Pitstop

Dirk returned the gas nozzle back to its holder, closed the tank cover on his red, impeccably maintained 1967 Ford Mustang Shelby and walked up to the small, quiet gas station out in the middle of nowhere in the Arizona desert. The sun was high in the sky and there was not a cloud in sight. A string of faded, colorful triangular banners danced in the light breeze that swept through the air and brought much needed relief from the stifling desert heat.

He pulled open the glass door and walked inside the small store. A cheerful bell announced his arrival and caused the gum chewing, teenage girl behind the counter to look up from her phone. She blew a big bubble and let it pop on her nose while watching Dirk with only minor curiosity.

He picked up a bottle of water and some chips before heading over to her to pay.

“Pump 1,” he added. She glanced out the window and started to ring him up. “How much?” she asked with a slight southern twang.

“Let’s make it 50.”

The girl nodded, popped another bubble and started to ring him up. “Nice car.”

Dirk pulled out his wallet. “Thanks.”

“1968?” 

Dirk raised his eyes in surprise. “Close - 1967. You know your cars.”

The girl shrugged. “My daddy had a repair shop in town. My brothers run it now. Best repair shop in the county, they say. Guess I picked up some things ‘round ‘em.

“Family business, ey?”

“Guess so. You ain’t from ‘round here.”

Dirk pulled out some rolled up twenty dollar bills and handed them to the girl. “No, I’m not.”

“What brings ya here?”

“I’m just passin’ through.”

“Where to?”

Dirk laughed a little. “My…you are a curious one, aren’t you?”

The girl shrugged again. “I don’t get a lot of visitors.”

Dirk was just about to respond when an enormous shadow fell over the gas station. He glanced out the window before turning back to the girl, who was handing him his change.

“Is it just me or did it just get dark outside?”

“Perhaps. Could be a thunderstorm. We get those a lot ‘round here.”

“No wonder with these temperatures.” Dirk wiped the sweat off his brow, grabbed the bag of chips and water bottle and was about to turn around and walk out when a loud, penetrating humming noise reverberated through the air. “Is this normal too?”

 The girl walked past him, a confused expression on her face.

 Suddenly a beam of blazing light came down from the sky, hitting the gas pump. The explosion that followed was impressive. A cloud of black smoke billowed into the air. The shock wave shattered the windows of the little gas station and showered Dirk and the girl with thousands of tiny glass shards.

“Get down!” shouted Dirk. They dropped to the ground, covered their heads with their hands and waited for the glass shower to stop. After a few seconds which seemed like an eternity, Dirk was the first one to make a move.

“What was that?”

“I don’t know. Are you ok?” Dirk glanced over at her to ensure she was fine.

“I…I think so.” She picked out some glass shards from her hair and had a few cuts on her arms but aside from that, she seemed unharmed.

 “I’m going to try and take a closer look.” Dirk low crawled his way toward the door. The beam had vanished and had been replaced by some kind of voracious vortex, sucking up the black smoke and everything else, that was not safely bolted down, into the atmosphere. The few trees on the side of the gas station were shaking violently. The desert sand was slashing about everywhere, striking everything in its path and turning the once clear blue sky a murky orange.

Dirk had to push hard against the door to open it. Bracing himself for the punishment of the sand assaulting his skin, he stepped outside and looked up towards the sky. 

An enormous, disc-shaped something seemed to be right above them but it was hard to make out what exactly it was.

Dirk, unsure on what to do next or how to react, simply stood there watching, as the winds finally started to weaken, the sand began to settle, the sky started to clear and the last of the smoke was devoured, revealing… a spaceship.

The girl appeared next to him, eying the metal can in the sky. “Aliens?”

Dirk nodded, not taking his eyes from the shiny silver visitors from outer space. “Seems like it.” 

“Great.” She said non-plussed, continuing to chew her gum. 

In front of their eyes, the vortex dissolved into nothingness, a green light turned on and a different beam shot out and hit the exact same spot as before. This beam was different than the one before. It was covered with an iridescent substance that shimmered in the sun. Nothing happened at first and then a low vibration rocked the earth, turning the beam into a dark brown color. It took Dirk a moment to realize what was happening.

“They’re stealing our gas!” the girl gasped, showing for once an emotion that went beyond the apathetic indifference she had displayed so far.

“Must be in need of refueling.” 

“They have to pay for that!” She muttered, picked up a rock from the floor and threw it as hard as she could at the metal can. “Hey! Hey! Y’all have to pay for that!” she shouted with a surprising amount of anger.

The refueling process lasted only a minute or two, then the beam fizzled away, the spaceship started spinning and with a loud rumbling noise, it was gone. The sun was shining and there was not a single cloud in the sky.

Dirk blinked a few times and wiped the sand off his face. The gas station had most certainly seen better days. The colorful, happy flags that were strung across the way, were now singed and piled up in a sad heap on the floor. Glass shards and broken signs were scattered everywhere. The gas pump itself had been obliterated only leaving a large gaping hole in the ground where the beam had penetrated the underground gas tank. The trees were looking rather dreary having lost the majority of their leaves to the forceful wind created by the spaceship. Only then did Dirk realize that something was missing. 

“Where is my car?” he shouted horrified.

The girl, sweaty and out of breath from throwing rocks in the sky, pointed to a warped pile of metal, half covered in sand on the other side of the street. Dirk took a few steps towards what was left of his car, paused and turned toward the girl from the gas station, remembering their earlier conversation. “Best repair shop in the county, ey?”