AFTERMATH

CHAPTER TEN

The next evening they walked off into the woods together. Once out of site of the camp, Mulder stopped and turned to Walter. "I thought everyone was dead; everyone that I knew and loved." His voice quivered with emotion.

"I know. I felt the same way."

"You saved my life!" he grabbed Walter in a hug. "I was so scared. I knew who they were and I knew what they could do."

"I know. I know." Walter held him. "But it was Alex who is responsible for saving all our lives; not me."

"I don't believe that. He's probably in it with them but I don't even care any more. I'm free and you're still alive and maybe Scully is too." He held on tightly to Walter. "Thank you! Thank you for coming for me!" He pulled Walter's head close and kissed him. "You saved my life!" He kissed him again then pulled back and asked, "If we find Scully's name on one of those lists, will you go with me to find her?"

"Of course I will," Walter said.

Mulder kissed him again and as Walter stepped back to try and disentangle, he stepped on a pine cone and stumbled. Mulder tried to hold on but the two of them fell laughing onto the pine needle covered ground below, Walter landing on top.

"So you fell for me?" Mulder teased and kissed him again.

Neither of them saw Alex approach, turn around and back away.

They got to their feet laughing.

"Sorry about that. I got a little carried away there. I'm just so happy to be free and to find you alive. It gives me hope that Scully is out there somewhere too."

"If she is, we'll find her. Come on. Let's get some food into you. You look like you lost twenty pounds."

They emerged from the woods in time to see and hear a motorcycle roar across the bridge and make its way to the tunnel and leave.

"Who was that?" Walter asked Parks, who was sitting in a lawn chair sipping a cup of tea. "Doesn't he know what day this is? Tomorrow morning the patrol is due."

"Dear boy, that was Alex." Parks said as he eyed Mulder up and down rather distastefully.

"Alex? Where is he going? I thought no one ever went out the day before or after a patrol!"

"He didn't say. He just came out of the woods, went to his quarters and came out wearing his coat and helmet and left. He didn't speak to anyone."

"He was in the woods?" Walter asked as a cold sinking feeling came over him.

"Yes, he was." Parks stood up, tossed the dregs of his tea on the ground as he looked from Walter to Mulder and back again. "One might suspect that he saw something there that rather upset him." He said then turned and walked away.

"Shit!" Walter said and stood staring across the river at the tunnel entrance.

"Good riddance, I say." Mulder said then added, "You said something about food?"

"You don't understand, Mulder. If Alex saw … if he saw the two of us kissing … "

"So what if he did. He's gone. So much the better. I still don't understand why this group of nice people let him in here. They probably didn't know who or what he was."

"You don't understand, Mulder. Alex built this place; these people are all still alive because of him. I'm alive because of him and so are you."

Mulder stood silent, not believing a word.

"And there's something else you may as well know too. Alex and I are … together. We have been for some time now."

Mulder stared at him, shaking his head. "Somebody please kill me now." He said in disgust.

"Mulder, I'm telling you, he is not the Alex Krycek we both knew and hated. He's completely different. He's kind and caring and he considers these people as the family he never had."

"Talk about your dysfunctional family!" Mulder muttered. "Come on. Let's get something to eat. I'm sure he'll be back shortly."

"I'm not. Not if he saw us." Walter followed Mulder on into the cafeteria but kept his eye on the tunnel as long as he could.


xxx


Alex knew what day it was and about the danger was but he didn't care. He roared his motorcycle over the countryside, right into town and stopped at the general store. He went in and pulled a bottle of whiskey down from a shelf, uncapped it and took a long drink. He stuck it in his pocket and got several more bottles down, as many as he could carry and headed back to his bike. With a roar, he was out of town and heading north.

He found a deserted house, went in and took his motorcycle with him. He didn't leave for several days, not until he had drank every drop of whiskey plus half a dozen bottles of wine he had found in the house. When he left he wandered around for months as he continued on north and didn't change directions until he got into Canada. He made his way East across the country. Half the time he didn't know where he was. He stayed in one place only until his liquor ran out and he'd take off again. He was somewhere just west of Montreal when he blew a tire. The bike flipped and he rolled a hundred feet before he managed to stop himself. He was bruised, battered and bleeding but he had broken no bones. He made his way back to his motorcycle and cursed when he found the last of his whiskey was broken and leaking out into the snow.

