Otherworld by Jared C. Wilson Read Free Book Online

professor’s face tilted. “Aren’t you in one of my classes?”
    â€œYes, sir. Cultural Anthropology. Mid-semester.”
    â€œRight, right. You sit in the front row.”
    â€œRight.”
    â€œI’m sorry. Please excuse my short memory, but these mid-semester classes always seem to get lost among my regular classes. I have a lot of students. Could you tell me your name?”
    â€œMike Walsh.” He shook the professor’s hand.
    â€œPleased to meet you, Mike. I’m Dr. Bering. I’m a bit of an ufologist myself, actually.”
    â€You’re kidding.”
    â€œI never kid. Bad for the chakras.”
    â€œYes, definitely,” Mike said, although he didn’t know what chakras were. “Well, I’d love to get your take on this stuff.”
    â€œMy take’s been published, Mike, believe it or not. Some of my work is in the library. Would you like me to find some pieces for you?”
    Before Mike could answer in the affirmative, Dr. Bering disappeared into the periodicals section, returning shortly with an article in hand.
    â€œHere you go, chum. This should start you off properly.”
    Dr. Bering laid the photocopied article, “Aliens from This World,” on the table.
    â€œThank you much, Professor.”
    â€œNot a problem. If you don’t mind … why the interest?”
    â€œWell, I’m a writer, and I’m doing a piece on the Trumbull story. Well, partly that and partly a history of UFOs.”
    â€œWell, if you’d like, I wouldn’t mind discussing the matter with you. Are you free?”
    â€œSure …” But then he remembered. “Uh, well, actually no. I’m supposed to have lunch with my wife sometime soon. I would like to meet with you, though.”
    â€œOf course.”
    Â 
    Twelve twenty-two in the afternoon. Mike pointed his car on the freeway toward downtown Houston. Molly paged him at twelve-o-six. He headed to Lily’s Grill, their meeting place. He felt nervous, like a boy on his first date. The sheer anticipation of seeing her again caused sweat to bead on his brow. He struggled to remove his jacket and maintain control of the car. The bank sign gave the temperature at thirty-four degrees, but Mike was burning up. Off came his gloves.
    Lily’s was a popular place, and finding a parking space proved a challenging task. He hurried inside and found her waiting for him. She was beautiful.
    â€œHi.”
    â€œHi.”
    He hugged her, but not tightly. He felt unsure of himself and was determined not to foul things up.

CHAPTER FOUR
    The temperature began dropping around four o’clock in the afternoon. The big city was not accustomed to such a period of winter, especially so early in the season. Houston had its share of freezes. It had even snowed once or twice in recent history, though not usually the kind that stayed on the ground. Just little flakes that floated down and disappeared at foot level. Everyone kept busy remarking about the unique nature of this cold spell.
    The pastor remarked too. Four days, and the church had been without heat. The maintenance crew was unequipped and unskilled, and the budget was tight. The church couldn’t muster funds for repair. The pastor, hunched in his study, decided that they’d have to take a special offering during Sunday’s service. At the end , he thought. Let them shiver and shake for an hour or so. Then they’ll pay anything to get the dumb thing fixed . He smiled to himself, but then wondered if his strategy would constitute manipulation of the congregation. No, just skillful shepherding . He smiled again. On his huge oak desk lay his sermon outline for the upcoming service, and he gave it scant attention. He gazed outside, through his window, at the sky. Time had moved so fast for him. Four years of college. Three years of seminary. Seven more in various churches in several Southern states. And then, two years