37 Days In A Strange World Read online

  Green slime slid down the window. Mykal rolled his window down to see how such a thick gel floated in the air. It confused him. Outside the vehicle looked like a green cotton cloud surrounded them, but where the green contacted the vehicle it turned into a wet slimy goop. The floating fog of green swirled and moved, but there didn’t appear to be any wind. Sound outside the vehicle didn’t exist as if sucked away.

  Watching the green fog Mykal realized the texture kept changing in an odd way. The green shifted from a soft pillow like cloud to a misty wet fog. It constantly swirled and moved though nothing seemed to generate the movement. The green stuff wouldn’t swirl or blow into his open window.

  The colors were amazing to look at. The green shades became a kaleidoscope of green with all the swirling movement. It changed from lime to chartreuse, then emerald, jade, sea green and everything in between with the constant swirling.

  Out of curiosity, Mykal stuck his right arm out the window into the green cotton like cloud. All his skin, up to his elbow suddenly became covered with an oily substance as the contact of the fog with his skin turned to slime. An unexpected jolt startled him. The tingling sensation to his flesh seemed similar to a 9-volt battery to a tongue. The exposed flesh turned dark green as if he stuck his arm into a can of stain. To the touch of his skin it stung cold. The instant tingling felt like his arm had fallen asleep. His hand trembled uncontrollably.

  When he pulled his arm back into the window the fluffy cotton ball of green left an excess of slimy gel on his arm. He held his arm out and watched the green syrup drip and dangle from his limb.

  ‘This ain’t right,’ he thought. His mind raced with regret as scenes of the 1958 movie The Blob tormented his thinking. “Oh shit,” he mumbled at the fear of being eaten alive by some strange green slime from outer space.

  With heart pounding terror, he flung the excess muck off his arm onto the floor of the vehicle near the feet of the middle passenger, Robert ‘Boris’ Traginsky. Some napkins remained on the floor from Boris’s breakfast. Mykal used the napkins to rub the green off his flesh. His skin was stained.

  Boris pointed to the floor. “Look at that. It evaporated, but it stained the floor,” he said.

  “What the hell is it?” Larry asked from beside Boris.

  “I don’t know,” Boris said and fumbled to get cigarettes out of his breast pocket. “It’s freaking me out.”

  Only the three in the second seat seemed to know Mykal stuck his arm into the slime. Denny continued yelling over Franklin Perry to Kurt trying to ascertain the chain of events.

  “I never seen anything like this,” Mykal said while eyeing his trembling green flesh. The prickly sensations were strong. He didn’t know the severity of damage he did to himself, but he feared the flesh of his arm was dying. He spit on his clean hand and tried to wash the green stain off. “Look at this.” He snorted nervously. “It won’t come off. I’m green.”

  Denny glanced back to Mykal. “Kurt, get us outta here,” he ordered. “I don’t want any more of that crap in here.”

  Kurt’s foot fell heavy on the gas, though they were blind to what lay ahead. The wheels just spun like they were on ice. The windshield wipers slapped the green slime off the glass as fast as possible to no avail.

  Kurt let up on the gas pedal and tried again. “Slow and easy so I don’t panic,” he spoke to himself. “I don’t know where the hell I’m going.”

  “I don’t care where you go, just get us the hell outta here,” Denny snapped. “This stuff is giving me the creeps.”

  “How big is this thing?” Kurt asked after several seconds creeping along with no end in sight.

  “Keep the vehicle straight and look at the odometer,” Boris said, forcing his own relaxation with each puff of tobacco.

  “It’ll be easy to find the road after we get out of this green haze thing,” Denny said and tried in vain to see past the slime covered windshield.

  “That was stupid of me to put my hand in it,” Mykal said and tried to hide his fear with a forced laugh. “What if it causes cancer or something?”

  “And you threw that mess at my feet?” Boris groaned.

  It felt they traveled ten miles to get out of the strange entombment of green. The odometer showed only 7/10 of a mile.

  “Kurt, stop the vehicle,” Denny said. “We need to get out and inspect for damages. If there’s any damage we gotta report it right away and determine if the driver’s at fault. You know, in the Air Force, ‘somebody’s gonna pay’,” Denny said before Kurt argued he didn’t do anything wrong.

