Chapter 1

Mile Marker Thirteen

"How was the weather on your camping trip, Travis?", Kevin called back to the large young man in the last seat of the van.

Travis groaned and Kevin smiled. "It rained both days non-stop.", Travis replied. "But compared to the east coast, we got off lightly."

Kevin laughed politely.

"Don't say 'got off' around Rebecca.", Richard sneered.

"Ignore stupid-head, he has a brain tumor.", Rebecca shot back from across the second seat.

"Ack! No I don't! No I don't!", Richard insisted.

"Ha!", the red-headed tomboy shot back. "Denial is the first sign."

"I had an MRI last month.", Richard, sticking out his tongue. "My doctor said I don't have one."

"You do now.", Rebecca said with an evil grin. "Those things give you tumors."

"What?!", Richard gasped. Then he started talking to himself. "Well that would make sense. Doctors want you to have tumors so they can stay employed. That bastard! Stop the car!"

Rebecca started laughing, but Richard was serious.

"Stop the car!", Richard called out. "I have to call my insurance company and have them stop payment to that hack!"

"Psych!", Rebecca shouted at him.

Richard stared at her confused.

"Jeez, it's just a joke.", Rebecca said shaking her head.

Kevin looked over his shoulder at the two and shook his head. Then he turned back to the road. No matter how old they were, when Richard and Rebecca were together they always acted like children. The priest-to-be wondered if they'd be sniping at each other like that when they were in their 80's.

Richard sulked as Rebecca pulled out a cigarette and her lighter. As she lit up, Richard searched for his inhaler and they both inhaled at the same time. Rebecca blew smoke into Richard's face, who held his breath and whimpered.

"You really need to loosen up.", Rebecca moaned. "We should get you a hooker."

Richard shuddered at the thought. The idea of sex with a woman made him nervous enough, but sex with a woman infected with who knows what made his skin crawl.

"One with a pierced tongue.", Rebecca added, delighting in watching Richard squirm. "And lots of tattoos."

Richard could barely contain his revulsion. He knew that he couldn't make Rebecca shut up, so he dug into his pocket, pulled out a pair of earplugs, and stuck them in his ears.

Rebecca glanced at Richard, shook her head, and turned away. She blew some smoke into the front seat and said, "Can we get some air conditioning back here?"

Kevin glanced up into the cracked rear view mirror of the beat up old van at Rebecca. "We're low on gas.", he replied. "Just open your window."

Rebecca sighed and rolled down a window. The wind put out her cigarette.

"Crap.", she said as she tossed it out of the van.

Kevin barely suppressed a smile and Richard felt vindicated.

"Tell me again what it is that we're doing out here?", Rebecca moaned.

Richard heard only a muffled mutter and he pulled out his earplugs.

"Tell me again what it is that we're doing out here?", Richard said, unknowingly repeating Rebecca's question.

Ryan turned around to face the others. "We're looking for what's-his-name's place.", Ryan said. "I am terrible with names. You remember the one with the hair... Damn, what was his name?"

Kevin winced at his friend's profanity and gave the smaller young man a sharp look.

Hearing the word 'hair' made Richard nervous. Actually, everything seemed to make Richard nervous. But going bald was one of his most paranoid fears. He'd read on the internet that early baldness was a sign that his immune system was giving out. He tried to resist the urge to rub his head and check but failed. He couldn't feel a bald spot, but he knew that he needed a mirror to be sure.

"Does an MRI damage hair follicles?", Richard wondered. "I'll have to remember to Google that later."

Richard then tugged forlornly at the non-working seatbelt next to him, remembering a statistic he read once about safety and old vans. Being around Rebecca made him very uncomfortable. He was afraid of women in general, but he feared Rebecca most of all. She was the reason why he was afraid of women.

Travis shifted uncomfortably in the worn out backmost seat. "The hair?", Travis chided Ryan. "Anthony."

"Right, Anthony.", Ryan replied. "We pick him up and then head for mile marker thirteen."


