Them

By Robert Premus

Dale, a soldier, has been wounded in every way possible. Body and soul forever tarnished by combat, he seeks a way to start over. Released on parole to a small Pennsylvanian town hes never heard of and isolated from those he knows, he throws himself into the job hes been givenand finds the way of life he has been fighting for all along.

When he meets Janet, the girl next door, everything he thought he knew begins to shift irretrievably out of focus. To the people of Somerset, she is a tragic and almost comical figure. No one believes that she was really abducted by aliens when she was a child. To them, she is off-the-planet crazy, so they leave her alone.

But not Dale. In her eyes, he sees a kindred spirit, someone who has also been forever changed by combat of a different nature. He alone believes her, and he wants to do all he can to protect her. He immerses himself into research about UFOs, alien abduction, and more.

And then Janet disappears.

He teams up with a trusted NSA asset to get her back. Dale unintentionally exposes their most prized secretsthe existence of the Greys, the governments alien invasion, the Nazi base in Antarctica, the proof that top Nazi leaders were actually aliens, and NASAs evidence that the moon is not only hollow but home to more terrifying secrets.

Will Dale be able to complete the ultimate rescue mission for the woman he loves?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Balboa Press AU
• Release date: Apr 22, 2015
• ISBN: 9781452528564

Robert Premus

Robert Premus has worked in construction and drilling for twenty-five years. He embraces the life-altering experiences of travel, inspiration, and creativity. He believes that whether a person expresses his talent through the arts, engineering, or leadership, everyone should have the chance to shine.

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Copyright © 2015 Robert Premus.

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The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as a form of treatment for physical, emotional, or medical problems without the advice of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The intent of the author is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. In the event you use any of the information in this book for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions.

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ISBN: 978-1-4525-2857-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4525-2856-4 (e)

Balboa Press rev. date:  04/15/2015

CONTENTS

Chapter 1    Janet

Chapter 2    Dale

Chapter 3    The Workshop

Chapter 4    The General

Chapter 5    First Date

Chapter 6    The Threat

Chapter 7    What We Do Know

Chapter 8    Second Date

Chapter 9    Karl

Chapter 10    The Night

Chapter 11    Perception

Chapter 12    Control

Chapter 13    Wrong Thing To Do

Chapter 14    The Lair

Chapter 15    Change Of Plan

Chapter 16    The Farm

Chapter 17    A Superior Being

Chapter 18    The Inside

Chapter 19    The Cave

Chapter 20    The Confirmation

Chapter 21    We See Them

Chapter 22    Note

CHAPTER 1

JANET

Eugene, Oregon 1983

Janet Howick laid in her bed, trying to fall asleep. She had wrapped herself tightly in her blankets and clutched her teddy bear Nareth, a name she heard a number of times in her dreams. It was the name of the one that helped and looked out for her when those dreams became nightmares.

Nareth tested her, running through complex video games, puzzles, mazes and teaching her doctorate level metaphysics, wave engineering and bio-mechatronics. For seven months, Nareth was there in Janet’s dreams, making her happy and full of life. Her school grades skyrocketed, the teachers questioned her on the knowledge of so much, but as Nareth told her, the source of it all had to be kept a secret or the others would find out. Janet was excited to go to sleep and see him. But on the night of October 31st with a tummy full of candy and wearing her princess costume from Halloween, she was torn away from her lesson, and the nightmare began. The safety net in this strange place was gone. The warmth had been replaced with a cold, sterile atmosphere.

Nareth contacted Janet in a unique way without ever being in the same room. At eight years old, Janet could explain it as an inter-dimensional telepathic connection. His job was done. He had found a human that could withstand the emotional trauma and had the intelligence to work with them.

Janet feared every night after Halloween that year, dreading bedtime, never knowing, would she awake and if she did, where? The white light would fill the room, her body would stiffen, straightening out flat and she would feel the burning pick of metal entering her skin, sometimes just under the skin and sometimes deep within.

Her father, Thomas, a strong, open minded, rational man couldn’t understand or work out what happened to Janet. So happy all summer, always dancing and skipping, doing chores without argument and she even planted a flower garden. But after Halloween, the joy was gone, even the color had drained from her face. Thomas had feared the worst, taking her to every doctor he could afford. After all available medical tests had been done, one doctor suggested psychiatric therapy and all that those doctors did was hand out pills, for both of them.

