The Master of Disaster

By B.T. Higgins

Barry Gibson is desperate for something exciting to happen to him like in his comic books. His twin sister, Megan is sick of listening to his wild theories. When they find a ring of green stones in the forest, Barry and Megan come between a dangerous alien ship and its evil plans for the human race. They must overcome their fears and find a

• Language: English
• Publisher: The Cottonwood Project
• Release date: Nov 9, 2020
• ISBN: 9781087925578

B.T. Higgins

B.T. Higgins lives in the wild urban jungles of Alaska with his wife and four children. As you might expect, he is an avid fan of long naps and noise-canceling headphones. He has been a garbageman, a propane technician, a teacher, a tu- tor, a musician and an exotic-bird-cage scrubber, but writ- ing is, by far, his favorite job.

Book preview

TWO SIX to Mothership. Suitable climate has been found. Bring settlement to sector 48B3 with haste. Setting stone beacons to automatic lock. Make preparations for cold weather landing. Resistance from humans expected to be weak. Acknowledge?

Message received TWO SIX. We are coming.

Chapter one

7:54am

Barry Gibson sat on the edge of his chair at the breakfast table. He read the last page of the comic book Deep Space, Master of Disaster #14. The Cap’n Crunch in his cereal bowl was soggy. As his eyes widened in suspense, they glimmered gray, and Barry shook his head. It’s a trap, he whispered as he fiddling with his spoon.

Beside him, Megan smirked at something she read from her favorite movie magazine. They were fraternal twins, and so shared the same pointy nose, brown hair and that thin-as-a-rail look. She had hit a growth spurt during the last year, and was now nearly seven inches taller, a fact which Barry hated. She strutted around the house like an actress from one of her magazines with her long hair brushed smooth. Barry liked to point out that her teeth were too crooked to be an actress.

Their parents sat across the table, both hidden behind different sections of the Anchorage Daily News.

Barry suddenly shouted, Yes, he did it! Megan nearly jolted out of her chair. His mom dropped her spoon with a clatter and his Dad ripped the newspaper halfway down the center. They all looked at Barry. He saved the whole galaxy! Barry explained. Megan glared at him.

Don’t shout like that, his Mom said as she checked to make certain she’d not splashed milk on her blouse. In irritation, his Dad looked sourly at his ruined paper.

You’ve got to read this Meg. It’s the best one ever! Barry said, and he set the comic on the table.

Comics are for babies, she said. Then she went back to her magazine. Barry sat quietly for a moment, looking around the kitchen. Yellow stenciled sunflowers decorated the walls. Above the purple cabinets a large window hung with red Christmas lights. They blinked a boring pattern. Barry had memorized it; short blink, short blink, long, off. It was still very dark outside at eight o’clock in the morning.

Barry looked outside at a patch of night sky between the trees. Just then, a dim wave of green light flashed across the clear sky like an explosion. Barry yawned. He had grown up seeing the Northern Lights so he wasn’t interested in Aurora Borialis.

Nothing interesting ever happens to me! He thought with a scowl.

At precisely that moment, Barry’s Mom picked up her copy of the National Inquirer. Mrs. Gibson spread it open and disappeared behind it. That’s when Barry caught a glimpse of the front cover. Barry felt his heartbeat kick up. The headline read, Space Aliens Land in New Mexico. Barry smiled. Just the thing he’d always wished for.

Meg, Barry said, you won’t believe this. Aliens landed. Megan huffed and looked up. She looked inconvenienced. Barry read a few lines of the cover and said, Thirty people saw them land outside their church window. Get this, the aliens got out of their flying ship with laser guns and silver helmets, and started shooting at everything that moved. Hold on, He read the next paragraph. They fried this guy’s pet pig with a single shot. Then… they left for some reason.

Sure, I totally believe you. Megan said with a dramatic roll of her eyes. What did they look like?

It says they were furry, as small as puppies, but their legs are really long. I can’t really tell from the picture. It’s too fuzzy, said Barry, but isn’t that amazing!

Megan giggled and covered her mouth with one hand. You’re hopeless, Barry. It’s not real. Nothing in that newspaper ever is!

How do you know? Barry said. His face turned a bit red. Cute and fuzzy aliens would be perfectly disguised. Humans would think they were pets. That would get them past all our defenses. Meg threw her head back and laughed. He kicked the leg of her chair. Meg squirmed with irritation and shot a filthy look back.

Time to leave for the bus stop, Mrs. Gibson said. Barry stormed out of the kitchen. Megan followed a moment after, her movie star strut uninjured. The two grabbed their things and reached the mudroom at the same time. The small room overflowed with winter clothes and the floor grate rattled as they put on their snowsuits, boots, hats and gloves. With backpacks slung over their shoulders, they trudged outside.

The temperature hung at only three degrees above zero, and snow glowed with the now visible starlight. Barry again spotted a bit of green in the dark sky before pulling a red flashlight from his bag. Just below the thumb switch a worn sticky label with his name and address on it clung to the red plastic. He flicked it on and led the way toward the bus stop. Megan followed silently.

They climbed over the deep snow on the edge of the driveway, and plunged into the forest. This moose trail had become their favorite shortcut to the bus stop. Their feet crunched loudly in the silence, and cold stung their noses. The flashlight lit a small circle on the narrow, well-packed moose trail.

The light bounced off of something low between the trees. What was that Barry? Megan asked. Her voice sounded loud.

Where? Barry queried, searching about. Megan gasped as she saw two green eyes blink and disappear before Barry could swing his light around.

In the trees. There. Megan pointed. Barry found the spot, but all that remained were paw prints in the snow. The prints looked different than the other tracks they knew so well. Megan bent down to examine them. She pointed and said, Look, they have a thumb on the bottom like a bird and check out the spacing between those claw marks. Megan bit her lip in thought, That’s different than anything I’ve ever seen.

Barry said, Well, what do you know? and continued down the path. It’s gone anyway.

But it looked like a lost pet. It will freeze out here. Megan said. Barry wasn’t listening. He was already