Little Gwen was just wakening, Mom reached down and picked her off the seat, holding her daughter in her arms as if she was made from delicate crystal.

Dad was at first surprised but it changed to adoration when little Gwen said, "Hi Daddy!" He swept her into his arms and gave her the hugest hug any little girl could ever have.

Changed by Aliens
by Gwen Brown
A surprising amount of this story is true.

 

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Chapter 1
 
“Logan, Mom said I could sit out and watch the stars with you.” Little Gwinn said. “Oh, go back into the house and suck your bottle.”

“But Logan, Mom said” Gwinn exclaimed hotly! Tears were welling up in his huge doll like eyes and his throat was getting sore from being upset. “I don’t use a bottle anymore either.”

“Ok, but you have to be quiet and not scare the animals” “Little Gwinn retorted that he wasn’t afraid of no darn aminals” That pronunciation is the best he could manage for his big brother.

“OK, you little sissy but if you make a sound, I’m making you go into the house.” Little Gwinn did not like being called a sissy but for now he held his peace. He was only 5 years old and idolized his 15 year old brother. Once in a while he would push Gwinn in the swing or piggy back ride him. He sure loved his brother when he was not being rude to him.

“Hey, make sure you go potty before you come with me sissy. Mom will get mad at me if her little sissy wets his pants.” “OK Logie, I will” Gwinn said obediently. He was so happy with getting to go that he would try very hard to please his older brother.

There was something strange about Gwinn and always had been. Gwinn refused to stand up to pee; said he did not like it splashing on his legs. So, the upshot was that he either wet his pants when outside for long or went into the house. Besides, he was not tall enough to reach the toilet with his willy. He also had this effiminate air about him. It evidenced its self in many ways; most obviously in his fastidiousness and sensitivity.

The doctor had told Julie, Gwinn’s mom not to worry about his size, but she’d never felt everything was OK.

Logan sat there thinking. He decided that he really did love his little brother and wished he’d grow up, too. The little kid could be some fun when he got a bit older.

It was only a few minutes until Gwinn came back outside.

OK, they were ready to go. They moved off as fast as Gwinn’s tiny feet would carry him.

“Hurry up, or I’m going to step on your heels” Logan said. “I am going as fast as I can”.

Billy could see that the little kid was struggling, so he swooped down and picked Gwinn up amid gleeful squeals. He plopped the child on his shoulders. “Ok, sissy, you have to be quiet, we are almost there” Logan said after about 20 minutes of walking. They had walked up a high ridge so they could see into an adjacent valley. Logan and Gwinn quickly nestled down amongst some boulders after he checked for snakes and scorpions.

“Logie, do you ever get scared out here at night”, Gwinn asked? Logan was amused and not about to tell Gwinn that he even got spooked sometimes. “I have Dad’s pistol if a cougar or something bothers us”.

“Oh, so you’d run them off if they scared me”, Gwinn asked? “Sure would”. Gwinn giggled softly, more reassured now, snuggled up against the warmth of his big brother’s shoulder, with a face wide smile. His little smile would have illuminated the night if smiles could do that.

Logan hadn’t said anything to Gwinn, or his parents, but he was really out here to see the origin of the strange lights that came out of the valley sometimes at night.

It was quite dark now, and the stars had mostly come out. Sure, the stars would not get blindingly bright until well after Midnight but they were still plenty spectacular.

The nights in South Eastern Oregon were cold at times, even in the summer. And sometimes, the Military Jets would blast by so low, that it was a wonder that the trees were left standing. The farmers and cattle men had complained enough about frightened and injured stock that it did not happen so much any more. Logan had seen more than one Antelope or deer dead for no apparent reason. Lots of people were convinced that they died of fright.

Little Gwinn and Logan lived with their parents’ way out in the semi desert, amongst all the sage brush, small pines, and quaking aspen. The house was a modest ranch style, double wide trailer and unattached garage. There was a little tool shed which housed the well pump. A huge propane tank sat beside the shed.

Down in a draw was the Government Machine shed, which housed a dozer used for making roads and filling in illegal claims.

They’d just received a Semi Trailer load of Nitrate Fertilizer that some College Extension service was going to use in an experimental project to promote desert grass. There were the usual farmer tools and some stumping powder used when making roads.

Logan’s folks, Martin, and Julie were out here to manage BLM mineral claims, and to make sure that no mining was done where it was not supposed to. Beneath the surface was a lot of Gold, Copper, Mercury and other valuable minerals bound up in a chemical bond that took environmentally destructive methods to extract it. A lot of the land was what they called strategic reserves and the government just did not want the wrong people nosing around.

