Earth Fall: The Danny Doogle Mysteries

By Stewart Best

"The Truth Is Always Stranger Than Fiction"

Danny Doogle and his friends stumble upon the real truth behind UFO Alien mysteries from cattle mutilations to a planned attack on Earth and the enslavement of humanity. It's called fiction, but i

• Language: English
• Publisher: Empire Publishing
• Release date: Jul 7, 2023
• ISBN: 9781088184424

Book preview

CHAPTER ONE

The Devil of Tunbridge Wells

The little town of Tunbridge Wells snuggles down in a deep valley in the Green Mountains of Vermont. Unknown to the rest of the world, it is a typical tiny New England town, filled with the mystic beauty that only those who pass through wonder at. The local residents are so used to it that they think little of it, having more important concerns, such as making a living.

The First Branch of the White River meanders alongside the valley and by the village and lazily follows the valley down to join its friends on the way to the Atlantic. Those familiar with Vermont know and understand the rough countryside, stark yet rolling, gentle but steep. Between each of the various hills that rise off the multitudes of valley floors are more valleys, filled with dirt roads that were built alongside the many brooks and streams that come from the clear water springs. Farms and homes dot these hills, and it is normally picture postcard perfect, no matter what the season. Only in the spring does it turn into a muddy mess as the frost comes out of the ground.

It is on one of these hills called Whitney Hill, just to the North of Tunbridge Wells in Medford County, where Danny Doogle lived, having come from New York at the age of two when his dad decided that city living was not in the best interests of his family.

Danny had known of no other existence and, in his mind, did not care to. And neither did his friends. Small-town living was hypnotic to them.

There was always something to do: They had skiing, skating, and sledding in the winter and lakes, rivers, and streams in the summer that still ran clear and blue that were great for fishing and always the perfect temperature on a hot summer day. And even if anyone got bored of communing with nature and wanted to go to the big city, they could just go up to Burlington by the lake that had the monster in it that everyone called Champ.

The pace of life was of their own making, not dictated by the hustle and bustle of big-town living. If people felt like being lazy for the day, they were. If they felt like going like a house-on-fire, they did. No one paid much attention, except lately.

******

Sheriff Don Knight was growing concerned over reports from various farmers about cattle that had turned up missing starting in July. It was now early August, and the reports were still coming in. At first, it was thought that there were rustlers in the area, who, under the cover of darkness, simply took any cows that were too close to the highway and were an easy target. The only problem with that theory was no fences had been cut anywhere.

Sheriff Knight had set up some night patrols to watch the major highways through the area, only to find out that the missing cattle reports were still coming in. The whole township was abuzz with speculation. It was the opinion of the majority that if no one was coming into the township with trucks, then it had to be someone inside the watch area that was moving about freely.

Sheriff Knight knew all of the farmers in the area and knew them well. There was not one of them that he could even consider as being responsible for these thefts. Sure, they had their small-time thieves and minor problems, but cattle are large animals; it would take either a large pick-up or trailer to grab these cows, and where would anyone take them to hide them?

They began to grid the county, to make a search of every field in the area. Don expected to find nothing, and he was right. He was at a loss for ideas on how to solve this mystery.

It was in mid-August that things began to take a turn for the worse. The cattle weren’t missing anymore; they were found dead and badly mutilated.

The Sheriff had read about this sort of thing happening in the West, like Colorado and Montana, but usually dismissed it as the work of predators or radicals in the occult. But now he had to face it himself.

The townsfolk had a nickname for the attacker – they called it The Devil of Tunbridge Wells, and they would soon find out just how much of a devil they were dealing with, but not in the manner they expected. No one would have guessed what was about to unfold in this sleepy little town. This is where THE FOUR enter the picture, and not by invitation of the Sheriff, but by sheer happenstance.

******

Danny Doogle hated peas. He hated peas more than anything else in the whole wide world, and even at his age, he had never grown out of it. There was no particular reason; it was sort of like broccoli and cauliflower and all those other ugly things that appeared at the dinner table every night. In fact, Danny hated veggies, but (and it was a big but), his mother and dad were firm: Either you eat your vegetables, or you don’t go over to Dave’s house, or John’s, or Mary’s or WHOMSOEVER…

It had been that way FOREVER and EVER. The peas began to grow with each passing moment. They seem to be multiplying and expanding and would soon cover the entire plate, getting bigger and bigger with each passing second. If they did not stop, the pile would reach the ceiling, overflow, and fill the entire dining room. His mom's voice filtered through this ever-growing pile of green. Danny, looking at your peas does not make them go away… so if you want to be at Dave's by 7:00, you better get going on them NOW!!!