It was late morning on October the 31st, Halloween. The old friends had gathered together for breakfast at a local diner, a place where they all used to go when they were in their teens but was now on the verge of being condemned for having one health violation after another. They'd discussed the plan one last time and decided that visiting the place where Irene was last seen was a fitting tribute to their dear friend. Then they hit the road to pick up the last member of their childhood group.

"I can't believe you actually ate at that place.", Richard moaned

"Mmmm, bacon and eggs.", Rebecca sighed. "Richard, do you know where eggs come from?"

Richard rolled his eyes, "Yes.", he replied. "The eggs were perfectly fine until they got to that diner. I'm pretty sure the FDA would want to know how disgusting that place was."

"They have great burgers. Huuuge things.", Travis remarked.

"And with enough grease to make the Valdez spill pale by comparison.", Ryan replied.

"Yeah, but they were great.", Travis said smiling.

Rebecca span around in her seat and looked at Travis. "I remember the burgers your dad used to make.", she said wistfully. "I could never finish one by myself."

Travis patted his ample midsection. "More for me.", he answered.

The song "Werewolves of London" started to play on the radio. Rebecca started singing along. When the part about "His hair was perfect" played, Rebecca ran her hand through Richard's hair playfully. Richard jerked his head back and pushed Rebecca away, accidentally pushing against her breast as he did so. Rebecca didn't notice, but Richard sure did. His heart missed a beat. Her breast was soft and warm. Richard stared down at his hand as if it were made of gold. He'd copped a feel, by accident, and had gotten away with it. The thought took his mind off of something that he'd read about trichinosis being spread by Al Qaeda into the American beef supply.

The big man's smile faded. "He doesn't make 'em anymore.", Travis said. "We had to sell off most of the cows a couple years ago to cover some bills. The stuff from the supermarket just isn't the same."

Rebecca frowned but didn't miss a beat. "Seeing anyone?", she asked the big former linebacker.

Travis' mind was drawn back from thoughts of food to the present. "Uhh, no. Sarah and I split up after she got accepted to that art school in New York.", he replied, careful not to let on to Rebecca that he'd like her to take Sarah's place.

"We gotta find ya a new girlfriend.", Rebecca smiled.

The two got along like brother and sister. Rebecca was fine with that but Travis always wanted something more.

Barely masking his sarcasm, Ryan shouted back, "You're always so helpful, Becky."

"We gotta go party somewhere tonight.", Rebecca said back to Ryan.

Ryan looked back over the seat. His wire-rimmed glasses slid down to the tip of his nose. Pushing them back up, he said,. "We already have plans, remember? We've got to go to where Irene..."

Ryan's voice trailed off. He thought that he was over the loss of their childhood friend, but he realized that he wasn't.

Rebecca leaned up between the front seats. "Loud music, costumes...we gotta cut loose and party.", she said enticingly.

Richard watched the redhead. His hand still felt warm and tingly. He wondered if maybe she'd let him… then he shook his head and tried to clear his mind.

"Were there any crop circles near where they disappeared?", Richard asked. "I found this website..."

Rebecca cranked up the volume on the radio to drown him out.

'Monster Mash' pounded through the speakers as Richard reached for his earplugs.

Rebecca turned it down. "Crap. Halloween music. Got any CDs?", she asked.

"Yeah, look in the compartment beneath the armrest you're leaning on.", Kevin replied.

Richard's comment worked it's way into Rebecca's mind as she went through Kevin's lame CD collection. "Did you guys ever see 'Signs'?", she asked absently.

"M something Shamamalam. Shalamadam... uhh.", Travis replied.

Ryan corrected him. "M Night Shyamalan's Signs.", he replied. "No, I never saw it."

"It's totally creepy. And there's like these crop circles and aliens and stuff.", Rebecca said. "The circles are like messages from the aliens."

Rebecca dug through the CDs in the armrest. All of them were of the religious variety, "Songs to the Virgin", "Blessed Assurance", etcetera. Rebecca frowned.

"Got any 50-cent?", Rebecca asked.

