It All Started With A Stumble #7

The raptors did nothing for a long time, they just kept circling us, staring. They seemed a little surprised to see us. Of course it was safe to assume that they had never seen any thing on the lunch menu quite like us before. Rose reached out and grabbed my hand, our new friends didn't like this tiny movement and a round of angry chirping issued forth.
"We're in deep shit aren't we?" Rose said under her breath.
"Oh, you better believe it."
In fact I was doubtful we would get to see the end of the minute. Yet still the cold eyes only watched. The one directly in front of me had bright red feathers down its arms and seemed, some how, to be leading the groups movements. Any second now their curiosity would give way to their hunger. I suddenly realised, our window was closing.
"NOW!" I screamed.
I yanked Rose forward and lowered my shoulder running straight at the red feathered leader. The raptor seemed shocked by my sudden movement straight towards it, I gathered this didn't happen to often for the carnivore. My shoulder connected with the side of Red's head and it was knocked off balance. We didn't stop to see how quickly it would recover, for now the group seemed to be caught up in a moment of chaos.
I crashed through the undergrowth dragging a bewildered Rose behind me. Though the trees ahead I could see the glisten of water shinning more brightly now. Behind us however, I could hear several angry raptors cutting through the forest. I was sure they would close in before we could make our way to the lake beyond the trees but we ran on.
With mental images of jaws snapping at our heals we burst out of the dense jungle and into the blinding sunlight. Ahead, only a hundred meters now, was a huge lake. Directly before us, a long spit of rock ran out into the dark blue water. I steered Rose towards it, as we ran I saw her turn her head to look behind and briefly saw all the colour drain from her face.
"Shit, shit, shit!"
"MOVE!"
We were half way along the spit, I heard a snap of teeth and felt the expelled air from the action against my back and some thing pulling on my t-shirt. The bastard had me. We were there at the end of the rocky out crop. I spun to my left turning on the run, with my right hand still holding Rose's I flung her off the rocks out into the water. Carrying my momentum around I turned, grabbing the raptor, still clutching my shirt in its teeth. It's head now against my side I put my left arm around its neck and shoved off backwards into the icy cold water taking it with me.
My body cried out as the cold of the ancient waters closed around me. The combined weight of myself and the small dinosaur drove us down, deeper then I had expected. Then the water around me became frenzied as the animal was thrown into panic mode. Our tiny section of the lake was roiling as the dinosaur fought desperately to find the surface. Should it make its destination I knew my momentary advantage would quickly be lost.
I clung tight and tick downwards, propelling us deeper into the darkness below. The raptor fought harder still, churning the water with its powerful legs. Twice I felt a searing pain, once in my leg and the second time down my side. The little light that made its way down to these depths began to shine red in the water.
As my lungs starting screaming for air, my enemies struggling slowed and eventually stopped. The raptors panic response to the cold water had caused it to burn up its air much to quickly. I held on for as long as I could, wanting to make sure it was dead, then kick hard for the surface. I broke back into the daylight and let out a cry louder then any noise I have ever made as air once again filled my lungs. For a moment I lay there on my back, just floating, the blood pounding in my ears.
As the pounding inside my head died down I heard crying and a soft splashing. I lifted my head to see Rose paddling towards me tears in her eyes.
"You ass hole!" It was not the kind of response one hopes for when he has just saved the life of the girl he fancies.
"What?"
"I thought you were dead, I though they'd takin' you. I didn't see you make it into the water. Not the time for hiding under the god damn water trying to scare me!"
"Sorry, I was a little busy killing a velociratpor? But next time I will check in with you first before hand." Knowing what I now know about women this was maybe not the best thing to say.
"Don't give me that shit buddy! Look at those things. We are screwed, you think you can kill one of those things?"
Thankfully I didn't have to answer because at that moment my recently drowned friend broke the surface right between us, unmoving. Rose simply stared at it. After a few moments of staring at it, she stared at me, her mouth slightly open.
"You?..."
"Well, yeah, that's what I said isn't it?"
"You, killed it? A dinosaur?"
"... It needed doing." I said smiling like a bastard and I thought she was going to get angry at me again but instead she just started laughing.
"You saved my life? by killing a dinosaur? Oh man, you do know how to impress a girl don't you?"
"I try."
Behind us I saw the raptors still standing on the spit, looking at us, unsure on what they should do now. I thought I remembered reading that dinosaurs could swim and was not to keen to sick around and find out. As impressive as I was I did not think I could drown another five raptors. Rose beat me to the saying so however.
"As good as you are, I think we better find some other place to get out, don't you?" I did agree. Although I didn't really fancy the idea of staying in the water all that much longer. Some how we had been thrown back in time, It sounded moronic saying it. We had already seen what was walking around on land trying to kill us. The idea that I was bleeding fairly solidly and chumming the waters, so to speak, was not comforting. If there was any hungry thing living in the lake, it was a sure bet it would be on its way toward us.

To be continued...

It All Started With A Stumble #6

Eventually the eyes, and the foot that accompanied it moved away and we fell into a restless sleep, a sleep that kept being broken by sounds that ripped through the night and chilled the blood in our veins. When my eyes would snap open at one of these nightly noises I could not help but feel as though we were being watched, more then that, being hunted. However every time I peered down into the gloom I could make out nothing at all to support my fears. 

