First Encounter

By Robin Landry

Not only are there aliens—one needs a rescue.

Middle school just got a whole lot more interesting for the gang of four who pranked the school’s website. The mysterious Commander X has given them the location of an alien being held hostage by a rogue part of the military.
With only the city bus for transportation, the four brave or maybe foolish friends, set off to liberate the alien. But what to do after they succeed? It must be kept hidden until Commander X contacts them again. And what to feed him while they wait? Oops, Morgan’s Mother’s prize orchids took care of that.
Join in the fun on the first in a series of adventures into what others say can’t be real—only conspiracies.

• Language: English
• Publisher: NewLink Publishing
• Release date: Apr 5, 2023
• ISBN: 9781957374987

Robin Landry

Robin Landry lives in the Pacific Northwest, where the near constant rain for much of the year, allows for guilt-free time spent indoors writing. Her favorite part of the writing process is researching thoroughly the subject of a novel.Dream Lover was a deep dive into the time of the Civil War, and the idea of past lives and their influence on our current lives.A certified hypnotherapist, she has regressed many in experiencing their past lives, which can never be predicted but is always fascinating.Landry turned her attention to writing novels when she married at the end of a successful career as a singer in a rock band by the name of Widow. For seven years she sang, and played guitar opening for larger acts such as Brian Adams, INXS, and Stevie Ray Vaughn.A book of poetry came out of a middle school assignment with her daughter, and a series of Young Adult novels.Next came a novels in the time travel genre, with Dream Lover finding a home with Mystic Publishing.”

Book preview

First Encounter

First Book of

The Conspiracy Page Series

By Robin Landry

Copyright 2023

This book is a work of pure fiction composed from the author’s imagination. It is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photo copying, recording, or by an information storage or retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher.

Contact the publisher at [e-mail].

Line/Content Editor: Janelle Evans

Interior Design: Jo A. Wilkins

Cover Art: Stephanie Anduro

E-Pub Design: Richard R. Draude

p. cm. — Robin Landry (Mid-grade/Juvenile Fiction/Alien Encounter)

Copyright © 2023 / Robin Landry

All Rights Reserved

ISBN: 978-1-957374-97-0/Paperback

ISBN: 978-1-957374-98-7/E-Pub

1. Juvenile Fiction/ Science Fiction

2. Juvenile Fiction/ Action & Adventure/General

3. Juvenile Fiction/ Fantasy & Magic

Tremplins (Mid-Grade) Publishing

Henderson, NV 89002

[e-mail]

Printed in the United States of America

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0

You may have seen us on the Internet. We have a web page called The Conspiracy Page. You might not believe in conspiracies, but you might want to read ours. Our page tells you something you may not have heard. Our page tells you the truth, UFOs are real.

They have been here for a long time.

They are our gods and our tormentors.

We know—we’ve seen them. And no one believes us.

Navigation Page

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

About the Author

I had the dream that I was paralyzed again. I struggled against the familiar feeling. It’s not real, I told myself over and over again as I tried to make myself wake up. It never worked.

It wasn’t working this time.

A light cut through the darkness of my bedroom window. It wasn’t the light of the full moon. I knew it wasn’t, but I still tried to convince myself it was.

It was the light that made me struggle so hard. I couldn’t turn my head away or close my eyes. Instead, I had to lie there waiting for what always came.

And there was nothing I could do to stop it.

Slowly my curtains parted, and more light came in. The window opened, letting in the nightmare that haunted me even when I was awake. If I could have made my heart stop beating, believe me I would have. In those long seconds, I often wondered why I didn’t die of fright. Surely what was coming next would be enough to make someone die on the spot.

No, I never died. I just waited. Waited for what came next. And then wondered why I could never remember any of it in the morning.

It’s just a dream, I chanted in my mind.

Only a dream, only a dream, it’s only a dream.

Next, someone or something came through the open window. A low hum surrounded me, hurting my ears. I tried to stop breathing but you can’t do that for long. The body has a desire to live that won’t be denied just because you’re scared to death.