Kevin looked puzzled for a moment. "There are some quarters in the cup holder up here.", he replied. "What do you need them for?"

"What?", Rebecca said looking up.

Kevin glanced back. "Huh?", he said as his confusion deepened.

Ryan reached over and pulled the wheel slightly to the right, causing the van to miss a rather large pothole. As the van swerved Richard grasped desperately for anything to hold on to.

"Eyes on the road, please.", Ryan said angrily. "I'd rather not have my brain spread across the pavement."

Soon they found Anthony's place and pulled up into the drive. The garage was open and they could see a pair of jean clad legs sticking out from underneath an old model convertible. Rebecca hopped out of the van and snuck over to the car unnoticed, catching Anthony totally off guard as she honked the horn. His legs jumped and Rebecca heard a dull thump come from underneath the car. Richard giggled, happy that Rebecca was picking on someone else for a change. Travis grinned as he watched Rebecca and Ryan fixed his glasses again and rolled his eyes.

Rebecca poked her head underneath the car. "Hey-ya, hey-ya!", she exclaimed.

"Hi, thanks for that.", Anthony replied as he reached for a greasy rag near the toolbox and wiped his forehead.

"Got it running yet?", Rebecca asked.

"Almost.", Anthony answered.

Richard's watch alarm went off. He fumbled in his backpack, pulled out his blood-pressure cuff, and took his blood pressure. Then he dug into the same backpack after a pen and a notebook and wrote down the current time, date, and blood pressure reading. He checked his pulse and wrote that down, too.

"Systolic's too high.", Richard thought to himself. He glanced at a nearby phone. "I should call my doctor on that payphone."

Richard dug in his pockets, wondering how much change he had, then he remembered. "I can't use a public phone! The ones that aren't monitored by the NSA have AIDS-contaminated needles in the change return.", he thought to himself. "And people sneeze on them!"

Richard wiped his hands on his pant leg at the thought of nasty public phones. Then he hurried to put his blood pressure kit into his bag before Rebecca saw it and teased him about it.

Anthony rolled out from under the Oldsmobile, wiping some of the grease off his hands as he stood up.  Rebecca hopped into the driver's seat and pulled out a pair of shades.

"What a ride.", Rebecca said, pretending to drive and look cool at the same time.

"It will be.", Anthony said, proud of the work he'd already done and looking forward to the day he could drive it around and show it off.

"Are you sure it is wise to let her sit in the driver's seat.", Ryan asked Anthony. "Remember the tractor incident?"

"That was sooo not my fault.", Rebecca groaned.

Anthony pulled the keys out of his pocket. "Even if she had these it wouldn't be going anywhere just yet.", he assured Ryan.

Ryan looked at the keys and then at Rebecca. "And yet somehow my confidence in the idea remains unaltered.", he replied.

"That's your problem.", Rebecca said, pulling off her shades and getting out of the car.

Richard got out of the van and joined the others. He noted the sun shining on him and wondered if he needed sun block so late in the year. He didn't want to take any chances with skin cancer.

"So when are we going to do this thing?", Travis asked. "When we're done maybe we can still do like Becky said and find a party somewhere."

"It'll take a couple hours to get out to the spot on the interstate.", Kevin explained.

"And we need to get Richard a hooker.", Rebecca chirped.

Travis grinned. "We'll do both!", he replied. "We just have to find the right kind of party."

Kevin glanced upward and sighed. Richard did not dignify Rebecca's remark at all, other than to remember something vile about hookers in alt.conspiracy.

"Kevin's been THERE too long.", Rebecca said to Travis.

Travis looked confused. He glanced up at the clouds and then back at Rebecca.

"Notre Dame.", Rebecca added. "He needs to get out more."

Travis grinned. "Ohhh. Yeah Kev, loosen up.", he said a little too condescendingly for Kevin's liking. "You don't have your starched collar yet."

Ryan scoffed at Rebecca. "You're just jealous because you couldn't hack it there."

Rebecca shot a dirty look at Ryan, but didn't answer. She turned to Anthony instead.

