Stranger Than Fiction

A briskness filled the air this morning, yet the sky was awash the brightest of baby blue. Occasionally, puffy white clouds lazily drifted across the heavens, but no threat of storms nor any raindrops were eminent. Gone was the winter season’s snow, which had receded and taken the April showers with it. Even though there was still a crisp quality to the soft breezes, Spring had definitely sprung. The scent of the blossoming wildflowers infused the air and their blooming buds colorfully dotted the scenery like a Seurat painting. Bethany and Cody were just glad they could get out of their dorm rooms and do some long overdue exploring. And there was sooo much to explore here in the backwaters of the Blue Ridge mountains. Or should I have said capture, since they were both amateur photographers looking to take that perfect snapshot. Happily they ventured out, Bethany and Cody could finally take their cameras from their bags, and see what brilliant and unexpected moments they could grab.

Bethany and Cody had met in the photography club at college. Both being freshmen and beginning photo enthusiasts, they figured this extra curricular activity would help them learn to take better pictures. And also they could meet people, and make new friends. They clicked immediately, liking similar cameras and the same artists (like Ansel Adams and Robert Mapplethorpe). Throughout the past 2 semesters, they became the best of friends. Often, they discussed all the great scenery they had passed on their drive up to Virginia Tech for orientation. So much of nature, the mountains, the wild animals, and the old houses flew by their windows, and inspired their desires to take pictures out there someday. But, they had to wait for the seasons to change, and the weather to clear. Now that time had come at last- to go forth and seek out those images.

Running and skipping through the forest, Bethany and Cody felt like two little kids again. The excitement of this occasion almost made them giddy and jump for joy. They stopped often to take pictures of the single moments in time their minds eyes saw- so as to preserve them just as they were presented. At last, Bethany thought, I get to use that Nikon Camera I got for Christmas! It was all fine and good to take pictures of your friends in the dorm, but exterior environments and naturally diffused lighting can make for some amazing photos. Cody remembered seeing some run down and abandoned houses while driving on route 66 those many months ago. He loved ruined and dilapidated subjects, and the degradation of the man made world by nature. These homes were often missing roofs or walls, but they definitely made for interesting content. The coolest and oddest subjects were the bits of the previous owners possessions left in these homes that were preserving their lives from long ago. Most unusual and interesting, these snapshots of someones past existence would be forever be etched in time through the lens of the camera. Some furniture, an old newspaper, a tin-type photograph, or a doll in its broken stroller each told their unique story- if the picture was taken just right. They had to make the most of their day since there was so much imagery to embrace.

Half of the day had already been spent on the first 2 homes. Allowing only for a short lunch break, they moved on to the next location. They had already gotten so many pictures, but still they hadn’t found the ultimate image. The third house they came upon had mostly deteriorated, only a couple of walls were left behind. Yet, amazingly enough, the old barn was still fully intact. Though worse for wear, with the red paint mostly worn off, and missing some window panes and roof tiles, something about this building drew them in. How great to find it left so complete and whole after so many years. Stealthily, Bethany and Cody snuck around to the barn doors, and peeked in to make sure they were alone. After all, they didn’t want to get caught trespassing, or possibly shot.

Since the coast appeared clear, they slipped off the cross bar and cracked open the door. Once inside, they saw how well the place had been preserved. It looked as if they had stepped back in time some 70 years to a different era. Hay bales, horse harnesses, and various pieces of farming equipment were scattered about the barn floor and stalls. There even appeared to be an old tractor sticking out from under a tarp.

“Let’s get started” Cody exclaimed excitedly. “The light is perfect right now. There are even shimmering god rays coming through the windows.”

So they each went individually to find what subjects caught their interests. It sure felt great to let their creative souls soar, and do some free form shots. After almost an hour of crawling about the place, they came to the tarp at the far side of the structure. When they pulled it off, they found an amazingly intact 1950’s tractor. It was a bit rusty, but it looked like it could still work.

“Take a picture of me with it” Cody called out.” For our blogs and, and for posterity!”

Bethany aimed her camera, and took a few shots of him next to the tractor. But they came out looking strange- all glitchy, and distorted.

“Let me change my battery first. The pictures are coming out all scrambled “, Bethany replied. “Now when I am done here, get ready to jump on the tractor and I will take some action shots. On three- one, two, three!” Bethany hollered.