  Denny looked like he had an upset stomach when he eyed the vehicle damage. “If the slime stained Mykal’s skin, it probably ruined the paint job too,” he moaned fretfully.

  “Look,” Franklin Perry said. “That green fog is actually moving away from us.”

  “Good,” Denny replied without looking. “Before we go anywhere or do anything, let’s see if we can wipe this mess off the vehicle.” Denny shook his head. “Today is gonna be a long one. We’re gonna have to write statements, get interrogated,” he exaggerated. “You know Edwards is gonna get us for vehicle abuse. Maybe if we hurry it won’t ruin the paint.”

  “Somebody fess up a t-shirt,” Larry demanded, looking at Franklin and Kim Nelson. Nelson sat in the third seat by himself with the weapons and web belts of ammunition. The two were easy targets for the clique of five.

  Larry crossed his arms. “I’m waiting,” he said. His Boston accent and newly shaved bald head made him look intimidating.

  “I’ll get one,” Boris said and threw his cigarette butt to the ground. “I have an extra towel.”

  “Oh damn,” Denny sighed. Boris wiped up much of the sloppy goop. The white towel congealed with a green gelatin mess. The blue paint of the vehicle had been stained green. “How the hell did it stain it? Too bad it’s not the right shade,” he said. They all knew he referred to some Air Force vehicles were painted green. “This isn’t gonna be acceptable. Someone’s gonna have to pay for it. And it’s not me,” Denny said and looked at Kurt.

  “But I didn’t do anything,” Kurt argued.

  “How are we gonna explain this?” Mykal sighed while rubbing the tingling in his limb.

  “Just tell ‘em the truth,” Larry said and laughed out loud.

  Denny frowned. “They’ll probably lock me up if I told the truth. Start thinking of a good lie,” he joked.

  “Don’t worry about it, Sarge.” Kurt shook his head with his hands on his hips. “You have six witnesses. If they don’t wanna believe us, well, to hell with them.”

  “Oh thanks, you’re a lot of help. They’ll never believe this. Never in a million years. I can see it now,” Denny said and waved his hand in front of them to imagine the scene. “Me, standing before the commander, ‘oh yes Sir, we were just driving along minding our own business, eager to get to work, and this slimy stuff attacked us and turned our vehicle green’. I’ll be locked up like that,” he said with a snap of his fingers.

  “Wait a minute Denny,” Mykal said while trying to shake the strange feeling from his arm. “Both Doc and Dobson’s squads have to turn down Highway 23. They shouldn’t be too far behind us, so they should be able to see this green fog-thing. They might even run into it like we did. Everyone will have to believe us then.”

  “Let’s not worry about it right now,” Larry said. “Let’s just get to work. I gotta get to sleep.” Larry turned around to look in all directions and appeared somewhat bewildered. “Just one question. Where the hell is the road? What the hell did you do with the road, Kurt?”

  They all turned to where Highway 23 should be, but the road wasn’t there. All were in agreement; they all became dizzy, they felt the vehicle spinning, so they must have become disoriented in the green fog. They also agreed the pavement shouldn’t be far off in whatever direction it lay.

  To their rear the green fog seemed to be moving a little faster. It also appeared to be getting smaller. Scanning the flat North Dakota land
, the rolling hills seemed larger than normal. The vast expanse of land seemed spread out father than they thought. “Maybe cuz we’re off the road and viewing it all from inside a slight valley,” Kurt offered.

  “These friggin hills seemed to be a little bigger than normal, don’t they?” Larry scoffed.

  “What the hell?” Mykal mumbled and scanned the area. “This doesn’t seem right at all.” To the north there appeared to be a large gathering of trees that looked like the start of a forest. “This is strange,” he said and sounded aggravated.

  “What is strange?” Nelson asked.

  “Look at that.” He pointed. He shook his arm. The tingling numbness seemed to be easing. “Have you ever seen that many trees in one spot before? I mean in North Dakota?” He paused and noticed more oddities.

  “Huh? I don’t believe it,” Denny mumbled under his breath. He Looked puzzled and pushed his security police beret back so he could scratch the top of his balding head.

