say it..I know..."

"We've got to find out what's happened, Pa."

My pappy might not have been college educated, but he had plenty of smarts...common sense folks call it these days - and he told me, "Sissy...there's some things we're better
off not knowing, understand?"

"If those dogs are still around they'll come back in the morning. 'sides...I thought you hated them."

I knew he was right, but I still wanted to see what was out there...now.

Pappy knew me real well...he told me, "Sissy...now I know what you're thinking, and I told you, we need to wait till first light before we go running around searching for them dogs. They're not stupid...if they can they'll find their way home and whatever we heard, well, I have a feeling it will leave some kind of sign behind that'll show us what it was."

Knowing I wouldn't win this argument, and suddenly thinking about the loud scraping sound I'd heard earlier I nodded and told him, "well, come on back to the house then, pa and let's try to get some sleep. It's not long before we're going to have to get up anyway, and like you said...it'll wait."

When we returned to the house we had to shout at Frankie that we weren't no monsters, or boogeymen and that yes, it was his pa and sister and to let us in now, dammit.

He did, and when we were safe behind the door, locking it behind us, I let out a loud sigh.

I guess I'd been more scared than I thought.

No more scratching sounds were heard the rest of the night and in the morning, right as the sun came up I was fixing the boys breakfast and making plans to head out and do some investigating.

Pa had to go to work, but Frankie decided to play hooky from school and go exploring with me. Course Pa didn't know that...he thought Frankie caught the bus.

I felt kinda bad about it, but Frankie had me convinced that something big and bad had settled down in our little valley and that I needed an extra gun to make sure that I didn't get kidnapped, hurt or even killed.

I know I'm the older one and that I shouldn't be so damn scared, but that scratching really got to me...it was like something was trying to dig its way into my head and almost had before I slammed the door on the sound.

A storm had blown through the night before, leaving tossed limbs piled on top of the decaying leaves strewn across the yard. Bessie was in her pasture, lazily eating the sweet grass that she somehow magically turned into delicious milk and cream for our family.

I looked towards the doghouse and the kennel, but saw the same thing I did last night...nothing.

"Roooockyyyyy....Jaaasper," my brother yelled for the dogs but if they did hear him, they weren't coming.

"They missed out on dinner last night, sis."

"I know, Frankie...which is not like them...especially Jasper,"

A smile tugging at his lips, Frankie said, "Yeah, he never turned down a chance at an extra meal at Rocky's expense either."

We reached the clearing in the midst of the back 40, not far from the brambles that hid our recent discovery.

I didn't know what I thought we'd find, but one thing's for sure...I thought we'd find something...blood, hair...but nothing.

Sitting down on the stump of an old rotted tree I went over the events of last night in my mind.

Was I imagining those scratches? Maybe the zipper on my coat made those sounds.

That would explain why Pa and Frankie didn't hear anything.

Not knowing what to do about the dogs I decided to take another look at the place we buried that object.

Frankie beat me to it.

"Hey Sis...come here, you've got to see this!"

The excitement in his voice scared me because whenever he got this excited about something it usually got me in trouble because I'm the older one and I'm supposed to be more responsible and not let him drag me into his hairbrained schemes.

Yeah...like that's going to happen.

Getting up from the stump I wiped off my butt and legs and walked over to where he was standing.

Right in the midst of the brambles, where we'd buried that thing, was an empty gaping hole.

"Sis...isn't this where we buried that shiny metal thing?

"Yeah."

Unable to think I felt my heart begin to pound and the hole started to blur as my eyes lost focus.

Trying to clear my vision I shook my head and blinked my eyes.

I looked at Frankie as if expecting him to know.

"Where is it?"

Shrugging, he shook his head and said, "How should I know? What I want to know is where the dogs are. I've been calling for them for the last hour and they still haven't come back home.

I didn't care about those stupid mutts...I'd wanted a cat but Dad said they get killed too easy. Funny, huh?

"What about the missing doohickey?

"Frankie. I hate to say it, but I think it was from another world and that maybe it went back to where it came from. Maybe taking our dogs with them."

His eyes wide, Frankie looked like he was about to cry.

Feeling bad about what I'd just said I tried to comfort Frankie.

"No, Frankie...they probably just wandered off somewhere chasing a fox or maybe even a coon. They've not been gone long, maybe they'll show up."