Cody jumped into motion, thinking he would end up on the seat of the tractor. But there was a crash as he disappeared. The tractor blinked in and out, and then disappeared as well.

“Oh My Gawd, Cody! Are you ok?” Bethany exclaimed as she ran over to where the tractor once stood.

“ I think so” Cody declared from behind a stack of hay bales. “But that was definitely not a tractor!”

Totally shocked and surprised, they both looked at where the tractor used to be to see what Cody had actually landed on. Behind a few bales, there was a round, silver saucer shaped vehicle with windows and lights- about the size of a Volkswagen bus. It most definitely looked like the classic Sci-fi movie alien space ship. They both gasped, caught their breath, looked at each other, and then back at the UFO.

“Do you see that?” they both screamed in tandem.”Is that what I think it is?”

“Yes” Bethany blurted out. “I think the tractor was just a holographic projection to hide this spaceship. I guess they never thought someone would try to jump on that thing.”

“Holy Moly” Cody replied. “It’s a frigging flying saucer!!".

After the shock wore off, they both began snapping all kinds of pictures and video of the spaceship, and them with it. Time passed swiftly, and the sun was starting to go down as they began packing up their things. Dusk was nearing when they heard a loud commotion outside. The sounds of voices shouting, dogs barking, and was that gunfire? It seemed like the noises were moving closer to the barn.

“Oh crap, we better find a place to hide before they get here”Cody exclaimed. “Don’t want whoever that is to see us”.

Looking around, they decided the best hiding place out of sight was up in the loft. They climbed the ladder and tucked away behind some hay bales. Just as soon as they ducked down, they heard someone opening the doors. Peering over the bale, the first things they saw enter were 2 beings that looked like the classic aliens from any fifties science fiction novel. They were green and had the large teardrop shaped heads with the angular black eyes, no nose, and long arms and fingers. Their weapons were like nothing they had ever seen before, with lights and rings on them. Definitely not of this planet. They spoke in squeaks, clicks, and other odd noises, but no words that the 2 kids could understand. It seemed the aliens were upset the ship was exposed and began looking around for the intruders. Luckily, the ruckus outside distracted the aliens attentions. The human voices called out, so close now, while their dogs bayed and howled. It appeared those men were chasing after these space invaders. The aliens realized that time was of the essence if they were going to escape, and scrambled into their ship.

While the ship began to whir and spin, and the lights started to chase in patterns around its edges, Bethany and Cody rose up to see what was happening. As the legs retracted, the saucer lifted off and exited out the top barn doors of the loft. It flew over both Bethany and Cody’s heads as they worked their cameras taking footage of the entire event. Just as the space ship blasted off into the evening sky, the men streamed in through the front barn doors. Some of them saw the departure of the ship with open jaws, as they realized they had lost their prey. Bethany and Cody quickly dove down again behind the bales. They didn’t want to get caught by these people either. Since what they were chasing was gone, the men and dogs soon left the area. Finally, Cody and Bethany could get out of there. After they reached the bottom rungs of the ladder, they looked at each other and just had to laugh out loud.

“Did we really just see aliens and a flying saucer?” Bethany cried out in disbelief.

“Not only did we see that, but we caught all of it on film- well, digital film!” Cody blurted out.“I don’t believe it!!”

Since night was fast falling, they decided to head back to campus while they could still find their way home. Once in their dorm rooms, they looked at the pictures and footage they had just shot. It was amazing what they had captured- not only an alien encounter, but the ship’s lift off. These pictures and videos were just out of this world to them. It seemed so weird to be examining this and to realize what they had just seen- that this had actually happened!

“So what do we do now?” Bethany inquired. “No one will believe us if we tell them about this. They will just say we added all that in post”.

“Well, I guess we’ll have one heck of an alien invasion gallery show”, Cody replied. “And let’s not tell anyone this was real. We don’t want them to cart us off to the looney bin.”

“Well, we can do that. It will probably get us a showing at least. Who would believe a couple of kids anyway. They would just say we have quite an imagination, and laugh us off“ Bethany answered.

Cody and Bethany hugged, as Bethany added “ I guess the truth is out there. And we just had a close encounter of the third kind!”.