All that had to happen was the wrong people finding what lay under the rocky soil out here and pretty soon some self serving congress man would be trying to pass laws, making it all available. Oh, the government actually did not care, but protection of the land was Martin’s personal mission.

Martin, the boys’ father was about average weight and height; with a head full of coarse black hair. He was diligent and smart. It was no secret to anyone how much he loved his family. The children were home schooled and very happy. The family made the trip to town every couple of weeks or so. It was a quiet life, full of solitude that was truly rare for an American family these days.

Julie, the boys’ mom was petite; “almost like a doll”, Martin said. She was loving and obedient as a wife until she set her mind to something and then Martin knew to either help her or get out of the way. Her blonde hair made her dark blue eyes seem all the more luminous and penetrating. She had the looks of a model but she could still pull her own weight, even at 101lbs. Even Logan, had taken to picking heavy things out of her hands and admonishing her to ask for help,but knew he had to be really tactful about how he did that because she could pinch his upper arm in a way that made it feel like a snake bite.

Logan was about to give up for the night when he saw a dark shape moving over the trees at the head of the valley they were sitting by. By now, little Gwinn was sound asleep, and thus quiet. The thing moved along slowly and gave Logan the creeps. He knew he was seeing something not of this earth. In the dark, he really could not tell the distance to the craft or its size; since he had no way to gauge anything for reference. It was long like a hot dog but seemed to be flattened. It was completely silent with exception of the subtle sound of the air parting around the vehicle.

As it sank below the top of the rim, suddenly extremely bright lights came on, illuminating the ground all around Logan and Gwinn and the rest of the valley. Logan really crouched down now; having a chilling feeling that he would not want to be seen by who ever was in that craft. Now he could see that the craft had 4 pods on it that he thought must be the engines.

It flew on down the valley and landed in a depression a long way down the ravine. Logan was thinking it could be 5 or even 10 miles away.

As he sat there with his binoculars, he could see activity around the craft. The movement reminded him of ants on a chunk of rotten wood. It was hard to tell but it looked like they unloaded a lot of boxes and things and then proceeded to load lots of big boxes into the craft. The vehicles seemed to disappear into the side of a hill on the side of the valley.

Then the strange vehicle lifted off and headed back up the valley. This time it was much slower and seemed to be carrying a far greater load than it had on the way in. When it was about half way up the valley, suddenly one of the engine pods began to smoke slightly and now there was a mournful howling coming from that direction. Logan first thought it was coyotes but then he realized it was from the alien vehicle and it seemed to be in trouble.

In a slow, agonizing death dance the huge vehicle banked in Logan’s direction and began to sink. It looked like it would come down right where they were and Logan really began to regret that he was not home in his bed. The closer it got, the faster it seemed to move and then the realization set in that this thing was huge; much larger than he suspected.

As it passed almost overhead, the noise was deafening and the air it stirred up carried all sorts of small twigs and dust.

“Oh my God” was all he could say as he watched it retreat into the distance but this time down the valley their house overlooked. It suddenly sank much faster and then plowed into the rocks and scrub brush. It left a trail of burning trees and gouged earth behind it as it continued its ruinous path; finally coming to a stop.

The over flight wakened Gwinn and he started to scream in fright. Logan finally got the child calmed down a little. “Don’t worry Gwinn, we are fine but you really have to be quiet now”. Logan said. “OK Logie. I am scared”. “Yeah, me too kid, me too”, He said.

He stood up with the innocent look of wonder on his face that only a child can show. “Oh, man, did you see that? I wonder if Mom and Dad saw it?”

Logan said,” I’ll bet they are awake now though. Come on we have to get home right now.” Logan did not even let Gwinn try to walk. He simply swept him up in his arms and began to run at the fastest trot he could manage carrying the child. “Oh, Gwinn, you wet yourself, man this stinks, what did you eat that makes you smell so bad”, Logan asked?

At the sound of his big brothers cross voice and having just wakened, Gwinn began to weep piteously. “It’ll be ok, I am going to keep you safe”, he said to the little child. “Ok” Gwinn said sleepily.

As he was trotting, he admonished Gwinn to be quiet, but the poor child was just so upset that he could not stop crying. “Gwinn, if you aren’t quiet, the monsters will get us” Logan said in desperation.

Well that only made matters worse. Gwinn was quiet for a moment and then began a keening that not only hurt Logan’s ears but made it even more likely that someone would hear them.

They had just crested the rise when Mom shouted out, “What is wrong Gwinn honey.” She almost collided with Logan in the dark and then dad came churning his way out of the gloom, carrying a powerful torch.

