Chapter 22
With all his strength, Kiko grabbed the gripping hand and forced open the fingers one by one. Succesfully, he liberated Tonton with no resistance from the body. Indeed, the alien could have been dead already. By then, the footsteps were directly outside the truck. Impulsively, the boys crawled forward and squeezed through the gap in the front seats. Kiko got in first and crammed himself beneath the pa.s.senger's seat. Tonton struggled because of his gla.s.ses but succesfully got through the pa.s.senger's side also and positioned himself on top, crouching lowly on the seat. At that moment, the back door of the truck opened wide.
"Are there people here?" a man in low voice asked.
"Could it be the alien?" a younger man in high-pitch nervous voice retorted.
"Nonsense," another young voice said. "The alien is dead already. The team said so."
The boys heard everything but they remained in their location, quiet and barely breathing. Meanwhile, Jamie and Bogart heard their friends' scream clearly. It was loud against the quiet camp in the middle of the gra.s.sland.
"It must be them," Bogart spoke. "They must have been caught."
"We got to help them," Jamie agreed.
Jamie jumped out of his position. Bogart was about to do the same when he realized his left foot got stuck. Something like ropes or wires had tangled his foot all the while.
"Oh, come on," Bogart sighed in exasperation. "Jamie, I'm stuck. Help me please."
"Not again," Jamie nagged as he climbed back to his previous position.
As the s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p was small and the s.p.a.ce inside the truck was narrow, Jamie got into an awkward position just to help his friend, plus Bogart had an injury so he could not easily move. Jamie extended his arm and reached what held his friend's foot. He worked fast to unfasten the tangles until Bogart was freed. In delight, Bogart leapt in joy but somehow lost his balance and fell forward. He held out his hands to stabilize and cus.h.i.+on himself but he was unsuccessful. Instead, his hands fell on the dashboard of the vehicle and accidentally pressed random b.u.t.tons. Instantly, a deafening siren blasted.
Tonton and Kiko heard the alarm and got even more panicky. They covered their mouths to prevent themselves from screaming.
Find
"What's that now?" one of the unknown voices spoke.
"There must be an emergency."
"Come on, let's go!"
The men vacated the truck and the boys took the opportunity to escape. When the sound of the footsteps faded, Tonton reached for the door handle and gently pulled it. He slowly opened the door while surrept.i.tiously glancing outside. Finally, the door sw.a.n.g open wide and Tonton quietly leapt out. He signaled Kiko who then quickly left his position and joined him. Hurriedly, they tiptoed their way to the nearby vehicle.
Meanwhile, the defeaning sound jarred Jamie and Bogart. They both tripped over and fell on the dashboard so that more b.u.t.tons were pressed. Instantly, the dashboard lit up in different bright colors.
"We have just created more trouble!" Jamie exclaimed.
He rose up swiftly and offered his hand to help Bogart stand. To support his weight, Bogart leaned his left hand on the dashboard and once again touched more b.u.t.tons. Instantly, a woman's voice began to speak incoherent words. As she was speaking, the monitor in the dashboard flashed images.
"What could she be saying?" Bogart asked.
"I don't know," Jamie answered. "But I do not feel right about it."
Jamie pointed at the monitor. There was a red "X" blinking on the screen. The voice just kept talking, as if giving some immediate warning.
At that moment, they heard footsteps coming to their truck. In one jump, they abandoned the s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p and searched for their hiding place. Except for the s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p, there were no other items inside the truck. Jamie pulled Bogart and they hid in a corner, away from bright light around the s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p.
Almost at the same time, guards went up the back of the truck. The moment they landed, they became hypnotized by the bright light coming from the s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p.
"What's this thing?" one of them asked when the last person finally arrived.
"We must protect this -"
The leader of the pack was not able to finish his statement because the s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p suddenly moved on its own. It shook violently and emitted various lights. The men of five quickly moved over to the s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p to hold it.
The boys took the chance and swiftly moved out of their hiding place. They ran and jumped out of the truck. The men were rattled by their unexpected presence.
"Get them!" the leader bellowed.
It was already dusk and the darkness was beginning to defeat the light. However, it became advantage for them as the men were not able to see their faces. They were safe.
As Jamie and Kiko scampered outside, the movements of the s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p became more violent. Unable to hold the alien vehicle anymore, the men released their grasp. Unfortunately, the s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p became more unruly that it grazed one of the men's arm. To everyone's surprise, it stopped moving. A quick silence ensued but was immediately followed by an incessant beeping. As the s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p flashed more brightly-colored lights, the beeping sound became louder and faster.
"Everyone, jump out!" the men's leader shouted upon realizing what was about to happen.
The men swiftly ran and jumped out of the truck. The s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p let out one last horn and self-destructed. It was a huge explosion that flames and smoke quickly rose up. The back of the truck was also on fire.
More men rushed into the scene to help their limping comrades. They took them away from the explosion. The fire was relentless as it immediately devoured the entire back of the truck. The men in the camp moved in panic as they packed up things. The truck on fire was the biggest in the camp. Its tank was full and a bigger explosion could happen soon.....