Artifact 25: Raynor Avoids the US Army

Raynor isn't quite sure what he experienced out there at the crash site, but he does know the US Army is on the way!

Artifact 25: Raynor Goes to John’s

 

Previously in Part 24 at the so-called aircraft crash site, Raynor experienced a strange personal phenomenon when he handled the mysterious glowing tube. His senses expanded well beyond their normal human capabilities and he underwent a strange rolling back of an entire day back to when the crash took place.

He witnessed two strange though very unlike aerial craft collide in midair that scattered the debris where he stood in the remote prairie pasture. He then saw a strange bipedal being emerge from the plate-like aerial craft. The being was vastly different than humans and unlike anything Raynor had ever seen or dreamt. The strange being seemed interested in the tube that Raynor held, but he didn’t know how he could have attained that awareness. Snapping out of his tube-induced trance, Raynor realized the reconnaissance aircraft approached and most assuredly would spot him there at the crash debris site. He took the tube and ran.

     

            Raynor ran up the incline of the small rise toward his trusty horse, Star who still stood patiently like nothing out of the ordinary had transpired. Running through the debris, Raynor caught his toe on a piece of rope and almost went down, but he caught himself in time. Star jerked her head up with her master’s stumbling befuddled approach. He quickly mounted Star and urged her into a canter away from the crash site. His head spun with what he felt�"with what he had seen.       

            Raynor stopped at the next rise’s apex for a second to scan the sky and listen. With his face to the sun, its heat intolerably bore down in the midafternoon feeling probably around four o’clock though Raynor wondered, what day? The look aloft told him that the aircraft above was no longer approaching but had settled into a large orbit pattern. A memory surfaced: Raynor already knew the flight crew would do this from when he appraised their minds. He also knew that at least one of the crew had seen him amongst the debris. He thought back: they have no way of knowing it was me. He pressed Star onward.

            As he cantered along the trail, Raynor sensed something amiss with the droning engine sounds he heard. Another gentle rise gave him a chance to reevaluate his previous thoughts. From his vantage point, Raynor determined what was amiss�"another sound drew his attention from the sky for he recognized a sound from his army days, it was the drone of an army convoy of trucks and Jeeps!

Damn, he thought, I should have recognized that earlier and figured out why the noise wasn’t growing closer any faster. Raynor figured that the convoy approached the crash site. A hurried decision was to be made: go back to my ranch or chance a talk with John to maybe get an answer to the crafts’ origins and maybe get to the bottom of the army’s plan. Did the strange crafts and the unnerving being belong to the US Army?

 Raynor knew the army and most likely the newly formed air force as well experimented in matters that the civilian population would never know about. Case-in-point, he recalled the development and detonation of the world’s first atom bomb occurred right there in New Mexico only a couple years ago and the civilians took the huge blinding flash in the sky and deep thud in the ground all in stride.

 Is there a connection between the strange aerial devices and the being with The Bomb? He shook out these open-ended reflective meanderings.

  Raynor experienced a shudder through his body that jolted his brain. Strange visions and emotions crept into Raynor’s mind. Without thinking, he turned in his saddle and flipped open the saddlebag. The kerchief-covered ribbon was still secure. He drew out the wrapped up tube from his pocket and despite his desire to hold it unwrapped and experience the mind-expanding phenomenon, he put it away in the saddlebag hanging beside him along with the ribbon.

 Is it taking a chance to carry them to John’s ranch? Perhaps, he thought, but his nagging curiosity won out or was it the deep emotional feeling that he could not be parted with IT�"the tube�"and the strange metal ribbon. Were the two supposed to be connected together for some unknown purpose?

He nudged Star into a trot heading to the southeast. He approached the Lonesome Popular and eyed the plane banking about aloft. Should I hide under the only tree for miles around? That’s a waste of time with the convoy’s approach, but at least I can circle out around and back to Johns’ so that it wouldn’t look like I came from the crash site.

 As he trotted over another rise he could see a long convoy of US Army vehicles. He also eyed the oasis-like clump of age-old oak trees and the few out buildings of Thompson’s ranch that rose amidst the prairie between him and the encroaching Army vehicles.

Impeccable timing I have, he thought with internal sarcasm.

He started his slow arc toward John’s place. Suddenly, a road runner scampered out of the sagebrush in hot pursuit of a ground squirrel. He reined in Star so hard that she got a little light on her front hooves and dodged hard right. Raynor held on and leaned into her mane as Star snorted and shook her head.

 “Sorry, ole girl.” He sat up and clapped her along the neck. “Took me by surprise too and I’m a little pent up besides. We’ll rest with some water soon now.”   

They continued toward the final, main fence line and reached the makeshift gate of just four strands of wire on a post held taunt and in place with a loop of wire over another solid post. Raynor hopped off his mount, opened, and held the so-called gate as he guided Star through. He turned Star to face the gate, made a slip loop of his reins that he fed quickly through his belt loop; he then two-handedly wrestled the loose pole into position and caught the pole with the top loose loop of wire.