He turned his head slowly to look at her. He knew there was no point in protesting, but still, it might be worth a try; after all, the worst-case scenario was that he would have to eat them. He knew, from many past experiences, that either the peas had to go down the hatch or he could forget about visiting his friend Dave. Even so, he protested: Mommmmmmm…. He drew it out really long and very loud. We have peas EVERY night, besides…. He knew that wasn't true, but to him, it made a good argument.

You're way too old for this type of behavior, Danny; knock it off!! She retorted, getting impatient with him, for this had been going on for years!! He started to say something and decided not to because a very stern look from his mother meant that he had lost the attempt, so down the peas went. It was surprising how fast that huge pile vanished. Can I be excused?

Yes, you may, and please be home by 11:00 or call if you are going to be later. OK? And don't slam the screen door! Mrs. Doogle smiled.

Yup! and with that out the door, Danny sailed. The old screen door slammed shut behind him. Oh well, he hadn’t really meant to do that; it was just habit. He began to walk down the driveway, two pathways where the tires went, and green grass over the rest of it. It sloped gently down to the dirt road and was lined with large oaks and maple trees. They lined up like soldiers over 70 feet high.

He glanced over at Stripe, a chipmunk that sat on the old stonewall. He had this favorite huge stone he always sat on, scolding everything that went past. Danny waved as he went by, Hi, Stripe, you better be careful; I see one of the Frank’s barn cats headed this way.

By the time he hit the dirt road that went down the hill, Danny was in full sprint. He could feel the wind embracing his face, a cool soft touch, and it made him run all the faster.

He waved at Ben Franks, the farmer on the other side of the road, who was in the field mowing third-cut hay. Danny’s dad was away on a project for the United States Air Force, and all Danny knew about it was that it was a secret project, and his dad could never say anything about it. The only reason they lived in the country was because his dad insisted upon it, and Danny was glad he had.

The dirt under his feet felt soft as he kicked up soft billows of dust down the hill. The sun was behind him now and would be setting soon. The sky was clear, deep blue, and the early fall wind was cool, letting everyone know that winter was only a few months away. Some of the leaves on the maples were starting to turn, and the goldenrod was already past full bloom. As he neared the corner, Dave’s house came into view; it was only a short half-mile away, snuggled up against a small hill behind the house.

Now Danny may have been a country boy, but the people in town knew not to underestimate him, for Danny was a whole lot smarter than average. Some folks thought he was nearly a genius. He was well-liked by most, not because of his intelligence, but because he always stood up for the underdogs. He watched after those that did not fit in well, those that were picked on because of how they looked, or how they dressed, or because they didn’t understand things.

He never hesitated to stop and help anyone who asked him to solve a math problem or explain some theorem or whatever it was that seemed to be holding them back. He had a natural knack for understanding how people could best learn something, approaching it from their point of view.

However, there were those that didn’t like him at all, and couldn’t stand to be around him. But one thing they did not do was pick on him, for Danny was already 5’11" and still growing. He was very strong for his thin frame, but he never used his unique abilities as a bragging point.

Danny was a natural at sports and loved them all – but that was really not his interest. His was more into things like computers, Sci-Fi, whether it be books, television or movies, or any and all things electronic. If it had anything to do with UFOs, enigmas, or the strange and unusual, well, he just couldn’t get enough of it. The same went for Dave, Danny’s best friend, and if ever there were two peas in a pod or kindred spirits, these two were it.

David was an avid researcher. He utilized his extensive knowledge of the digital world to find anything and everything that was mysterious, ancient, or just plain strange. His mom had allowed Dave to set up a whole basement full of electronic stuff that no one else knew how or why it worked. His dad was a trucker and was gone most of the time.

From one end of the basement to the other, there were computers, radios, scanners, DVD players, and TVs, and Dave even had, at age 17, a radio license and was an avid short waver. Everything he could possibly need to gather and research information was right there in the comfort of his own basement!

He, Danny, and Mary, another close friend, liked to study ancient writings and history with Doc Danielson, who had very unorthodox views of the distant past and how things actually were in the present.

Dave wasn't a conspiracy buff, but he wondered about it because Doc had opened his eyes to a variety of new thoughts and ideas. But Dave wasn't easily swayed one way or the other. He needed proof and documentation and would turn to his digital allies to back up and confirm with solid facts any idea thrown at him.

When Danny walked down to the basement, he found Dave bent over some pictures of crop circles that had been taken over in England. He was attempting to decipher their meaning. Electronic gear was scattered over the table.

