Artifact 17: Lieutenant Koski's Strange Encounter!

Having picked up and transporting the strange bodies, Lt Koski shouldn't be surprised when unexplainable things begin to occur.

Artifact 17: Lt Koski’s Strange Encounter!

 

            The Jeep’s engine had unexpectedly died. Only the sound of non-firing engine mechanicals throbbing and the transmission gears whirring with the vehicle’s road-going inertia continued. Lt Koski rapidly appraised the situation. Why would the engine suddenly stop? What to do?  

He hastily looked at Private Jones, who appeared as taken aback by the sudden occurrence as he. Then, realizing a possible imminent danger, he jerked a look in his mirror at the large truck behind expecting it to be ramming their Jeep any second due to his vehicle’s rapid deceleration, but surprisingly it remained nearly the identical following distance as before.

 The lieutenant scanned the dashboard gauges and all were pegged on zero except for the oil pressure. Pressing in the clutch and putting the transmission in neutral, the engine stopped spinning, so the oil pressure dropped to zero as well. Now the only noise remaining was the lugged rubber tire tread on the pavement and the whisper of wind.

Again checking his mirror, the following truck seemed to slow at a greater rate than the Jeep, so the distance between the two vehicles increased. He watched Corporal Brown ease the truck over on the highway shoulder. Lieutenant Koski followed the lead and pulled the Jeep off the side of the highway noisily kicking up some dust from the gravel shoulder.  

            Private Jones broke the silence. “What happened to the engine, sir?”

             “I’m not sure, but I believe the truck stopped too.” Lieutenant Koski answered with a thumb wiggle behind them. Private Jones turned around and looked around the outside of the Jeep back to the truck that braked to a stop. 

            “I’ll go talk to Corporal Brown and see what their status is. Give Crow’s Nest another try.”

            “Yes sir,” was the Private’s curt reply.  

            Lt Koski pulled the hand brake, got out of the Jeep and walked back to the truck as the dust slowly drifted away, across the barren prairie. Corporal Brown dismounted from the truck shaking his head.

            “Sir, I have never seen that happen before, she just died, completely dead,” he said with a shrug. “There’s no electrical power at all. You must have been watching closely to catch us dropping back and respond like you did.”

             Lieutenant Koski shook his head negatively, “no, not watching, corporal, the Jeep died too.”

             “What? That’s impossible!” Brown replied with hands extended. “The odds of both vehicles quitting at the same time, especially out here, are extremely slim.”

Private First Class Smith came around to where the lieutenant and corporal stood. Smith was a mobile mechanic assigned with the motor pool to repair vehicles during convoys and the main reason he was assigned to the lieutenant’s retrieval team. Lieutenant Koski looked around in seemingly deep thought to decide his next action when Private Jones came back to the truck. 

             “Sir! This is even stranger; the radio is dead because the entire battery set is dead. As you know, the Jeep carries a set of four two-foot square batteries under the floorboards to power the GTA radio.”

            “How is this possible?” PFC Smith asked. “The radio electrics are segregated from the Jeep except for charging. If any short developed, the fuses would have blown before draining all that power.” He paused after a thought. “Well, I’ll take a look. My tool bag is in the back of the truck.”

            “Good. Let’s see how Delany is doing back there,” said Lieutenant Koski as he, Smith, and Corporal Brown walked toward the back of the canvas-covered truck. 

            “What happened, sir?” Private Delany asked peering around the corner of the truck’s canvas top.

             “Mechanical problems. Smith will check it out and have us on the road soon.”  Lieutenant wore a straight face that wasn’t very believable or so he felt. “Private. How is the�"patient?” 

            “Hard to say,” Private Delany said, looking back at the one uncovered body.  “Ah, ah, he or she, it lost some blood. I dressed the wound and stopped the flow, but, it, the blood has a strange green tinge.”

