He knew something.
Those who were watching him from behind the one way glass monitored his every vital sign.
Heart rate, pulse, oxygen level and intake, brain scan, eye movement. Nothing could be left to chance.
He was the only one found alive after the crash.
The crash that no one could explain…..
That’s not entirely true. Planes crash all the time. The part that was unexplainable was the fact the plane was a B-17 Bomber reported lost in battle during World War 2 and the only survivor was a guy reported missing after a Van Halen concert in New Haven, Connecticut in 1986.
This is the year 2021. Planes like that you can only see in aviation museums and you tube videos. Not just appearing out of thin air over Abilene, Texas. As for the survivor…that concert ended a long time ago and by all accounts, he had not aged a day since then.
__________
The bomber was first reported as a blip on a screen by personnel monitoring the skies at Dyess Air Force base in Abilene.
“Sir, I have detected an anomaly on our radar.”
“What is it.”
“Not sure, sir. All aircraft were accounted for….then this blip just appeared in the middle of the screen. I have attempted to make radio contact but am getting no response…..just dead air. Should we send up the jets to intercept.”
“Damn right we should.”
2 fighter jets were sent into the air to confirm or deny any activity in the sky.
“General…this is Bogey1. You are not gonna believe this…..We are flying over a B17 bomber”
“Come back, Bogey1?”
“Confirm. A B17 bomber….we are receiving no contact…only silence from it. She’s a beaut…..wait she’s got smoke coming out the back… propellers failing…I think she’s.. out of gas? She appears to be going down, sir!”
The bomber began to lose altitude at a rapid rate.
Down
Down
Down she plummeted. The huge aircraft smashed to the ground in an open field. She bounced twice then rolled, shearing off the wings and catching fire. Pieces of metal were strewn all over the field. The main fuselage of huge aircraft lay still, battered and burning.
___________
He had been looking forward to this concert for months. Ever since, Van Halen released the album “5150”, he knew he had to hear it live. What rock n roll fan wouldn’t? The band had kicked out their long time flamboyant lead singer, David Lee Roth, and replaced him with Sammy Hagar. He liked Van Halen before, but with “The Red Rocker” at the mic he knew he had to go.
None of his friends were anywhere near as enthusiastic.
“Seriously…Van Hagar? What a joke. You may be the only one who even buys a ticket….no one takes the place of “Diamond Dave”..”
“Hell yeah, I’m going. I waited in line overnight for these 3rd row center stage bad boys. They are even going to film it for a live release.”
“Great, a live release for a dead band. I’ll save my dough for the Scorpions.”
“Your loss….I will come by after the show for a brew and tell you how bad ass it was.”
“You are going to need one after that crap fest. You think your beater car is gonna make it. You know the translation for No va is no go…”
“Ahh, she’s old but reliable. I’m golden…See you after the show!”
He flipped off his buddy, got into his blue 1979 Chevy Nova and headed to the show.
The concert was everything he thought it would be and more. The new songs sounded incredible and the classic Van Halen songs and Hagar solo tunes took on new meaning. He even was caught by the video cameras numerous times. 3rd row had its many advantages. He left the show and headed out to his car to leave, wearing his souvenir concert t shirt.
“I can’t wait to tell that loser friend of mine what he missed!” He’s said aloud to himself as he started up the Nova.
After being on the freeway for about 3 miles, he had to make a pit stop. The urge to urinate took over. He couldn’t make it to a rest stop and there was nothing between here and his destination but open road. He pulled over to the side of the freeway, turned off his vehicle and ventured off behind a tree to do his business.
After finishing he zipped up his fly and headed back to the car, he put his keys in the ignition and attempted to turn the engine.
Nothing.
“Stupid battery cable must be loose again.” He thought.
He popped the hood and opened it up to shake the cables around.
Twist twist
Bright light coming from behind his car.
“Must be someone stopping to help.” He thought
Twist twist
He reaches up to close the hood. As he slams it shut, his vision is accosted with blazing white light. He takes in a breath to say something.
Everything goes black.
The Nova is left along the roadside, driver door open, keys in ignition.
_________
Air Force personnel, fire trucks, ambulances.
All were dispatched to the crash scene. Upon arrival the General took over and ordered the entire site blocked off. No one gets in or out without his approval.
“What the fu….GENERAL WE GOT ONE COMING OUT OF THE FUSELAGE!”
From the wreckage, fire and smoke, a single form was seen walking out into the open.
A teenage boy with shoulder length hair, wearing jeans and what seemed to be a concert shirt walked out of the smoke, stopped, looked around and collapsed before anyone could reach him.
__________
“Any change in the kid yet?” The General inquired.
“No sir. All vitals are stable and normal. I can’t believe he survived that UFO crash..”
“Zip it. That was no UFO. It was a B17 Bomber…COMPLETELY IDENTIFIABLE. This ain’t no Roswell, Corporal It won’t be either. I have already put out a press release saying that we had a restored bomber on a test flight for next years airshow. I repeat NO ROSWELL! Am I clear?”
“Yes sir, crystal.” He replied stoically. “But what about the other victims found in the wreckage.”
“Those were heroes from a war long ago, and were laid to rest with proper burials when the war ended. No need to stir up old wounds. We may be looking for new heroes once we find out what the kid knows. What do we know about the kid so far?”
“Missing persons database confirms his identity. He has been missing since 1986. Check out the picture.”
The General takes the form and holds it up to look at it.
“Son of a bitch…he hasn’t aged.”
“Nope…still going with a…General, He’s waking up.”
They step up to the one way glass and peer in as the kid starts to shake himself from the slumber.
The kid opens his eyes, shakes his head and looks down at the tubes in his arms and the monitoring equipment that surrounds his bed….and freaks out.
He starts breathing heavy and begins to yank the tubes out if his arms. He throws off the oxygen mask. Moves his hands all over his head and body to make sure he got them all. He jumps up from the bed, knocking over multiple monitoring devices and gets a little woozy from all the sudden commotion he caused and kneels over, places his hands on his knees to steady himself.
The Corporal states, “Should we go in?”
“No, let’s wait till he calms down. We will talk to him over the intercom.”
The dizziness passes. He stands up and looks straight into the one way glass, clenches his fists, cracks his neck and says,
“If you want to probe me anymore, you are gonna have to come in here. I’m done being a guinea pig.”
As he waits for a response, he jets his head and eyes feverishly back n forth checking all sides. Just then he hears a noise…
Click
————to be continued—————
Good2begone 