He hauled his bike over to some bushes and stashed it then looked carefully around to mark the spot in his memory so he could find it again. He took off walking. There were aliens all over Montreal but he had to get in and find someplace where he could get a new tire. He waited until after dark and snuck into town. It took him two hours before he was able to locate a tire store. He went in and with his small flash light he was going through all the small tires. He had just spotted the size he needed, pulled it down from the stack and turned around and there were two aliens standing there pointing their weapons at him.

He didn't really even care any more. He thought seriously about just making a sudden move and it would be all over with. But there was something inside of him that wouldn't let him. The drive out to the internment camp took about twenty minutes and his muscles were really starting to ache from his accident as well as the cold. They marched him to a barracks after relieving him of his gun, and shoved him inside the door and locked it behind him.

The foul stench of unclean humans filled his nostrils as he made his way through the semi darkness, looking for a place to lie down. He heard a slight struggle at the far end of the room and a voice growling, "Move over, girlie. It's my turn for the bed." He heard a loud "uuuumph" and saw a body being shoved over the side of the last bed on one side. He caught a glimpse of red hair as the woman hit the floor and he knew in an instant who it was.

He hurried to kneel beside her. "Scully? Are you all right?" He helped her to sit up.

"Who … who are you? How do you know me?" She asked the bearded stranger before her.

"Scully, it's me. Alex Krycek. Are you hurt?"

"Krycek?" She stared at the specter before her; long hair, several months' growth of beard and knew that she was indeed speaking to their old nemesis, Alex Krycek. "They got you too?"

"Yeah, just about an hour ago." He said as he sat down beside her.

"Just my luck." Scully mumbled as she pulled her blanket closer around her shoulders.

"Huh?"

"The first person I meet in four years that I know and it had to be you."

"Oh. I see what you mean. I have some good news for you though if you're interested?"

"The only news I want to hear is that this whole nightmare is over with."

"It's about Mulder and Skinner. They're both alive."

She turned to face him in the dim light that shown in through the window from the security light outside. "That's not funny, Krycek. I know what they did with all the government employees."

"It's true, Scully. We found Skinner a couple of years ago and got him out of the camp he was in. Then, about a year ago now, we found Mulder. They are both alive and well."

She trembled, and tears filled her eyes. "You're making that up."

"No. I wouldn't do that. Are you hungry?" He dug in his pocket and brought out an energy bar and handed it to her.

Her eyes grew wide and she tore into it and ate it as quickly as she could chew. He handed her his water bottle and she drank it down eagerly.

"Easy now. Easy or it will come right back up." He took the bottle back from her and re-capped it. Everything changed for him now. He had found Scully. He had to get her out of there and back to Colorado and safety. "Listen to me, Scully. I have a long story to tell you and I've got to make it quick. It will be dawn in a couple of hours and we have to be out of here by then."

"Out of here? You know a way out? Without getting us both burned?" She said in a loud whisper.

"Shhhhh. Over here." He moved back against the wall as far away from anyone else as he could get. She scooted over next to him.

"Yes, I can get us out of here."

"But where would we go? They're everywhere."

"I have a place. A safe place. It will take a long time to get there but I have a motorcycle. I blew a tire. That's why I had to come into town to get a new one. That's how I got caught."

"Where is this safe place you're talking about and you said 'we' found Skinner and 'we' found Mulder. Who is this 'we' you're talking about?"

"Ok. From the beginning then. I was on a plane when this all happened."

He explained the rest of the story as quickly as he could with Scully staring silently and listening to every word.

"That's the most incredible story I've ever heard." she said. "So what are you doing up here in Canada if you have this great safe place in Colorado?"

"As I said, the Special Ops teams go out constantly trying to find new camps and get lists of names. We've been looking for your name and now I know why it never showed up. I don't think any of our teams has made it into Canada yet."

"And you think you can get us both out of here and all the way down to Colorado?"

"Yes. We should go right now. Let me check and make sure the guard isn't watching."

"Wait, wait a minute. Tell me first. How do you plan on getting us out of here? I want to hear this plan before I agree to it."

"We don't have much time Scully but here it is in a nutshell. We have learned that when someone is taken prisoner, they are searched for weapons and I.D. That is all. In the lining of this coat, I have the wire and clips that we need to get through their electric fence. I also have wire cutter that they took from me, looked at and handed back. They had no idea what it was but figured it wasn't a weapon." He pulled the lining loose from his coat and pulled out the wire with the clips on either end and showed her the wire cutter.