The next morning I awoke to find Rose asleep on my chest. The sun had only just risen it seemed and it's dappled rays only just managed to break though the canopy above. Looking up into that green foliage I realized why we had survived our fall. The leaves were so thick and tightly packed that I was surprised we hadn't been tangled in them and caught further up. 

I let Rose sleep a while longer and reached into my pocket, pulling out the little compass I had managed not to lose in our ordeal. In the low light of the morning I could just make out the little needle pointing off towards the low lands, out, further away from the cliffs. By my reckoning that meant that either north had shifted or the needle was been drawn that way by another force. Hope was beginning to be rekindle inside me.

I woke Rose and we made our way down the tree. The going was slow and the tree was huge but after twenty minutes or so we reached the forest floor. Our nerves had been on edge climbing down the thick trunk and reaching the ground did little to still them. There was a very strange odor around the place and one could not quickly forget the eyes of the night before. My only hope was that those eyes only operated in the dark.

"Where do we go?" Rose asked in a whisper. 

"The compass is pointing that way." I said gesturing off to the low lands.

"So we're heading north?"

"I figure the only hope we have for getting out of this place is if there is another one of those... light shows. The compass is the only thing that points us to them. Perhaps there is another one over there, because last time I checked, that was not north."

"It's as good a plan as any."

We started out through the underbrush. As the sun rose higher in the sky the jungle became stiflingly hot and sweat began to soak my t-shirt. The thick air seemed to choke you rather then give you life. Every so often we came to a place where we could make out clawed tracks in the damp earth. Some of which were rather small, others made me want to press on at a much faster pace. Luckily however, through the course of the morning, we avoided encountering any of the animals that had made the prints.

We had been walking for hours and the sun was starting its return journey to the horizon when we first caught sight of a large body of water through the trees ahead. We had become increasingly thirsty as the day had worn on, not to mention hungry. Driven on by our thirst we began moving a lot faster through the ferns, our arms and legs now covered in hundreds of scratches, some of which were bleeding quite badly now. As I let go of a large frond, that had been jutting out into our path, it whip back against the raw skin of my arm. In my anger at the pain it had caused me I went to rip it up but stopped when I noticed its blood stained surface. I turned and looked back, many other of the ferns we had passed also had blood covering them. Our blood, a clean and very well marked trail as it suddenly appeared to me to anything equally as hungry as we were.

"Rose, stop." I hissed in the loudest whisper I dared.

But before she could respond a series a chirps and squeaks issued forth from the surrounding scrub. 

"Shit!... Rose, don't move." 

As I said this six very quick moving animals darted out from the bushes around us, encircling us, trapping us. As the six creatures began to move around us in a ever shrinking circle, I finally had a chance to study one of this strange places inhabitants up close. I locked my eyes on just one of the animals and instantly knew what was standing before us, sizing us up. 

The animal was around three feet tall and walked upright on two very powerful looking legs. It had two smaller fore limbs which still looked completely capable of inflicting a lot of damage. Each fore limb was feathered from shoulder to wrist and the animal kept its balance via a long muscular looking tail that bloomed at it's tip into a feathered brush. The predators began to snarl, their cold eyes staring firmly into our. We where in trouble. Big trouble.

"What the hell are they?" Rose said through gritted teeth.

"Those... are Velociraptors... God damn dinosaurs!"


To be continued...

It All Started With A Stumble #5

"MOVE!" I bellowed at Rose.

And she did. I tightened my grip on her hand and together we ran as fast as we could, heading towards the road. I recall wishing the night sky had not been so bright and clear, because as I looked back over my shoulder I saw the forest wall rustle, it seemed as if every tree shuddered as something huge moved within trying to break through. Another of the roaring screams filled the hot night air and at that a monstrous shape burst through the foliage and into the field.

"You gotta be friggin' kidding me!"

"What? What is it?" Rose asked panting as we ran.

"Just don't stop running."

We had reached the place where fence should have been, but it was nowhere to be seen, not that this surprised me given what was now running across the field after us.

"Where is the damn road?" Rose screamed.

I glanced again over my should and immediately wished I hadn't.

"MOVE FASTER!"

I could now feel the vibrations of our pursuer's foot falls through the ground beneath us, it was closing in. As we ran I noticed that the area around us was in no way familiar to me. About a hundred meters ahead of us I could make out a stunning vista in the star light and suddenly realized we were on some sort of plateau heading towards a cliff that stretched out in a crescent for kilometers. We were approaching the edge fast. Before us the land dropped away into a large flat forest filled expanse. Behind us I could now feel hot breath hitting the back of my neck. There was no place left to go. 

"WAIT!" Rose screamed.

But there was no time. I jumped out into nothingness taking her with me. I felt something slam against me as we went over the cliff and knew that our persistent friend was falling with us. I could barely make out anything as we fell, it felt like forever. All I could see where flashes of landscape bathed in silvery light, and nearer, leathery skin. Beside me I could here Rose screaming.

