Abducted from Fire Creek

This book is a work of fiction. People, places, events, and situations are the product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or historical events, is purely coincidental.

© 2005 Tommy L. Gardner. All Rights Reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

First published by AuthorHouse 03/23/05

ISBN: 1-4208-3696-X(sc)

ISBN: 1-4208-3695-1(dj)

ISBN: 9781463482503 (ebk)

Printed in the United States of America

Bloomington, Indiana

Contents

CAST OF CHARACTERS

INTRODUCTION

CAST OF CHARACTERS

INTRODUCTION

One of the most bizarre topics of discussion, especially since the Roswell incident of 1951 has been that of UFO’s, unidentified flying objects.

Doubters and believers alike have pressured their points for many years. This fascinating topic has dwelled on the minds of almost everyone, including governments and professionals around the world.

Skeptics have laughed, tried to disprove, and showed some signs of intrigue at the amazingly similar stories from those who have either seen or have been abducted.

With the mind-boggling size of our galaxy and the vast distances to other galaxies and beyond, you must admit that we can’t dismiss the possibility that we are not alone. Our little planet is only a spec of sand in a vast universe made up of billions of galaxies.

UFO reports have been scrutinized, ignored, filed and even brought to the forefront of all of us. Surely these stories and admissions must intrigue us, amaze us, and make us wonder if any or all of it is true.

Etchings and drawings of flying crafts have been found in 10,000 year-old caves and on land surfaces in many countries. Too much is being laughed off and covered up by those who probably don’t want to know if it is true. Our desire to know the truth flourishes today.

The story you are about to read is not unlike thousands of others being told from every corner of the planet. Read it with an open mind, let your imagination run free, and consider the chance that it could be true.

Colorado is a majestic, beautiful part of our country. Fire Creek, sitting nestled in the northwestern corner of the state, is no exception.

Life there is quiet and slow-paced. Almost everyone in Fire Creek knows each other in the small town of about 3,000 people. The leisurely pace of life was enjoyed by everyone, especially a young inquisitive taxi driver named Randall Shipley.

Randall could be described as an ordinary young man by many and somewhat strange by others. His likeable, witty behavior is well known and expected by riders in his taxi.

Randall is one of five brothers who grew up in Fire Creek as closely as brothers could be. He is the second youngest of the group.

He always seemed to have a strong influence on his brothers, and most others he comes in contact with. His stories recited to his riders were carried around town rapidly.

Enjoy the story and try to put yourself in the place of Randall as the story progresses.

It was a cool, early fall day in Fire Creek, Colorado. Randall Shipley, a self-employed taxi driver, was on his way to town to begin his daily ritual of transporting his passengers to destinations all over town.

Randall, a single guy, lived about a few miles from town. He lived in a chalet he built, with help from his four brothers, Warren, Sammy, Ben, and Jeff.

Randall’s family was very close and stayed in contact through dinners at the home of the parents, Robert and Louise. Other times of getting together included church, where pastor Bob looked forward to the large family in attendance.

As he rode into town to make his first pick-up, Randall waved to friends along the streets. Everyone in Fire Creek knew Randall very well. A lot of them had ridden in his taxi at one time or another.

His first pick-up was miss Rebecca Taylor, an old maid who daily went across town to spend the day with a friend. Miss Taylor knew too well of Randall’s fascination with UFO’s, and she made sure everyone in town knew as well.

As she entered the taxi, she pleasantly spoke to Randall and remarked about what a nice day it was. Randall enjoyed talking to miss Taylor, but he knew she would get upset if he began his talk of how he felt about his favorite topic of discussion.

As the taxi proceeded through town, miss Taylor would often complain about Randall’s driving and his failure to keep his mind on his business.

She would tell him to slow down, speed up, move over or watch that person walking across the street. Randall would always sit quietly and let her talk, for fear of upsetting her and possibly losing her regular business.

As miss Taylor was leaving the taxi, she would invariably tell Randall to not let a UFO get him, that they may take him and his taxi to Mars or somewhere.

This always upset Randall when his friends and others made such remarks. Even though he routinely talked of seeing UFO’s, he was very serious about it and didn’t like jokes and pranks from others.

The day was a usual one as Randall took his lunch break at Larry’s Burger Shop. He had eaten at the shop for a few years and was always anxious to see his friend, Larry.

Inside the shop, he saw several friends, along with his best friend, Jonathan. He and Jonathan sat in a rear booth and talked about what they’d heard and seen in Fire Creek since they last saw each other.

Jonathan asked Randall how his daily trip with miss Taylor went. Randall said it was a normal day, that her jabs at him about UFO’s were the same as the last trip. They talked for a while before both had to return to their jobs.

Back at home after a hard day in the cab Randall would enjoy an evening on the back deck of his chalet. From there he could see across the forest around three sides of his chalet.