With the bills piling up, Thomas took on extra shifts at the lumber mill, but he was determined to find out what was wrong with his little girl. Reading every medical and child psychology book he could find. One night around nine PM, they were loading a truck in the yard and one of Thomas’s men yelled out and pointed up into the sky. A bright shooting star passed overhead. Most of the guys laughed and said Make a wish, but as Thomas was about to yell, ‘get back to work,’ he saw another shooting star. But this one was due west. The light was a bright white ball that went straight up. Stunned by the sight, Thomas walked into the darkness facing the west and could see the glow of city lights. Eugene was due west. A million thoughts raced through his mind. Seeing the small scars on Janet’s arms and abdomen. When she talked about the white light. The odd smell in the house. The news reports of strange lights in the skies at night. And the TV commercial of Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

Thomas ran to the office, grabbed his keys, helmet and jumped on his bike. He raced home and ran up the stairs to Janet’s room, passing the babysitter asleep on the sofa.

He burst in ... Janet wasn’t there.

Thomas raced around the house, looking in every room upstairs making enough of a racket to wake the babysitter. He ran downstairs. The sitter screamed at the sight of a man dressed all in black and still wearing his bike helmet. The babysitter’s scream became warped, the blanket she threw up at him slowed in mid-air, even the TV reception was disrupted turning to static and froze. The house became bright white.

Instinctively, Thomas ran up to Janet’s room and saw her floating into the room. She was placed gently on the bed and in an instant the light was gone.

Thomas tore off his helmet and hugged Janet sobbing. The screams of the sitter downstairs sent an image through his mind, his helmet had a thick layer of metallic paint and a fine wire mesh inside.

Janet hugged her father tighter, Daddy ... don’t leave me.

I won’t baby, I won’t.

Thomas looked Janet over. She was clean but had that vile smell he had smelt a few times before and Thomas knew what was wrong. He sent the sitter home and ran Janet a bath filling it with Mr Bubbles bubble bath, it was something that always made her laugh but not that time. As Thomas scrubbed her back with the washcloth, he noticed a small puncture mark on the right side of her neck and as he wiped it, it bled.

Janet, do you know how this happened? Thomas asked.

It’s where the wire went in, replied Janet.

Wire?

They look inside me to see if I’m Okay. And to see how humans work, said Janet.

Who are … They? Thomas asked.

I don’t know, some are my height and some are giants, taller then you daddy. They told me, they don’t want to hurt me, but they need to do their tests.

Thomas wept. The following days, Thomas researched all the alien abduction material he could. All the information available was crazy. So many so-called experts just guessed with outlandish theories of apocalypses and government entanglement, no one knew anything. There was more truth in the movies than in books on the subject. He had missed days of work and got a call if he didn’t go, he would be fired.

The next day, Janet went with her father to the mill and slept in the office. Even with all the noise, she had the best sleep in weeks. Some of the guys thought Thomas was doing it tough. Not being able to afford a sitter, they had a collection and got forty dollars together. At second break, the guys confronted Thomas. They heard his baby girl was sick and after seeing her pale and lifeless body sleeping in his office, the men wanted to help.

The guys knew he had taken her to the doctors a number of times and the worry was clear on Thomas’s face. He stood there not knowing what to say and as he glanced over at Janet in the other room, the tears poured. One of the men stepped forward, took the money from the hat, shoved it into Thomas’s shirt pocket and hugged him. Struggling to form words, not knowing whether to tell the guys or not and before Thomas could decide, they all turned around and went back to work. Thomas left it at that.

Weeks had gone by. The holidays had passed without incident. Janet had returned to school and Thomas only worked the shifts he had to. Things seemed normal, not quite as good as the year before, but they were ok.

Watching TV one night, Janet fell asleep snuggled up next to her father, the safest place she had. It had become their routine. Janet simply couldn’t fall asleep in her room. Thomas started to nod off too. After work, he had removed the Christmas lights that were draped all over the house in an effort to cheer up Janet. He won the ‘Best Lit House’ award, but it was time for the lights to come down.

Exhausted, Thomas carried Janet to bed, switched on her electric blanket and tucked her in with her teddy bear. As he walked out, Thomas flicked on the space heater by the door, with the three feet of snow outside, he wanted to keep her warm.

His room was cold and the electric blanket didn’t work, so he slept in his bike jacket with the battery powered socks and beanie he got for Christmas from the Mill.