Then we hit. We fell for so long I, not for the first time that day, thought we would die. However hundreds of rakish arms seemed to reach out and catch us. They also succeeded in cut my arms all over. I came to rest in the fork of a large tree rather abruptly as Rose came tumbling down one of the larger branches that led into my fork and land right on top of me. For a moment she did not move, her arms looked about as shredded as mine and she had a nasty cut on her right cheek. I was starting to worry when she at last spoke.

"Ow!" She sighed not moving her head from my chest.

"You okay?"

"Ow."

"Yeah I know right, lucky this nice cotton soft tree broke my fall." I said feeling like I had landed on rock.

"Lucky I landed on something a little softer, thanks for having seconds at dinner." She looked up at me.

"Least I could do." I said and she leaned forward, for a moment I thought she was going to kiss me, when suddenly the tree we were in shook violently and the dreadful roaring scream returned. I had briefly forgotten about our falling friend. I had hoped it would not survive the fall, but somehow it had been just as lucky as us, even given it's size.

"You know what it is don't you Matt?" Rose's voice was barely a whisper. 

"Um not exactly." I said as the tree shook once more.

Peered over my shoulder down at the ground, Rose clambered over me a little to see, but the ground could not be seen, the light of the stars all got caught up in the jungle canopy above. All we could make out was the trunk of our tree and those around it running down into the gloom below. Lucky I could not make out the thing rocking the tree, I didn't really think Rose was ready for that yet. Jesus I wasn't ready for it yet. The tree shook once more and then the night seemed to go quiet once more as culprit moved off in the underbrush.

"What's with that cliff? and where the hell is the road?" Rose seemed to have decide to move on to other question.

"I don't think it's the road that has gone or the cliff that has appeared Rose." Rose looked at me and in the dappled light I knew she was waiting for more.

"I think we left, not the road and I think it was us that appeared not the cliff." She just lay there not moving. She was not a stupid girl. I knew she would have come to this conclusion herself but obviously needed me to confirm it.

"That light, the blue energy. It moved us?" The puzzled look on her face mirrored my own feelings.

"I think so." I sounded like I was telling her someone had died.

"Why? How?" She thought a moment then asked the more important question, "Where?"

"I am not too sure." I lied. I had a pretty good idea of where we were.

"I think we should wait up here till the morning." She said looking nervously down into the darkness below.

"Sounds like a good idea to me." Thoughts of the pursuing shadow flashing through my mind.

"Hey, look, the torch." Rose was pointing off into the thick black soup below.

I could see the torch about twenty meters away, laying on the ground. Some how in the fall the switched had been flicked on and now its little beam shone feebly amongst the tree trunks. 

"In the morning we can climb down and get it." I said.

"Shouldn't we get it now? it might be dead in the morning." She said peering down at it.

Movement in the torches light quickly put all thoughts of going down to get it out of her mind. As we watched something moved through the light, too fast to make out any detail. Just a flash of green and brown and I thought I saw feathers to. 

"What the hell?" Rose sounded slightly more than worried. 

"We will worry about that in the morning, lets just get some sleep."

"Matt?... What's that?" The calm way in which she said this was completely unsettling.

I looked back down into the tiny patch of light, at first I couldn't see what she was talking about. Then my eyes saw it. At the base of a large tree, poking out from behind it, into the light of the torch was a three clawed foot with a larger sickle shaped claw further up the ankle just past that the rest of the leg vanished behind the tree and nothing more could be seen. I continued to stare at the foot, then gasped, when I noticed that about seven feet from the base of the tree a pair of eyes were watching me, just as intently as I was watching them. But these eyes weren't like mine, these eyes were cold, unmoving, unblinking and although they were just watching, I instinctively knew they meant me harm.

To be continued...

It All Started With A Stumble #4

I have to be honest, in that instant, I thought I was about to die. To my surprise though my life didn't flash before my eyes. I didn't hear angels or trumpets, or any of that crap, just a ever growing roar. There was however plenty of the white light I have heard so much about although this was minus the pearly gates. In those last few seconds as the light came bearing down I grabbed Rose and put my arms around her, as I did the light hit.
I know what you're thinking, U.F.O or something like it right? If you were I am sorry but I am afraid I'm going to have to disappoint you. Just before the light erupted around us I caught a glimpse of the blazing object, it looked to be nothing more then a humble passenger plane. It ploughed into the field no less then a foot from the crop circle we still stood in, lunching dirt into the air. The resulting explosion should have killed us both. As we watched in stunned horror the explosion engulfed the circle but to our surprise never entered the ring of flattened grass. The fire and light arched up over our heads to form a dome of intense heat. Surely we would be roasted alive yet some how that did not happen.
"Look." I screamed over the roar of the concussive force.
The invisible walls of the circle's dome, that held back the explosion, started to crackle with a bright blue energy that gave off even more static, I could feel it rippling across my skin. We watched as the blue energy became brighter and brighter, whilst the flames and heat became less. To my eyes I couldn't help but think the dome was some how absorbing the explosive energy. The new blue light was intense and all the collected energy seemed to be swirling around the dome and gathering on top at the centre.
Just before the light became to much for us to bare I thought I could faintly make out the charred remains of a plane in the field beyond but I didn't have time to be sure, the light was blinding. I closed my eyes and squeezed Rose, I felt her trembling as she squeezed me back. Then suddenly there was an deafening crack as if lightning had stuck at our feat and every thing went black.


