Free Valley of the Shadow by Tom Pawlik

wall. “Did anyone get hurt? . . . Okay, I’ll be right down.”
        He hung up the phone and stood. “Mr. Malone, would you be available if we need to contact you with further questions?”
        “Sure,” Jim said, sliding his chair over to give the big man room to get around him. “Why? What’s wrong?”
        Darnell paused in the doorway. “It seems our friend Mr. Marshall isn’t quite as sick as we thought. And maybe a little smarter too.”
        “What happened?”
        “That was the nurse from our infirmary. She had called an ambulance to transfer Devon to the hospital. And when they arrived at the hospital, he miraculously revived and managed to escape.”

13
    HOWARD ROLLED TO A STOP on the highway in front of the solitary figure.
        He was young, Mitch guessed. Probably in his early twenties, with short dark hair, thick eyebrows, not terribly tall but with an athletic build. His face seemed to light up as he studied Mitch and Howard. He was talking up a storm even before they had gotten out of the truck.
        “Man, am I glad to see you guys!” He came around to Mitch and stuck out a hand. “I’ve been on the run for two days now. D’you know what’s going on? It’s like an invasion or something, right?”
        He shook Mitch’s hand firmly. And repeatedly. Like a jackhammer.
        Mitch shrugged, casting a glance at Howard. “Well, something like that . . .”
        “Name’s Jason Devina. St. Louis.”
        “Uhh, yeah . . .” Mitch pulled his hand free. “I’m Mitch.”
        Howard waved. “Bristol. Howard Bristol.”
        Jason stood back, shaking his head. “I can’t tell you how glad I am to see you guys. I thought I was like the last man on earth, y’know?”
        “Well, I can assure you that ain’t the case,” Howard said.
        “So, you guys heard anything? any news? What’s going on?”
        Mitch scratched his head. “Actually . . . we don’t know a whole lot more than you do at this point. You say you’re from St. Louis?”
        Jason nodded, smiling. Still breathing heavy from relief. “Yeah, boy. I was driving home from work a couple nights ago. Well, I had stopped off at a bar first. But I’m driving down this empty highway when I see this cloud up ahead. Coming right toward me! Some kind of lights inside it. Like a UFO, y’know?”
        “Sounds familiar,” Howard said, looking sideways at Mitch.
        Then Jason grew serious. He lowered his voice. “Have you guys seen any . . . you know, any . . .”
        “Aliens?” Mitch was nodding. “Yeah. We’ve seen them.”
        Jason thrust his palms onto his forehead. “Oh man, I thought I was going nuts or something. Creepy-looking things. I mean . . . real creepy!”
        Howard gestured toward Jason’s car. A black Porsche. “You run outta gas?”
        “Yeah . . . and there’s no power around here. I couldn’t find any gas for miles.”
        “Well . . .” Howard stuck a thumb over his shoulder. “I got a place up the road a ways. It ain’t much, but we got food and shelter. You’re welcome to join us if you’d like.”
        Jason was already pulling a duffel bag out of the Porsche. “Thanks, man!”
        The three of them climbed into the milk truck, with Jason squeezed in the middle. He prattled on, recounting the details of the previous two days.
        Mitch didn’t say much. He had learned over the years not to provide too much information to strangers all at once. The whole time-paradox thing was often too much for people to handle. How Mitch and Howard had been living here for years while to the newcomers, it was almost always a brand-new experience.
        According to Jason’s recollection of events, the date he’d encountered the mysterious storm was only a couple of months after Mitch had . . . nearly five years ago. But that general timeline was