"Got the Edelbrock yet?", Rebecca asked him, referring to the custom carburetor he was trying to find online.

"Yeah, but not in yet.", Anthony replied.

"Cool. I can't wait to drive it.", Rebecca said.

As they all piled into Kevin's van. Richard wondered what an 'Edelbrock' was and resolved to check the conspiracy groups to find out when he got back.


By late afternoon the six youths reached the small town of Colby. Colby was the last place Irene and her grandparents stopped before heading on towards the Colorado border. As he pulled into town, Kevin could see thunderheads collecting in the west. The forecast called for a clear night but it looked like it was going to rain quite hard and quite soon.

"The weatherman was wrong.", Ryan muttered. "I am shocked."

Richard worried about his nonfunctioning seat-belt again. Then Richard worried about his worrying, something that he had begun doing since his father told him that he worried too much.

"So where did they stop?", Rebecca asked after being quiet for the last half hour. The closer they got to where her best friend had disappeared ten years ago the more nervous she had become.

"They stopped here for gas.", Kevin said quietly as he pulled into a mom and pop type gas station and stopped the engine.

Rebecca felt like she needed a drink and so she went in to see what kinds of alcohol the store had. Kevin filled up the tank and went inside, watching Rebecca buying a bottle of Jack Daniels. She tried to pay with one credit card but when that one came back maxed out she tried another, and another. The third one finally worked. Kevin wanted to say something about that but held his tongue.

Inside the van Ryan looked back at Richard. "So, how'd the whole accountancy thing go?", he asked.

Richard was surprised at actually being spoken to. "I...I graduated at the top of my class and work with my father at his firm, now.", he replied.

Ryan nodded and Richard sensed a hint of condescension. Richard knew that he didn't measure up. Ryan Whitaker, the boy genius who had graduated high school at age fifteen and earned a degree in both History and Medieval studies from Notre Dame at age eighteen. But Richard consoled himself, knowing that he was going to make a lot more money as an accountant than Ryan would as an associate professor.

Kevin paid for the gas and caught up with Rebecca on the way out. "What are ya planning with that?", he said, nodding to the bottle.

Rebecca hid her nervousness. "A toast.", she said quickly. "When we get to the spot."

Kevin put his hand on her arm and whispered. "I worry about you sometimes, Rebecca.", he said with genuine concern. "When was the last time you went to Confession?"

"Jeez.", Rebecca groaned. "I went to Notre Dame. Nobody there thinks that this is a sin."

"I'm not talking about the booze. I..." Kevin sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "I'm sorry. I've just been having a bad feeling about this whole thing since we thought of it. I keep thinking that something bad is going to happen."

Rebecca thought to tease Kevin and then the smile fell from her face. "Yeah, me too.", she replied. "I think that she's still out there, somewhere."

Kevin looked up at the darkening storm clouds. "Yeah, me too.", he replied.

A wave of nervousness moved through Rebecca and she spun the cap off the bottle. She took a small swig and grimaced. Then she offered the bottle to Kevin who accepted the bottle and shrugged.

"I'm not a priest yet.", he told himself as he took a gulp and handed it back.

Rebecca spun the cap back on. "Oh shit! You're driving.", she said and started laughing.

"It's ok. God is my copilot.", Kevin grinned.

"Let's hope that Satan doesn't pull us over.", Rebecca replied.


Back in the van, Kevin started the engine and was soon back on westbound I-70. With every mile that rolled by the sky above grew darker. The clouds pressed low, ready to release a torrent at any moment.

"Who's idea was this, again?", Rebecca asked nervously.

"Probably yours.", Richard replied. The two made faces at each other.

Ryan leaned his head against the glass of his window. He said in a distant voice, "I wonder if it was like this when she passed through."

Rebecca leaned up between the front seats again to take a closer look out the windshield.

"This is so creepy.", Rebecca said, and looked around for alien spaceships.

The road seemed to stretch on forever. The entire sky was composed of thick clouds. For all the light that got through, it may as well have been evening rather than afternoon.

