Starseed by Jude Willhoff Read Free Book Online

antennas up at the Array.”  His eyes seemed to grow misty as he thought about what he had said.
    Elle remembered only too well when the aliens showed up . She had turned thirteen the day before they had taken her. It was her turn to be chilled. A shiver erupted in her heart, making her skin crawl. Understanding his pain and fear she pulled her energy together to comfort the distraught man. She laid a hand on Herman's shoulder and willed the healing vibrations into him. “It's going to be okay,” she said. The tension in his face immediately began to relax and he breathed easier.
    “ Where were you when they took you?” Sara asked, true concern shining in her eyes.
    “ Like I said, it was a few days after I saw it the first time. I was painting a landscape out in Red Rock Canyon over by the Array. It was about dusk and I was packing up to head home.”  He shook his head as if trying to shake off the bad memory. He clenched his fists against his sides and continued in a low shaky voice. “My hound dog Shortie chased a rabbit through a hole in the fence. I went after him, and that's where it happened.” 
    He took a deep breath . “This bright light came at me from out of nowhere. The next thing I knew, I woke up on a metal table with these ugly gray men staring at me. Scared the bejesus out of me.”  After a long pause, he lifted his chin. “For sure, I thought I was a goner.”
    Sara patted his gnarled hand . “It’s okay, Herman. You can tell us.”
    “ When they got done experimenting on me, they must've put me to sleep or something,” he said in a voice that seemed to come from a long way off. “I woke up the next morning, flat on my back in Red Rock Canyon with Shortie licking my face.”  Herman shivered. “I don't know what else they did to me, but they kept me all night.”
    “ I'm so sorry that happened to you.”  Elle soothed him, holding his hand. It was as she had always suspected. Somehow they shared a connection to the UFOs.
    “ Everyone thinks I'm nuts, but it really happened.”  Herman whimpered softly. “You believe me, don't you Elle?”
    “ Yes, I do,” Elle replied in a low calm voice. “And I believe we belong to something greater than ourselves.”  She knew he had been abducted. Although her captors hadn’t been gray men, she and Herman shared similar experiences.
    She squeezed his hand . “I believe we are not alone,” she sighed. “The universe is a mighty big place with five-hundred billion planetary systems and a hundred-billion galaxies. Just us being the only intelligent life form seems like an awful waste of space.”
    Sara moved closer to Herman and put her hand on his shoulder offering him her understanding . “I believe you, too.”
    “ Girls, you just don't know how much your belief means to me.”  Herman visibly relaxed. He had tears glistening in his eyes as he turned to put the paintings away.
    “ I think I do.”  Elle smiled. “You've heard the stories about me. You see, we're both kind of in the same fix. Talk of the town and all that.”
    “ Oh, that.”  A muscle quivered in his jaw. “I. . . I guess, I see what you mean, but I know you’re no alien.”
    “ People can be so cruel when they don't understand something or are afraid. I try to keep that in mind when they're giving me a hard time.”  She hesitated for a heartbeat. “It's usually their own fear that makes them so mean.”  
    “ I'm only trying to warn people of the danger.”  Herman grew more agitated. “Who knows what they want to do with us?”  He wiped his nose with the sleeve of his worn blue plaid flannel shirt. His lower lip trembled. “I know they'll be coming for me.”
    “ You can call if you need me.”  Elle started to hand him her business card then took it back and wrote her cell number on the back. “If I'm not at work, you can always reach me at this number. Call me anytime, day or night. If you need to talk or whatever, don’t hesitate. Phone