When Pa got home he looked beat. After dinner he passed out in front of the television, his cap pulled down over his eyes.

Frankie and I didn't know if we should tell him or not, but when Pa woke up after about an hour we decided to come clean.

He wasn't happy with Frankie skipping, but he took it kind of easy on him since the dogs still hadn't returned. But when we told him that the thing had gone missing from where Pete had buried it his face turned white. I'd never seen him scared a day in my life, so when I saw his face my heart nearly stopped.

"Sissy...I don't want you or Frankie stepping foot outside of this house after dark, hear?"

Not knowing what else to say, I said, "Yes, Pa...we won't."

Frankie's eyes got wide. He nodded, not saying a word.

I'd been in bed about an hour when I heard that scratching sound again, only this time it sounded like it was right outside of my window. Underneath the scratching I heard what sounded like breathing.

The springs on the bed squeaked in protest as I slipped out of my bed to get a witness.

I heard soft snores coming from Pa's room as I walked down the hall to where Frankie was sleeping. He woke up the second I whispered his name, sitting straight up, his hair poking in all sorts of directions and his eyes wild until he recognized me.

"Sissy...what's wrong?"

"Shh, come quick, Frankie...I hear scratching outside of my window...and I think I heard a soft panting, but I need you to hear it too."

Frankie nodded, following me to my room. Pa was still sound asleep.

When I got back to my room I noticed that something was different. It felt colder. Then I looked at my window and noticed it was open.

I hadn't opened it.

"Why'd you open the window, Sissy," whispered Frankie, rubbing his hands up and down his arms.

"I didn't."

We looked at each other and as if on cue, something scratched the floor following by a soft whine.

Frankie jumped.

"Is that what you heard before?"

Nodding, I grabbed his arm, quickly pulling him with me through the doorway before I could hear the sound again.

I shut the door firmly and leaned against it in case something was really in my room. I hadn't seen a thing, but hearing it was enough...and now I had Frankie as my witness that I wasn't crazy or just hearing something that wasn't there.

Frankie leaned against the door with me.

"What are we going to do, Sissy? What was that?"

"I don't know, but I want you to run and grab that 12 gauge...now!" I whispered.

Before he could move Pa's snores stopped abruptly. I heard him shuffle towards his door and waited until he saw us sitting there.

"What in tarnation are you two doing?"

"Sissy's not crazy," said Frankie, looking from me to Pa. "I heard it too."

Shaking his head, Pa said, "Heard what?"

"Pa, there was definitely a scratching sound again, only this time I heard it outside my window. Then I got up and brought Frankie in to hear it only by the time we got back to the room my window was cracked and the sound was coming from the floor!"

"Yeah...and I heard it too...and we also heard a...panting kind of sound, you know, like the dogs do when they've chased a coon all afternoon."

I didn't know what Pa was thinking, but the look on his face kind of frightened me. He told us to stay put and went back into his room.

When he came back out of his room his gun was in his hand and he motioned for us to move away from the door and stand behind him.

We stood there for 10 minutes, listening close, but we never heard another sound...no scratching, no whining or groaning...nothing.

Frankie and I tried to stop Pa as he moved towards the door, but he shook his hand at us, saying, "It's fine...maybe whatever it was is gone."

When his hand touched the doorknob my heart skipped a beat. I knew something would push the door open and crash in on us, but when Pa opened the door wide nothing happened.

He searched every square inch of my room but found nothing. Even the window had been closed.

Walking over to it, I locked it down tight and pulled the blinds closed.

"I don't know what you heard or saw, but there's nothing here now. Frankie...Sissy...I'm dog tired...we need to get some sleep. If'n you want Sis, you can sleep on the couch for tonight."

"No need, Pa. I guess my imagination is just working overtime."

"But I heard it too," said Frankie, his eyes wide.

"Yeah...well, there's a good breeze outside...maybe it was just the pine tree outside the window scratching the house or something. You know how creaky they can be."

Frankie didn't look entirely convinced, but he nodded, "Alright Sis...you can sleep in here if you want to, but.."

"It's fine. I've got my 12, ain't I? Look, I'm with Pa...let's get some sleep."

I tried to sleep, but in spite of what I told my family, I was too scared to close my eyes. I must have drifted off because about 3 in the morning I heard a faint scratching right outside of my window, only this time I heard two soft whimpers as well.