Janet rolled over as the electric blanket became too hot. Her eyes fluttered as she slowly came out of her sleep and heard a noise. A floorboard creaked. Her eyes opened in panic. She looked around the room and a flash of light shot past the window outside. Ducking under the covers, Janet started to sob.

The room filled with white light.

No. No, leave me alone, she cried.

Janet rose off the bed, the covers were pulled from her floating body and the force holding her, contorted her body, straightening and rotating her as she floated towards the window.

No. Help. Daddy, help me, she screamed.

Janet floated towards the window as the wall liquefied and a hole opened. Terrified, Janet screamed ‘Tommy!’ as she floated out the window.

Awoken by the screams, Thomas ran to Janet’s room. A strange force slowed him down, as if he were wading through water neck deep. After forcing the door open and blinded by the light, he struggled to move. Janet disappeared out the window and the hole in the wall began to close.

Janet, Thomas pushed himself to the window.

As the hole closed, Thomas tried to open the window but the glass and timber frame stretched out like pizza dough. The window hardened with his handprints in the glass.

JANET! Thomas cried out, but she was gone.

Crying and falling to his knees, Thomas looked down and saw the teddy bear, Nareth. Thoughts raced through his mind and everything Janet had told him about Nareth flooded back. Thomas took his gloves off and as he wiped the tears away, his electric beanie fell to one side. In that instant, a thought came into his head, a voice that was not his nor had he ever heard before.

Don’t worry about Janet, she is safe.

Thomas jumped to his feet and looked around the room, not understanding where the voice came from.

What? Who are you? demanded Thomas.

I am Nareth, do not fear, Janet will be returned to you.

Thomas ran around the room, searching the cupboard, under the bed.

Where are you? Give my little girl back to me, shouted Thomas. Give her back to me now, you freak.

No response came. Thomas searched the house, top to bottom and then he went outside. It was a clear night. The snow surface was even and frozen but not thick enough to walk on. The back door was clear, no footprints, same as the front. The road was icy and the snowplow hadn’t been through for hours.

As insane as his story was in his head, he still called the police, in the hope they could do something. Thomas thought maybe the FBI or NASA knew how to deal with that kind of situation.

Sitting on Janet’s bed, Thomas stared at the deformed window. He tried to work out how it could happen. How could a timber window frame bend or melt and harden like it did? He examined the glass and the timber carefully. He had been in timber milling and carpentry his whole life and had never seen anything like it. For Cedar to wobble and stretch like rubber, and then all of the sudden set solid and be as strong as any natural timber, was absolutely unnatural. And glass to flex like rubber latex without heat amazed him.

The police arrived the next morning after the snowplow had passed through. Thomas took the Officers up to Janet’s room to show them the window.

I know what this sounds like— Thomas was cut off.

Yeah, this sounds like you killed your kid and now you’re trying to blame it on Martians, playing tricks with a funky window.

What? Oh my God. You think I hurt my baby girl? Thomas was stunned. I called you guys for help. I don’t know what to do. Can’t you guys get the Army or the FBI to help?

The second officer approached Thomas, You have to understand how this looks. We can’t call the FBI for every incident. First we have to work out exactly what happened. We’ll get a statement from you—

Wait, you said, every incident, Thomas interrupted. Has this happened before?

Yeah, about six months ago. Across town, the lights, fog, delusion, finding it difficult to move, it was a guy stealing kids through the window, throwing knockout gas in the house. We got him, the Second Officer said.

The First Officer stepped to Thomas, We want the truth. We’ll find out if you’re lying. If you are lying, you’re not going to jail. I’m just going to put a bullet in your head.

Mike! How about we go downstairs, I’ll call the detectives and take that statement, the Second Officer offered.

Thomas turned to the First Officer, I am telling the truth.

An hour later, the street was cluttered with police cars. That, then brought the on-lookers and that, brought the news vans. The news crews just fanned the flames of alien abduction hysteria.

An Officer took Thomas’s statement for the third time. The frustration pulsed through his veins as everyone thought the whole thing was a joke.

You could hear the screams and you entered the room, and then what? The Officer asked.

There was a hole in the wall and Janet floated out, replied Thomas.

All the Officers in earshot laughed.

The fuck are you laughing at? Thomas demanded.

Whoa, whoa, whoa. You can’t talk like that to an Officer of the law, the Officer said.