            As Delany explained, Smith stepped up into the back and made a big sidestep into the back of the truck and pulled a zippered Army green canvas bag out from under a fender well platform. He set the bag on the tailgate and stepped back down. Lieutenant Koski noticed that Smith deliberately avoided looking at the bodies in the back of the truck. With the bag in hand, Smith headed to the front of the vehicles.

            Private Delany made a sour face at his description of the being’s blood and continued.  “Its heart rate is high but steady. It has a triplet pattern that I don’t know is normal or not. Heart rate is about 120, but I can’t get a blood pressure on him, her, er it, it,” he added shrugging. “This is way beyond my battlefield medical knowledge because I don’t know what normal is for it! We need to get to a doctor and fast!”  

            “Well soldier do your best in the meantime, that’s all I ask. Maybe we’ll get help soon,” Lieutenant Koski said, but he felt his confidence and poise slipping by the second. He decided to check on the vehicles’ status.     

            Meanwhile, Private Smith had pulled out his tools and had the hood up on the Jeep. At the same time sitting on the truck’s fender without tools, Corporal Brown had the hood open and poked and pulled on cable connections and carburetor fittings.  Lieutenant Koski didn’t know if Brown had any mechanical training but decided to let him continue his tinkering as he walked forward to the Jeep where PFC Smith focused intently inside the engine compartment. 

              “Did you diagnose the problem, Private Smith?” Lt Koski asked as the heat from the engine billowed out from under the hood in shimmering waves. Smith sweated profusely with droplets dripping off his nose and chin. He turned to look at the lieutenant over his shoulder.

             “No sir. The battery is stone cold dead for some reason. No electrical power whatsoever for the Jeep or the radio. Dead as a doornail. I haven’t located a short that could have drained it so rapidly. Normally, any short that could drain a battery that fast would have started a fire, but I found no melted wires or any smell of burning. Though, I have an idea. Can you give me a hand, sir?”

             “Of course, what do you want me to do?”

  “Turn on the ignition switch and put the transmission in third.”

 Hesitatedly, Lieutenant stuck his head in the Jeep’s driver’s side door and did as Smith suggested. 

            “Now what, Private?” 

            “I have the coil wire off and grounded. Let’s see if it’ll fire a spark. I don’t want to get my fingers jammed in the fan by cranking over the engine that way, so we’ll push the Jeep forward a little.” Lieutenant Koski headed to the back of the jeep, but Smith looked back and waved him back forward.

            “Sir, it should push easy, so just push at the steering wheel.” Lieutenant Koski nodded and readied himself as Brown wiggled out from under the hood and planted his footing.

            “Ready, let’s go.” Smith’s boot toes slipped a bit before getting traction and with the Lieutenant’s assistance, they pushed. The Jeep bumped and jumped along about twenty jerky feet.

            “OK sir, hold it! No spark, ah thanks. Complete electrical system seems�"oh, oh�"fried.”

 Smith noticed the Lieutenant take off his service cap and wiped his sweaty brush-cutted head with his hand leaving a streak of thin mud across his forehead.  Smith noticed the lieutenant’s focus waver from him, to the engine, to Brown, and back again. Smith turned and got back to work without a word. Lieutenant Koski walked a few feet away, then returned to the front of the Jeep and looked down as Smith worked. The private twisted off the hold down screws for the distributor cap with a screwdriver. He then peeled the cap and wires back, peered inside the distributor, and poked around with the screwdriver.

            “Damn, son of a b***h,” he swore. “Oh, excuse me, sir!”

             “I understand private, no problem. What’d you find?”

            “The ignition points are melted, fused together.  I can’t even pry them apart with the screwdriver. I’ve never heard of this happening and don’t think the coil can produce enough juice to zap them like this. Look!”

            Lieutenant Koski looked down into the distributor and saw that the end of the points was just a blob of molten metal where the contacts should be.  

            “I don’t consider myself mechanically inclined in the least, but I know you can’t fix that without new parts. How about looking at the truck?”