The dogs.

Getting up I walked to the window, lifted the blinds and looked down.

Rocky and Jasper were curled up together in the flower beds underneath my window. When I opened the window they looked up at me and Rocky gave a quick sharp bark, his eyes looking at something behind me.

I turned around quickly, but saw nothing.

"Shh, it's okay, Rocky...Jasper....I'll go get Frankie, okay?"

At the sound of my brother's name, their ears perked up.

As I left the room I caught a faint smell of dirt that I hadn't noticed earlier. Thinking it was coming from outside I didn't bother to investigate.

Frankie wasn't the easiest to wake up, but when I finally got him roused and told him about the dogs he jumped out of bed, threw on his clothes and was out the door in a flash.

By the time we got outside the dogs had come around to the front of the house.

I know I said I hated those dogs, but I was sure glad to see them because it made my brother so happy.

Pa had to go to work the next day so I told Frankie not to wake him up, but it was too late..he'd heard the dogs and came out to see them too.

Other than looking a little nervous the dogs appeared in perfect health.

Frankie fed them, and actually convinced Pa to let them stay in the house for the rest of the night.

It seemed like things just might get back to normal...at least that's what I thought.

I was exhausted when I climbed back into bed so I had no trouble at all falling asleep.

I had forgotten to close the blinds after last night's excitement, which proved to be a boon for the morning sun; its bright rays nearly blinded me through my eyelids.

My dreams had been crazy, filled with the smell of earth, biting and gnashing teeth and hair or fur everywhere. I began to feel as if something was crushing me.

Coming out of a deep sleep I jumped at the sensation before opening my eyes.

I saw nothing.

The strange earthy smell I'd noticed last night was still in my room, but I couldn't figure out where it was coming from.

"That's quite enough," I thought. I didn't have to work so I thought it would be a perfect day for cleaning my room.

Frankie was out back with the dogs; he hadn't let them out of his sight since they'd returned.

Grabbing the cleaning supplies I walked back to my room but noticed that the door was shut.

I didn't remember shutting it.

Walking back to the front of the house I looked to see if Frankie was still with his dogs.

He was in the side yard with them, trying to teach them to chase a frisbee.

"Okay, Sissy...you had to of shut it...there's no window open so it wasn't a breeze...you've just had a lot on your mind..."

I worked up the nerve to open the door, half expecting it to be locked, but it opened fine.

I'd finished cleaning for about 15 minutes when the smell of earth became so strong I thought I might pass out, but just as quickly as it had come it seemed to fade ever so slightly.

Not knowing what to do I sat down on my bed, pulling my legs up onto it with me.

I had been sitting there for about 5 minutes when I remembered something my mother had told me when I was a girl...before she'd left this world.

"Sissy, you've got a good head on your shoulders, but you've got to remember there are more things in this life than what you see, hear and touch. There are beings all around us...they're watching us. Some of them are good, some not so good, but know this one thing...nothing will ever come to hurt you as long as you trust in Jesus and call out to Him when you're afraid."

The afternoon sun cast shadows on the floor of my room and as I sat there, thinking about mom I noticed one of the shadows begin to act strangely. It seemed to grow more quickly than its companions.

As I watched, unable to move, the shadow took form; it changed from a flat, black mass to a solid, three dimensional shape.

The smell of earth met my nostrils again, only this time it didn't fade. It grew stronger and stronger until I thought I would suffocate under it.

"Sissy...hey what are we going to..."

Frankie stood in my doorway, his eyes wide. "What in the..."

Suddenly, my body was returned to me.

"Frankie...it's okay."

"But..."

"I think I've seen this thing before...in my dreams. Just go play with the dog, alright? Everything's okay."

Stumbling out of the room, Frankie ran down the hallway. I heard the front door slam and the sound of Frankie's feet pounding across the yard.

Getting up off the bed I walked towards the creature. It appeared both solid and transparent...as if it were stuck somehow in this space, but only partly. Uncertain that it was a friend, I nearly lost my nerve, but at the last minute I remembered mom and I knew I had to face my fears.

Mumbling a quick prayer under my breath, I was struck with an idea.

"What's your name?"

I wasn't sure, but it looked like it was trying to speak. "Help me."

