The Mystery of the U.F.O. by David A. Adler Read Free Book Online Page B

the lights floated into a cloud and Cam couldn’t see them any more.

    “They’re gone,” Cam told Eric. Then she returned the binoculars to the woman.
    “Are there seven lights up there or eight?” the woman asked.
    “Ah, I’m not sure. The lights keep moving and disappearing. They’re hard to count.”
    “Well, there are eight,” the woman said. “I’m sure.”
    Eric pulled on Cam’s sleeve. “I have one picture left. What should it be?”
    Cam was going to tell Eric to photograph the crowd, but Eric yelled, “I’ve got it! Don’t move.”
    Eric bent down and took a picture of the kitten. She was leaning out of Cam’s pocket and eating from someone’s bag of groceries.

    Cam pulled away. The kitten fell back into her pocket. Some food was still in the kitten’s mouth.
    “Well, that’s it,” Eric said. “I hope nothing else happens. I’m out of film.”
    “Look! Look!” someone in the crowd yelled. “More lights!”

Chapter Three
     
     
     
    C am and Eric turned to look. These lights were not a mystery. A fire department light truck drove up and parked nearby. Several of its large, moving beams of light searched the sky. The mysterious lights were just tiny dots of color. They floated in and out of the clouds.
    Then a television news truck drove into the parking lot. A young woman holding a microphone got out of the truck. A man holding a television camera followed her.
    The woman walked through the crowd and asked questions. Then she stood facing the cameraman. She took a deep breath, smiled, and spoke into the microphone.
    “This is Stephanie Jackson,” she said. “I’m here in the parking lot at the corner of Fillmore and Harrison avenues. Just moments ago these people saw several mysterious lights rise into the night. People here are already calling these lights U.F.O.s—unidentified flying objects.”
    Cam and Eric moved closer to the reporter to hear what she was saying.
    “Many U.F.O.s are later found to be weather balloons, kites, clouds, or even high-flying airplanes. Sometimes they are only pranks meant to fool us.
    “Others are never identified. Many people believe that some of the truly unidentified flying objects are aircraft from other planets. Some people even claim to have seen strange creatures get off those flying objects.
    “We still don’t know what was seen here tonight. We may never know.”
    Stephanie Jackson turned to a man standing nearby. “Sir, can you tell our viewers what you saw?”
    The man took off his hat. With his hand he brushed his hair down. He smiled and spoke into the microphone. “I saw lights,” he said in a loud voice.
    “Yes, well, maybe this girl can tell us more.” The reporter held the microphone in front of Cam. With her free hand the reporter turned Cam to face the camera. “What did you see?” she asked.
    Cam closed her eyes. She said, “ Click. ”
    The people near Cam smiled. A few laughed. Click was a strange answer to the reporter’s question.
    “Well, at first,” Cam said, “I thought there was just one U.F.O. But the lights moved apart sometimes, so I think there were a lot of small U.F.O.s flying together. And at one time they were close to the ground. I know that because as they were going up, they touched one of the trees outside the park.”
    As Cam was speaking, she noticed that Stephanie Jackson was moving away from her. Then Cam saw why. The kitten was leaning out of Cam’s coat and licking the reporter’s free hand.
    “Thank you very much,” the reporter said. She walked away quickly.
    “But there’s more!” Cam said.
    “The lights can no longer be seen,” the reporter said into the microphone. “They remain a mystery. We don’t know what they are or where they came from. But I’m sure the people here tonight will remember what they saw for a long time to come.”
    The report was over. Stephanie Jackson put the microphone down. She wiped her hand with some tissues. Then she and the cameraman went back