Pit Bulls vs Aliens (19 page)

Everyone looked confused but followed the orders.

“Why up there, Colonel?” Darren asked.

The colonel smiled. “You’ll see.”

The containers were relocated right by the shield and were filled, one with water, the next with food, and so on until all were full. The huge fans also arrived and were positioned across the area to provide a breeze for the dogs.

The next day, Francisco rushed into the command center. “The dogs are coming.”

Everyone except Sally went out to meet them. “I’m going to stay here and watch Angel,” she said. “The thought of that many dogs all in one place scares me to death.”

“Thank you,” the colonel said and went outside with the others.

“Where do we unload them?” one of the drivers asked.

“All the way up there where the food and water is,” said the colonel. “Just let them out.”

The truck driver pulled up to the shield, made a large circle, and backed the trailer up to within a hundred feet of the shield. Everyone except Sally was there when the first trailer doors were opened. The pit bulls just stood there not knowing what to expect. The driver came around and pulled out a sliding ramp and locked it into place. Still the dogs didn’t budge.

Colonel Jamison walked up the ramp and started petting the dogs, who were all too eager to get some attention. “Come on, boys!” he yelled enthusiastically and ran down the ramp. Like a dam bursting, they all followed.

The dogs were happy to finally be out of the trailer and ran and jumped all over the place. All of them eventually found the water and food and helped themselves. Most of them still wanted attention and the soldiers were all too happy to oblige. Of course the colonel, Darren, and Francisco loved having so many pit bulls around.

As this truck pulled away slowly, another was making its circle and backed into place. These pit bulls could hardly wait for the ramp to be in place before hurrying off the trailer and into the open air.

Truck after truck unloaded thousands of happy, healthy pit bulls from California, then slowly drove away to keep from running over any of them. From here it was a short drive to several dozen shelters in Mexico.

The dogs were all shapes, sizes, and colors. Some had clipped ears, some had clipped tails, but all looked like great pit bulls.

“When does the shield lift?” the major asked the colonel over the sound of all the dogs.

“Should be tomorrow.”

The major nodded. “I can’t wait to see the look on their faces.”

The colonel couldn’t either.

Although the dogs wandered around out of curiosity, they all stuck close to the food and soldiers, who had moved their tents and sleeping bags up by the shield as well.

That evening in the command center, Colonel Jamison had everyone sit around the table. “I’m not sure if any of you are religious, but does anyone mind if I say a prayer for us tomorrow?”

Everyone shook their heads.

The colonel bowed his head and closed his eyes. “Heavenly Father, we turn to you in our moment of crisis. Please guide us tomorrow as we do what we think is right. Please watch over all the soldiers and all the wonderful pit bulls. In Jesus’s name we pray. Amen.”

Several others echoed the “amen.” Francisco pulled a cross out from under his shirt, which was at the end of a gold chain around his neck, and kissed it. “Amen,” he repeated.

“Let’s get some rest tonight, my friends,” the colonel said. “Tomorrow is sure to be an interesting day.”

Everyone went to their respective sleeping quarters. Thomas walked Sally back to her tent, because she was still nervous about being around so many dogs. But they did make her think of Bully, the puppy Thomas had gotten her as a get-well-soon gift.

“Do you think it will work?” Sally asked.

Thomas nodded. “If you had seen what we saw when Angel tore into that alien, you’d be a believer too.”

“I just want it to be over with no more killing,” Sally said. “I’m going to have nightmares for the rest of my life. I hate these aliens. Why did they have to come here?”

Thomas put his arm around her. “Don’t worry; it’s going to work. I have all the faith in the world, and you know what a skeptical person I am. I don’t usually believe in anything.”

Sally laughed out loud. “How can you make me laugh at a time like this?”

Thomas smiled. “Just trying to keep the mood light. Just think, in a few days everything will be back to normal. You’ll be swimming with friendly dolphins, Dr. McNair will be naming storms with human names, Darren will go back to SETI a hero, and I’ll write another book that someone might actually read this time.”

“You mean besides Darren?” Sally asked.

“Exactly. And when I ask you out for a date, you’ll roll your eyes and tell me to ‘dream on.’”