“Oh, God, come on you guys be quiet will you?” Logan said. “Don’t you talk to your mother and that way young man”! Martin fumed.

Logan gave Gwinn to mom and he began quieting. “Dad, Mom, look down the valley. Now will everyone be quiet”? He said softly.

Dad was about to launch into a good chewing on Logan when suddenly everyone went silent. “Oh…….My……..God, Martin. What is that”? She exclaimed breathlessly. Martin looked at it and said “What the hell is that”?

Everyone was quiet for a few moments and then Martin began going on about the fires. Mom was soothing little Gwinn and telling him that she would get him into the house to change clothes. “Then, little man, you are going to bed”, She said firmly but her voice carried the love that only a mother can give. “Ok Mommy, I’m really tired”

Mom carried Gwinn went back down the short distance to the house to put her little one to bed.

“Come on Son, we need to get Fire on this right away”. They hurried into the house and into Martin’s pseudo office in the Garage. Martin turned on the two-way and was greeted with audio hash so strong that he had to turn it down really low. “Well, that has never happened”. Logan responded that maybe it was the Aliens.

“Son, what are to talking about, those are no Aliens. It was some big Air Craft from the air force.” He tried to tell his dad that it was much too large for a Jet, but Dad could not be convinced.

Martin then tried to get on the Phone to call into Coleville, but the phone was out too. “Son, this can’t be, that line does not go down to that valley; it goes straight out the access road to the highway that we get in here on.” Logan told his dad the real reason that he had gone out tonight.

“You mean that you actually saw that thing come in and it was silent?” Dad queried in a disbelieving tone of voice.

Logan quickly related to him how it had started to leave and suffered a power failure, circled around and crashed. “Well, I am dammed sure it was a Jet that woke mom and I up” He said.

Logan looked at the clock and could see that it was three in the morning. Feeling a little frustrated at his father, Logan gave up and said he was going to bed. His dad soon followed. “Logan knew Dad would not listen to reason until it was light.

Martin set his alarm for just before Sun rise. He didn't sleep.

When the Sun came up, Martin was sitting on the patio that was right on the edge of the ravine, with his high powered spotting scope. It would take something at 600 yards and put it right in your lap.

As the valley brightened, Martin could see the pall of smoke spreading far down toward the basin. As he brought the smoking wreck into view, he softly swore to himself. He could see people and trucks down there and they looked smaller than ants on a carcass.

“Holy Shit, that thing must be as big as a few Air Craft Carriers”. He could easily see that there were no wings on it; just those pods that Logan tried to explain.

He rushed toward the bedroom. “Julie, you need to get up fast, fix a big breakfast for us all and I don’t know, maybe you and the kids should pack some things.” His voice carried enough worry and fear in it that she needed little explanation.

As she busied herself in the Kitchen, wearing only a bath robe, she heard the jeep start and head off down that ravine toward the wreckage. When she looked out the kitchen window, she gasped with total shock.

“Logan, Logan, you need to get up and get Gwinn up too. We need to eat and start packing a few things.” She yelled down the hall.

She sounded near panic to Logan and he quickly got up and went into Gwinn’s room. Gwinn was not an early riser and he was a whining, snappy hand full until mom came into the room.

“Gwinn honey, this is important. You need to get up right away, we may be going camping.” When he heard the word camping, Gwinn suddenly wakened completely and began to dress himself.

Logan looked at him and smiled. “Way to go champ”.

Minutes later they were all sitting around the table eating when the jeep came screaming back up the ravine and looked as if it would hit the house before it stopped. Julie could see Martin coming toward the house but he was holding his side and she could see red on his hands. Julie ran outside to meet him.

“Martin, what happened to you? Oh dear, is it bad? Do you want me to take you to town? Did you fall on something?

“Look Julie, this is serious. When I got close to the wreck, someone began to shoot at me with this thing that sounded like an electrical ark.”

*******

The language the crew man of the freighter was using sounded like a slightly modulated growl. “You dammed fool, what the hell did you start shooting for? We were supposed to slip in here, pick up the fuel and get the hell out without arousing any suspicion”, His superior complained bitterly.

The crew man cowered as if expecting his head to be parted from his scaly body. “I am sorry sir; I thought it was one of the federation soldiers.” He said lamely.

“The Gods curse you stupid” we are smugglers, not murderers. “You and your team go up there and try to retrieve the wounded Human. I’ll talk to the mother ship about how to handle the problem.” He said. The commander stood watching the idiot and his team to get into an explorer and move off up the valley as fast as it would go. With the charges of the vehicles having been used to help the fuel starved freighter take off, it was not moving so fast.