What's going' on, dude? Danny inquired, pulling up a chair as the phone rang.

Dave reached for the phone. Hello, Dave's House of Horrors! The voice on the other end was totally familiar. It was a fellow nerd, only female. Hey, Mary!! He paused. "Yeah, come on over,

Danny's here; we're talking crop circles. Tons of fun. Also, got something to tell you about!! Dave nodded, Right…All right, see you in a bit. He hung up the phone and turned to Danny, Mary's coming over; she's got John with her. They'll be over in a few minutes."

Mary and John finished off the rest of THE FOUR; they were all buddies from way back, and all shared the same interests. The four of them together had always made for an exciting or at least an interesting evening.

Mary and John lived down the mountain in town. It was only a couple of miles, and they lived on the outskirts of Tunbridge Wells. Both had homes by the first branch of the White River in the valley.

Tunbridge Wells was one of those quaint little New England towns that had a picture-perfect warmth, especially just after a snowfall at dusk, when the lights of the houses were on, the smoke of the chimneys was rising slowly, and the lights of the cars glowed brightly as there were coming and going along the one main small highway through town. Tunbridge Wells was the type of town you see on Christmas cards. The only thing missing was the sleighs and horses.

What's the news that you got to tell Mary? Danny asked, still staring at the computer screen. He suspected it had to do with the cattle problems in the area.

Oh, I didn't tell you? Dave leaned back in his chair and smiled slyly; he knew Danny was going to like what he had to say. You know the Hanks farm on the other side of the ridge? Well, they had one of their milk cows mutilated last night. I found out about it from the milkman this morning. He stopped me on the road early this morning and said, The Devil is at it again; only this time it's a mutilation. It's a real mystery. One of their top milkers!" and then drove away.

Mr. Howe, you know, the milkman, looked nervous this morning, Danny, really nervous and scared. It's getting people really spooked in the area." Dave pushed up his glasses, which always seemed to slide down his nose, and paused.

Are you joking? Danny asked, knowing full well that Dave wouldn't joke about such a thing. 

They finished milking at about seven last night and turned the cows out to the hill pasture. I talked with Billy Hanks, and he told me that when he found the cow, she had been drained of all her blood and that the entire mouth section, eyes, udder, and sex organs had all been removed. Billy was pretty shaken up over it, which is understandable.

Danny tried to cut in, but Dave kept on with his story, Wait, it gets better. See, when I asked if it looked like an animal attack, he said no. He said that it looked like someone had cut everything out and that it was all very neat and clean. If Billy can see it for what it is, how come everyone else seems so stumped about it, you know?

Again Danny tried to say something, but Dave, holding up a finger, said, Please hold off all questions till the end of the presentation. Dave smiled, laughed, and then continued, You see, one of the neighbors said he saw some strange lights in the sky moving around about eleven-thirty last night but didn't think much about it.

He thought it was just a helicopter or something, but come on!! I think we all know very well that low-flying helicopters at eleven-thirty at night aren't really that common around these parts. Dave smiled, finally done telling his story. He waited for Danny's reaction, only to be answered with dead silence.

Soooo, you want to go over tonight and take a look? I've read about them, but now we have a chance to see one first-hand… He waited for Danny's reply while he thumped a pencil on the table, as a strange smile crept across his face as the plan laid itself out in his head. "We could go over the ridge, you know, take the shortcut, the old logging road, and we'd be over there in no time.

Billy told me where the cow was, and they hadn't moved it yet. The Sheriff was going to come by tomorrow and take a look and write up a report or something. Maybe we could find something out. I mean, this is really strange for this area. We never had anything like this happen before anywhere around here until recently that I know of, never!" Dave's voice grew more excited.

We could stake the area out tonight for a while, you know, get on the ridge overlooking the hill pasture and see if anything happens again. Billy said they had to use the hill pasture because the other ones have been chomped down too much, and they need to let them recover, you know, let the grass grow back. So the cattle will be out there again and probably are right now. They usually get done milking about seven or so.

Danny nodded. This was just up their alley. There was nothing like a strange event to cut through the steady non-events of rural living. I'd have to call my mom and tell her I'll be late – she worries all the time, but if Mary and John want to come with, there would be four of us, and she would be OK with that, I think. Danny reached for the phone and dialed the number. His mom answered right away, and after a little pleading and a couple of 'Awww, Mom,' she hesitantly gave permission.

He was just hanging up when they heard Mary's really old Ford pickup truck drive into the yard. They heard the doors slam, and then the front door opened.