 Remounting and surveying about, he could already see the unusual activity in John’s yard.  Following a single open Jeep, several large deuce and a half trucks, apparently carrying soldiers continued out toward the crash site by way of John’s cattle trails. A couple of US Army Jeeps and staff sedans remained in John’s yard turnaround.     

            As he approached, Raynor again had some premonition about what was going on there. Nevertheless, Raynor kept riding into the yard relaxed and composed with a few of the drivers and policemen noticing him but not overly concerned about this lone ordinary cowboy that posed no outward threat whatsoever. Raynor saw one young soldier step lively up onto the porch and straight into the house without knocking or receiving an invite.

They’ve been here awhile, and have made themselves at home, thought Raynor dismounting. He knew of the watering trough nearby, so taking the few steps, Raynor let Star sip some of the cool water as he took his canteen, dipped it, and downed a good swallow. He looked around surreptitiously to take in what was happening with this army troop and his neighbor. A couple policemen came out of the house and casually gestured telling Raynor nonverbally not to approach. These two were followed by a major and a lieutenant along with John with the man he had seen earlier in the day.

 Surly not a cattle buyer, Raynor deduced. And he does not look happy with these army guys.

            With Raynor letting Star stand where she was, he called out, “John …John, is everything all right?”  

            John and the officers had seen Raynor off to the side of the yard but hadn’t tried to speak to him up to this point. John made eye contact and performed a covert hand gesture Raynor took as not to get involved or maybe to just go away. Raynor hadn’t experienced his neighbor acting like this before, but obviously the officers did not look happy with John. Raynor looked around and saw that Rusty and the ranch hands were nowhere in sight.

             Raynor called again. It now seemed to irritate the two policemen that stood bristling in front of John and the officers. Raynor didn’t miss the fact that they had undrawn side arms. The ranking officer said something quietly to both John and the man.

            “Raynor, Raynor,” John yelled in increasing volume.  “Everything is fine.  I’m just going with these men to the post to talk about the, ah, crash�"out on my property. No concern, everything is fine.”

            Raynor could see even from the distance that the major didn’t like the remark John made and he reached up, gripping John’s sleeve like he was concerned that old, slow, fat John Thompson might bolt. The major said something and at that, the lieutenant left the three men with a long stride off the porch and briskly walked toward Raynor. Star stood still as the stiff-assed lieutenant approached, Raynor recognizing him as the busy young officer he’d seen at the diner in the morning, but which morning was it?. 

            Raynor spoke first. “Afternoon L.T., ain’t it something to see you twice in one day especially today of all days!” 

            The lieutenant slammed brakes on his haughty demeanor and acquired a befuddled expression. “Wha, what do you mean, Mr. Raven? You must be confused, mistaking me for someone else because we didn’t see each other earlier today.”

            “At the diner this morning, remember? I spoke to you at the diner before you sat near John, Mister Thompson, and that other man,” Raynor said, pointing to the pair of men.

            “Sorry, sir, I understand your confusion. I know you were badly injured in the war. You probably remember me from some other day as I recall seeing you there at the diner before, but right now we must get going, so I must clarify a few things,” the lieutenant said, now obviously in a furious hurry. He took a breath and re-stiffened. “To be brief and to the point, I know that you’re decorated ex-Army so that tells me that you know how the US Army operates and what they require of folks in a�"situation of utmost�"magnitude such as this.”

            “Yep, sure do,” Raynor said, deciding to humor him and not to press this young man about the major disconnect concerning seeing each other at the diner.

            “Well, the best thing to tell you is to not get involved or ask questions of Mister Thompson or his er’ friend.  Mr. Thompson has poked into places he shouldn’t have and now we have to give him a debriefing so-to-speak�"do you understand?”

            Raynor nodded and gave a quiet. “Yes, sir, I sure do.”   

            “To keep you and your hired men safe and out of trouble, you do have hired men, am I correct?” Raynor nodded. “We need to keep everyone out of trouble with the US Army’s investigation that includes several high-up scientific experts flying in from out east.” The young lieutenant gazed over to Raynor’s horse, narrowed his eyes and stood there unmoving.

            “Are you okay, L.T.?” Raynor asked, looking deeply at the lieutenant.

            The lieutenant snapped out of it. “We don’t know what happened out there at the site, so please stay well clear of the ultra-sensitive crash area that will soon be cordoned off. There is evidence that there is something out there that�"we�"don’t�" fully�" understand�"an extraterrestrial flying device�" ” The lieutenant cut himself off, then looked off to the side and bit his lower lip as if frustrated. After a moment, he regrouped. “Mister Raven, have you been to and seen the area we are discussing?”

            “No, Sir!” Raynor answered, finding the lie easy and quick to come by, but wondered why the lieutenant told him all that he had.

It was almost as if something unseen forced the truth out of him!