Flat Tire Read online

  Chapter Three

  He was frightened by this extraterrestrial site but very excited as well. Adrenaline was pumping at an all time high invoking that primitive response of fight or flight. His eyes were glued on the saucer almost unblinking. The hair stood up on the nape of his neck and his heart was pounding in his ears like a bass drum.

  With nowhere to go and nowhere to hide he was riveted to the spot; mesmerized by the thought of an extraterrestrial landing on our planet. Hell, not just on our planet but 100 feet in front of him, with nobody else around for miles.

  His heart was racing like a runaway locomotive engine. He didn’t even feel the chill in the air any longer. His hands and face were almost glowing red from heat that his body was generating.

  Crouched behind the rear bumper of his car, he didn’t know what to do. The saucer loomed in front of him like a bad science fiction movie. His curiosity was unbearable; he watched and listened intently as a low hum from the saucer decreased in volume and stopped. Then sounds not unlike that of electric motors winding down become fainter, and fainter. The area became uncannily quiet. He could hear the thump, thump, of his heart in his chest, and his five senses were totally attuned to the unfolding surrealistic scene in front of him. Everything else he was thinking of had evaporated from his mind.

  A slight hissing noise came from the saucer, and then high-pitched whirs emanated from the saucer as an outline appeared on the underside of the saucer where no outline was before. The outline turned into long rectangular hatch with a staircase, almost like attic stairs that are pulled down but much larger, and then descended from the bottom of the saucer. It descended quickly and touched ground gently. All the noise and the whirring stopped. The hissing continued for several seconds, and then all was quiet again. He unconsciously took his water from his coat pocket and opened the water bottle and took a quick gulp; his mouth was as dry as the desert he was crouching in. He quickly replaced the cap and put it back in his pocket, all the while his gaze focused on the stairs.

  He had been stealing glimpses of the action, and he looked and peered through the back glass of his car. Soft white lights illuminated the area around the saucer on the ground by the staircase in a twelve-foot circle. The lights were not bright, harsh, or intense, but soft, warm, and inviting, illuminating the area like a backyard patio.

  Abruptly, voices emanated from the staircase. The voices recited messages in what he thought sounded like Spanish, then Dutch, then German, Italian, French, and then in English, “Please help me. I am not from your world and I am in need of medical help.” the voice announced. Messages in other languages followed, presumably, announcing the same content, he thought.

  He rose slowly from behind his car. He had a sense of obligation to help this alien as the saucer’s English version of the message from the disembodied voice sunk in. He was a dedicated doctor, and if he can help, then he must. It was the Hippocratic Oath that he helps this being if he could.

  He may be able to render some sort of medical aid. At least if there are any obvious medical problems like bleeding or broken bones, he could definitely help in that area, he thought.

  But what will this thing look like, he pondered? Would it be an octopus looking creature or an insect, or some other weird unearthly alien beyond description?

  However, if it is asking for help on its own accord then it must be intelligent. He hoped he would be able to communicate well enough with the creature to determine what course of medical action he should take.

  If these extra terrestrials have the intelligence to create messages in all the different languages of our planet, then it must be able to communicate to him effectively in English, he finally decided.

  He stood up, his car still in front of him and shouted in the direction of the saucer, “I am a medical doctor.”

  Immediately he could not believe that he was volunteering his services. His body was so hyper attuned due to the adrenaline rush coursing through his entire body that he was on automatic pilot, and his medical training was directing his actions. Every nerve fiber within him was ready for action.

  The voices immediately stop transmitting in other languages and after few brief moments of silence, the voice from the saucer spoke in English.

  “Please, have no fear. Enter my vehicle. You will not be harmed. I fear my life is at stake, and if you can assist me medically I would be greatly indebted.”

  “Uh, ok. I have your assurance I will be safe?” he shouted back.

  “You have my honorable assurance.” replied the voice.

  David was now standing fully erect behind his car and he walked over to the passenger side of the car and unlocked and opened the door to retrieved his black bag from the floor board. He closed the door, faced the saucer, took a deep breath and walked toward the light and stairs. Unconsciously he pressed his key fob to lock his car, and the car’s alarm chirped in acknowledgement.

  His stomach was in one big huge knot, almost like he had to throw up, he was breathing rapidly, and his pulse-rate was like an Indy racer’s car’s engine flat open on high throttle. His mind was numb from the experience as he stared at the saucer before him; incredulity washing over him.

  He was more nervous than scared; more excited than nervous.

  Suppose I can’t help this being at all. Suppose I throw up at the site of this creature. Suppose I give the creature a disease that doesn’t exist on his planet. Suppose I bring in germs and bacteria that don’t exist on this creature has never been exposed to? His mind reeled.

  Mentally inventorying the contents of his black bag he eagerly ascended the aluminum colored staircase; the saucer’s interior was coming into view the more he stepped. The adrenalin in his system had his aging, athletic, toned, body on full alert. His muscles ached in anticipation of whatever was coming up. He never felt better, or more exhilarated. This was the most exciting thing to ever happen to him since Marilyn.

  Further up the staircase, he could see the interior of the alcove at the top of the stairs. There was a hatch on the right about seven-feet tall by 3 foot wide, with a small oval window near the five foot level of the hatch. There were no handles, buttons or switches to be seen on or around the door. All the contours were smooth and featureless with only a very faint seam line around the hatch to indicate that it was a hatch. All the metal had the look of polished anodized aluminum.

  David reached the alcove and peered through the hatch glass. A small room, probably an airlock, lay beyond the hatch with an identical door on the other side of the airlock about ten feet away. The room was about eight foot by ten foot by David’s calculations, about the size of a large walk-in closet.

  A low hiss came from the left of the hatch and it slid left into the bulkhead like a pocket door. Alarms sounded, pulsating, buzzing noises mostly. On the opposite wall of the airlock, a timer counted down from ten then to nine in large digital numbers.