Around four o'clock Kevin said, "We're here", and pulled off onto the gravel shoulder.

"Six-hundred seventy-three feet west of mile marker thirteen.", Ryan added.

Rebecca hesitated for a moment and then said, "Okay. Let's do it." Then they piled out of the van.

Ryan knelt down in the grass just off the road. "This is the place. I'm certain of it.", he said to the others.

Rebecca walked cautiously over to the spot, holding the bottle in one hand. She looked around nervously. Richard followed the others at a distance, unprepared for the 'creepy' feeling enveloping him. Anthony wandered along, not saying anything, and not sure why he'd agreed to go along. Each of the youngsters cast a long shadow in the glare of the van's headlights. They stood in a circle around the spot and made their peace.

"She was always kind to me.", Ryan whispered. "Even when I didn't deserve it."

Rebecca didn't know what to say. She kicked herself for not writing a proper eulogy. So she just said the first thing that came into her mind.

"Irene was the best friend that I ever had.", the redhead said, cracking a sad smile, then she looked down at the ground. "Sometimes I feel like, like my whole life started going wrong right after she left. Irene, I wish that you were still alive."

Travis stood next to Rebecca. "She used to call me her 'big teddy bear'.", he said wistfully.

"I liked her.", Richard said, keeping his true feelings for Irene hidden. He missed Irene a lot. She was the only woman who he'd ever felt comfortable around. He wondered if she would be the only one.

Kevin kissed his rosary but said nothing. In the distance thunder rolled across the tall seas of grain. Rebecca spun open the bottle and raised it up.

"To Irene. I hope that you're in a better place.", Rebecca said, and took a swig. Then she handed the bottle to Travis.

Too choked up to say anymore, Travis took a drink and passed it along. Richard never touched alcohol, so he just handed it to Ryan. The bottle made its rounds and ended up back in Rebecca's hands. Just then the rain began to fall. Rebecca spun the cap back on. She stood there in the rain, looking down at the spot where her friend had disappeared forever. Then she reached into her purse and pulled out the picture of her and Irene.

"It doesn't make sense. It just doesn't make any sense.", Ryan said over the sound of the rain. "The reports said the tire marks swerved into the field and then just vanished. It just doesn't make any sense."

Anthony looked glumly out at the surrounding fields. "Where?", he asked.

Ryan touched the edge of the pavement as though he could still see the skid marks that had long ago been washed away. "Here.", he said sharply. "The police report said that the trail went a few hundred feet into this field and then poof. Nada."

The rain grew harder. Rebecca took a look at the picture and then put it back. Part of her wanted to go back to the van, but another part of her told her that she'd gone this far and that she might as well keep going.

"I want to go to the place where the truck disappeared.", Rebecca said.

Kevin looked at Rebecca nervously. Ryan stood up and headed off into the tall grass. "This way.", he said.

Ryan took a small flashlight from his pocket and paced out the distance from the road with the others in tow. When he came to a stop, there was nothing out of the ordinary, just tall shoots of grain being showered by the cool rain.

Rebecca breathed a small sigh of relief. "It's just a field.", she whispered. Then she felt disappointed that there wasn't anything left behind.

Travis held his coat over Rebecca's head like a sheltering wing. "Let's go back to the van.", he advised. "There's nothing here but cold and wet."

Richard agreed and led the pack back to the van. Rebecca sighed, nodded and followed. Anthony looked around at the ground and surrounding area for a moment, then brought up the rear. Back in the van, Kevin turned on the heater and pulled back onto the road towards Colby. The mood was a sober one. Rebecca looked at her picture again. She said nothing, feeling empty inside and wondering if coming out had been a good idea after all.

The rain seemed to only grow in strength as the van pushed on back the way it came. Visibility was very poor and Kevin had to drive slowly. An hour passed. Richard's anxieties returned. He hoped that the could get somewhere with a phone so that he could call his doctor.

"We should have passed that gas station by now.", Kevin said frowning.

"Maybe we passed it already.", Rebecca mumbled.