"Where are you?" I asked, not entirely sure it could understand what I was saying.

What I supposed were its eyes seemed to be pleading with me, "Zebulon C...the outer quadrant. I've been captured by..."

Suddenly, I was looking at a shadow again, the smell of earth replaced by the scent of freshly mowed grass carried on the afternoon breeze.

I heard the pounding of steps in the hallway and I knew that Pa and Frankie were coming to 'rescue' me from the monster.

But it wasn't a monster.

At least I didn't think so, but no matter what I said, they were convinced that it was something that needed getting rid of, so they did the only logical thing (at least in their minds) that they could do and ordered me to sleep on the couch.

Pa even threatened to add a wall to Frankie's room, splitting the already tiny enclosure into what I told him was only suited for pygmies, but after he saw the look in my eye I guess he figured he'd give it a rest...at least for a little while.

The couch was the most comfortable place in the house...even more than my bed, but I still had a hard time going to sleep. Once I did, the dreams began again...the ones about dirt, the smell of it, the coldness of it and I started to feel like I couldn't breathe, only this time, I realized that I was in a dream so I tried to relax.

I was able to stop the sensations by imagining myself standing on top of the dirt, not underneath it. Looking down, I nearly screamed out loud.

The creature that had tried to contact me was very clearly trying to speak to me. It was reaching out with its hands, not too unlike human hands, only the fingers were much longer.

Suddenly, I heard the monster speaking, only I couldn't see any mouth.

"Sissy...that's what you're called, isn't it?"

I took a step back, which afterward I thought was pretty silly considering I was in a dream, but then I began to feel something very strange. Slowly, a warm feeling of peace came over me and suddenly I knew there was nothing to fear from this being.

"Yes...I am Sissy...who are you?"

"I'm so glad you didn't run away," said the creature, "it's much easier to reach the Earth through the dreamscape. I'm sorry, I don't mean to scare you, but I need your help."

"Help...but I don't know...I mean, what can I..."

"I am called Daer, and I'm from Rhaon Ion...I believe you know it as the moon - the one that orbits Earth.

"I'm being held captive by our enemies...and the Earth's enemies...the Zebulonians. They have been searching for a particular Earth woman...a friend of mine...who...I'm sorry, Sissy, but her name is Rachel."

The room started spinning and I felt like I was going to fall, but then suddenly, I was awake, my face wet with tears.

Why would anyone - especially aliens - want my mother?

==========================================================

"Hey...what about my change?" Mr. Burris' fuzzy eyebrows danced across his forehead like two woolly bear caterpillars.

"Oh,...I'm sorry Mr. Burris, here you go." I handed him his $3.25 in change.

Smiling, he gave a quick nod and walked out the door, a plastic bag bulging in each hand.

"Hey Sissy, we're not that busy...you wanna take a break?" said Carol.

Looking over at the other cashier I told her, "No...I'm fine...I just had a hard time sleeping last night."
"Oh?" Carol looked at me, a twinkle in her eye.

"Where you up late talking to someone?"

A snort escaped my nose..."No, I don't have time for that...you know...school?"

Carol grinned and then turned around to ring up Ms. Masterson's weekly purchase of cat food and tuna. I wondered which she ate...

I couldn't wait to go to sleep that night, which was strange, but after convincing Pa and Frankie that I'd be fine and that I couldn't sleep on the couch because it was too comfortable, they finally relented and let me sleep in my room.

Of course, it didn't hurt that nothing weird or strange had happened last night or today, either.

As I slipped under my covers I had an idea. What if I grabbed a pen and some paper and put it in the bed with me?

Weird, yes, but I did it anyway...just in case my idea worked.

I don't know how long I lay there before I finally drifted off to sleep, but when I opened my dreaming eyes I saw the creature again.

"I'm so glad you've come back, Sissy...it's very lonely here."

Looking down in my hand I saw the paper and pen that were in my hands as I went to sleep.

It worked!

"Daer....how can I help you escape the Zebulonians?"

"I need you to try to contact Rachel."

"But, Daer...she died."

"She's not really gone, Sissy. Remember eternal life?"

Not knowing exactly what he was talking about, I left it alone.

Then, remembering where he said he was I suddenly felt very afraid. "Do they know about me? Will they come here?"

