Free Secrets of Ugly Creek by Cheryel Hutton

“He’s great.” Big understatement. “Did you hear the part about the little gray critter?”
    “I heard. So, he’s not the major loser you thought he was. I didn’t think you’d fall for a loser. I’ve got more faith in you than that.”
    “I’m not falling for him. The point is I still don’t know how much to trust him.”
    “Time will tell. Now for the important stuff. When are you going to see him again?”
    A movement near the boundary between the yard and the woods pulled my attention from the conversation. What I saw there had me sucking in air. “Gotta go, Liza. There’s an alien in the backyard.”

Chapter 10
    I put down my phone and slowly moved toward the little creature standing ten feet from my mother’s back porch. “Hello, I won’t hurt you.”
    “I know. We have observed you, and believe you might be able to assist us.”
    “Me? I don’t know anything about aliens.”
    “You need no knowledge. What we are in need of is what humans call psychic ability.”
    Okay, this was seriously crazy. “I’m not psychic.”
    “All humans are, to one extent or another. We believe we can link our ability to human ability and structure a chain of sorts in order to get our ship restarted.”
    “You can’t start your ship?”
    “We are having difficulty, yes. There was some damage on our last landing. The only way to express the problem to you is to say we used up our ability in repair and now cannot lift off.”
    “I’ll be glad to help you if I can, but I’ll bet Aunt Octavia would be more help.”
    His, or maybe her, head inclined. “Anyone you believe helpful would be welcomed.”
    The screen door behind me opened. Mom stood there, staring at the little guy and me. “He needs psychic help,” I told her.
    “Aunt Octavia,” Mom said. “I’ll call her.” She pulled out her phone just as the doorbell rang.
    “Should have known.” Mom smiled and headed back into the house.
    Two minutes later, Mom and Aunt Octavia came down the steps and into the back yard. I wasn’t terribly surprised that Liza wasn’t far behind them. Her car must have sprouted wings—or a jet engine.
    Auntie went right over to the little creature. “It is a pleasure to meet you.”
    “The feeling is mutual,” he (she?) said.
    As the three of us more-or-less normal humans looked on, the alien and the psychic discussed the problem in terms I could only guess at. Finally, it was decided that we would all meet the alien tomorrow morning in the woods near where Mac and I first saw him.
    “Are you sure you need us?” I asked Aunt Octavia after the alien had gone.
    “Absolutely, it will take all of us to get the ship going. After the first liftoff, it will be easier. But the first time will take a big boost of energy, and we humans have very little compared to them.”
    “Even you?” I admit I was surprised by this. I’d have thought she’d have enough psychic energy to boost that ship off without any help.
    She chuckled. “I don’t have more energy than anyone else. I’ve just learned to channel that energy better.”
    I was contemplating that when Aunt Octavia announced she needed to go home and prepare. Soon Liza also left, and Mom went off to her painting. Left alone, I went up to my childhood bedroom and spent some time putting the finishing touches on my article on Mac and his documentary.
    I was almost finished when my phone chirped. My boss. “Hello, sir.”
    “Can you give me one good reason for you to stay any longer?” Mr. Grainger’s voice, even through the phone, could make people fear for their lives.
    “Sir, I believe there are things still to be learned.”
    “I’m sure there are, but I don’t want to pay you—and a photographer—to find out. Unless you have evidence McFain is hiding a body down there, you need to get yourself back to DC.”
    It was tempting. Getting away from that pain in the ass man, leaving behind the talking dog, letting somebody else take care of the non-humans. I