Seeing them brought back the memories I didn’t have when I was awake. Not that I wanted to remember anything.

They surrounded me, looking down at me with their huge black eyes. Pale greenish gray skin was stretched tightly over their spindly bodies. Their thin necks looked too weak to hold up their huge heads. Ignoring my silent cries for help, they seemed to be talking to each other, then looked down at me again.

Suddenly, I floated out my bedroom window, the pale creatures floating alongside me. Up into the cool night air we went. Up toward what looked like the bottom of a large oval plate, large enough to feed all the people in the world and then some. We didn’t stop until we were inside a cold gray room I remembered well. This was where the pain always started.

I waited, knowing I couldn’t get away, couldn’t scream, couldn’t even cry out when the pain hit.

One of the creatures held a long needle in his hand. Longer than any needle I’d ever seen, and it was being held over my face.

No! I cried out in my mind. The one holding the needle hesitated for a second. Maybe he heard by cry. But then he kind of shook himself and continued what he was doing. He plunged the needle up my nose. The pain, like hitting a brick wall, vibrated throughout my body, but I couldn’t move.

NO! I screamed over and over in my head. Sometimes the agony helped me break through the paralysis and my body would shudder. A moan escaped my lips.

The sound seemed to confuse the creatures. The one with the needle almost jumped back in his surprise. A taller creature behind him said something in a language I couldn’t understand. The needle quickly came out of my nose. The pain eased.

Something new was happening. The moan had released me, and I found I was able to move again. I sat up.

Panic followed in the room. A figure in the shadows came forward. I was surprised to see that he wore a uniform. A uniform I recognized. It was the same as the one my father wore.

Staring in disbelief at the man in uniform, I felt a prick in my arm. He was human, and I knew him. That was all I could think before everything went black.

I woke up with a start. Looking around, I saw that it was morning. The clock on my bedside table said it was seven o’clock and a school day. The alarm went off a second later.

Turning it off, I looked around me. Why did I feel so tired after more than eight hours of sleep? Maybe I was getting sick. I sure didn’t feel very good. A vague memory haunted me. What was it? It felt important so why couldn’t I remember?

Something about the window, that was it. Why was I afraid of the window?

Shaking the feeling off, I pulled my covers off and sat up in bed. This was silly, I told myself. I was acting like a child—afraid of the boogeyman. Maybe you should check under the bed, I scolded myself.

My bare feet hit the shaggy lamb’s skin rug. I wiggled my toes into the warmth. Summer was on its way, but mornings were still chilly.

Only a few more weeks of school, I reminded myself. Next year will be a whole new experience. Next year I will be a freshman at Kennedy High school. Just the thought of going to a new school made me shiver.

Crystal! My mother called out. Are you up?

Yes, mother, I said, rolling my eyes. How young did she think I was? Sure, I was a little forgetful sometimes, but not today. Today was special. And I sure wasn’t going to be late.

Hurry up, if you want a ride to school.

That got me out of bed in a hurry. I had a science project to carry, and I didn’t want to have to ride the bus with it, not while carrying a twenty-pound model of Mars complete with Olympus Mons.

I’ll be right down, I shouted back, hoping she heard me.

I opened my closet doors and grabbed the first t-shirt I came to and then a pair of cargo pants. Luckily, no one else was in the shower. With two brothers, it wasn’t always easy to get bathroom time. Especially since they were in high school, and that meant looking good for girls. They tried so hard it made me laugh. Not to their faces of course. I’m not stupid. My brothers were huge.

After a quick shower, I tried to comb my hair. My tangle of curls was something I hated most. What I wouldn’t have done for straight, blonde hair or even red like my friend Morgan’s. But no, mine was dark and almost impossible to comb through.

I turned to make my bed. That was when I saw it. The bright red bloodstain on my pillowcase. I touched my nose. It hurt. Bits and pieces started to come through. What was going on? Why did it seem so important to remember yet it scared me to death to even think about how that red stain got on my pillow?

Crystal! My mom called out again.

Coming! I said, my head spinning. Whatever caused my