Chapter 34: CHAPTER THIRTY THREE

Alice Baumgartner was watching the entire scene from the window of her diner. She didn’t know why all the Tereskàdians and whistling dragon had gathered in the center of the village, but she was sure it had something to do with the American general.

All those cubs. She had no idea there were so many cubs here, since just a few at a time showed themselves. Some so young, they had to be born here, others even younger, unseen because they spent their early years in the female’s – and the male’s – chamber.

They entered her diner, a few at a time, and she served them raw meat. She had enough in the freezer and the fridge, although a lot of the aliens went out and hunted for their food. The ones who didn’t hunt walked in here, and they sure were polite. Something she didn’t think aliens would do, but then she asked herself, Why not? Did she think all aliens were like those little beings with the large almond shaped eyes who communicated with you through telepathy, who took you aboard their spacecraft and poked needles into your belly button and any available orifices? Not these aliens. They had fur, and a tail, linked with those flying mammals called whistling dragons.

She had no qualms with them. They didn’t pay for their food, but she didn’t mind. The Canadian government had made them exempt from having to pay for anything, something which didn’t sit too well with the Canadian people. Blogs appeared on the internet, forums were started about the aliens, emails flowed back and forth, and the most asked question was: What is so important about these aliens that they were untouchable? Some even suggested that the aliens had some kind of psychological hold over the humans, some kind of power which had the humans wrapped around their fingers, or the digits of their paws.

Her hand toyed with a dish towel, part of which was inside a glass she had been drying absently. The man in the Air Force uniform was standing there with his shoulders slumped, like a football fan whose team had just lost the Super Bowl. The RCMP officer, Daniel de Montelier, looked more confident. Right now he was in charge. She wanted to open the door, join the others, remained where she was instead. Seeing this from a distance had its advantages.

The film cast and crew were watching as well, far enough away from the American Air Force general and the Canadian RCMP sergeant, but still close enough to hear the conversation.

The door opened, and Clarence Fenwick walked in. He glanced at her, went to one of the tables, and sat down. “A beer, please.”

It took her a moment to realize he was talking to her. “Sure, sure.” She went behind the counter, placed a glass on it.

“Just bring me the bottle,” he said.

She brought him a bottle of Moosehead Lager, placed it in front of him. “What’s going on out there?”

“From what I can make out,” he said, “General Wittenberg wants to take all the aliens to Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Base in Colorado, and Daniel de Montelier doesn’t want them to leave. There’s also the matter of a plane.”

“What plane?”

“Apparently Wittenberg called for reinforcements.” He put the bottle to his lips, drank a good portion of it.

“So what happens when they get here?” she asked.

“They won’t get here. If they enter Canadian airspace, they’ll be shot down.”

“Why?”

“It has something to do with the aliens.”

“Doesn’t that bother you? You’re American, aren’t you? It’d bother me if someone threatened to shoot down one of my planes.”

“I should never have come up here,” he said. “It was my idea to have Creighton shoot a movie up here because he needed a dragon, a fire breathing dragon.”

“I guess you got the wrong dragon.”

Another gulp of beer. “A furry dragon, with a prick and balls, and tits with milk for their Tereskàdians.”

“Don’t be so crude, Fenwick.”

“Just telling it like it is.”

“General Wittenberg isn’t welcome here,” she said. “If one of those Tereskàdians kills him, we know whose fault that’ll be. The Americans are sticking their nose where it doesn’t belong. If the aliens had landed in France, or Germany, or Japan, the Americans would have been over there faster than you can say, Space, the final frontier.”

“Like you said, I’m American.”

“I’m talking about Americans in uniform,” she said. “You know the ones that strut around like they own the entire continent.” She poured 7-Up from a bottle into a glass. “I hope Montelier kicks them out of here.”

He tossed an American five dollar bill on the table. “Hope this will cover the cost of the beer. I have to go back to the set.”

“Why do you work for a man like Creighton?”

“It’s a job.” He rushed to the door.

“That’s not the answer you want to give me.”

You are reading story Act Naturally at novel35.com

“He pays. Is that the answer you want?” He opened the door, disappeared into the sunshine.

She was alone again. It was still too early for the Tereskàdians to come in for their meal, so she had nothing to do until then. Outside Montelier was still confronting General Wittenberg, and the aliens and the film’s cast and crew watched.

Chandrha was standing off by herself, Jhevharel at her side. What was it about that alien that was so different? Almost as if she was eager to embrace humans, unlike the others, who didn’t say much, kept to themselves, even in the diner. What was there to say? Could I get you a menu? They didn’t need a menu, they needed meat. And she had plenty of that.

She went outside, breathed in the fresh crisp October air.

Jhevharel looked up, and those pupil-less eyes changed from the neutral sky blue to green. She didn’t know what that meant, but she found whistling dragon’s eyes fascinating. No pupils, but they could change color, depending on the mood of the animal.

Chandrha walked up to her. Her ears were wavering, as if she were trying to decide if she should be angry right now. “Why are you staring at me?” she asked, keeping her voice level.

Alice shivered. “I wasn’t...”

“Yes, you were.”

“Am I lying?”

Chandrha hesitated. “No...”

“I was just getting some fresh air. Sorry if I offended you.”

“You didn’t...”

“Are you going to find out who killed Arak?”

“Maybe.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I’m supposed to lead some humans through the forest.”

“Oh.” Alice glanced at Jhevharel who was uncomfortably close. She kept her hands to her sides.

The phone rang in the diner. It rang seven times before it stopped. “The answering machine kicked in.”

“You think?”

“I’ll check.”

“I’ll come with you.”

Montelier was even closer to the house. He’d get there first, check the message.

“Sergeant Montelier, wait up,” she called.

He stopped. “You heard the phone?”

“Could be official police business.”

“When somebody calls the diner, it’s a supplier.”

“We’ll just have to see.” He walked into the diner ahead of her, went over to the phone, clicked the ‘messages’ button. “This message is for General Wittenberg. This is Lieutenant Simpson. We have been advised to turn back before we reach Canadian airspace. The message allegedly came from the President. Please advise as to our course of action. We are one hour from Canadian airspace; repeat, we are one hour from Canadian airspace.”

“Get Wittenberg,” Montelier said.

You can find story with these keywords: Act Naturally, Read Act Naturally, Act Naturally novel, Act Naturally book, Act Naturally story, Act Naturally full, Act Naturally Latest Chapter