Saucer in the Dunes

16 Big Trouble!

I woke the following day with a sense of personal satisfaction. We had gotten away with it; we did. Ronnie was happy, Fidget was safe, and I had proven myself as a friend. I smelled breakfast cooking and heard dad leave for work. Mom was letting me sleep; she sometimes did that. That morning it worked to my advantage.

I had just dozed off again when I heard a knock at the front door. I knew it wasn't Ronnie or anyone else I knew; they would never go to the front door. Whoever it was, knocked again before mom could get to the door. I let curiosity get the better of me, hopped out of bed, and snuck across the hall to the guest bedroom to see out the front window.

I moved past the extra furniture and the unpacked boxes stacked in neat rows against the wall and looked out the window. My heart immediately stopped. Well, that's what it felt like. I felt sick to my stomach and more than a little scared.

Ducking down, I watched as the Sheriff and two military men in uniform stood on our front stoop and waited. Mom went to the door. I could hear it open. She was just as surprised to see the Sheriff as I was. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but I just had to. I looked back at the hallway.

I could sneak down the hall and listen behind mom. It wouldn't work. There was always the risk they would come in. Mom was always inviting people in. Dad said mom had never met a stranger. It took a while to understand what that meant, but by then, I knew. No, I couldn't even hide in the den or kitchen if they came inside. I would be busted for sure.

Then it hit me, the unthinkable. I had to open the window. It was the only way. I prayed as quickly as possible, stood up, and put both hands on the curtains, grabbing the handles at the bottom of the window tightly. I gave it one heave, and sure enough, it broke loose. It was loud, though. I dropped to the floor again. One of the army men heard the noise and looked in my direction. I remained perfectly still, not even breathing much. The day had undoubtedly gone to shit from feeling so good in just a few minutes.

The man looked away, and I eased the wooden window frame higher. I could immediately hear them all much better, including mom. It only took a minute, and I knew Ronnie and I were in big trouble. Holy cow, we were in for it! They had seen us! I crept closer to the window, practically sticking my ear against the opening.

Yes! They had seen us, but they weren't sure it was us! They were asking mom if we had a dog! Holy cow! They knew about the dog! Of course, mom would tell them all we didn't have a dog. The Sheriff knew who did, though. I listened to see if mom would volunteer any more information. She was very curt with them all and did not invite them in. They explained to her all about the military plane crash and how the plane that crashed was a secret prototype flown out of the Lockheed Martin plant north of Atlanta.

Suddenly they were all walking out to the Sheriff's car, and he was taking something out of the trunk for mom to look at.

I couldn't believe it! It was the crowbar! We had forgotten all about it! I guess Ronnie dropped it when we freed Fidget, and since they were after us, we both just forgot about it in the confusion. We were pinched for sure, no doubt about it. I wasn't even sure where Ronnie got the thing. The Sherrif and one of the Army guys gave mom their business cards and told her to call if she had any information. She left them and headed back up the short walkway to the front door. I got up and shot out of the guest room as quickly as possible, tearing off my PJs and getting dressed.

Mom started calling for me as soon as she had closed the front door.

"Coming!" I called back to her like nothing was wrong.

I planned on playing dumb, maybe sick, but that always brought sympathy, and I needed some time before I had to explain everything. I needed to talk to Ronnie and warn him. Finally getting my shirt on, I made my way into the kitchen though I wasn't nearly as hungry as before. I took my plate off the table to the stove, but mom intercepted me.