Life After Death

Chapter 27

In the days following the meeting in the library, I noted that the girls acted as if it had never happened. I had expected them to tease me about it, but they didn’t even mention it. Evidently, it was time to get back to business. 

I assigned Adele, Sharon and Janice to patrol the fence perimeter and also check out the farming robots to make sure they were functioning correctly and to bring those that weren’t back to the maintenance shop. 

Diane, Janet and I spent time working on George’s computer brain to see if we could make it more efficient and stable. We kept in touch with the outdoor crew by means of walkie talkies. 

Janet worked on the system programming using a monitor connected to the main control desk. Diane and I worked on making replacement circuit boards, which consisted of soldering parts into printed circuits. 

I decided to see how they felt about her catching me in the shower. “I’m surprised that you and the girls haven’t been teasing me about your invasion of my shower and the interrogation.” 

“Is that what you want us to do?” Diane asked. 

“Not really. I was just curious.” 

“We felt that we embarrassed you enough with our puerile reactions. We could see that you were really embarrassed.” 

“I was mortified. I was afraid that you would be comparing mine to those of other boys you’ve seen.” 

Diane chuckled. Janet aimed an ornery grin back at Diane. 

“You have nothing to worry about, Jack,” Diane said. “Like you, we all have 4.0 GPA’s, and the only way we achieved that is by not running around. And like you, we’re virgins. We are also only children, so the fact is that yours is the only one we’ve seen.” 

“You’ve got to be kidding. Attractive girls like you should have snared a whole gaggle of boys, especially Adele; she acts as if she’s experienced with boys.” 

“Adele’s bluster is a defense mechanism. She’s just as insecure about the opposite sex as we are.” 

“And just as socially inept,” Janet added. 

I smiled. I felt better about the whole affair. However, I wasn’t sure what they expected of me. Well, yeah, maybe I did. 

The walkie talkie crackled and hissed. “Hey, you guys, we’ve found something odd out here.” 

I recognized Sharon’s voice. I keyed the talk button. “What is it?” 

“I don’t know. It’s some sort of domed structure.” 

“Where are you?”

“We’re at the south east of the woods where we fought the aliens.” 

“I’m coming out there.” I turned to Diane and Janet. “I’ll keep you informed.” 

I rode the elevator to the main floor, grabbed a gun and some ammo clips and headed out the back. I crossed the outdoor living area, the tree line separating it from the farm and the main barns. After trekking thought the woods beyond, I came upon the girls standing by the domed structure. 

“We can’t find an opening,” Sharon said. 

I thought about where it would be and a round doorway appeared, opening like an iris shutter. We entered to find something completely unexpected. 

“This is one of those UFO’s,” Sharon said. 

The metallic skinned saucer was two hundred meters in diameter. 

“It appears that George is responsible for the UFO flyovers. This means that he was an alien from the species that the creatures were trying to exterminate by killing all humans.” 

“I don’t see an opening,” Sharon said after circling the machine. “There are no bolts, rivets, seams or any indication of a door or window.” 

Again I tried to imagine what an opening would look like and one appeared near the top and opened like an iris shutter. Stairs emerged from the side of the machine even though there were no visible seams. 

I walked up the stairs and looked into the opening. Sharon joined me. We saw three chairs sitting around a large curved screen. There were no other discernable controls or instruments. 

“This is way too advanced to have been developed on Earth,” Sharon said. 

“I agree. George is definitely an alien.” 

We left the domed hanger and the opening closed with no trace of the fact that it had existed. The same thing had happed with the stairs and the opening on the saucer. 

When we got back to the house, we went down to the workshop where Janet and Diane were. 

“We found a saucer in a domed hanger,” I told them. “George is a member of the alien species that the creatures tried to exterminate by killing all humans.” 

“Is it the one we saw flying around over the compound?” Diane asked. 

“It probably was. He must have guided it around by remote control.” 

George’s image appeared on a screen. “I have been monitoring the progress of a small sailboat approaching the United States’ Atlantic coast, Jack Siefert.” 

“Where did it originate from?” 

“Calais,” 

“France?” 

“Yes.” 

“Where is it headed?” 

“Chesapeake Bay.” 

I ran a hand through my hair, which was beginning to get much too long. “We’ll never be able to reach there in time.” 

“Not if you take the flyer.” 

“I don’t know how to fly it, George, I’m not a pilot.” 

“You don’t have to be. While you were recovering from the accident, I scanned your brain and stored the wave patterns into the vessel’s control unit. It will go wherever your thoughts direct it.”

“What about fuel?” 

“The vessel is fusion powered, a source that is unlimited.” 

“I don’t know, George, that sounds dangerous.”

“You must go, Jack Siefert. You must rescue the last survivor.” 

I knew he was right, but I was concerned that I could screw up.