"ROSE!" I screamed into the still darkness.
At first I thought I must have been permanently blinded because I when I opened my eyes I was laying on the soft ground staring upwards unable to see anything. Slowly though, as my eyes began to adjust I began to make out the stars above. Some how the sight of them did little to comfort me, in fact for reasons I could not quite put my finger on it filled me with a mild panic.
"ROSE?" I bellowed again and thankfully this time I got a response.
"Matt?" Her voice was soft but not far away.
I crawled towards the sound of her and found her laying only a few feet away. I remember thinking just how quiet the night had become. It did little to ease that sense of panic.
"Are you okay?"
She considered this for a moment before she replied, "Yeah I think so. What the hell was that?"
"I have know idea. How are your eyes?"
"I was worried for a second, but no they are fine, you?"
"Fine. But I think we better go get some help real quick, there might be survivors on that plane."
"What plane?"
I was about to respond when I turned to the place I thought I had seen the plane, there was nothing. No fire, no wreckage that I could see. I wondered if maybe my eyes had still not become accustomed to the night again after the brightness of the dome, but if anything the night looked clearer then before. I looked back at Rose and could make her out perfectly. It was like being outside on a night of the full moon, yet the moon was no where to be seen.
"What plane Matt?" She seemed concerned for my sanity.
"I thought I saw one, I thought that was what hit us."
"Some thing is not right here," I had to agree with her on that, "We should really go."
"Yeah your right, come on."
I took her hand and turned to walk back towards the road as I did I kicked the handle of the torch. It's small but powerful beam flickered back to life and shone out across the grass. Rose bent down to pick it up.
"The grass is normal again."She said.
Sure enough all the blades of grass where standing straight up again, whats more they were no longer dry and brown like the kind that normally covered the field. The grass looked thick, fresh and green. What ever that circle had done had seemed to revitalise the soil or something. I pulled out my compass and checked it again, which seemed a lot easier by the light of the stars now. The needle sat still making no move which made me uncomfortable, as it did Rose to apparently.
"Lets get the hell out of here Matty, I really don't like this."
She tugged at my hand and we started back towards the fence. Rose shone the torch towards the road lighting our way. But its light now seemed harsh to me and I was suddenly over come with a spine chilling sense of mounting unease. My panic was nearing breaking point.
"Turn it off." My whisper was more an icy hiss.
"What's wrong?" She said turning off light, but the answer she got didn't come from me.
With out warning a wailing scream split the night. Despite the almost stiflingly warm air we both froze, my spine felt like it had turned to a pillar of ice as a second scream broke out and this time I could tell from which direction it had come. It was some place off to our left, further out into the field... No, I stared harder in the direction of the noise and there, where the field had once before stretched out for kilometres, now stood, barely two hundred metres away, what looked to be a thick dark forest.
"What the fuck?"
I can't remember whether it was Rose or myself who said it but it was all either of us could manage as the night was yet again broken by another, other worldly, scream. This time some thing primeval inside my brain clicked into place, like a key in a lock. A deep seated fear began to fill my body, drowning all rational thought in a sea of pure terror. As this tide finally swallowed me up and all else sunk beneath its roiling waves I found that only one thought remained.


RUN.


To be continue...

It All Started With A Stumble #3

Dinner was amazing, Maggie had truly out done herself. It must've had something to do with Rose being there and her wanting to impress, we rarely had guests. The conversation at the table had been light and very entertaining. Rose smiled and laughed which kept me doing the same. Maggie played the part of 'awesome older sister' for the night, instead of her more straight edge mother type role. Not that there was much difference between the two. 
Afterwards I did the washing up while the girls chatted, to quietly for my liking, I only caught every second or third word that they said but it was all peppered with laughter so it couldn't have been that bad.
"Leave the drying up Matty. You should probably walk Rose home it's getting late."
"Oh... okay, no worries Mags." I was more then a little surprised. I had expected Maggie would tell me to wait at home while she dropped Rose off in her car. Ah! how surprisingly wonderful sisters can be at times. She came over and gently squeezed my shoulder.
"I am still pissed," although her voice did not sound like she was, "but she is gorgeous and I can't argue with your taste. I expect you back home in an hour and a half." She smiled. I looked at her with my mouth hanging slightly open from shock. Her smile broadened.
"The clocks runnin' buddy."
I dried my hands and headed over to the front door where Rose was already waiting for me, grinning form ear to ear.
"Told you it would be fine." She said.
"But how?" 
"If you're lucky I will tell you on the way. You got that compass?"
"Yeah and a torch." I replied handing her the small light.
"Ah... Good thinking." 
With that she grab my hand and led me out the door. I marvelled out how soft her skin was. When we had reached the end of the drive way I tried to get a little more information our of her as to how she had managed to let Maggie walk her home.
"I told her I liked you." At this I choked a little.
"Wha... I mean what?"
"I just told her I liked you and would it be okay if you walked me home."
"I... I see... um good thinking. But?" It was the only question I could come up with, I wasn't even sure it was a question, she obviously understood its meaning because I could make out her huge grin in the starlight.
"Thought you'd like that. Come on we don't have that long." 
She started jogging along the road towards Kreen's farm. Her had still firmly gripping mine and I just allowed my self to be pulled along. I was not totally capable thought yet. I was still stunned. It was a very clever thing to have said to Maggie but was there any thing else behind it. I was already beginning to see how a girl could perhaps drive a boy nuts. They were kind of all consuming.
We were both completely out of breath by the time we reached the spot in the fence where the big rock, which I had hit that morning, sat in the gutter marking the place. We both took a moment to catch our breath. It was around seven o'clock and the days heat, still stored in the ground, was not going to let us forget what a scorcher it had been. I looked towards the area in the field where I thought the circle had been. I at first I could not make out much, the birds seemed to have all left, then I noticed a lighter patch of ground and realised it was the crop circle.