*******

Julie used the towel she’d had pushed into the tie of her apron and wiped the blood away from his hands. Looking at the wound, she gasped and nearly fainted.

“My God Marty, we have to get you to a doctor now”!

Just then she heard another vehicle coming up the valley and it looked like they would arrive in just a few minutes. It looked like a Tank.

“Tell Logan to get me the ’06 and plenty of shells. You and the kids need to get the hell out of here now! He said. She could tell that he was in considerable pain.

Logan had been standing in the door and overheard them talking. He quickly ducked into the door and returned with two rifles and the .45 auto.

Julie rushed into the house and grabbed the suit cases. She quickly had the basics for her and Martin in a couple cases. And was gathering Gwinn’s clothing when she heard the rifle fire. The sound caused her to scream but she quickly stopped, not knowing how close the Aliens were.

Martin and his son were out past the patio in some rocks. “Well son, wish me some luck, I’m going to reach out and touch someone.” Logan chuckled nervously, knowing full well that his dad had used a line from an old phone commercial. Logan had not taken the time to become afraid. It was all on them so fast that it never occurred to either of them.

The shot rang out and a second or so later one of the Aliens slumped atop the tank looking machine. Seconds’ later part of the rock that Martin was behind just blew up, showering both of the men with shattered rock. Logan had just lost his innocence and was now a man fighting for his and the families lives.

Interestingly, the space farer who originally fired the shot at Martin was the first to die.

“Logan, run in the house, grab your mother, and you and them get on the road. Don’t come back until you know it’s safe.” Logan knew better than to argue with dad, but he sure as hell wasn’t leaving with the woman and child.” He’d almost made the house and he heard Dad fire again. As he looked back over his shoulder, he could see Dad changing positions.

“Mom, Dad says for you and Gwinn to get out of here and don’t come back until you know it is safe. He said to go to town and get help.” Logan said.

“I am not leaving here without you and your father.” She stormed out the door looking for Martin. He had been wounded again by rock fragments but was still holding the rifle with grim determination. He looked up to see Julie coming, not seeming surprised at all.

She could tell he was in a lot of pain, but determined to fight it out. By the time she knelt at his side, she was weeping so much that she could hardly talk.

“I knew you wouldn’t just leave. You never did obey very well.” He said.

Martin, you are just too stubborn. You are going to get killed like this”!

“Well, get the hell out of here and get me some help before I do.” Julie knew that she would never see him alive again and with her weeping wracking her tiny body, kissed him tenderly.

“Now git woman, go get help”! He said as if he were scolding her. She began to get to her feet when another bolt shattered the tool shed. That made her freeze in terror. Martin reached out and slapped her on the soft part of her butt. He smiled and winked at her.

“You can make me sleep on the couch when you get back.” He said. They both knew that she was not coming back and that he was going to die.

Logan ran out to the car with her and Gwinn. He loaded their cases but did not get into the car.

“Mom, I’m staying to help Dad.” He had the same look on his face that Martin always got when the argument was over. She looked at him. “I love you son, please take care of your dad for me”? She was crying so hard that he could hardly understand her but he knew what she meant. “I will”.

She took one frantic look at her son and pushed the pedal to the floor, throwing gravel in a long rooster tail out in back of the Pickup and was gone in a trail of dust. The road out to the highway was about 20 miles long and almost as straight as an arrow. She drove that pickup as fast as it would go and still stay on the road.

*****

“Commander, first level Ziti has been killed by hostile action” The second in command of the squad said in the communicator. Just then another of the smugglers slumped back through the hatch.

Now panicked, and very angry, the rest of the smugglers began to attack in earnest. “These primitives are lethal and we need to put them into their place”.

*****

Through the tears, Julie vowed to protect Gwinn. By the time she got to the highway, she had stopped weeping. Her face looked like it had been sand blasted but she was composed and seemed as calm as if she were going on a Sunday drive.

Martin had continued to fire with the rifle, and found that these bastards could actually die. Much to his surprise, he heard the other rifle fire.

Martin looked over his shoulder. “I thought you were going with your Mom” “She left with out me.” Martin said,” You could get killed doing this”.

“So”?

He was proud of his son’s courage, and it was too late to argue.

The tank was at the bottom of the ravine, just below them. There was a harsh crack, and the tree shielding his father disappeared.

Dad was too hurt to get up. Logan ran over to his dad. He could tell his dad was dying. “What the hell, none of us lives forever”, Martin said.

“Now get over to the shed and rig that Nitrate Fertilizer to explode. Use one of those electric caps and string the wire as far as it will go. Blow the bastards up.” Martin said. He was in obvious pain. “Now chamber that 45 and I will try to get you a little time”, He said.