  “Where the hell is the damn road?” Kurt raised his voice turning 360 degrees. His face showed frustration. “There’s no way we traveled far from the damn road.”

  “I have another question. Where are all the farm houses?” Mykal asked, looking for a familiar sight. “And look, does any of this land look like it’s ever been worked before, I mean for farm land? Coming out here I know I saw some farm houses today.”

  “But where the hell did all the trees come from?” Boris asked in response to Mykal’s first point. “I don’t remember ever seeing them before. Not that I really looked.”

  “Do you think we’re lost?” Franklin dared ask.

  “Shut up pimps,” Kurt barked. Franklin’s acne problem was an easy target. “No one’s talking to you. I didn’t get us lost.”

  “Wait a minute.” Mykal stopped Kurt from going after Franklin. “Are we lost?” He looked at Denny with his question.

  “Nah, we couldn’t have gotten lost,” Denny replied.

  “Well, I got another question then.” Mykal raised a suspicious eyebrow. “You know the old radar site? The Minot Air Station, where is it? It should only be a couple of miles in that direction,” he said pointing to the north. “Look, there’s nothing there and I know I saw it there when we turned onto Highway 23,” he said emphatically. “Kurt, how far down 23 did you get before we ran into the green fog?”

  “Just a couple of miles at the most, why?”

  “I know I was starting to doze off, but I wasn’t sleeping for any length of time, so the radar site should be right over there.” He pointed again. “Something’s not right here.”

  The seven stood there silent, baffled over the strange items Mykal listed. Their predicament didn’t make any sense, but there had to be a logical explanation.

  Franklin smiled. “Maybe we’re on Candid Camera.”

  “Get real, jerk wad.” Kurt said. “I know the road can’t be far from here. I only lost sight of the road for a few seconds before I stopped the vehicle.”

  “Well let’s find the damn road and get to work,” Denny demanded. “Cuz if we don’t, they’re gonna hang us all.”

  “Where the hell do you want me to look for it, Sarge?” Kurt gave a dumb look. “It’s nowhere to be seen.”

  “Well dip stick,” Mykal cut in. “Why don’t you try going back the same way we came? That fog is pulling farther away, so just follow our tracks in the grass. That should take us right back to the road.”

  “Well boss?” Kurt looked for Denny’s approval.

  “Yeah, let’s go. But whatever you do don’t go back into that green fog. We’re already going to catch hell for the paint job. Let’s not make it worse.”

  “Hell with the paint job, what about my arm? What if it eats my flesh or causes cancer or something?”

  “Man, it gives me the creeps,” Boris said as he threw his towel to the ground.

  Consequently with backtracking, Mykal discovered the closer they moved to the green fog, the more intense the tingling and numbing sensations returned. ‘Oh no, what the hell is this?’ He thought in quiet panic. It felt like bugs were crawling all over the green flesh of his arm.

  Mykal also noticed when Kurt slowed so as not to get too close, the intensity of the tingling and numbing sensations eased up. As the vehicle moved closer Mykal couldn’t stop the tremors in his limb.

  They all looked at Mykal. He held his hand out like a foreign object. Mykal couldn’t hide the fear in his eyes. Slowly they all pulled back. He knew they thought he was contagious.

  “What’s happening to me?” He blurted with fright. “I shoulda never put my hand in it.” He pushed his trembling hand from his body.

  Kurt jerked the vehicle to a stop. “What the hell? I don’t believe it. Where’s our damn tire tracks?” He gasped. “They just stopped in the middle of friggin nowhere,” he complained while stretching his neck to look over the dashboard.

  Everyone got out, no longer concerned about Mykal’s ‘flesh eating’ fear. They looked in all directions. There was nothing but grass and rolling hills.

  “It can’t be,” Denny gawked. “I don’t believe this.”

  “The grass hasn’t been touched,” Kurt gasped.

  “Damn, it’s like we were picked up and set down in the middle of a field,” Larry said and dropped to his knees where the tire tracks ended.

  “What the hell did you do Kurt?” Denny asked with clenched teeth. “I’m not in the mood for another damned prank.”