            “My thoughts exactly,” said PFC Smith putting the screwdriver back in the mechanics bag. “Can’t imagine what could have caused that,” he muttered to himself.

            Corporal Brown was still perched up on the fender of the truck when Smith placed his bag on the top of the radiator took hold of a brace and pulled himself up. 

            “See anything wrong, corp?” Smith asked.

            “Actually, I don’t know what I’m looking for, but I don’t see anything out of the ordinary.” Private Smith shook his head and smiled grimly.

            “I just wonder if it’s the same as the Jeep,” Smith said, pulling the screwdriver out again and opened up the distributor.  “Yes it’s the same, lieutenant. Lieutenant!” he yelled.  Lieutenant Koski had gone into the back of the truck with Private Delany but came around front after a few moments. “Sir, it looks as we’re stuck here. The truck’s points and electrical system are in the same shape as the Jeep’s. Isn’t that the most peculiar thing you ever heard of?” 

             “Definitely so. I’ve been thinking that the truck might have the same problems so I came up with a plan. There hasn’t been a single car or truck on this road for the last thirty minutes so one of us needs to go to the next ranch house up the way to call the post for help.” He waved forward. “Delany has to remain in the truck, and I can probably assist him somewhat if he needs help. So it’s between you three, any volunteers?” Jones recoiled, but Brown and Smith looked at each other and spoke at the same time.

             “I’ll go!” 

            “Great, thanks men, but only one can go, so Corporal Brown, you’re ranking so you should go.” But Brown acted as if he was distracted. He gazed up in the sky over the lieutenant’s head.  

             “Sir, look! Look, it’s a plane!” Brown pointed over the Lieutenant’s left shoulder.  The Lieutenant whirled around on his heel and looked in the direction Brown pointed. A reflection of sunlight flashed off the airplane in the distance. 

            “Maybe it is Crow’s Nest,” said Smith excitedly. 

            “I don’t think so because our planes don’t have that much shiny metallic to reflect light, but it could be a commercial plane,” Brown said.

             “Agreed,” said Lieutenant Koski keeping an eye on the plane while walking to the Jeep.  He reached inside, pulled out the binocular case, and pulled the set out.  He automatically reached to pull the caps off the lenses, but the caps were missing. He peered into the case to see that the caps weren’t there either. As he put the binoculars up to his eyes, he wondered why the caps were missing, where could have they gone? He was sure on the morning inspection at the post the caps were on the set and also when he first spied the crash site, mysteriously enough. He let the mystery go for the moment. Focusing on the plane, another sun glint momentarily blinded him, but then the brightness dimmed, and he took a better look. The object looked like a thin cylindrical fuselage of an aircraft though oddly without a vertical tail. It appeared as if it was not moving. 

             “What is it, sir? A commercial plane? Should I get a signal mirror?” Asked Private Jones excitedly.

             “Corporal take a look and give me your assessment,” said the Lieutenant handing over the binoculars.  Brown took the binoculars, giving the Lieutenant a puzzled look wondering why he’d ask him for an assessment.

            “What the?” Brown exclaimed. He refocused the lenses and looked long and hard.  “It looks like some kind of shiny pie plate or something, like a long skinny plane without wings or a tail.” He said, while still looking. “What in Sam’s hill could it be, sir? Some kind of experimental plane?”

 He lowered the glasses from his eyes and looked directly at the Lieutenant. Smith took the binoculars, looked, and swore. 

            “I had trouble identifying it myself and that’s why I asked you to take a look. I doubt it is an experimental plane this far from an airfield,”  Lieutenant Koski said hands on hips and feet spread, still scanning the sky and then turning to take back the binoculars from Smith.

 “We have a lot of unanswered questions and problems out here men, but I’m lead to believe that, that object may have something to do with our mechanical problems,” he pointed to the sky and then to the vehicles one at a time. 