Dave's mother told them to go down to the basement. They're in the laboratory. She said jokingly.

Johnny was 15 but looked 12. He had short red hair and a round face. He was a bit plump but was very agile for the extra weight he carried. He was the exact opposite of Dave, who was tall and skinny, with a long-angled face and stringy blond hair that flowed down over his shoulders.

Mary, the lone female of the group, was 16. She had jet black hair, which she kept short, and had a slight frame, like her mom and dad. And then, of course, there was Danny. They were bonded buddies, friends forever; they were THE FOUR.

Dave told Mary and John about the Hanks incident, and both were startled when they heard about it, even though it was not the first one to show up in the county.

Mary spoke up first: I've read about these things out West, like in Colorado, New Mexico, or Montana. But HERE? In Vermont? In the East? Her voice sounded skeptical, We should go take a look before they remove the carcass and see what we can find out. She was getting excited.

John was likewise excited. Wow! A real live mutilation!!

They all looked at him. It's a real dead mutilation. they all said together, laughing.

You know what I meant, John pouted.

Well, let's just get going, it's already 7:30, and the sun sets soon, and the valley gets dark sooner than that, Mary said as she stood up. Let's take Dave and Danny's ATVs and use the shortcut, up the old timber road over the mountain and down the side hill to the upper pasture.

I was over to Billy's two days ago and helped bring the cows in from the upper field. I know exactly where it is, John piped in.

Aren't we, Mr. In Control, Dave chided, having already stated the plan of attack earlier.

They all ignored the comment.

I'll run Danny up to his house to get his ATV. Make sure you got plenty of gas, and let's bring some flashlights and a video camera. We can take some pictures! Mary said excitedly. This'll be great!

Danny and Mary were out the door and into her old blue Ford pickup. It ran like a top, and they were out the driveway and up the hill in a flash. Danny jumped out and ran around into the old barn where he kept the ATVs. His was a Yamaha Big Bear, shiny red, and he had a winch on the front. He got it going and out the door, meeting Mary in the front. Race you down the hill, he cried and took off.

Mary, however, could not turn around where she was and had to take the driveway around the house and barn back to the dirt hill road. By the time she got there, Danny was already halfway down the hill.

Dave and John, in the meantime, had rounded up some flashlights and gotten the digital camcorders, made sure they had a chip in each, along with a couple of spare batteries.

Better grab a couple of jackets for everyone; it can get cold up there on the ridge, Dave's mother said. Here, take these old farm jackets; give one to Danny and Mary. You'll be glad you have them later. She commented, concerned. She handed over two more.

They heard Danny's ATV come into the front yard, with Mary's truck right behind. They checked their fuel and topped off both ATVs. They then started west up the Old Johnson road that teed off from the main hill road, just down from Dave's place.

The Johnson road was not traveled much, with only an old homestead halfway up the mountain before it dead-ended at Doc Danielson's place, next to a small lake. It followed a bubbling brook that ran swift and clear down the bed of rocks. All of them had fished it many times, but this was no time for fishing.

The sun flashed through the trees as they made their way up the twisting road and started to cast some deep dark shadows across their path. This time of day always gave that road a sinister, almost forbidding appearance.

The trail twisted and turned and was more and more overgrown as they climbed. But Danny and Dave were confident and had complete control over the terrain as they sped up the path; they had spent many an hour going on these back-country pathways, many of which they had cleared out by hand in the woods.

They soon came by the old Johnson farmstead. It bothered Danny whenever he went by it, for he knew those folks had put all their dreams into that place. Lots of tears and sweat built it, and now it lay in ruins. The Johnsons had moved away years ago because of the failing health of the elder Johnson.

Danny and Dave had known them only when they were little kids. No one had heard from them in years, and no one wanted the place since not much would grow on the land. It has been for sale for a long time, but no takers.

As they drifted by the ruins, they slowed up to take a turn where the Old Timber Road branched off. The winding road just ahead of them would take them to where Doc lived, but they veered right, staying on Old Timber, and that would take them over the ridge and right into the valley where the Hank's farm was and down into the upper pasture. All they had to do was open the gate, and they would be right there.

Loggers had timbered the area many years before, and the road they left was overgrown with brush and weeds but still passable. They slowed their pace as they made their way up the mountain, known as Johnson Ridge, being extra careful at the switchbacks since there were steep drop-offs in places.

They finally reached the ridge and passed what they all called Lookout Point and began the descent down to the Hank farm. The West side of the mountain had been cleared off some years ago and was rocky and had sharp cliffs in places below the lookout area.

From the Lookout Point, you got a good view of