  “I didn’t do anything!” Kurt said. “I swear it felt like we were on the ground the whole time. Even when it felt like we were spinning.”

  “You don’t suppose it had something to do with that green fog, do you?” Nelson spoke up softly.

  “It had to be,” Kurt said. “What else could it be? One minute we’re sliding and spinning, the next we’re off pavement.”

  “But could the green fog pick us up and carry us away?” Nelson asked, nervously fingering his thin lips.

  “Who the hell knows?” Denny threw his hands in the air. “That sounds so damn crazy.”

  “I’m really confused,” Mykal said and shook his head.

  “I don’t think it’s possible that we coulda left the ground,” Kurt said.

  “I agree, but how do you explain all the stuff Myk just pointed out?” Boris said, taking a deep drag on a new cigarette.

  “Alright, cool,” Mykal said with relief as soon as the strange sensations and the odd color of his flesh disappeared.

  “Look,” Franklin shouted. “That green fog just vanished.”

  “And my hand is back to normal.” Mykal showed everyone.

  “The vehicle is not green either.” Nelson, the outsider, gladly shared the good news.

  “Alright. Hot damn.” Kurt laughed. “Now we don’t have to explain that one away.”

  “What the hell is going on around here?” Denny asked. “I’m glad about the paint, and your hand, but this don’t make sense.”

  “You have just entered the Twilight Zone.” Boris laughed, trying his best to imitate Rod Serling. He whistled the theme song and the others joined him.

  CHAPTER TWO – Day 1

  1. Thursday, June 23rd 1983

  1104 hours, Location Unknown (not in North Dakota)

  “How long have we been lookin’ for the damn road?” Larry’s Boston accent clearly displayed his annoyance.

  “It’s been about nine minutes,” Boris replied glancing at his watch. “And I’m getting pissed off too.”

  Mykal’s frustration got the best of him. “We shoulda found the friggin road by now, Kurt.”

  Franklin moaned. “Man, we’re gonna have to call for help.”

  “No we’re not,” Kurt cut him off. “Not yet.”

  “Denny, I’m tellin’ ya, we’re not in North Dakota anymore,” Larry tittered though he didn’t look amused. “I don’t know what the hell happened, but we’re not in North Dakota and I’m really startin’ to get pissed off. Kurt! I’m gonna ask you for the last damn time. What
did you do to us?”

  “Did you take off to Montana while we were sleeping?” Boris huffed. His accusation sounded like an attack.

  “No. I swear it guys,” Kurt replied but couldn’t keep his nervous laugh to himself. “Honest. I didn’t do anything. I’m just as confused as you. It looks like North Dakota, but I don’t know where we are or what happened.”

  “Crap,” Denny sighed dejectedly. “I guess we better call Wing Security and let them know we’re lost. They’re gonna think we’re friggin idiots,” he groaned. “How the hell do you get lost on a straight road?”

  “Just call it in,” Larry advised. “Don’t worry about it.”

  “Yeah, but they’re gonna think I’m a damn idiot. Hell, I think I’m a damn idiot,” Denny mused with a fretful smile. “I’ve been in North Dakota for ten years, and I gotta call for help cuz I’m lost.” He put his head in his hand and shook his head.

  “Blame it on Kurt,” Larry said sternly.

  “I didn’t do anything. Denny, I swear it. It had to be that green fog.”

  Denny scoffed. “You want me to believe that green fog just picked us up and carried us away? Right?”

  “Our tracks ended,” Kurt said defensively. “You saw it.”

  “I’m not buying it. It doesn’t make sense,” Denny said and slapped the dashboard. “We’re in a damn field, in North Dakota,” he fumed in denial.

  “There has to be a logical explanation,” Boris offered and blew smoke. “Maybe that green fog got Kurt disoriented and he took us out by the North Dakota and Montana border.”

  “No, we were only in the green fog one or two minutes,” Kurt retorted. “I feel like I’m talking to a brick wall.”

  “Or maybe,” Boris continued and snapped his fingers. “The military slash government is doing some kinda bizarre testing and we got caught up in the middle of it. Maybe they’re working on some kinda transporting device and it screwed up.”

  “I’m not buying that either,” Denny grumbled.