"You really think we can get out of here and all the way down to Colorado?"

"I know we can. I have maps and I know safe places along the way where we can stop and get supplies, food and gas. We need to go now."

"How do you propose to get out that door?"

"With these." He held up his lock-picks.

"Ok. I'm willing to give this plan of yours a try." She stood up and rubbed her backside where she had fallen when shoved off the bunk.

"Are you Ok? Are you sure?" Krycek asked her.

"I'm fine. So if you've really got some place where there's plenty of food and water and Skinner and Mulder are there, lead me to it."

They crept up to the front of the room, through the sleeping, snoring bunch and Alex worked his picks into the lock. It clicked open and Alex peered out. They could see the guard walking his route at the far side of the yard. He walked all the way to the end of the enclosure, then turned and walked all the way back to the opposite end.

"Ok. Once he passes us, his back will be to us. We slip out and get around the corner of the building before he turns back. We skirt around the edge of the building until he passes again and then we high tail it for the back and the fence."

"Ok." Scully pulled the blanket closer around her.

"It's going to be a long walk but we can make it. Here he comes. Are you ready?"

"I'm ready." She whispered.

They slipped out into the night and made it easily to the corner of the building and out of sight before the guard turned and headed back.

"Ok. See that building back there? That's out next stop when he passes up again." Alex said.

As soon as the guard passed them again, they took off. It was an easy run. It was not a barracks building so it wasn't guarded. They skirted around the edges of the building until they had it between them and the any possible sighting from the guard patrolling the barracks they had just come out of. Three more deserted buildings back and they could see the fence. They stopped and caught their breaths.

"Ok. I don't see any guard stations that could possibly see us. We're going straight for the middle of the fence there. When we get there, you flatten yourself down as low as possible while I work on the fence. Got it?"

"I got it. After we get through the fence, how far is it to your motorcycle?"

"It's quiet a way, about six or eight miles I think. But first we have to get back into town and get that tire."

"I almost forgot about that." Scully sighed.

"If you want, I can take you out of town first and go back for the tire by myself but it's getting pretty close to daylight."

"No. I'll go with you. If you have somebody watching your back, you won't get caught this time."

"Thanks. I was hoping you would see it that way. Ok. Let's go." They took off running across the large field in front of them and stopped in front of the fence where Scully threw herself to the ground as she was told. Alex did the same and looked around but saw no one. He carefully worked his by-pass rig out of his coat and connected it to the fence and got to work with his wire cutter. In no time they were through the fence and running for the trees. They stopped long enough to catch their breath then made their way into town.

Building to building, street to street they crept along. They saw few aliens. They apparently didn't care for the dark and didn't spend all that much time out in it unless they were in their trucks.

The sky was beginning to lighten in the east before they got to the tire store. He knew exactly what he needed; in fact the tire was lying on the floor, right where he dropped it when he was taken. He grabbed it and they took off at a trot heading west. They had to stop several times for Scully to catch her breath. She had been in captivity for four years and was not in very good shape. Alex kept giving her trail mix and energy bars and sips of water. Once safely out of town, he found a spot and made her lie down, promising to get back to her as soon as he could with the motorcycle and more food and water. She didn't want to be left behind but she could go no further.

"Scully, you have to trust me here. My motorcycle is about another four or five miles from here. You cannot make it. I can't carry both you and the tire. I'll go, get this tire on, and come right back for you. I promise you! I didn't get you out of that place just to desert you out here in the middle of no where."

She shook her head 'Ok' but she felt anything but Ok. She was terrified but too weak to argue. She wrapped up in her blanket as she clung to the bottle of water he handed her.

"I'll be back as soon as I can. It may be an hour or so. It depends on how easily this tire goes on. You'll be all right. I'll be back and get you and we'll be on our way."

She grabbed his arm as he was about to leave. "Krycek, Mulder and Skinner – they're really alive? They're safe in this place you're taking me to?"

"Yes. Mulder was skinny as a rail last time I saw him but he's been there about a year now so I'm sure he's gotten some weight back. Skinner's a little thinner than he was but he's in good shape."

She let go of him then and he left. She sank back down between the rocks and bushes and said a prayer of thanks and begging for it all to be true. She was cold and shivered but at least she was out in the fresh air and didn't have to share her sleeping spot with anyone. She was beyond exhausted and curled up and dozed off.