Daer's hands were in constant motion as he waved them in the air before him. I couldn't see what he was looking at...it looked as if he were just waving his hands and stumps (for they were too short to really be called arms) for no reason but I imagined he saw something I couldn't see.

"No, I have a block set up so they cannot see my dreams."

He must have noticed my curiosity because he explained what he was doing. "Our technology cannot be seen by humans...well...most humans. Your mother was different though...she could see our technology as easily as she saw this world. She could also look through many dimensions. Even we can only look through two."

"I don't understand, Daer...my mother...she..."

"No, my dear, she didn't die...she just left this realm and travelled to another."

"But why? Why would she choose to leave?"

Shaking his head slowly, Daer said, "I don't know Sissy, but I don't think it was really her choice."

Everything was moving so fast. At first I had been told my mother died in a horrendous car crash. I was supposed to have been with her, but I had robotics club that afternoon; we'd been working on a special project so I stayed long past the last city bus route.

Now, Daer was telling me that she was just in another dimension. Suddenly it became hard to breathe.

"It was my fault...if I had just caught that last bus Mom wouldn't have had to come..."

"No, Sissy...it's not your fault...we don't know why things happen the way they do, but blaming yourself is not the answer. Would your mother have blamed you?"

Afraid my voice would crack, I shook my head.

Daer stood silently looking at me. I met his gaze and then I remembered my idea.

"Where are you...in real life."

He grimaced. "Right now I'm locked away in the Spectral Palace - the Zebulonian's temple of Askara, the beast who roams about like a lion."

"Look, Daer...I've brought a pen and paper with me to the dreamscape...do you think we could communicate this way? I mean when I'm awake, that is."

His eyes wide, Daer said, "I don't know, but we could try. But Sissy...I don't want the Zebulonians to find you. They didn't know what planet your mother was from, but they're systematically trying to find her."

"You never told me...what do they want with her?"

"They've been planning a full scale invasion of this solar system...all of the inhabited planets are in their sights."
"Invasion...but...why do they..."

"Resources of course." said Daer, "And of course destruction. They feed off of it. The more wars they can start, the more bloodshed they can enjoy, the stronger they get."

"So, you're saying that..."

"Yes, some of them have already visited your planet...in fact...I think there is a small contingent of their armed forces there right now."

"But how does my mother fit in with all of this?"

"She has the ability to stop them by revealing their presence through interfering with their technology."

I remembered the large metal object we'd discovered in the yard. I described it to Daer. "Where do you think it came from?"

Daer looked surprised. "That sounds like one of the Zebulonians' craft, but...they should have picked upon your mother's presence..."

"What do you mean?"

"You, my dear Sissy...and of course Frankie, but you are more like her than your father. Tell me, who discovered the object?"

Embarrassed at the memory I said, "Me...I tripped over it."

Daer smiled. "Of course...that's it!"

I didn't know what to think of all of this. Just last week I was certain that humans were the only ones among a vast, empty universe filled with empty, uninhabited planets. Now, I had to accept the fact that there were other beings...some of them just as destructive...perhaps more destructive...than we humans.

"What do you mean?"

"You have inherited her abilities, Sissy."

"No...I have no...I mean, I can't..."

His eyes bright, Daer smiled, his entire body appearing to tremble with what I guessed was excitement.

"Yes, Sissy...don't you see, that's why you were the one who found it. It would have been hidden from anyone else."

"Well, why did Frankie and Pa see it too?"

Laughing out loud, Daer said, "Why, that's proof too, don't you see? You revealed the technology that was hidden there, for who knows how long."

"Wait," Daer said, raising his hand. "That's it...or at least, that's what I think must have happened."

"Your mother must have been the one who disabled their ship. I don't know how it would have gotten buried, but..."

"I know how it got buried."

Daer looked surprised.

"It had to have been Pete. I wondered why he looked surprised to see it. I would have asked questions about it myself, but Pete's the quiet sort, so I didn't think too much of it. At the time we just wanted to bury it and forget the whole thing."

Nodding, Daer said, "Perhaps then, Sissy...you might want to..."

"Talk to Pete...yeah, I know."

Slam.

The front door woke me up, ripping me from the dream.

"Sissy...I think Pa's finally gone off the deep end."

And I thought girls were melodramatic!

"Dang it, Frankie...I was asleep, you know!"