By the time we had scrambled over the fence our eyes seemed to have well and truly adjusted to the starry light. One of the nicer points to living out in the middle of no where was that the stars were so much brighter then in the cities.
"Before we go any further we should check that compass." 
"Good idea." 
Rose took out the torch and I pulled the little compass out of my back pocket. Rose stood right next to me, closer then I thought she had to, not that I was complaining, and flicked the little light on. It turned out my hunch had been correct. The needle should have pointed off to some point behind us, north, but it did not. Instead it point straight out into the field ahead of us.
"Damn you're clever aren't you?" and I was rewarded with another kiss, this time on the cheek.
"I try." I said with a smile, "Come on, lets take another look."
As we got within a few feet of the flattened grass the hairs on the back of my neck began to stand up again.
"Is it just me getting that?"
"What? that static kinda feeling?" she asked.
"Yeah exactly."
"Nope it;s not just you." Sure enough in the light of the torch I could see strands of her red hair starting to stand up and I laughed.
"I wouldn't be laughing boy, your's no better." 
I ran my hand over the space four inches above my head and there it was all my hair up on its end to.
"Do you think its dangerous?" She sounded more excited then concerned.
"Maybe. It's definitely not normal, I know that much."
Suddenly stepping into that circle seemed very stupid and I knew in that moment she agreed because she squeezed my hand that much tighter. I am still not sure why, with that thought in my head, I did what I did next. Maybe I was trying to impress her or maybe there were other forces at work, I'll never know. 
"Shall we?" I said smiling at her. 
And with that we both stepped across the threshold and into the circle. Instantly the torch went out and things seemed a little darker.
"Did you turn it off?" I asked hoping the answer was yes.
"Nuh..uh." Just what I'd thought.
"But your watch is still working right?"
"Hang on, I can't see... Yeah it's working, but it's a old wind up one, my mums. Would that make a difference?"
"It might." If it had no electrical parts to it, that may explain why it was still running.
"A magnetic field wouldn't do that to the torch though, would it?"
"I wouldn't have thought so..." Then it hit me, "but an electomagnetic field might."
"How do you know all this stuff?"
"I read to much."
"No such thing." She said, "Check the compass." 
I had forgotten all about it so I took it back out. At first I could not make out the needle at all. In fact it appeared to have vanished but as I held it closer to my face I realised it was still there, it was just spinning to fast for me to see plainly it any more. I was starting to feel a little nervous about all this. When Rose yelled out.
"What the hell is that?"
I looked over my should, back towards the road, just in time to see, what I can only describe as straight lightening racing along the fence line. I blinked and it was gone leaving only a purple line in front of my eyes where it had once been.
"What was that?" This time I thought I heard the edge of panic creeping into Rose's voice.
"I have no idea. It kinda looked like purple lightning." I tried to keep my voice calm, I wanted to reassure her, even if I felt like I could do with a little reassuring myself.
"Yeah but lightning tends not to be purple and sorta comes down wards instead of racing along fences."
I had to admit she had me there. 
"Crap!" I said as more lightning zipped along the fence, this time it was not purple.
"That one wasn't purple?" She said.
"Now if it will only come downwards we are back in business right?" I smiled weakly at her then some thing stranger again caught my eye. The night sky. It was... moving? 
"Look." I said to Rose turning her head upward and away from the road.
"What the hell?" Was all she managed. 
The stars were moving, not as fast as the lightning had been but a lot quicker then they normally did. It was rather pretty to witness, I remember thinking at the time. But I didn't get much of a chance to dwell on that notion. It was then that I saw another light in the night sky. This one was moving a lot quicker. It was arcing across the sky like a shooting star coming out of the east, very very fast, and coming lower as it drew closer. Evidently Rose saw it to.
"Thats heading right for us isn't it?"
"Shit!" 
It was all I had time to say.


To be continued...

