A compact Chevy went poomph as it heaved cheap upholstery moonward. Except for the carnival of exploding vehicles, the parking area was rapidly emptying. Ross Ed wondered at the nature of the aliens’ weapons but felt no overriding desire to linger in the vicinity to conduct a detailed analysis.

As the van screeched to a halt next to him, he wrenched open the side door and unceremoniously dumped Jed inside. Following a moment later, he squeezed himself through the opening and yelled, “Go, go!”

“What d’you think I’m trying to do? Thromp the brake?”

Hunched over and moving forward, he was nearly thrown into the dash as she slammed into reverse. After taking a moment to secure Jed, he fought his way into the passenger chair and sat down hard, gripping the foldaway armrests.

“Got him!” he told her triumphantly.

She wasn’t impressed. “Sure is a lot of trouble to go through for a dead alien.” Her voice rose as she abused a Honda. “Ger going or get out of the way!” Off to their left another couple of trees came crashing down.

One after another, those vehicles still in operating condition bounced, raced, or flew up the track in the direction of the main din road, their frantic drivers handling them as if they were trying for the checkered flag at Indianapolis.

Leaning out the window and looking back, Ross Ed saw puffs of haze rise as owners brought out fire extinguishers to cope with minor incapacitating blazes. The explosions seemed to have ceased. Those cars which weren’t burning and hadn’t been blown up were filled to overflowing with squawking cultists.

Grabbing at him, Caroline indicated the view out her side. “Look, they’re leaving!”

Ross turned just in time to see the two aliens reenter their cube-ship. The pink glow vanished as the strange doorway irised shut and the wail-whine promptly built to a complaint of stentorian proportions. Majestically, the great vessel lifted above the lakeshore.

He was distracted by a knocking on his door. The young couple that was running alongside couldn’t have been out of their twenties.

“Please, mister, let us in! Our car’s gone, blown up.”

“I dunno.” He considered the distraught duo.

“Come on, Ross, let them in.” Caroline smiled reassuringly. “It won’t be any trouble. We can drop them somewhere.” She eased off on the accelerator and the van slowed. The exhausted pair quickly climbed in back.

“There it goes.” She leaned into the wheel so he could see.

The cube-ship was accelerating. Soon it was a drifting piñata pinned against the stars, then a blocky smudge, and at last it was gone.

“Hey!” The woman, who was Hollywood pretty, lifted her legs off the carpet. “There’s the thing that caused all the trouble.”

“Oh no.” Reaching back, Ross Ed scooped up the alien body and cradled it protectively. “It wasn’t Jed’s fault.”

“So that’s what it’s called.” The husband eyed the corpse speculatively. “Walter told us it had a name.” He leaned back, resting on his elbows. His overcape was torn and filthy, with the everyday clothes beneath in not much better shape. The shoes he wore would have cost Ross several days’ pay.

“What d’you think went wrong, Sues?”

“I don’t know.” The woman was on the verge of tears. Ross supposed she was entitled. “Everything was going so well.” Turning, she hugged her husband close. “At least now we know for sure that they’re out there, Bobby.”

“Yeah, and they can stay out there.” Ross Ed shifted the uncomplaining Jed to the other side of his lap. “What the hell happened?”

“I don’t know.” The husband was inconsolable. “Maybe the Circle chose the wrong chant. Perhaps the phase of the moon had something to do with it.” He gestured at Jed. “Maybe that’s not a real alien after all.”

“But what about the glow from the presentation pod, Bobby?” his wife objected. “What caused that, if not the alien?”

The young man’s face twisted. “Walter and Martha always struck me as pretty slick customers. They could’ve rigged something up to fake it.”

She pulled away from him. “Well, they didn’t fake that ship, or those horrible mean creatures who came out of it!”

“That’s true.” The husband inclined his head back, as if he could see through the roof of the van. “There are aliens out there, all right.”

“Uh-huh,” agreed Ross Ed, “and we sure learned one thing from them tonight.”

Lightly shadowed blue eyes regarded him expectanly. ‘It’s that, mister? That interstellar travel is really possible, or that there are more than one intelligent species out there?”

He scowled at her. “We learned that they don’t want to be bothered. I figure that when Jed started up that light he must’ve also sent out some kind of signal that traveled farther. Maybe it interrupted the other aliens’ flight plan, called ’em off course somehow. Or maybe it just ruined their TV reception. Who can say? All I know is that you can’t just go around shooting off messages and signals and disrupting communications all over the place and expect folks to react with happy talk and big smiles. I don’t know where the hell they came from or how they found this spot and Jed, but I do know that they were mighty damn angry about it.”

“Angry, sure, and so they delivered a lesson.” The woman was too optimistic to be unrepentant.

“Angry, my ass.” Caroline glanced back at their passengers. “Somebody could’ve been killed! Everybody could’ve been killed.”

“Me. I’d say that was a pretty stern warning,” Ross contended. “You’d better be sure who you’re contacting and how you go about it. Next time they might blow up more than trees and cars. There are some things mankind isn’t meant to understand.”

Caroline frowned at him. “You really believe that, Ross Ed?”

“Well, no. But it sure makes sense when they say it in all those films that turn up on the Late Show.”

“I wonder what they were?” Once more the woman curled up close to her husband. “Besides ill-tempered, I mean.”

“Let somebody else find out.” The young man eyed Ross hopefully. “You’ll take us back to Show Low? I’m positive that from there I can wire my parents for airfare home.”

“Yeah, sure. Why not?” Ross settled back in the captain’s chair. “We’ll drop you off in town. It’s on our way to Lubbock anyway.” He winked at Caroline and then, wondering exactly how the hell it popped into his head, he added, “They were Ceryutians.” She gaped wordlessly at him.

“Yes, Ceryutians. I’m certain of it. Fourth planet out from the eighth star in the L’Sariax Sector.”

“Is that a fact?” The husband’s reply was challenging. “And just how do you happen to know that?”

“Hey, if you’d seen a Ceryutian before you wouldn’t have to ask. They’re famous for their tempers. It was bad enough to draw them off course, but the fact that it was to a backwater primitive world like Earth made it much worse.”

“Why, that makes perfect sense.” The wife giggled. ‘tell us another one, mister.” When Ross Ed didn’t reply, she turned solemnly to her mate. “I told you we shouldn’t have gotten involved with the Circle, Bobby. We should have listened to the Swami Rajmanpursata. Why, I was near his meditation center in Brentwood just last week and—”

“All right already.” Her husband dropped his head into his hands. “So the Swami was right. As soon as we get back home we’ll discuss the whole business with him and see what he has to say.”

“That’s my Bobby-guy.” It grew very quiet in back.

They were back on the main forest road when Caroline looked over at Ross and inquired, “Ceryutians? Eighth planet of the fourth star?”

“Fourth planet of the eighth star. L’Sariax Sector.” He spread his hands helplessly. “Hey, I just call ’em as I see ’em.”

“Uh-huh,” she replied slowly. “Ross, have you ever stopped to think how you see them?”

“Not really. Sometimes stuff like that just son of comes to me.” He grinned infectiously. “Guess I’ve got a good imagination.”

“Sure you do. You’ve also spent several weeks in close proximity to a real, genuine, dead alien. Ever think the two might be connected?”

“I try not to think about this whole business to much. Huns my head.”