Suddenly, lightning flashed across the sky. The mile marker next to the road was clearly visible for a moment. It read 'thirteen'. Richard was the only one who noticed, and he thought that he was just seeing things. He checked his watch. It was five o'clock and time for another blood pressure reading. He snuck a glance at Rebecca and decided to wait. Then he had a thought.

"What time did they vanish?", Richard asked.

"Sometime in the evening.", Ryan replied. "It was ten years ago to the day. The reports weren't clear on the exact time."

"It's...um, evening...now. Isn't it?". Richard said nervously.

Kevin frowned, "We should be in Colby by now. We're lost."

"How do you get lost on a straight road?", Ryan asked.

Rebecca sighed and stared out the window. A few minutes later another mile marker approached. Its green reflective paint shined in the glow of the van's headlights. That one too read 'thirteen'.

"Um...", Richard began. "We just passed the same mile marker again."

"That's not possible.", Ryan replied.

"I'm good with numbers.", Richard answered. "I'll bet you the next time we pass one it will be thirteen, too."

A mile later, Richard was proved right.

"It's just somebody's idea of a joke.", Rebecca said, not convinced herself. "A Halloween prank."

Again and again the markers rolled by. Each time the marker read thirteen.

"Ha, ha. Very funny.", Rebecca said to no one in particular.

Richard knew that he was probably going to get hit, but he did his best Rod Serling impression. "You have entered...the Twilight Zone.", he said. Rebecca smacked him.

"Not only should we have reached Colby, but we haven't even been back through Brewster, either.", Anthony spoke up. "Creepy is a good word."

Rebecca looked intently up the road. She was convinced that it was a trick. "See, look at that tree.", she said, pointing to an old, tall tree near the side of the road. "Now the next time we pass the mile marker it won't be there."

Rebecca worked hard to convince herself. "Because it's just a prank.", she added.

A minute later the stark form of the mile marker rolled by. Lucky number thirteen again. Standing near it was a tree that looked very much like the one Rebecca pointed out.

"Fuck.", Rebecca said as she stared out the front windshield in disbelief.

"Maybe we should turn around, since going this way isn't helping?", Anthony recommended.

"Agreed." Kevin slowed down and turned the van around. He gunned the engine and they were off once more. Again and again the markers rolled by. Thirteen, thirteen, thirteen and each time the same tree.

Richard shook his head and snorted. He couldn't believe that the others hadn't figured it all out yet. It was so obvious to him. He realized that all the time he'd spent in alt.conspiracy was paying off.

"What's the odometer reading?", Anthony asked.

"It keeps adding on the miles.", Kevin replied.

"Oh, and how are we for gas?", Anthony asked.

Kevin glanced at the fuel gauge. "I always hated the mileage on this rust bucket.", he said despondently. "We're at a quarter of a tank."

"We should stop.", Rebecca said.

Kevin did so, pulling over just past the marker where they had stopped before. The rain and wind continued unabated.

Rebecca's eyes opened wide. "We've been abducted by aliens!", she said out of the blue.

Ryan rolled his eyes. "Oh don't be stupid.", he moaned.

"Shut up, Ryan.", Rebecca retorted. "You're so smart. What do you think it is?", she said sarcastically.

Ryan opened his mouth to speak and held up his finger but stopped. Defeated, he said, "I have no idea."

"A continuum of Space and Time.", Richard said in his Serling voice. "Your Destin--OW!", he was cut short as Travis popped him on the head.

"Stop it.", Ryan snapped at them. "Both of you."

"He started it.", Richard whined.

Anthony looked out the windows at the surrounding countryside, for anything that might offer a hint as to the weirdness that surrounded them. It may have been his mind playing tricks but he thought that he saw something sitting on one of the branches of the tree that Rebecca pointed out earlier. Anthony looked more closely at the tree. Another flash of lightning revealed the silhouette of a very large bird on one of the limbs. A raven. The bird took wing in spite of the driving rain. It circled over the van once before flying off over the field. Anthony lost sight of it around the place Ryan said Irene's truck tracks disappeared.