A mischievous grin lit up his face. "Sorry."

I knew he wasn't, but it was past time for me to get up anyway.

"Now what's this you're saying about Pa?"

"He said that Mom would be coming home soon and that we ought to straighten up the house and fix something nice for her to eat."

Remembering the conversation I'd had with Daer - which honestly, in the light of day seemed kind of absurd - I said, "Don't worry about it, Frankie...I'll have a talk with him. He's had a lot on his mind these days, he must have been thinking about someone else...maybe Aunt Clarice?"

"Maybe. Look, Sissy, I'm taking Rocky and Jasper for a walk...I'll be back in time for supper."

Grinning, I said, "Of course you will...and if you don't, the dogs will make sure you do since it's their supper too!"

Frankie laughed and gave me a hug before walking out the door. "You know me too well, sis!"

A hug from my little brother? That was rare...but welcome too. I love that kid.

It would be a couple of hours before I had to start dinner, so I figured it would be a good time to talk to Pete. At the least we could have a couple of laughs about my crazy dreams, right?

"Pete....you've got a visitor!" yelled the plump redhead.

"He'll be right up," said Brenda, her freckled face smiling with pleasure. "It's good to see you, Sissy...I'm sorry I've not been up to the house since..."

Watching the toddler grasping at her dress in a vain attempt to get her attention, I smiled at her. "No, Brenda...you've got so much going on here...I should have dropped by sooner."

"Bitsy...Mommy's talking right now...here...have some juice." Brenda handed her daughter a sippy cup.

Apparently satisfied, Bitsy plopped down on the couch and proceeded to enjoy the spoils of her victory.

Laughing out loud, I told Brenda. "Bitsy is growing so fast...it's hard to believe that she's turning two this year!"

Glowing with pride, Brenda laughed.

"Yes, I've often threatened to put bricks on her head to slow it down, but Pete says, we should just have more."

"Are you planning...?"

"No...well, maybe...but for right now, I just want to enjoy spending this time with her."

Handing me an ice cold sweet tea, Brenda motioned for me to sit down. The cold liquid felt good against my parched throat.

The back door opened, bringing a rush of heat in with it.

"Hey Pete."

Pete looked at me, his expression an odd mixture of what looked like fear and admiration.

"Hey Sissy...good to see you again...how's Frankie and your father?"
"Fine, everyone's doing fine...only..."

Pete nodded his head towards Brenda. "Sweetheart...could I have a sweet tea?"

Brenda smiled, nodded and turned towards the kitchen.

As if on cue, Bitsy dropped her cup to the floor, got up off the couch and stretched her arms up towards Pete. "Da da".

Grinning, Pete reached down, scooping Bitsy up in his arms and giving her a quick kiss on the forehead. "And how's my beautiful Bitsy today?"

Giggling, Bitsy stuck her finger in her mouth and rested her head against her father's shoulder, content to sit there and take a peek at me from time to time.

"Pete, I've got to ask you a question."

"Yes...I helped your mother bury that thing once before."

He must have seen the shock on my face because he smiled.

"I figured that was what you were wondering about."
"But...Pa didn't even..."

"No, she asked me not to tell him...didn't want him to worry about it." I'd actually forgotten all about the dang thing until Frank called me."

"But...when..."

"I suppose it was nearly 20 years ago...yeah, that's right...the month before you were born, actually. That's how I can remember it. Matter of fact, when I got the call to come over to your house I looked at the calendar before I left and it was exactly 20 years to the day that I buried it. I'm hoping I don't have to do it again...", Pete said.

"Well, you don't have to worry about that...it's gone."

His eyes wide, Pete was about to say something when Brenda walked back in with the tea.

"Sissy...did you need a refill?"

I smiled. "No, thank you Brenda. I'm fine."

Nodding, Brenda said, "Well, it's time for Bitsy's nap."

Pete stood up, handing the sleepy-eyed tot to her mother, giving her one last kiss goodnight.

Bitsy's thumb still in her mouth, she waved at Pete, and then at me before snuggling into her mother's shoulder as Brenda carried her off to bed.

Sitting back down, Pete ran his hands through his hair.

"When?"

"Huh?"

"When did it...leave?"

"The day after you buried it again, actually."

"How did you..."