It All Started With A Stumble #2

Before I could comment on what I saw Rose had jumped the fence. I must say I was impressed with her lack of apprehension at the scene in the field. I quickly scrambled over the barbed wire myself and picked up my pace so as to catch her up. By the time I did she was reaching into her back pocket, which I now  noticed contained a small round bulge. True I hadn't been looking at her pockets last time I was taking in that particular view.
Rose pulled out a roll of metre liquorice, the kind you get in the two packs, and started to unroll the end. She broke a piece off with her teeth and handed it to me with out even taking her eyes off the surging black cloud. I took the offering gladly and stuffed the whole strap into my mouth. I really shouldn't. Last time I had eaten the stuff it had ripped out one of my fillings. But it was from her so i figured what the hell.
As we drew within a few metres of the circle the hairs on the back of my neck began to stand on end. It was rather peculiar and felt kind of the same as when you rub a balloon on your head and your hair sticks to it, except this was a lot stronger. Whether Rose noticed this or not I never asked. She just simply stepped straight into the ring and stopped. At first I thought something might have been wrong because she just stood there not moving. I walked over to her and put my hand on her shoulder.
"You okay?"
"Yeah fine, why?"
But I didn't get a chance to answer her I just doubled over in pain gripping the right side of my month and almost choking on my liquorice. For a split second it felt like there was an intense pressure building in my mouth, then pop! It was gone and my filling fell onto my tongue.
"Are you okay?" Rose was standing looking worried.
"I think that liquorice pulled out my filling."
"You are having a good day aren't you." She put her hand on my arm and I suddenly forgot about my mouth and the pain. For a few weeks after I even convinced myself she had some amazing healing power.
"Maggie is not going to be happy." I said looking at my filling.
"Who's Maggie?" She asked as she strolled around the flattened area.
"My sister."
"Why would she care?"
"Maggie is, well she is, it's complicated." 
Rose glanced at me briefly then said, "Fair enough."
The crop circle itself appeared genuine enough. I had read an old book on the phenomenon that I had found in the tiny school library. The grass was all bent, not broken, and at a perfect ninety degree angle. It swirled around in a circle and I myself could see no foot prints or tracks leading into the area. A few times Rose asked me what I was doing or what I was looking for and I told her. She didn't laugh or look at me strange, just helped me.
"Do you s'pose any one else knows this is out here?"
"I don't think so, otherwise they'd be here." I said looking round. There was no sign of any one at all.
"Lets come back after school?" She looked at her watch, "crap, we're really gonna be late. Come on." With that she grabbed my hand and lead me back towards the road. As she pulled me out of the circle I had a strange sensation for just a moment, like she was pulling me across an ocean or from a great distance, then it was gone.


We made it to school and heard the bell ring. All in all we had only spent around ten minutes investigating our find and looked to be only a few moments late for first period. We both could not wait for the school day to be over so we could go back. As we made our way towards the front door of the B building. The doors erupted on all eight buildings and it seemed as if all two hundred and fifty odd students that attended the school came bursting out into the yard. All of them making their way out to the parking lot and piling into their parents cars or starting their long walks home.
Rose stared at me and I stared back. Although my reasons for staring may have been different. God she was pretty. 
"Oh shit!" Rose had spotted him before I had. Mr Johnston was walking down the path towards us. To my surprise Maggie was walking with him. They both saw us and walked over. Maggie looked some what miffed and Mr Johnston couldn't seem to keep his eyes off Maggie's backside.
"I shall let you deal with Matt Miss Bennett. As for you Ms McLellan," He sprayed looking at Rose, "I will be phoning your parents tomorrow." And with that and a final look at Maggie's arse he moved off to the car park.
"What the hell was that all about Mags and whats the hell is going on here?"  I said looking around the at the departing school crowd. She looked a little shocked when I said this.
"You are kidding right? You think you can just skip school and get away with it do you?"
"WHAT! What are you talking about? We just got here?"
"I know! and where the hell have you been all day?" She stopped for a moment and looked at Rose.
"Hi honey, I am Maggie, Matts sister. You must be Rose." With that Maggie shook Roses hand, turned around and stared at me.
"Well? I want some answers Matt and what have you done to your arm."
"What do you mean all day? The bell just rang. Me and Rose were on our way to english when every one comes pouring out."
"Thats what kids do when its home time Matt. My question to you is what were you two doing between eight and three o'clock today?..." She trailed off, looked at me then at Rose and back again. I thought I saw a hint of a smirk at this point but could not be sure.
"Not that Maggie! Jesus, we... hang on. What do you mean since eight till three?" I looked at Rose and she just stared straight back at me then looked at her watch.
"But it's only just past eight thirty?" She said looking at Maggie.
"I swear if you have be taking something your in big trouble buddy. We are not done talking about this Matt. Rose honey do you have plans this afternoon?"
"Mum and Dad aren't usually home till about seven..."
"Perfect!" said Maggie, "Then you'll join us for dinner? Yes?"
"That would be lovely, thank you. Yes." As if she heard my silent pleas.
"What happened to that arm Matt?"