After firing up the grill, he went inside to gather food to be prepared for himself and his girlfriend, Betty Ann. The two of them were very close and spent a lot of time together.

Betty Ann operated a clothing store in town and closed the store about 5:30 pm daily. She arrived at Randall’s in time to prepare a salad to go with the pork chops Randall had cooked on the grill.

The evening was a quiet one, with the cool air penetrating the forest around them. They sat on the couch together and watched their favorite television show and frequently laughing about something they’d seen in town during the day.

As Betty Ann cleaned up after the meal, Randall was gazing at the clear, brisk sky through his large telescope on the back deck. He turned to Betty Ann and said, Did you see that? Betty Ann said, It must have been one of those shooting stars or something.

Randall rebounded by saying that the light was moving south to north, low in the sky; that it must have been a UFO. Betty Ann had heard all this before and simply went along with Randall about his sighting.

The next few days would be routing ones, with Randall transporting his passengers from all areas of Fire Creek. Lunches at Larry’s Burger Shop were a daily occurrence. Randall’s frequent calls to members of his family and to Betty Ann seemed to consume the time he didn’t have anyone in the taxi.

Sunday morning came, and Randall picked up Betty Ann for the weekly trip to church services. There, they’d meet the rest of Randall’s family.

As the large group entered the church, Randall’s mom, Louise, would inquire about his work and how he was doing. The brothers and families would sit together. The group would require at least two full pews.

As the singing would penetrate the walls of the church, Randall would sing a good bit louder than anyone in the church. This was sometimes a delight and sometimes a distraction to others. He sang quite well, but he sometimes drew the attention of Betty Ann as she jabbed his side and told him to hold it down a little.

As the pastor delivered his sermon, other members of the family would listen. Randall, however, would let his imagination escape to his recent sightings that he was convinced were UFO’s. Again, Betty Ann would bring him back to reality with a good pinch to the arm.

As they left the church, the pastor would greet everyone at the door. As usual, when Randall approached him, the pastor asked him when he would consider moving into town. Randall explained that he enjoyed his chalet out of town and the forest surrounding it.

After services, the parents would ask the entire group over for lunch at their home. This was a weekly routine. It was quite an undertaking, but Mrs. Shipley would have it no other way. She had been cooking and preparing for the meal since Saturday night.

The dinner table was a very long and large one. Randall would always sit at one end of it, his father at the other. Randall had to be in a position to be seen and heard as he sometimes told of the UFO he’d seen that week.

Mr. Shipley would interrupt him with a request for food to be passed to him. The brothers would always just nod and continue to eat. Betty Ann knew she couldn’t stop his stories, and she never tried.

After lunch, Ben let Randall know that people in town were talking about him and his UFO sightings. This didn’t bother Randall at all as he simply said he saw what he saw.

After the ritualistic Sunday get-together, Randall couldn’t wait to return home. Upon arriving, he sat up his telescope on the deck and spent a couple of hours gazing into the clear, cool sky.

It was about 7:45 pm, and the sky was lighting up with bright stars. As Randall slowly scanned the sky, he excitedly searched for any movement.

As he viewed the northern sky, his heart raced as he saw three lights moving in a V formation from right to the left. He hoped they’d get closer, but they seemed to disappear just as suddenly as they had appeared.

He watched through his telescope for another hour or so, but nothing unusual was seen. He decided to call it a day and get to bed early.

Monday morning came, and Randall left in his taxi after a night of very little sleep. He was torn between telling what he had seen the night before and keeping it quiet to avoid more talk from the people in town.

Miss Taylor had called early for the ride to her friend’s home. Randall answered the call for the first one of the day.

Good morning, miss Taylor. You’re visiting your friend again, huh?

Mind your own business, Randall. Your job is to drive me where I want to go, no matter where it is.

Let me tell you what I saw last night through my telescope. It was awesome.

Randall, don’t start all that crazy talk about those flying things in the air again. You know I don’t believe in them, and neither does anyone else in Fire Creek.

You never believe me, do you?

Sure I do. Sure I do, Randall.

No you don’t. Nobody does. One day, you’ll all see what I’ve been seeing. Then you’ll all know the truth.

Sure, Randall. Just get me over to my friend’s home before we take off to Mars or somewhere.

Randall drove across town to her friend’s house and let her out. He said, I’ll pick you up at 3 o’clock.

Sure, Randall. If you’re not here, I’ll know one of those goofy looking little creatures took you away. Get them to call me if they do so I can get another way home.

Randall was now on his next call. He looked forward to all his passengers and enjoyed conversations with them, especially about his strange hobby.

Promptly at noon, he arrived at the burger shop and anxiously looked forward to seeing friends again. Everyone inside knew what the topic of conversation would be when Randall entered the shop. They purposely began talking to each other instead of letting him start the talking. Most of them ignored Randall, but some spoke and greeted him as they always did. Larry knew how to handle him and took his stories with a grain of salt.