"Scully, Scully, wake up." Alex shook her awake.

She came awake frightened and being pulled at. "What … Krycek? Did you get the tire on?"

"I did. Here." He handed her an open can of vegetables and a plastic spoon. He ate his with his bare fingers and drank the juice out of the can.

"Oh my God! Thank you! I love green beans!" She devoured the entire can and drank the juice as Alex had.

"Ok. Can we leave now or do you need to go behind the rocks there and do your business?" He asked her.

"Yeah, I'd better. It will only take a minute." She came back around from the rocks and joined Alex as he was leaning against the motorcycle strapping on his helmet.

"Here," he said tossing her a helmet as well. "You may have to hold some of this food on your lap or you can sit behind me, whichever you want."

"Let's leave the food where it is. We don't want to take the chance of loosing any of it. I can ride behind you."

"Ok. We can change off and on. In the next town I'll see about getting some large bags to hold the food in and we can figure a way to tie it on the back. Then you can ride in the side car. It got a little bent there when I flipped but it's good and secure. Let's go."

It was full morning when they set out but they stayed in the country side and passed very few roads. It was three hours before they stopped for the first time in a forest among beautiful pine trees. Alex brought out some more canned goods and water which they devoured. She stared at Alex while she ate.

"What?" he asked her as he finished eating and dug a shallow hole and dumped the cans in.

"You're the last person in the world that I expected would come to my rescue."

"Mulder would have been here for you if he had known where you were. We've been scanning every list of names that came in looking for you." He reached for her hand and pulled her up.

"I know that. It's just that …"

"I know. You hate me as much as Mulder does and you have every right. I caused the two of you a lot of grief. But this is here and now, Scully. The Consortium is gone, Spender is dead and I'm a free man. I can live my life the way I want to and right now that's surviving and helping as many others to survive as possible."

"It's just not something that I'd ever figure you as doing."

"I know. But that's because you never knew the real me. No one ever has." He donned his helmet again and she did the same.

"What's our next stop?" she asked.

"We're just outside of Pembroke right now. I'd like to put as many miles behind us today as we can. The next little town is called Marathon and it's about four hundred miles northwest but it was nice flat terrain most of the way and we should be able to make pretty good time. If we can make it there before dark, I can slip into town and get some more supplies; and maybe a small tent. We've been making about fifty miles an hour. So we're looking at about a hard eight hours ahead of us. We can stop whenever you need to but if you want to sleep in a shelter of some kind tonight, we need to get there. I'm guessing we have about seven hours of daylight left. There are two national parks this side of Marathon. We can stop there if we need to. I have a sleeping bag that you can use but that's the only shelter until we can get a tent. If you get too tired, we can always dump the food and you can ride in the side car. We can always pick up some more food along the way."

"No, don't do that. I'll be able to hold on. If I get too tired I'll tell you."

"Ok. You do look a little stronger. It's amazing what a few cans of food can do."

"And the fresh water. I haven't tasted that since he last time it rained." She climbed on the motorcycle behind Alex.

"Hang on." He said and they were off again.

They did not make it into Marathon but when they stopped at the camp grounds in the Lake Superior Provincial Park they found a couple of small tents and a campsite that had been abandoned. They tried not to think about what happened to the original owners of the camping equipment and just moved into the tents. They tried to sleep but it was too cold.

Scully crawled out of her tent and paced around the campsite.

"What is it, Scully? Are you hungry?"

"No. No, I'm just cold."

"Come on in here with me." He called to her and reached out a hand.

"I can't." She said, "I smell bad."

"So do I. Come on. It's better than freezing to death. I'll behave. I promise."

"It's not that." she said as she came over to his tent. "I just – I've never smelled this bad before."

"And you've never been this cold before either, I'll bet."

"I haven't"

"Come on. Let me warm you up. Tomorrow I promise we'll try and find an empty house somewhere and you can take a bath. We both can. Separately, I mean." He reached a hand out to her. "You don't smell any worse than I do. Tomorrow we'll find a place and we'll take a bath; try and find some clean clothes. How does that sound?"

"Heavenly! I desperately need a bath!" She said as she knelt down in front of his tent.

"Go get your sleeping bag and bring it in here. We'll zip the two of them together and crawl inside. That should keep us warm enough."