            “How’s that possible, sir? Asked Jones loudly and nervously.

            “No answers right now private, but we must stay sharp.”

             “’s sir.”  Jones added meekly.      

             Keeping an eye to the object in the sky, Lieutenant Koski pulled the map from the Jeep, opened it, and pointed while eyeing Corporal Brown.

              “My guess is that we’re somewhere in this section of the highway,” he said tracing the highway line with his finger. “So you could walk north towards the post, but that looks like a two hours of hiking. Then, right here, we don’t know if this structure is an occupied residence or if they have a telephone.  So do your best, stay along the road and flag someone if you can. If we can get transportation on the highway here, we’ll stop at that location to check on your status. Take a canteen and get moving.”  

            “Roger that sir, I’m on my way,” Brown reached into the truck and pulled out a green issue canteen shook it and slipped the canteen’s clip onto his belt.

            “Good luck, soldier.” Lieutenant said as Brown started down the road.  Private Smith looked through the binoculars when the Lieutenant returned.  “What is that object doing now?” He asked.

             “I can’t locate it now, sir. I looked away for a few seconds and now it seemed to have either dropped below the horizon or completely out of spotting distance.”

            “Interesting,” replied the Lieutenant.  “Keep looking for it and alert me if you spot it.”

             “Yes sir.” 

             Sitting down in the Jeep with the map opened across the steering wheel, Lt Koski appeared to be studying the map intensely, but in reality, now, his mind was immersed in uncertain turmoil. He wondered how he could have become this victim of these stranger than fiction circumstances. Nothing in the ‘book’ could have prepared anyone for this unusual situation. He heard the soldiers conversing behind him.

            “Sir, that strange plane is coming closer!”

            The men paused and stared at the metallic, saucer-shaped flying device.

            “Sir? Lieutenant? What is that thing?” Private Delany said, peering out from the back of the truck.  

            Lt Koski tossed the map aside and got out of the Jeep. He spied the device approaching their location. “I have no idea, men. Because of that fact, I assume it may be hostile. Seek cover! Get under the truck!”

            Delany jumped down from the truck bed to join the others. The men huddled under the bed of the truck as the shadow of the device slid over them. In all directions, they peered out across the prairie, but they saw only the circular shadowy line of the device apparently hovering above the truck. The shadow seemed to darken and grow in size around all sides of the truck. Smith started to say something, but Koski silenced him with a finger to his lips.

Lieutenant Koski heard or maybe felt a faint vibrating. He looked to his men who appeared terrified. He laid a hand on the steel undercarriage of the truck, and he could feel the vibration in it. Did it feel too warm as well? He couldn’t be sure. Over a period of a minute, they sat there unsure what to do. But in that period, the lieutenant felt a progressively stronger need to sleep. He felt dozy and tired but fought it off. Smith listed to one side, closed his eyes, and slumped over to the ground. Delany and Jones appeared mixed with looks of tiredness and horror watching Smith lay there prostrate and unmoving. They turned to Lt Koski for confidence and encouragement, but he couldn’t even impart a fearless word or wear a brave expression. Within moments, Jones slumped over and then Delany slumped over on top of Jones.

In his deepening stupor, Lieutenant Koski wondered if he could have done better in this situation and strange circumstances. Logically from there, he conjectured their possible fates considering the bodies that resided above them in the truck. As his sight turned blurry and dim and his brain increasingly befuddled, he saw three sets of skinny gray legs move about the truck. He couldn’t believe what he saw. Did I see them?

The penultimate thought Lieutenant Koski had, I wonder the fate of young, Corporal Brown out there on his own, hiking down the highway with this strange device hovering above and�"these creatures out here. The ultimate thing he thought, I let my men down because I was indecisive�"a poor leader.

Before joining his men in slumber, Lt Koski, in his dreamy, confused state, saw three oversized, egg-shaped heads with huge dark eyes peering under the truck to scrutinize the sprawled, unconscious army men.