Mary & the Alien Book Two: Book Two

By Ashley Good

Continuing from where the first book left off, young Mary is now in space and under the watchful care of two beings from the planet Photonon. Together, they journey to an intergalactic conference, where Mary learns of an impending disaster that only she can stop. Meanwhile, back on Earth, it is now the 1960s and Mary's younger brother George has

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ashley Good
• Release date: Sep 4, 2023
• ISBN: 9781777270360

Ashley Good

Ashley Good is a Canadian author, known for combining darkly comedic narratives with tongue-in-cheek dialogue. With a penchant for blending humor and the unexpected, Ashley's writing draws readers into quirky worlds filled with vibrant characters and offbeat charm. To learn more about her work, visit AshleyGood.ca.

Book preview

Chapter One

Tuesday, July 8th (1947)

The sounds of gunfire echoed in Mary’s head as the door of the flying saucer closed behind her. That was close, she thought to herself as she caught her breath. She imagined the officers on the other side of the door, confused that their bullets were bouncing off the sides of the alien spacecraft. Someone with a weaker constitution might need a moment to accept that they had gone from running across a farmer’s field, to the middle of a police shootout, to the inside of a flying saucer all within the span of about thirty minutes. But not Mary! Although she was only nine years old, she had nerves of steel, or at the very least, aluminum.

The saucer’s loading ramp folded into the floor, similar to the way an escalator’s stairs seemingly disappear. There was no tractor beam involved in Mary’s journey into the saucer, no beam at all actually. The spaceship appeared surprisingly simple in its construction. As the concerningly thin metal-like door sealed up behind Mary and her rescuers, she could still hear the ricochet of the British Columbia Provincial Police officer’s revolver bullets ping off of the side of the ship, as well as the thud from her mother’s second shoe being tossed. Mary looked down at her own dirty shoes and tattered dress and wondered if she was going to be given a spacesuit, but now didn’t feel like the appropriate time to ask.

Are we going to be okay? Mary questioned as she looked at her two saviours from the sky for comfort. The two aliens peered down at Mary; their lanky bodies shone iridescently as the ship’s interior lights reflected off of their blue scaly skin. You don’t need to worry, the first alien seemed to say as it placed its hand on Mary’s shoulder, its large doe-like brown eyes locked with hers.

The ship began to hum as it powered up. From the inside, it felt as if the ship was vibrating ever so slightly, almost like the entire ship was alive. Seeing the two aliens remain still during this process kept Mary calm as well. It is their ship after all, they know what they’re doing. If they aren’t scared, then I shouldn’t be either. Mary couldn’t see the magnificent blue glow that was emitting from the bottom of the ship as it prepared to launch. 

***

Take cover! the lead BCPP officer called out. Like most people in the town, or rather, like most people in the world, his only knowledge of flying saucers was limited to what they talked about in science fiction radio shows. Needless to say, he was quite frightened. Taking his lead, the five other members of the squad all dove behind whatever was nearest to them in the quarry. Out of that group of people, only Mary’s mother, Margaret, continued to stand and watch as the saucer zipped off into outer space. That image would be burned in her mind for the rest of her life.

Back at the Schmidt house, Mary’s little brother Georgie was peering out his bedroom window. His small toddler frame was pressed against the wooden sill as his nubby fingers held up a paper tube as a telescope. Mary had promised him that she would come home, but when she still hadn’t returned by morning, four-year-old Georgie knew that she had left without him.  

Chapter Two

Tuesday, July 2nd (1963)

It was the day after Dominion Day, and Surfin’ USA was blasting from George Schmidt’s truck’s speakers with enough strength to make it feel as if a miniature Dennis Wilson was drumming inside of his ear canal. Rubbing his temple with his left hand, George hunched forward and turned the radio off with his right as he continued to steer his 1955 fire engine red Chevy pickup with his knees. He always told himself he’d drive more safely if there was a passenger, but since no one ever wanted to ride with him – perhaps partially for this reason – George saw no reason to care. It was fun to barrel down the empty roads on the way to work; sometimes he’d speed up just so the rattles of his truck hitting potholes would sync up with the songs on the radio. George was resigned to speed in silence this morning though, because of his pounding headache.

Like many other nineteen-year-olds in the city of Penticton, British Columbia, George had stayed up a little too late hanging around a beach bonfire the night before. Although some college students rolled their eyes and considered celebrating Dominion Day to be antiquated, sure enough, they would be partying at the beach or going to a barbecue on the first of July, like everyone else. Being situated between two lakes meant that summer was Penticton’s time to shine; teenagers there would celebrate the opening of an envelope if it gave them an excuse to hang out and take in the sunshine.

  While he didn’t have many friends in the city, as a relatively handsome young man, George found it easy enough to meet new people when he went out. It wasn’t a struggle for him to make friends at parties; his struggles came with keeping those friends for more than a few weeks. After the disappearance of his sister Mary sixteen years prior, George found he could only present a certain version of himself to the world. He knew that if he ever told people, My sister was abducted by aliens, they would think he was crazy. It was just simpler for him to keep everyone at arm’s reach while he focused on work.

At last, the increasingly bald tires of George’s pickup slowed to a crawl as he approached the parking lot of the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory. Just because George was an immature teenager who drove like an idiot, it didn’t mean that he wanted his coworkers to know that he was one. Besides, he would be turning twenty soon and wanted them to take him more seriously.

George looked down at his wristwatch, which he was told used to belong to his father, Douglas. He was told his father received it as a gift when he first became an Engineering Officer with the US Army, which was the extent of what George knew about his dad, and the watch. Its leather strap had begun to soften over time, causing the watch to hang slightly off of George’s chubby pale wrist. He didn’t own much else of his father’s, most of those belongings were lost to time, sold off to cover the bills, or given to his older sister, Mary. The hint of acridity that he felt when he imagined Mary spending time with their father surprised George. He and Mary were close when they were children, thicker than thieves. He had no right to be envious of her for having a few more happy memories of their father than George himself had. While Mary was only nine years old when she went missing, she had been George's brave protector during those drunken nights between their mother and whichever suitor she had at the time. Mary was his confidant. His friend. The reason that George had pursued a career in space exploration in the first place. Realizing that he had become lost in thought, George once again looked at his watch. 7:45AM. Dust still lingered in the air as he hopped out of the truck and made his way into the break room with enough time for a pre-work cup of joe.

***

The hot brown liquid scalded the back of George’s throat as he took a long swig