"You think it would be all right?"

"Absolutely."

She hurried back to her tent and dragged her sleeping bag over to his. He opened his sleeping bag out flat and zipped her bag on top and they crawled inside.

"Oh thank you. This is warmer."

"Come here." He put his arms around her and she cradled her head on his shoulder. "Tomorrow we'll find a place and clean up. I promise."

"Thank you. I know I'm being silly but I just don't want Mulder to see me like this; you know, smelling and all."

"It may have to be a cold bath because electricity is out everywhere but we can still wash up and hopefully find some clean clothes to put on."

"Thank you! Thank you so much. I think I can sleep now." She dozed off first then he did. They didn't awake until it was daylight.

They found a farm house just outside of Marathon the next morning and went inside bringing the motorcycle in with them. Scully went directly into the bathroom and tried the faucets. The water sputtered and came out rusty but after a few minutes it ran clean. There was nothing but cold water from both faucets.

Alex was in the kitchen and she smelled coffee as she was going through the closet and setting out clothes to change into. She hurried into the kitchen.

"Coffee? Oh man, I could use a gallon of that!"

"It should be about ready. I'm heating some water for your bath. We're lucky this is a gas stove."

"Oh, that will be wonderful. What did you find?" She asked as he pulled food down from the cupboards.

"I found some oat meal, canned pasta, some fruit and more vegetables. Here," he handed her one of the pots of boiling water. He carried the other two in and dumped them in the tub.

He went back into the kitchen and refilled the pots with water, three for his bath and one for the oatmeal. By the time it was ready, Scully came padding back into the kitchen with her hair wrapped up in a towel.

"Feel better?" he asked as she took a seat at the table.

"Better than I have in four years! Mmmmm, that smells good." She said as she sat and devoured her breakfast.

He poured her another cup of coffee and headed to the bathroom and started the tub for himself. He carried the hot water in and added it to the cold water coming from the faucet. He undressed and got in. It was difficult getting his clothes off as some of it stuck to cuts and abrasions that he had gotten from the accident. But once he settled down into the few inches of warm water, it was all worth it.

He came out a short time later to find Scully in the living room brushing her hair.

"Hey, you shaved!" She said. "You look more like the Alex Krycek that I know now."

"Is that good or bad?" He asked jokingly.

"I have to say good. All I ever had to judge you on before was the things you did."

"Or thought I did," he corrected her.

"The things I thought you did. That was before. Now I can only judge you on what you are doing today and yesterday. You got me out of that camp I've been stuck in for four years. You fed me, kept me from freezing to death and today you made it possible for me to take a bath. I'd say that's all good."

"I'm glad then. We'd better get on the road. As much as I hate to leave this house, it's not safe. We best stay on the move. Grab some of those canned goods and let's see if we can re-arrange things here." He pulled their meager food supply out of the side car and started stuffing it into plastic bags. "I want to make at least three hundred miles today and I want you in the side car where you'll be more comfortable. That will put us into Minnesota. We'll find someplace to camp there for the night."

"There's no reason why a lot of that food can't stay in the side car. I won't take up that much room. Just leave all those cans there on the floor. I can put my feet on top of them."

"Get in and let's see how cramped you'll be."

She climbed in and he started putting back a lot of the cans. "You sure you'll be all right with these cans in here?"

"Sure. It's food and I'll carry it on my lap if I have to."

"Ok. I'll tie the sleeping bags and tent on the back where you've been sitting. Or if you're cold, we could open one up and you could sit inside it."

"No, that won't be necessary. I've got some warm clothes on now. I found some long johns and these jeans and even a pair of boots. I've got three pairs of socks on, a flannel shirt under this sweater and I found, a knit cap and some gloves."

"Good! I'm glad." He said as she hopped out of the side car and put a coat, hat and gloves on.

Alex donned his coat as well as his knit cap, gloves and helmet. They walked the motorcycle out doors, Scully climbed in and got comfortable and off they went; it was just passed noon.

Three hours later they crossed into the U.S. at International Falls. They then drove on another three hours due south which put them into the Chippewa National Forest. They set up camp there for the night.

"It's not nearly as cold tonight as it was last night. We should have tried to bring both tents." Alex said as they sat on a downed log and ate.

"I'm just as happy to share the one, if you don't mind." Scully grinned. "I slept really well last night. It's the first time I've been warm and not afraid in ages." She sipped her bottled water.