As his kid ran off down the hill toward the shed, Martin said softly to himself, “May as well take some with me”.

Just then two of the smugglers came into view not far away. The 45, lethal at short range quickly dumped them on their asses with center of mass shots. They were probably dead before they hit the ground.

Logan heard the 45 shoot until the clip was empty. He’d spread diesel fuel all through the fertilizer, and set a few sticks of stumping powder in amongst the sacks with an electric cap in one stick.

Logan was running around a side hill as the tank crested the ridge, demolishing the house, and headed toward the barn. Logan let himself be seen by whoever was in the tank and they started off in pursuit.

As the tank rounded the big shed, Logan touched off the fertilizer.

Later as the smoke cleared, the commander walked through the debris on top of the ridge. “Ok, make sure that any evidence of our being here is picked up. Don’t bury anything. The dammed fools got themselves killed for nothing. The cause was not helped today. The commander said.

As he looked around a concentrated storm system was gathering in their vicinity. “You have little time to accomplish your clean up. I’ll not leave any of you but I will surely vaporize anyone who is loitering” He said. By the God’s he was enraged. “It is a shame that I can not reach them until the next life”.

*****

Julie was almost out to the main road that went between Burns and the Nevada Border, when suddenly the aged Datsun pickup just quit. She let it coast to a stop and just sat there for a moment. Suddenly Julie could hear a voice but could not see anyone.

“We are sorry what has happened here today. We will repair what we can and leave you ample amounts of your currency to take care of the rest, with some left over. If it is within you, please keep our secret. We are warring against an evil power and just landed to obtain some supplies. I am very sorry that we have disturbed your life. I will not allow it to happen again. You may return to your habitation.” The voice said.”

“Who are you? Are my husband and son OK?”, Julie asked frantically.

“We are repairing the two beings at your habitation. Would you like me to repair your little one? “What is wrong with him, he is not hurt”.

“His life pattern, you would call it genetics, is abnormal and he will grow to be very unhappy. This is the least we can do to repay some of your pain”.

Julie looked over at her son, who appeared to be sleeping. She just sat there in a daze for a while.

Back at the house, Martin slowly began wakening. He was in no pain but did not think he could move. As his awareness increased, he felt stronger. He just laid there for a while watching the strange, scaled men walk about. It seemed as if they were repairing what they could.

He dozed for a little while and then became aware that someone was talking to him with a strange accent.

“We are very sorry for the interference we have committed in your lives. There is no way to entirely erase the evidence of what happened here. I will not alter your mind or kill you, because my beliefs forbid that.

The conversation, at times very heated continued for some time and they reached an agreement. Martin got some equipment to help in that agreement.

Julie was rushing back up the road and could see the entire range of hills where she lived was cloaked in fog, in spite of the fact that the day was sunny and warm. She drove on into the fog, not willing to delay for a moment to see her son and Martin. Beside her sat her child, now whole and extremely beautiful. Her body now matched her genetics. While Julie was still getting used to the idea, little Gwen lay on the seat with her head in mom’s lap. She was sleeping and had the most beatific smile on her little face. The Alien had told her that little Gwen would be weak and drowsy for a few days, but would now develop normally. The thought that the Alien had healed her child made her feel a kinship with them.

Martin could hear something strange over his head and then a really huge ship sank down out of the clouds, leaving an indeterminate part of it shrouded in the mist. It made the huge vessel on the ground look like a fly on an elephants butt. Everything about him began to vibrate softly and then the wrecked space ship began to rise, passing into an open hole in the belly of the other huge ship. Then the vibration stopped and the mother ship began to lift back into the clouds.

Just then Julie drove the old pickup into the driveway and got out. She left her little daughter sleeping. She was so thrilled that she could not contain it. Seeing Martin, she ran to him, jumping into his arms. He of course caught her, knowing full well that this is what happened when she was extremely happy. She was laughing and bawling at the same time.

“You big oaf, I thought that I would never see you again”, She said while pounding on his shoulder with her tiny fists.

Much later, after giving Logan a similar greeting and getting the tour of the repairs the Aliens did, she walked the two men over to the pickup to see her daughter. Little Gwen was just wakening, Mom reached down and picked her off the seat, holding her daughter in her arms as if she was made from delicate crystal.

Dad was at first surprised but it changed to adoration when little Gwen said, "Hi Daddy!" He swept her into his arms and gave her the hugest hug any little girl could ever have.

Looking over Dad’s shoulder, Gwen looked at Logan and said, “Hi Logie”. He looked at her quizzically for a moment and then said, “Now everything makes sense”.

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To Be Continued...