CHAPTER TWO
--The Present; Oregon, U.S.A.--
"Do you believe in aliens?"
It was the same question he had been hearing for years. It had been amusing at first, but over time, it started to get on his nerves. At some point it had come to a stop, only for it to start again just at the end of the school year.
Spike Witwicky sighed as he slumped down on a sofa. "Not this again, Hunter."
"Hear me out," his tall, red-headed friend said, placing a laptop on the coffee table in front of them. "I was out biking yesterday and--"
"Don't tell me," Spike interrupted. "You found a 'UFO.' This is the same story you tricked me with when we were seven. Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice--"
"I'm serious this time," Hunter insisted. "Just... just look."
He turned on the laptop and instantly brought up a grainy photo of two sports cars: one black and red, the other white. Spike leaned forward and scrutinized the photo only to find absolutely nothing unusual about them.
"What am I supposed to be looking at?" he asked Hunter.
"They're driving down a highway."
"So?"
"And they don't have any drivers."
Spike's eyes went wide as he looked at the picture again, realizing the absence of drivers. "That's... bizarre. Wouldn't anyone else on the highway notice that?"
"It was pretty late at night," Hunter said. "And they weaved though traffic pretty quickly like they were in a hurry."
Spike slowly nodded before saying, "Wait, what were you doing by the highway?"
"Visiting Jimmy at his garage. It's just off the road." Closing the laptop, Hunter looked around in a conspiratorial manner before saying quietly, "He says that he sees them drive by at least once everyday. Every. Single. Day."
"Think it might mean something?"
"Of course it means something! It's too bizarre for it not to. Anyway, Jimmy wants us to 'help him out' at the garage tomorrow and, you know, catch these cars in action. Would that be all right with your folks?"
"Sure, I'll ask them. My dad is friends with Jimmy's, so I'm sure he'd be cool with it."
As he got up from the sofa, he suddenly paused and then looked at Hunter questioningly. "Wait, what does this have to do with aliens?"
"Everything."
* * *
The bus rocked softly as it crossed the border between California and Oregon, heading into the latter. Dawn was just beginning to break as the sun emerged from beyond the horizon.
Sitting near the driver, Verity Carlo anxiously waited for the bus to come to her stop. She did not like being in one place for a long time, even if it was a moving transport; she preferred being constantly on the move.
Sighing quietly, she looked down at the small device she held in her hand. "Borrowed" from a shady-looking businessman a couple of days ago, she had been attracted to it by its unique, M-shaped symbol, the letter itself being surrounded by a gear shape. She had no idea what the device was or how to work it, but was determined to figure out its meaning.
As the bus prepared to enter a highway, Verity pulled the pull cord over her head, forcing the bus to stop. After tipping the driver, she stepped off the bus and began trekking the off road, her eyes set on a car garage in the distance. For the most part, she ignored the loud roar of cars going down the highway, only sparing them brief glances.
However, she let her gaze linger on a pair of sports cars- identical in model, but not color scheme- that zoomed right past her.
Both of them lacked drivers.
Her heart raced. Unsure if she had simply imagined it, Verity nonetheless quickened her pace.
* * *
"There they go again," Jimmy Pink commented as two sports cars- the same ones Hunter had shown Spike- drove past the auto garage. "Every day is the same; they speed down the highway, slow down a bit as they pass here, and then speed off."
Spike yawned as Jimmy said this; not out of boredom, but because Jimmy had asked them to arrive super early in the morning to help open up shop.
"How long has it been like this?" he asked.
Jimmy scratched the back of his head. "Um... since last month, actually. Right after Pop got me my car."
Leaning against an old pickup truck under repair, Hunter's eyes went wide. "No way. You've got your own car? Where is it? What model is it?"
"It's that old yellow Beetle out front," Jimmy said, pointing a thumb over his shoulder. "Got it for cheap at a used car lot."
"Think those sports cars are, like, connected to it or something?" Spike asked.
Jimmy snorted. "Doubt it. Who'd be interested in an old, beat-up hatchba-"
He was cut off when the doors to the shop swung open and a seventeen-year old girl rushed in, panting heavily as if she had just escaped from something.
Smiling, Jimmy walked over to lean against the front counter. "Well, well, if it isn't Verity Carlo. What brings you all the way over here?" He grinned roguishly. "Was it my good looks? My charming personality?"
Verity glared at him as she slapped down a gray object onto the counter. "This."
Raising an eyebrow, Jimmy picked up the device- a handheld computer of sorts- and admired it, specifically eying the unique symbol on its cover. "What is this?"
"I was hoping you'd tell me," Verity said. "You are an expert on more than just cars, right?"
"Right," Jimmy murmured. He looked over the device before lifting his gaze to Verity. "Why were you in such a rush?"
She glanced out the window before saying quietly, "I just saw these two sports cars driving down the highway. Neither of them had drivers."
Jimmy smirked. "You too, huh? They've been driving by here everyday for a month now."
"What do you think it could mean?"
He shrugged. "They could be remote controlled and set on a predestined course. But it still doesn't explain--"
"Uh, guys?" Hunter said, sounding alarmed. "I think we should run."
Jimmy, Verity, and Spike all turned to look out the window... and saw the two driverless cars heading straight for the garage at full speed. All four kids dove for cover as the vehicles crashed through....
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