I don’t give a damn who you think you are. Where’s my little girl? Thomas shouted.

The news crews turned towards Thomas’s outburst.

I need you to calm down. I’m sorry I laughed. It’s just not every day a little girl floats through a wall, the Officer replied.

Did you see the window up there?

The police realized they didn’t have enough to arrest him, so they left.

That night Thomas sat on the sofa nodding off, when the lamp next to him flickered.

Thomas woke fully alert, the lamp flickered again and then the TV twitched. He jumped to his feet, ran up the stairs to Janet’s room and pushed through the police tape to find Janet curled up crying on her bed. Thomas rushed to hug Janet. She was covered in a putrid smelling dark yellow slime.

Oh baby, what did they do to you? Thomas gagged at the smell.

Daddy ... they hurt me, Janet replied.

Tears poured from Thomas as he held his daughter tighter. He glanced at the window. It was flat as if untouched.

CHAPTER 2

DALE

Dale sat on an examination table waiting for the Doctor to sign his release. Two and a half years spent locked up, all because of a drunk that wouldn’t quit. The guy was a flea, no respect for anyone. Angry at the world, because he never made anything of himself and a decent serve of little man syndrome, he decided to pick on Dale for his service to his country and the Corps.

Dale’s release involved a long but necessary process due to his injuries. A truck bomb had taken his left leg to the knee, a lung, a kidney, his spleen and eight feet of intestine. His survival was truly a miracle, proving the U.S.M.C. took care of their own and they promoted that fact. But when Dale was convicted of Involuntary Manslaughter, the advertising campaign with his images stopped.

The Doctor came in and handed Dale a clipboard with a form.

Sign it, and you’re done, the Doctor said.

Dale took the clipboard and waited.

Well? the Doctor asked.

Dale put out his hand. The Doctor realized he needed a pen to sign with and gave it to him.

Now get out. I don’t ever want to see you again.

Yeah. It was a pleasure meeting you too, Dale replied.

Barney Rankin waited for Dale outside, at the front gate. Dale carried a small bag with two sets of clothes and some toiletries, that’s all he had at the time of the incident. Iraq had not been good for him.

Dale. How you doing? Barney asked.

Fine, Dale replied.

The static energy and anger coming from Dale made Barney nervous. Dale seemed great as a person but the beast within was close to the surface and ready to jump out at any time. He was angry for his injuries. Angry against the state for his time served and all the inmates that tried to take advantage or hurt him. They’d do it just for the fun of it, to keep themselves entertained.

Are you hungry? Barney asked.

Not really, Dale replied, a little more relaxed.

Ok. Did you read the paperwork I gave you? Barney asked.

Yes. For the next two and a half years, I can’t leave Somerset unless it’s for a medical reason.

That’s right. It won’t be so bad. It’s a nice little town. Better then Fallujah, Barney chuckled.

Dale lost all expression and looked at Barney laughing, a look that almost made Barney soil himself.

We’ll head over to the workshop first. They’re nice guys, you should be ok there, Barney said calmly.

Barney parked outside an old workshop with a weathered sign that read Somerset Electrical and Conveyor. A hundred years of coal dust, grease and oil stained the concrete floor. A typical hoarder’s workshop, with parts and components from every decade for the last two hundred years laid around, piled up on the benches and against the walls.

Dale and Barney walked in. Harris Smith, the shop manager, hobbled out of his office to greet them and shook Barney’s hand.

So you’re, Dale? Harris asked.

Yes sir, Dale replied.

Harris examined Dale and stared into his left eye as he shook his hand. Dale knew what the old man was doing, so he let him read his reaction. Something his father, the General taught him and was used by the CIA as a judgment tool.

I read your recommendation. So what work were you doing before? Harris asked.

Avionics, system controls, comms, electrical, electronic, power generation— Dale replied.

Yeah ... you’re over qualified, Harris said.

Dale was shocked and before he could get anything out, he saw Harris’s lips press together trying to hide his laughter.

Ha! Gotcha. First day too. Gotta have a sense of humor kid, Harris responded.

All the guys in the workshop had a bit of a chuckle, even Dale. Harris led Dale to a table covered in junk with a small space cleared, just enough room to set out parts of an electric motor.

See anything wrong there? Harris asked.

Standing seven or eight feet away, Dale said, "Shaft’s worn, scuff marks. Collapsed