Kevin held the wheel in a white knuckled grip. Lightning and thunder continued to crash outside. "We can't just sit here.", he said helplessly.

"We can wait until the storm passes.", Rebecca replied.

"If it passes.", Travis thought out loud.

"It's better than driving around in circles.", Rebecca added.

Richard looked out the window and smiled to himself. Irene's disappearance was the trigger that got him started researching conspiracies. It all made sense to him. "Anyone see any black helicopters?", he said quietly. Everyone ignored him.

After a long silence Rebecca asked, "Does anyone have an umbrella?"

"There's an umbrella in the back.", Kevin answered. "What are you planning?"

"Give it to me.", Rebecca demanded.

"Or some copper armor and a hillside?", Anthony shot back. "Safer in the car when there's lightning."

"Where do you think you're going to go?", Kevin asked.

"Just give me the umbrella.", Rebecca replied.

"Travis it's under your seat.", Kevin said with a sigh.

Travis passed it forward.

Rebecca took another shot from the bottle and put it back in her purse. "I don't believe that I'm doing this.", she said to herself as she slid open the door. But she had a hunch, and no matter how stupid it was she knew that she wouldn't be able to rest until she had followed it up.

Travis climbed out after her. Rebecca opened up the umbrella and used it to shield herself from the driving rain. She walked over to the spot by the road where they had stood before, then she walked into the field. Richard dug around in his backpack and got the flashlight he'd brought for reading, then he followed the pair as did Kevin and Ryan. Anthony debated with himself whether or not to go along, before figuring that it was better to be with them than to be alone.

Richard whistled the Twilight Zone theme as they trudged through the rain. He could feel that the air was denser than it was before. It felt as if he was walking on sand, and each step forward felt slowed. Rebecca noticed it too but kept on going. Richard wondered if he was having an asthma attack and fumbled out his inhaler. He took a draft and felt a little better. But he didn't have asthma. The inhaler was just a placebo that one of his doctors had given him to get him out of his office.

"Stupid aliens.", Rebecca muttered.

"CIA.", Richard replied. "They slipped something into our food at the diner. We're probably lying on beds in one of their labs in Area fifty-one right now."

"I hope you like anal probes.", Richard added, looking at Ryan.

"Which diner?", Anthony replied.

"Tony didn't even eat there.", Rebecca shouted over the storm.

But Richard never let evidence stand in the way of a good conspiracy. "We're contagious! Anyone we touch...", he began. "We were all in the same van. Breathing the same air. The guys were so right about this..." Richard was getting almost hyper. "Wait till I tell 'em about this!", he shouted. "They'll snarf their Dew!"

As they approached the spot in the field where they had been before, they heard something over the storm. It was the rumble of an engine and the sound of tires on wet grass.

"Probably Army trucks.", Richard said breathing heavily. "The Army guards Area fifty-one. You can't even get cameras near the place! This…is…so…COOL!"

Anthony looked around for the source of the sound. He could tell that the sound was that of a well maintained truck, but it wasn't the van and it wasn't a military vehicle. As it got closer Anthony could tell that it was coming from behind him, from the road. He turned his head to see a pair of headlights bearing down upon him. They swerved left and right as though the driver was struggling desperately to gain control.

"Look out!", Anthony shouted and dove out of the way.

All the others spun around except for Richard who was off in his own little world. Rebecca grabbed him and pulled him out of the way. Kevin and Travis broke out of the oncoming vehicle's path but poor Ryan stood transfixed. Before anyone could act to save him, the runaway truck was upon him. But amazingly, the boy was not struck down. The vehicle passed through him as though he, or it, was not even there.

"Ryan!", Rebecca screamed.

Ryan just stood there shaking, white as a sheet. The phantom Ford kept going for about fifty feet when lightning struck again. In an instant the entire world was filled with light. A bolt of lightning joined cloud to ground just in front of the careening truck. The force of the released energy sent bodies flying like rag dolls. The last thing that each of them saw before everything went black was the sea of grain waving before their eyes.