How’s it going, Larry?

Fine, Randall. How is the taxi business?

You won’t believe what I saw last night, Larry.

Tell me about it Randall. I can’t wait to hear about it.

I was on my deck, when this UFO flew out of the valley east of me. It had lots of lights, and it flew straight over my chalet.

Why don’t you ever take pictures of those things when you see them, Randall?

Oh, I don’t have time when I see them. They fly so fast I can hardly see them.

A customer said, That’s the trouble, Randall. We don’t think you hardly see them at all.

You don’t believe me, do you? None of you believe me.

Randall finished his burger and soda and calmly went back to his taxi, not upset anymore that his audience had already forgotten about what he’d told them.

In his cab, Randall turned on his radio to his favorite station and enjoyed some country music before making his next stop.

His next call wasn’t from a customer, but from his brother, Warren. His mom wanted him to stop by to talk to her after work.

Loyal to his mother, Randall promptly drove to his mom’s house after his last passenger, anxious to see what she wanted to talk about. Warren also met him there.

What’s up, mom?

Sit down, son. Warren and I want to talk to you about something.

About what?

Son, Warren and I are worried about you and what you’re telling in town about UFO’s and all that stuff.

All that stuff? You don’t believe me, either. Nobody does. You believe me, don’t you Warren?

Look, Randall. I’m your older brother. I really want to believe you, but you have to see it from our viewpoint.

But you don’t, do you?

Randall, we just want you to stop and think about what you’re doing. We don’t want to hurt your feelings, but everyone in town is talking about you.

How does the rest of the family feel, mom?

We want to understand your interest in UFO’s, son. We just want you to slow it down a little.

Slow down what?

The wild stories you’ve been telling, Randall. Just try to realize how other people see what you’re doing, okay?

Randall had always had the support of his family, no matter what the issue, but he was disturbed that his family felt the way they did. He didn’t want to embarrass them, but he didn’t want to admit that his UFO tales were of his own desire to actually see one.

Randall did have a few friends with whom he was closer than others. Franklin, a friend since high school, didn’t exactly share Randall’s interest in UFO’s, but he did give his support by not criticizing him. His best friend, Jonathan, bowled and played golf with him. Then there was Betty Ann. Surely she supported him.

Thursday nights meant bowling for Randall, Jonathan, Franklin and others. Some of them bowled together on an organized bowling league.

Randall got through his day in the taxi, telling his stories and listening to others. He then had dinner with Betty Ann and got ready for the anticipated night of bowling.

Betty Ann accompanied him on the way to pick up Jonathan. Jonathan lived with his wife and two children on Chestnut, a nice section of town. His wife didn’t like the idea of Jonathan spending too much time with Randall because of all the UFO talk. But she appreciated their friendship and didn’t interfere.

What’s happening, Jonathan?

Not much, Randall. How is it with you?

I can’t wait, Jonathan. I’m going to bowl my best game ever tonight.

This brought laughter from Jonathan and Betty Ann.

Sure you are, Randall. You say that every week.

Tonight’s different, Jonathan. I haven’t felt this good in a long time. I’ll bowl about 235, 240 and 229. How about those apples?

If you do that, I’ll bowl a perfect game, Randall.

I’m ready tonight, Jonathan.

Now, don’t tell me one of those space creatures gave you some kind of ability to let you bowl like that.

No, man. You always bring up something about UFO’s, don’t you?

Well, I’ve certainly heard enough about them from you to know a lot about them.

Just wait until you see one of them, Jonathan. You won’t be so quick to make fun of me.

I’m not making fun of you, Randall. I just can’t understand why you keep on and on with that stuff.

Jonathan, one day I’ll really have something to tell you. Then you’ll really believe me.

It took about 10 minutes to drive to the bowling alley. The town was alive with the usual traffic of teens driving from one end of town to the other end and back again. Lots of them recognized him and harassed him. Randall ignored them, knowing it would only get worse if he didn’t.

Randall, Jonathan and Betty Ann pulled into the parking lot to see the league team members already there. A member of an opposing team ran to greet them. He asked if they had just landed. This infuriated Jonathan, and he let the guy know it.

Where did I land what?

The space ship, the space ship.

Come on, guys. Let’s have some fun tonight and not talk about UFO’s.

You mean Randall can go for three hours without mentioning a UFO?

Sure he can. Let’s get started.

Randall and his team members slapped hand in a high five manner, gave a cheer, and let their opponents know that they were in for a game.

As Randall’s team was ready to bowl, he approached the line like a large cat on the prowl. He ignored the jeers from his opponents, made his approach, and threw his first strike of the night. In a humorous manner, he delivered a bow to the opponents.

Franklin bowled his best game ever. He was greeted with high-fives from Randall after each strike. Time passed, and Randall and his team won the match. Randall didn’t quite bowl his best game ever, but he