"We shouldn't run into any aliens as long as we stick to the countryside. None have been seen off the roads." He assured her.

"There are more things in the woods to be afraid of than just the aliens." She said.

"I suppose that's true but nothing that a .45 can't handle." He produced the gun from his pocket.

"You got that at the farm house?" She asked; glad to know that they had at least some protection.

"Uh huh. Looks pretty clean too. It was kept in a box so it didn't get dirty. It should come in handy."

"Let's hope you don't have to use it." Scully said.

"That's always best but if trouble comes, in the way of scavengers or such, then we'll at least have a chance."

They slept that night side by side in the little two-man tent that did little more than keep the breeze off of them. They got an early start the next morning and vowed to make two hundred miles by lunch time and they did. They stopped just north of Sioux City, Iowa and had lunch.

They were into Nebraska and just nearing Freemont when they heard the engine. Alex pulled up under a tree and turned his motorcycle off. They listened.

"That's not a truck. It sounds more like a plane."

"A plane?" Scully said. "I thought all airports were destroyed?"

"Most of them were." He craned his neck to see as the plane flew low over the area. "Look! It's dropping something."

The watched as what looked like confetti was raining down from the bottom of the plane.

"What is it?" Scully asked.

They waited until the plane was out of sight then rode over to where they could see the pieces of paper littering the ground. They each reached down and grabbed one and read.

"IT'S ALL OVER!" The head line proclaimed. "The aliens are gone! We're free again!

"Communications are still out all over but we are working on getting them back up again as well as the electricity. Please be patient as we work through this catastrophe. We are asking the help of each and every one of our citizens to do whatever they can to feed themselves and to share with your neighbors. It will take time to get everything back in order but we are working on it and it will be restored as soon as possible.
We suggest each of you, with any land available, plant a vegetable garden to help the food crises. Even if you've never planted a thing before, try! It may be all you will have to eat for a while. We have no idea how long it will take to get things back to normal. Just rest assured that we are working on it.
Any and all military personnel are asked to report to the state capitol for further instructions.
Any and all current or past agents of the F.B.I and the C.I.A. please report to D.C. immediately. The need is desperate.
Remember to work together, help your neighbors, and be patient. We'll get through this thing together.

With restored hope for a brighter future,

Your President ______________________________"


"It's over?" Scully said in amazement. "They're really gone?"

"I don't know. I can't see how this could be a trick unless they are trying to lure stragglers out of hiding; but to what purpose would that be? They aren't killing the humans any more, just keeping them penned up. Why would they want more to have to look after?" Krycek re-read the note.

"What are we going to do? Do you want to head to D.C.?" Scully asked.

"No. Not yet. I've got to get to the valley. After I get you to Mulder, then I'll think about whether I want to go to D.C. or not."

They took off and didn't stop for another hundred and fifty miles, just outside of North Platte, Nebraska.

"You wait here and I'll go into town and see if I can find out anything." Krycek said as he pulled to a stop and rolled the motorcycle up into an old barn. "That way if it's a trick, only one of us will get caught. And I'll be able to get out easier if it's just me they grab."

"I want to go in with you!" Scully insisted.

"No. You've got to get back to the valley. Town doesn't look to be but about five miles. It shouldn't take too long. Stay inside and out of sight. I'll be back for you in an hour or so."

"Here. You take this." He handed her the .45 and a box of shells. "It's bigger than you're used to. Just hold it with both hands if you have to use it and prepare yourself for a heck of a kick."

"I've fired a .45 before. I can handle it. Don't you think you should take it; just in case?"

"No. If they take me, I'd just be loosing another gun. Stragglers I can evade. You're the one who needs it. Why don't you get up in the loft?" He reached into the side car and pulled out a bottle of water. "Here. Find yourself a comfortable place and keep down. If stragglers come by and try and take the motorcycle, let them have it. I can always pick up another one. Just keep down and keep quiet."

"Ok. But hurry right back. I don't like you going into town alone."

"I'll be back as soon as I can." He said and walked the motorcycle over into a stall and closed the door, hoping if anyone did come by and investigate the barn they would miss it.

He was back in a little over an hour with the news that the entire town was celebrating. Apparently the aliens had departed two days before and people were streaming back into town from internment camps in the area.

They hopped on the motorcycle and headed for the valley.