Page 8 of Eclipse Bound
Then again, in the age of the internet, hoaxes were abundant. Someone probably built a giant drone and recorded the whole thing for likes on social media.
By the time the fire department had Pete's roof under control and the police had cordoned off the area, Rowan's shift had technically come to an end. But as she rode in the back of a pickup to get her car, she still couldn't shake the image of those three strange men walking away from the shop out of her mind.
It wasn’t that they were strangers. This was a tourist town, and strangers were everywhere.
It wasn’t that their clothes were a little off. Weekends often looked like a comic con. Heck, the guy driving the pickup wore a plastic alien mask and sparkly purple spandex, with a beauty pageant sash that read, “Abduct me.”
It was his eyes, and the feeling she got in the pit of her stomach when she looked at him.
"Rowan, hey!” Stephanie jogged across the nearly-emptying parking lot, phone permanently clutched in her hand. "Did you see my video got picked up by Channel 12? I've gone viral! Over three thousand new followers."
"Great," Rowan said, fishing her keys from her pocket. She was exhausted and just wanted to go home, make tea, and pretend she had a normal life.
"Look," Stephanie held her phone up to Rowan's face. "I caught them on video. I didn’t see it when it happened, but when I was uploading clips there they were!"
Rowan squinted at the screen. The footage was shaky, but she could see four outlines emerging from behind Pete's shop. There, amid the chaos and smoke, were the three men she'd noticed earlier, along with a shorter person, maybe even a child. The child appeared to be giving directions to the other three before disappearing back toward the disaster.
"They came from the crash site," Stephanie whispered dramatically. "I got 'em."
"They're probably just tourists shopping for crystals," Rowan tried to reason. "Everyone was running around. You can’t even see their faces."
“No, look.” Stephanie zoomed in on the footage. The one on the left is glowing, and the one on the right blends with the shadows when he should have been lit by sunlight.
"It's just lens flare," Rowan said, though she wasn't convinced. "And out of focus."
"Whatever you say, skeptical Sally." Stephanie tucked her phone away. "But I'm telling you, those are not regular dudes. And get this, I've got friends at the Crimson Rock Inn saying three guys matching their description just checked in, paid in cash, and didn't have any luggage."
Rowan rolled her eyes. "So they travel light. Or they left their luggage in the car."
These were not great universal mysteries.
"Or they just crash-landed from another planet," Stephanie countered with a grin. "Anyway, I'm heading to the Crash Zone after I freshen up. Half of Duskrock's going to be there tonight talking about this. You should come."
The Crash Zone was a local bar that catered to UFO enthusiasts and tourists looking for authentic alien encounters. It was tacky, overpriced, and usually full of people wearing tinfoil hats. Literally. Tin foil Tuesday was a thing.
"I'll pass," Rowan said. "We have to work tomorrow."
"Your loss!" Stephanie called over her shoulder as she bounced away. "Text me if you change your mind."
Rowan called herself off shift on the walkie-talkie and drove home to her small rental on the outskirts of town. She'd moved to Duskrock six months ago after her life in Phoenix imploded. Which was a nice way of saying broken engagement, lost job, house fire, anger issues ex. The retreat coordinator position had seemed like a perfect escape, a chance to recalibrate in a place known for healing. No drama. Low risk of a lawsuit.
And until today, it had been getting a little monotonous. She hated to admit that being on the front lines had given her a bit of a familiar rush, and like an adrenaline junkie, it would be so easy to jump right back into her old habits.
In Duskrock, she'd found herself surrounded by crystal healers, chakra aligners, and people who genuinely believed aliens regularly visited Earth to... what? Tune the vibrations of their energy fields? Steal their DNA? Take selfies with the red rocks?
Or her favorite. Probing orifices.
Why were aliens always so fascinated with the anus? She thought that said a lot more about humans than it did about the UFOs.
She pulled into her driveway, noticing her neighbor, Mrs. Lowen, peering through her curtains. The older woman had probably been watching the news about the crash and would corner Rowan for details if she lingered outside for too long.
Inside her house, Rowan kicked off her shoes, put the walkie-talkie on the charger, and headed straight for the shower. She let the hot water wash away the desert dust and lingering smell of smoke, while she tried to convince herself that what she'd seen was just some kind of drone or a publicity stunt for a new sci-fi movie.
But those men...
There had been something about the way they moved, something in their expressions. She couldn’t shake it. The tall one had looked at her with such intensity, like he was trying to peer into her soul.
Or maybe she’d read one too many romance novels.
