I gulped with fright and raised my Disintegrator, firing nervously and hitting his leg. His yellow eyes closed and an enormous brown tongue shot from his mouth, accompanied by a long high-pitched howl that echoed through the trees. Long teeth protruded from behind curled lips. His claw slid from my shoulder and he dropped to the ground. In seconds there was nothing except a gooey red and green gel that smelled like our old cattle-shed back home.
“Hey, you okay?”
Jed crashed through the undergrowth and put a hand over his mouth. “They smell as bad as they look.”
I picked up my Decib Meter and followed him. Then something weird happened. I heard a shout coming from some way off. Still scared and nervous, the shout sounded familiar as I stumbled along. Jed kept going. I tried to keep up, but he was in some kind of hurry.
“I just got a message from control. Seems like the Druganor’s are losing too many men. Some of their ships have moved out. This could be the start of the end and victory for the Federation.”
It was then I tripped over a fallen branch and crashed to the ground. Jed turned and almost screamed.
“Stop! We’re friends.”
With a large piece of the branch in his hands, held above his head, and ready to strike, was Ben. Behind him stood two other kids.
“Jeeze, Ray, I thought you was a monster. You okay. Who's that drifter with ya?”
I laughed. “This ain't no drifter, Ben. He’s helping save us. He’s from another world of the future. Kinda like them X file movies only he’s for real.”
Ben looked serious and then, very slowly, his grubby face creased into a smile. “Yeah, right.”
I quickly gave him the lowdown on my abduction and how we could be taken back to a new future world.
“No way,” scowled Ben. “We’re making it to Miami like you planned. We can survive there.”
“Most of the survivors are going,” I said. “If we stay, things will be tough. There will be a few Druganor’s to fight.”
Jed tossed me another disintegrator and a tablet.
“You’ll need this, Ray.” He winked. He knew I’d stay.
“I’ve got to go. I wish you guys all the best.” With that, he disappeared into the trees.
I turned to Ben and the boys. “We should get onto the highway to avoid skirmishes. We’ll camp for the night in the central median and get some sleep.Tomorrow will be the start of a long trip.”
“Was Jed a spaceman?” asked Drew, Ben’s friend.
“Yes, he was, and they came to stop something that affected the future. It was the Druganors who caused all the fires and killed people because they wanted to rule a Druganor world. Jed and the Federation rescued many and are taking them to a safe haven in the future.”
The boy looked terrified.
That night, I kept one eye open and a finger on my gun.
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