Moondust - Chapter 6
Jam looked the thin piece of metal over. Iris watched his expression. He looked like a typical alien. It was a strange thought. What was a typical alien anyway? He looked like the ones she watched on documentaries. He was like the ones people who claimed to be abducted described. He was short and thin except for a large head. His smooth gray face with large black eyes seemed to be able to express everything he was thinking. He looked curious at first, but now Iris could see disgust on his face.
“Do you know anything about it?”
“Nothing at all.” Jam said after a moment, shaking his head. Iris thought it strange since Chris had told her it was Folum. Wasn’t Jam Folum also? She didn’t know if she should bring it up. Jam turned his attention to Iris.
“Thought I told you not to come running here all the time.” He reprimanded.
“Sorry, you didn’t answer, and the alien phone you gave me told me it was the “safekey”.”
“Alien phone?” Jam’s lips turned upwards into a smile. Iris was beginning to realize that he was a little rough around the edges, but kind of soft on the inside.
“I guess as long as we’re here in your system, we’re the aliens.” Phina noted cheerfully. “But if you came home with me, you would be the alien.”
Iris thought about it for a moment. It was true, but that’s not what stuck in her head.
“Could I? She asked excitedly.
“Could you what?” Jam asked.
“Could I go to your home planet?”
Jam raised a brow and Phina snorted back a laugh.
“You better stick to UFO hunting for now.”
“UFOs? Wouldn’t you be able to identify them? They would be identified flying objects.”
“I would be able to do that. But to you, they’re still unidentified.”
“For now.” Iris shot back.
“Okay, time to go home, little earthling.” Jam said in a patronizing tone.
Matt didn’t know how to confront Iris. He didn’t really know that he needed to. Maybe she was just checking out the cabin again, but why would she go alone?
It was the next morning and Matt scarfed down his cereal before dashing for the front door. He would go to Iris’s house and see if she wanted to go fishing. It was another way they spent the summer. There was a small river at the edge of the woods and Iris, Matt, and Matt’s father often went together. Today, his father was on duty. That didn’t matter, Matt and Iris went often enough on their own. Maybe he would have a chance to ask her about the cabin.
He rang the doorbell. Iris’s mother came to the door.
“Hello Mrs. Ojeda. Is Iris here?”
“Matt, come in. I’ll get her.” Mrs. Ojeda was a gentle looking woman, but Matt had seen her get angry. Still, she was always nice to Matt. She was also friends with Matt’s mom. They were both short and had dark hair. If Mrs. Ojeda ‘s parents weren’t from Chile and his own mother from Taiwan, he would question whether they were actually sisters.
Minutes later Iris and Matt were out the door. Their fishing poles were strapped straight up on the backs of their bikes. They rode down to the river, but Matt pulled up short.
“Stop.” He called harshly. Iris complied. There were times when Matt could go from conversational to hard-core focused. He had that target-locked look on his face now. He was frozen on the trail, still on his bike but not moving a muscle. Iris followed his gaze. There was a large vehicle on the dirt road ahead. It looked like an old camper. Old, was being nice. It was a dull brown and tan with rust on the metal surfaces. It was so dirty that Iris couldn’t tell where the dirt stopped and the paint began. The tires looked like they might all give away at any moment. Worst of all, it was parked right in the middle of their fishing spot.
“Campers?” Iris whispered.
“No sign of campfire. No chairs. No coolers.” Matt spoke his observations as he made them.
“That’s strange.”
They started forward again, walking their bikes. A man in his twenties opened the camper door and hopped out. He was wearing a t-shirt, cargo shorts and a cap over his unruly hair. He waved at the kids. Matt waved back in exactly the same way. Iris squinted to see the logo on the man’s cap.
“Camping?” Matt asked.
“Research.” The young man corrected. “I’m a journalist.”
“You wouldn’t be researching UFOs?” Iris asked. Matt knew she could go a little overboard with her alien stuff, but this seemed completely random.
“What makes you think that?” The stranger shot back. Matt noticed that he had an uncontrollable smile though.
“You’re wearing a MUFON cap.” She pointed at his head.
“Totally perceptive, kid.” The man replied. Iris smirked at the compliment. “You UFO hunters too?”
“Uhh-”
“Yeah, we are.” Iris cut Matt off.
“Name’s Tyler. UFO investigator and writer.” He mock-bowed. “Hey, maybe you guys can help. I’m doing some work around here, but I don’t know the area very well.”
“Sure!” Iris said, excitedly.
Matt sighed. There went the fishing and his chance to ask Iris about the cabin.
Tyler disappeared into the camper and promptly returned with a folding table and a laptop. Iris and Matt gathered around him as he pulled up copies of old newpapers.
“Those are from Sparks.” Matt pointed to the newspaper header. “It’s from 1993?”
“Yeah, back when I was a kid. I remember this. It’s what got me interested in aliens and UFOs.” Tyler said.
“It’s about Elsie Eklund, isn’t it?” Iris asked, scanning the article.
“Yeah. She’s the reason I came to Sparks.” Tyler confirmed.
“But she disappeared in the early nineties. What could we possibly find out now?”
“I want to find someone who knew her.” Tyler responded. “Don’t you think it’s a little weird that none of her family members knew anything at all about her disappearance, but that the one person who said she was abducted couldn’t even get an interview?”
“I didn’t know anything about that.” Iris admitted.
“Apparently, Elise had a friend from work who swore that she was being abducted, but when they came forward, the family shut them down and refused to talk to them. They told the news reporters that such talk was hurtful to them as they were grieving the loss of their daughter. That friend stayed silent after that.”
“So you want to find the friend?” Iris concluded.
“Bingo.”
“How are we going to do that?”
“I have an idea.” Matt interjected. “Dad could probably find it. There has to be a missing persons report from back then. Maybe he could look it up at work.”
“Your dad a cop?” Tyler asked suspiciously.
“Yeah. What’s wrong with that?” Matt replied evenly. Matt was the kind of kid who was never intimidated by someone just because they were older than he was. He didn’t act tough, but he didn’t back down to anyone either.
“Nothing.” Tyler shrugged. “Just didn’t want to make this a big deal.”
“He pulls up records all the time. Plus he knows Iris is a space-case.”
Iris stuck her tongue out at Matt, she knew he was joking and she reacted in turn. Tyler laughed.
“Looks like we’re a team.”
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