We all piled into Maggie's little Datsun 180 B and she drove us home. We both stared out the window as we went past Kreen's Farm, the birds were gone but we could still make of the indentation in the dry grass, still undisturbed. When we got home Maggie told us to take a seat and turn on the telly while she made us a snack.
I flicked on the T.V and we caught the last of the news headlines. Same old stuff, war some where, people killing each other and something about a passenger plane off course on its way to Brisbane. Boring stuff. Pretty soon Maggie brought us a sandwich each and we both ate silence still extremely puzzled at what had taken place. It seemed that some how we had skipped a whole day of school with out ever meaning to.
Later we retreated to my room. Rose looked at me and was about to say something when my door opened and Maggie put her head round the corner.
"We'll just keep this open shall we?" To her credit Rose just giggled. I on the other hand shot Maggie a withering glance.
"Thank you sister dear." I muttered and she smiled and headed off into the kitchen to start dinner.
"I like her." said Rose.
"Yeah. She is great."
"So what the hell happened today? Did what I think happen actually happen?"
"Depends," I said "on what you think happened. Because could swear I only woke up about three hours ago."
"Some how we didn't just skip school..." She started.
"We skipped the whole day." I finished.
"But how?"
"Well the only other odd thing that has happened today is that circle. It has to have something to do with that."
"How though?" she seemed excitedly interested at it all and sat forward on the edge of my bed to look more closely at me sitting on the chair opposite. Suddenly I didn't know what to do with myself, finding my filling in my jeans pocket I started fiddling with it. Then it hit me.
"My filling!" I exclaimed.
"Yeah, its sort of nasty, you might wanna throw it away."
"No, I mean yeah it is but I don't think it was the liquorice that pulled it out."
"Then what?" Even more excited now and leaning closer.
"Those birds..."
"The birds pulled out your filling?" she interrupted.
"No, birds migrate, they use a special chemical in their brains to navigate. It has something to do with magnetic forces. The same kind of forces that could maybe pull a filling out of my head." She just stared at me. Then darted forward the remaining few feet separating us and kissed me quickly on the lips. I almost passed out right then and there.
"Thats very clever thinking." She said. "We should go back and check it out."
"Okay." I said still a little dazed. I tired to think of something else clever to say in hopes of another reward. 
"I have a compass in my draw, we could see what happens with that out there."
"Great idea. After dinner then?"
"Okay. As long as Maggie is okay with it."
Rose just winked at me and said "She will be, trust me." and I did, completely.


To be continued...