Sally smiled and put her hand on Thomas’s hand, the one on her shoulder. “Yes, that sounds about right.”

The colonel’s quarters were in the command center vehicle, and he and Angel turned in for the night. But slumber evaded the colonel for the better part of the night. There was just too much anticipation. Finally, in the wee hours of the morning, he drifted off to sleep. But it was not uneventful sleep.

“Hello, Daddy.”

The colonel looked down at his daughter, Victoria. They were in the jungle again. But this time the colonel wasn’t afraid. He knelt beside his daughter and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “You’re so beautiful. You know that?”

She giggled. Then she looked into the forest. “Daddy, the monsters are coming. Aren’t you scared?”

“No, sweetie. Not this time.”

Angel came running up from nowhere.

“You remember Angel, don’t you sweetie?”

“Yes,” Victoria said and began patting Angel on the head.

The monsters came rushing through the jungle but stopped cold in their tracks. Angel barked and another dog that looked just like Angel appeared, then another and another. Soon there were thousands of her. They ran toward the monsters, who threw down their weapons and fled through the forest.

“I think you’re going to be okay now, Daddy.”

The colonel hugged his daughter tightly and stood up. “Me too, sweetie. You go on now and play. Daddy will see you soon.”

Victoria giggled and ran away.

The colonel lay down in the jungle and drifted off to a peaceful sleep.

The colonel had the men get up at the break of dawn and move the food, water containers, and huge fans back behind the new dye line. The new spikes always measured off the exact same amount of area, so as the land became wider, the distance the aliens were moving became shorter and shorter. In the beginning, the spikes fell at least twenty miles north, but now it was barely eight miles. The Army Corps of Engineers was able to calculate the new area each time pretty accurately, so the dye lines could be marked well in advance.

“Be careful,” the colonel ordered over the radio. “Watch where you step.”

Now everyone understood why the colonel had the dogs stay up near the shield. The soldiers found it very difficult to maneuver themselves around all the gifts the dogs had left them on the ground.

“You wanted some land mines, Major,” the colonel said to Major Strafford. “You’ve got plenty.”

The major laughed and went to join his men.

The alarm sounded and the shield lifted. The alien troops came running out but quickly stopped. The colonel watched with his field glasses and began to laugh.

“What’s happening?” Thomas asked.

“They hit the doggie gifts,” the colonel said. “Some are shaking their feet trying to get the poop off; some are trying to sniff their feet. A couple slid down. It’s hilarious.”

The entire garrison of alien soldiers tried everything to get the sticky, smelly substance off their feet. Some grabbed leaves or sticks and began wiping, others slid their feet along the ground, and others shook their feet violently in an effort to rid them of the excrement. The dog poop did its job to slow the aliens down, but it was temporary. They soon regained their composure and kept coming.

The colonel gave the order and the soldiers advanced. Not knowing what was going on, most of the dogs followed. The colonel had ordered the jeeps to advance first for fear of running over some of the dogs, so everyone proceeded on foot after the jeeps had gotten way out in front.

Once the front line reached about halfway through the cleared area, the aliens appeared, running through the trees. Seeing the thousands of pit bulls, they stopped in their tracks and looked around at each other. One of them pulled up his weapon and fired.

That was the cue. The soldiers began rushing toward the enemy. Some of the dogs continued to follow. Other dogs apparently didn’t know what was going on, or what was expected of them, and ran the other way. But most were just confused.

The aliens began firing at everything, but were having little luck. The pit bulls continued to scatter in all directions.

“They’re not engaging,” the colonel said, watching the battle again from the rear.

“Why not?” asked Francisco, who was sitting in the jeep with the colonel.

The colonel wasn’t sure. He looked at Darren and Thomas, who stood beside their jeep.

“They don’t know they’re the enemy, Colonel,” Darren said.

The colonel realized he was right. “Are you ready, son?” he asked Francisco.

“Yes, sir. What’s the plan?”

The colonel smiled. “We’re going right after one of them. You take out his weapon and we’ll take him on mano a mano.”

