Unidentified Objects

Chapter Two

Chapter Two

The zeppole were good. Alex even paid her brother a complement on them, telling him they were 'pretty edible'. Pete had laughed as he thanked her, then gave her one from his own plate as another kind of thanks.

Xavier and Mom took care of the dishes tonight. Since Bobbi was working again tomorrow, it would be Alex's turn to cook, and Pete would help with the dishes.

Alex really didn't mind the way her mother had laid out the chores she had gone back to work after her and Dad's divorce was final two years ago. She just wished her mother didn't have to work 12 hour shifts at the hospital. Some days, Alex just wanted her mother around in the morning, when she was getting ready for school, and when she got home in the afternoon. Alexandra didn't need her mother to help. But there were times when she just needed to talk to her without being rushed, and without Xavier hanging around, listening to every word.

After dinner, Alex and Pete went out onto the back deck. It was already getting dark, but in early October, was still warm enough to sit outside. Alex just laid back in a lounge chair and looked up at the sky, fascinated by the way the stars and planets began to become visible as the sky darkened. Pete had his Ipod buds stuck in his ears already before his butt even hit the chaise. So much for having a nice brother-sister talk.

They had been sitting for about 45 minutes. Every so often, Alex would see Peter stop the audio on his player and back it up. She figured he must be listening to the audio of one of those cooking shows he was so crazy about. She didn't think someone had done a recorded cookbook yet. But if they had, it wouldn't surprise her.

The sky was fully dark now, with only a sliver of the moon and a few stars out. There weren't too many houses occupied on her street anymore, not since so many of the parents had lost their jobs, or the families moved away after the kids left home. Alex noticed something out of the corner of her eye. It was a flash of light just over the houses on the top of the hill. Hmm. Must have been an airplane, or maybe a helicopter heading for the hospital. She hoped it was an airplane. If there was a big wreck with lots of injuries somewhere, that meant her mom might get called back in to work.

The light went out, then appeared again, a little closer. It was moving slowly. Okay. Maybe it was one of those little private planes like her dad's uncle had. But something didn't look right, not for a plane of any kind.

Some of the lights on a plane flash. Not all of them. Alex knew the running lights were like the headlights on a car and stayed on all the time. But there were other lights under the wings that flashed on and off. These didn't flash. There was just one light, and it kept getting closer.

Suddenly, just before it was directly in front of her, the light stopped, and stood still in the sky. Now it was close enough for Alex to make out the shape. It looked like a plane all right, but not like any plane she had ever seen. No wings, shorter and wider than a plane, sort of like a burrito in the sky. And it was just hanging there, not moving at all.

The single light began to spread, from what Alex figured was the nose of the ship, around the outside in a line. The light chased around the thing fast, like Christmas lights on crack. Alex stared at it, then very softly, as if she would scare it off if she spoke any louder, said her brother's name.

'Pete.'

He ignored her.

She never took her eyes off the thing. The lights were running faster now, making it look as if there was a separate section in the middle that spun. Very slowly, the nose of the ship began to turn, until it was pointing directly at her. It stopped and hovered again. The lights chased themselves.