"The dogs were going crazy, barking at nothing - at least we never saw anything - but then we heard a loud boom. We saw a bright light flash in the sky from the back 40. The dogs disappeared that same night. At first we thought they'd been caught by wolves, but then they came back early one morning - about 3 days later...at least, that's when I heard them outside my window."

"Hmm..."

"The first morning they went missing we went to where you buried that thing...the ship...and there was nothing but a hole. We figured it had left the Earth."

His eyes widened when I said 'ship', but he said nothing.

Unsure how much he knew, I debated whether or not to tell him about Daer. I figured I'd wait for him to say something before I said any more.

"So now you know that I knew about the object...was that all you needed?"

He wasn't making this easy. I needed someone to talk to, but I didn't want to betray Daer's confidence. I didn't even know if Daer was real or just my imagination. My mother...if she was really alive..oh God I wish I knew what to do.

Standing up, I said, "Yeah...I guess that..."

Pete laughed.

"Your mother trusted me with her secrets, Sissy...why can't you?"

I feigned ignorance.

"Secrets? I'm an open book, Pete. Everyone knows Sissy...the klutzy, geeky girl with her nose always stuck in a book...that is if she isn't tripping over weird objects..."

Pete shrugged, a silly grin still on his face.

"Okay, Sissy...yeah, can't say that I blame you. Figure all of this out, okay, and then we can have a chat."

I raised my eyebrow. "Okay...will do, Pete. You take care of Brenda and that little cutie, okay?"

Pete's smile began to fade. "You better believe I will, Sissy...and watch out for yourself, okay?

Then he winked. "And stop tripping over weird objects, okay?"

As I opened the door, I turned around and smiled. "No promises!"

His laugh followed me out the door as I walked towards the car.

After dinner, Pa went to the barn to work on the Massey's clutch, and Frankie went outside to toss some Frisbies with the dogs. He'd barely let them out of his sight since they'd come back home.

I still prefer cats, but Rocky's starting to grow on me a little. Jasper is too annoying, always wanting to lick my face. Ugh.

Since everyone was out of the house I figured it would be a good time to give my idea a try.

Sitting down with the notebook and pencil I'd taken to the dreamscape, I tried to communicate with Daer.

Daer...I talked with Pete and he admitted he'd helped mom. He also said that Pa didn't know because mom didn't want him to worry. What do I do now? Pa told Frankie that Mom was coming home soon. What's going on? Have you seen or heard from her?

I stared at the notebook for a long time and nothing seemed to happen. Discouraged, I was just starting to think about running around the house and yard to wear myself out when words started to appear on the page.

"Sissy...remember that everything is not as it seems. You have received the sight... maybe more, from your mother. Try to think about her. Try to find her. It's important. There's a lot of activity surrounding me right now...not sure what's happening, but I think it's something big."

I stared at the words. Maybe I should have been scared to see writing just appear like that, but weirdly, it just seemed normal.

I scrawled a quick note, too afraid I'd lose the connection. "I'll try."

Sitting down in mom's favorite chair I started to think about her. I hadn't done that for months. I was too afraid I'd never stop crying. I remembered her face...her blue eyes sparkling as her infectious laugh echoed throughout the house.

I missed her so much.

As I continued to sit there, thinking about mom, about all of the weirdness that had happened over the last week, the house grew strangely quiet. I began to see a shimmering glow that I somehow knew had always been all around us, but hadn't seen until just then.

Suddenly, the glow that had been part of the background came to the forefront, and the world I was sitting in faded. It was as if a switch had been made.

"Sissy...my darling girl...you've found me, oh thank God you've found me. I knew He wouldn't let them win."

I started to cry. It was all I could do not to jump up and embrace her, even though I knew she wasn't in this realm.

"Mom...I miss you...where are you?"

"Sissy...listen, it's very important. Tell Daer he'll be rescued...and soon. I've got help."

"But mom..."

"I love you Sissy, so much. I can't talk right now, we're in the middle of a strategy meeting, but I promise, we'll speak again, soon. You can trust Pete. Tell him everything that you've learned...he can help."

"Mom, don't go..."

"My sweet girl. Remember what I told you. Things are not always as they seem. We'll win...evil will lose, of that you can be sure, even if it may not seem that way.

"Know that we will be together again. Just keep trusting in Jesus, Sissy. His Kingdom is forever and it's more than you can imagine."