“Are you crazy, sir?” Thomas asked. “You will be no match for him hand to hand. He’ll tear you to pieces.”

“Exactly,” the colonel said. “That’s what riled up Angel. She had no problem knowing who the enemy was after that.” The colonel sped away with Francisco clutching his rocket launcher.

“But that was your own dog,” Darren yelled, but his words did not reach the speeding jeep, so he looked at Thomas. “It was his dog. I mean, that’s why she attacked. Right?”

Thomas watched the jeep speed into the war zone and shrugged. “I don’t know, Darren. I just don’t know.”

The colonel pointed to an alien and Francisco gave him a thumbs-up. As they neared, Francisco aimed and fired. It was a direct hit on the alien’s weapon.

The alien tried firing it at the colonel and Francisco, but it wouldn’t fire. Obviously angry, he threw the weapon aside and rushed toward them. This was common procedure. Whenever the aliens would fire their guns until the charge was gone, they fought with their bare hands, which were almost as deadly as their guns.

The colonel stopped the jeep. “Are you ready, son?”

“Nope.”

The colonel laughed as both he and Francisco jumped out of the jeep. The creature advanced. The colonel took his sidearm and emptied the clip as the bullets ricocheted off the armor. The pair spread out as the alien neared them. He looked at Francisco first, then rushed the colonel. Francisco jumped on the alien’s back and began stabbing him with his knife. The colonel rushed him from the front.

The large creature was not amused. He grabbed Francisco with one big hand and the colonel with the other as they both cried out for help. He tossed the colonel to the ground hard and rammed Francisco to the ground with his massive hand crushing him.

“Help!” Francisco cried out weakly.

And help arrived. A stout pit bull rushed the alien and launched into the air, clamping its teeth down on the creature’s exposed underarm.

The alien soldier cried out in pain and released Francisco as he concentrated on his new adversary. He shook his arm wildly, trying to free himself of the canine, but the dog’s jaws were closed tightly. In desperation, the alien started punching the pit bull. After several punches, the dog had no choice but to release its grip.

But that was the key that set the chain reaction in motion. Several pit bulls nearby rushed the alien and began attacking. And they were smart. They rushed behind him and attacked him where there was no armor. The alien yelled out in agony.

The alien swung wildly at the dogs but to no avail. He tried charging, but the dogs quickly moved and continued to get behind him.

Soon other pits arrived and joined in on the attack. They launched into the air and bounced off the alien’s chest and legs. Some concentrated on his exposed toes. Others clamped down on his calves and shook their heads violently.

The alien fell to his hands and knees and the dogs’ attacks became even more brutal, tearing away at his face and neck. There were now over ten pit bulls attacking the one alien, and there was nothing he could do but curl into a ball and try to cover himself with his massive arms. He cried out again in pain as if begging for mercy. Other aliens nearby saw their comrade in arms struggling to survive, but were too afraid to come to his aid.

There was nothing left to do but tuck tail and run. The alien painfully got to his feet and tried to brush some of the dogs off of him so he could retreat. That too was futile as the dogs ran faster and were relentless in their attack. The alien went down again and again.

Across the entire battlefield, the dogs now knew who the enemy was. Thousands of them lunged for the aliens. Some of the aliens fired their weapons wildly, but could not hit their targets. Soon all the ammo was spent and the aliens were forced to confront their new attackers hand to hand, or hand to mouth to be more accurate. It was a decidedly one-sided battle.

Amazingly, the dogs began to form a strategy. As a dozen or so pit bulls would attack, many others would form a line behind the alien. If a dog were successfully pushed aside, another would jump right in and take its place. If the alien were somehow able to get free enough to make a run for it, he had a line of pits waiting to engage.

The aliens had no defense against the attacks. All they could eventually do was turn and try to run, and that made it much worse for them as it exposed their unprotected back sides. The cries rang out all over the battlefield, and it was a gruesome thing to be sure. These mighty warriors from outer space sounded like lambs in a slaughter. It was an eerie thing to hear.

Soldiers rushed to join the battle as alien after alien fell to the ground in an attempt to cover themselves from the dogs. Soldiers easily terminated them in this position.