It All Started With A Stumble #1

I am about to try and describe to you the events of October 5th 1998. As cliche as this may sound, I remember it as if it were yesterday. The weeks had been heating up in my small home town of Hillvale. A tiny town close to the New South Wales border in Queensland Australia. I hated the place. Not really because of the town itself or its population of around eight hundred fairly friendly people. But mainly due to the fact that I had recently turned fifteen and I hated every thing. A true teenager of the nineties.
It was a Monday and it started out like most others that had come before. At around 7am my sister, Maggie, woke me in her usual fashion for breakfast. Maggie was about the one person in the world I didn't hate at that my point in my life. She was ten years older then myself and had been taking care of me since mum and dad had died five years earlier. It really must have been no easy task for a girl of twenty to start raising her ten year old brother. But there was no way in hell she was going to let me go live with my grandparents. Idiots, the both of them and thats not just the fifteen year old talking.
"Matt, your gonna be late for school! Last time buddy, get up!" even when she was frustrated with me I still loved her. I grunted some response and that seemed to satisfy her because I heard her move off into the kitchen and get working on breakfast. I really wish I had told her how much I appreciated her more often. But is was young and took a lot for granted.
Rolling out of bed, I dug through the clothes that carpeted my floor. It was never about finding something clean to wear only something less dirty. I remember in those days my walls where still blanketed in trophies of my youth. I was some what of a nerd and depending on who you ask, I guess I still am. Posters of films like BACK TO THE FUTURE, RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK and TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES still held pride of place, all of them stollen from the towns weak excuse for a cinema. It was things like my decorative sensibilities that made me less then popular at school.
As I shuffled down the hall and into the shower that Monday morning I do remember thinking about how different all my old friends had become over the past few years. While I myself would wait patiently for my next subscription of Turtles comics to arrive, the Mirage issues not the Archie ones, my old mates would be out trying to lock lips with one of the town tarts. 
I had no real problem with girls or even the idea of lip locking. It was more that the local talent left a lot to be desired, a whole lot. I preferred intelligent conversation as opposed to a series of "yeahs" "likes" and "buts". So it was clear to me from the out set that even though my hormones had started knocking I was not going to find what I was looking for in Hillvale. That was until Rose moved to town a week prior.  
After Maggie knocked on the bathroom door for the second time, telling me to "Hurry up!" I decided to cut her a break. I dried off and put on my school uniform which consisted of a maroon t-shirt with delightful yellow trim and what ever the hell else I felt like wearing that day.
I walked into the kitchen to find the usual fantastic morning spread. Maggie could cook like no other. She was even better in the kitchen then Mum had been. 
"There ya go Matty, hope you like."
"Thanks Mags, looks great." Every morning with out fail she would say the same thing or a variation on it "I hope you like." I often got the feeling that She was constantly second guessing the job she was doing raising me based largely on how well she cooked for me. No matter how fast I ate or how much enthusiasm I showed towards her meals the question would always return at the start of each new day.
She really was wonderful. She reminded me a lot of mum, except a lot prettier. Most the local meat heads would turn when ever she walked down the main street but not once did I ever see her pay it any attention. She worked in the small supermarket in town and made just enough for us to get by. Out of the three lanes at the checkout it was usually hers that had the longest line up. Full of men and even a few of the older boys. I was surprised I was not more popular.
"That was great Sis, really, thank you."
"My pleasure Matty, now get going or you'll be late again and I don't wanna have to talk to that creepy Mr Johnston again."
"In that case I will run Mags, I would hate to put you through that 'car wash' again."
Last week I had been late twice and Mr Johnston, the mustache with a man attached that had some how become principle, had called Maggie in for a 'chat'. He had proceeded to try chat her up, the whole time showering her with spit, such was his manner when he spoke. This coupled with the face fuzz had earned him the nick name The Carwash. Some one really need to tell him that only Saddam Hussein and Tom Selleck could pull off that kind facial hair these days. 
I kissed Mag on the check, grabbed my bag and was out the door. Our house was about five kilometres outside of town and surrounded by farm land, sheep mainly and a few cows here and there. I pulled my bike out of the back shed and set off. The air was dry and dusty and the sun was already blistering on the back of my neck before I made it to the end of the drive way. Man I hated that place. The only pleasant thing I remember about those rides to school was the scent of the eucalyptus in the still air. 
After about a kilometre the back of my t-shirt was already drenched in sweat. Fusing my shirt to my backpack. I remember I had forgotten to put on any deodorant before I left. I was a skinny kid and didn't sweet all that much but in that kind heat any one would have been loosing kilos. If I didn't address the issue then and there I was not going to be pleasant to sit next to for the rest of the day. I didn't think a smelly Matt was going to impress Rose all that much either.
Being monday I had a double lesson of english straight up. Over the weekend I had decided it would be today that I would casually take the seat next to Rose and strike up and nice little conversation. All the other girls at school where simpering fools but Rose was different, don't ask me how I knew that with out ever having spoken to her, but I just did. It also help that she was about the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. Her red hair and big blue eyes had been enough to help me fail last weeks english test.
Yes, it was today that I intended to find out some more about this girl. And find out more I did, a lot sooner then first period to as it turned out. I had just come to the corner of the Kreen's farm, still a good three kilometres out of town, when I noticed Rose walking on the side of the road, bag over her shoulder, her red hair shining in the sun. To late I realised I was staring and not watching where I was going. Much to late to avoid the huge rock laying on the side of the road which I promptly hit and flew right over my bikes handle bars, landing half on the Kreen's fence half in the dirt.
It was incredibly smooth for a first impression. Rose came running over and proceed to help me untangle myself from the barbed wire. Amazingly I had only one cut although it did run the entire length of my forearm. With out a word. Rose pulled a green scarf, made of a soft thin material, from her school bag and started wrapping it around my arm.
"Ow."
"Sorry, just hold still." she said working carefully.
"What on earth do you have a scarf in your bag for? It's a hundred degrees out here."
"Mum packs my bag, old habits I guess. We're from Wellington." It was the first time I had heard her speak and I noticed her mild accent.
"New Zealand?"
"That's where they tend to keep Wellington."
I laughed, "Yeah I know, but why did you move here?"
"It's a long story." Something about the way she said it told me not to ask to hear it. I looked at my arm, it was wrapped firmly in her scarf, blood still seemed to be coming through the material but it was slowing. The scarf smelt amazing, just like her.
"Thanks Rose."
"No worries, Matt isn't it?"
"Yeah"
"How did you manage that any way? That rocks huge." There was a look in her blue eyes that told me she knew exactly how I had done it.
"Just lost concentration for a sec." I said as she helped me to my feet. "Thanks for not laughing." At that she started. Her laughter did nothing to cure me of my growing fondness for her.
"Not a problem, it was rather impressive." She smiled. I walked over to my bike and picked it up.
"Mind if I walk with you the rest of the way?"
"This is the only road to school right?" Smiling again.
"Yeah." I laughed.
"Then be my guest."
She chatted with me, keeping to the pleasantries, obviously aware I was more then a little nervous. We had barely gone more then five hundred metres when Rose suddenly stopped in her tracks. For a second I though I had said something wrong. Then I realised she wasn't looking at me. I followed her gaze. She was staring out into the Kreen's Field. When I saw what had gotten her attention I dropped my bike.
Out in the field, maybe two hundred metres from the road, birds of every kind were circling. Crows, magpies, and many smaller unrecognisable birds, the air was thick with them. They looked more like a swarm of bees then any thing else. You could not see through the cloud they created the sky was that thick with them. Directly above them there was another cloud higher up in the air. Roses eyes were obviously better then mine.
"They are eagles and other birds of prey." Her voice seemed far off.
"What the hell are they doing? I have never seen any thing like it." I turned to her in time to see her jaw drop. She said nothing, just pointed. I trace the line of her finger out into the foot high light brown grass, no breeze stirred it. Then I saw. Underneath the living cloud the grass had been flattened. But even from where we stood it was obvious it had not been done with a machine. It looked to be a perfect circle, the grass bent over in a vast swirl. It looked very much like a crop circle.


To be continued...