THE ALIENS

They sat around a campfire. They were all about the same age, and Dale had invited them to his family’s cottage for the long weekend. They were in the woods, off the beaten path, away from most other campers except for a few other cabins. Some of the neighbours barely get out in the summer now that they are all older and their children and grandchildren live in other areas of the country. So their cottages sat vacant most of the time. 

Scott, Corey, and Mary were all busy preparing the food and helping to open the cabin and get the fire going, as that was the only source of heat in the place. They knew this weekend was going to be epic; they were all space enthusiasts, as were Dale's relatives, who had all of the state-of-the-art equipment necessary to see the night sky. Complete with an observation deck. 

As they sat down to eat their dinner, a red dot-like object moved across the sky that caught all of their attention. They hurriedly ate and then moved to their telescopes to catch a better view and a closer look. 

“Whoa, what do you make of that?” asked Corey.

“I don’t know what to think,” Mary responded. 

“Maybe it’s just the Air Force running a recon,” suggested Scott.

“Yeah, that’s got to be it,” Dale agreed. 

They all looked at each other without saying a word. The red lights' glowing nature kept them observing the lights for a little while longer. Then Scott and Corey volunteered to clean up the dishes so that Dale and Mary were free to skinny dip. An arrangement that Dale made with the two fellas earlier, unbeknownst to Mary. 

So, when he asked, “Anyone up for a swim?” He knew it would be just him and her.

Dale gave Mary a look like, Well, are you coming? Which she smiled at and gladly went along with. 

They headed to the dockside, quickly stripped and dove in. Dale suggested they swim to Langford’s dock first and back, then head to Giroux’s dock. All in all, it was about an hour-long swim and not for the faint of heart. Dale had it in his mind that he would somehow save Mary and they would become a couple by the end of the weekend because of this swim. He smiled to himself. 

Mary, who had been swimming since she was five in lessons, had been swimming lengths for the last five years in a row. She had stamina, strength, and survival skills. She was not afraid of a little cold water or moonlight swimming. 

“We usually head from their dock to ours, then back, and then to theirs and back. You game?” He asked her. 

“Sure." It sounded great for a workout. She thought.

When they set off, she allowed Dale to take the lead. She sensed that his pace was too fast and that his stamina would run out too quickly to sustain it. After about twenty-five minutes or so, she saw that Dale was not as accurate with his strokes, nor were they as powerful. She kept a close eye on him. 

When she saw his head go underwater, she moved with precision to get to where he went down. She dove deep and touched the top of his head. She reached with her might and grabbed hold, being careful not to blow all the energy in her tank. Once they surfaced, she began mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. She listened for a breath but realised she needed to do CPR. She floated his body to the shoreline. If not for the pale moonlight, she would never have been able to see him and save his life. 

On the darker side of Langford’s dock, she laid him out straight in the water. Dale had looked better, she thought. 

The boys in the cabin were focused again on the red lights in the sky that were steadily getting closer to their telescopes.

Finally, the ship landed right in front of the cabin on the lake. Afraid but intrigued, the boys raced to the dock, where they saw Dale and Mary’s clothes. Due to their disappearance, they assumed that the ship had taken them. They were surprised when two beings got out and had their hands raised high in the air. 

Corey asked, “Do you come in peace?”

“Us? Come in peace?” Repeated the creature.

“Yes. We are a peaceful civilization for the most part,” Scott said. “We don’t want any trouble with you two,” he stated.

The creatures laughed and asked, “Are you two serious?”

Corey looked at Scott, then back at the creatures, and said, "Yes, we are. Why do you think we wouldn’t be? And why do you ask?”

The taller one said, “You really are serious, aren’t you?”

Then the other one said, “You truly don’t know, do you?”

“Know what?” Asked Scott. He was beginning to become agitated. 

“We stopped here because our ship is out of fuel. We just need your help.” The tall one demanded 

“Oh, well, how would we know that then?” Asked Corey.

“Yes, I suppose you are correct,” said the shorter one. 

“What kind of fuel do you need? Maybe we have some,” Scott offered.

“We run on pine needles,” they said in unison.

“Well, there is no shortage of those around. Help yourselves. Don’t be shy. And let us know if you need anything else. Good luck to you both getting back home,” Corey stated.

The two beings looked at one another in amazement. Then they thanked the boys and went about their business. 

While searching for their pine needles, the two beings talked with each other. They were searching near the Langford cabin, within earshot of Mary and Dale. The two of them were underneath the dock, remaining as quiet as church mice so they could listen in on the beings’ conversation.

“I can’t believe they didn’t know this used to be our planet, and they conquered us through brutal combat as the aliens!” Said the tall one.

“Yes, it would seem their history books don’t reflect their brutal takeover of our kind and our banishment from our beautiful planet that they have managed to destroy,” responded the shorter one. 

“Of course, these invaders disrespected this planet, robbing it of its natural resources and breaking down the ozone layer at too great a speed for it to handle. They are the dirtiest aliens we've ever encountered. But, this place has always been a safe haven for us on this planet. Dale’s family has always been an ally. I wonder why they didn’t share the book with Dale?” Asked the taller one.

“Yes, that is odd. Speaking of Dale was one of those two boys Dale?” 

“No. They told us he’d be naked as a jaybird when we arrived, don’t you remember?”

“Oh, right. I forgot.”

Dale, hearing this, emerged from the water. 

“Hello. I’m Dale. Are you looking for me? How can I help you?” Dale asked.

“Dale, you must tell every one of your species that your kind are the aliens who safely arrived on Earth so many millennia ago. And that they’ve got it all wrong. We are not aggressive at all. We just want to get along and return to our home planet," said the shorter one.

"Would that be so wrong?" Asked the shorter one.

“I’d be happy to do that, but without anything to support what you are saying, nobody would ever believe me. That is the truth. Even if I believe what you are telling me,” Dale said. 

“There’s a book of our history and your invasion, and then your history under the cabin in a dry crawl space. Everything will be revealed there within the pages.” 

As Mary got Dale back to their dock, she called the boys. Then she got busy again with CPR. She feared that he may never regain consciousness again, but she kept up with the CPR. Scott and Corey were ready to finish her off with the compressions, but Dale began to cough and sputter like the backfire of an old car. The colour returned to his face when his breath returned to normal rhythms. 

Before the evening was over, Dale took a lantern and went underneath the cabin, where he found a dry crawl space. It was full of many items that were of interest to keys of the past. But the most important item was the history of the great invasion of the Earth. 

Dale’s mouth fell open as his face paled, and the shock took over his body.  

The End