Hey, you might be wondering who I am? I’m Steven Jackson, your average joe. Now you know who I am, let’s cut to the chase. I’m the norm of young adults around here. I wish I could have gone to college so that my life could amount to something, but my parents wouldn’t let me. Martin and Kelly Jackson, the typical Bostonians of 2012. They weren’t particularly a joy to be with. So here I am in Nevada, just south of Vegas. Boulder City’s a quiet town, despite the few grade A jerks that pop in for some grease. The golden arches welcome all, right?

I hate working here. It’s a dump! This other kid, Kenneth Thompson, and I work the registers. Thank the heavens I’m not working in the kitchen! Kenneth is still in high school, a junior as a matter of fact. To top the whole thing off, he gets a better wage than me! It’s ridiculous! Another thing I can’t stand is my boss, Mr. Joe Shotwell. I know for a fact Mr. Shotwell hates me. He doesn’t show it verbally, but I still know he does. The way he looks at me just reeks of disgust. I nicknamed him Mr. Shatwell for obvious reasons I do not wish to share.

So here I am, wasting my life in this hellhole where people are supposed to be “lovin’ it” all the time. Things would soon change on this one fateful day.


It must be the worst day on Earth. I’m ruining my day in this local McDonald’s on such a day as today. I can picture everyone outside right now hanging out around their pools, having parties and stuff like that. At least I’ve got thing to look forward to. Jamie Kennedy and I are going out later. Jamie has shimmering, flowing hair. Back in high school, she was a preppy. She deserves someone better than me. We do have a lot in common and are into many of the same things, like jogging. If we both didn’t like doing our daily routines, we would have never met. Yes, we did meet on the pleasant streets of Boulder City jogging.

Business is booming today. Everyone seems to have a craving for artery-clogging Big Macs and salty french fries. I’m sitting there at the cash register, people scrolling up the lines like sheep being herded. Then Mr. Shotwell comes out of his office in the back. Kenneth leans over and whispers to me, “Better watch out. Here comes Shotwell!”

Shotwell’s been trying to get higher in the ranks of men. For now, he’s stuck here being the boss of this lovely establishment. He comes over towards me. “Come with me, Mr. Jackson.” he says in his smug, monotone accent.

I follow Shotwell to “Hell’s Gate” as everyone calls his office. “Sit down.” he says, gesturing to a rough, uncomfortable recliner.

“I’ve gotten complaints by some customers that they do not like a cashier’s glum attitude.”

“And I’m guessing you think it’s me.”

“Yes.”

“Mr. Shotwell. You should know by now that there are two types of people in this town.”

“What would those be?”

“There are the overly-happy people and the jerks. I’m willing to bet that a jerk complained about me. No wait, possibly an old geezer who complains about everything they see.”

“That’s quite enough!” says Shotwell. He’s beginning to sound like my mother! “You are going to go back out there and you are going to put a big smile on your face!”

I swear, when I find a job that’s hiring, I’ll take it. Anything to escape the wrath of Mother Shotwell.

As I get to the register, I hear a silent jingle. I take out my phone. Riley’s calling?! Why is Riley calling? Riley Moten has been my best friend since the 1st grade. He’s jobless right now living in Nevada’s wastelands in an RV he probably bought using all of his college money. Riley never enjoyed school and was always picked on. He’s not too bright, but he’s a nice kid. Riley is in to aliens. I would imagine he’s seen every movie, read every book, and researched every report on aliens. He’s got messy brown hair and wears small lens glasses. I answer the phone. “Hello?” I shout, trying to be heard over the huge crowd of people.

“Hello? Steve?”

“Hey, Riley! What’s up?”

“Nothing much. Hey-”

“You know, Riley, I’m sorry I can’t really talk right now. I’m really busy. Could you call back later.”

“No! What I have to say must be said right now!” he shouts.

“Fine. What is it?”

“Would you mind coming over to the RV? There’s a meteor shower tonight. My trailer is on the interstate. You know? 515?”

“Uh, ya... that’s great!” I say with a sarcastic tone.

“I’m banking on you comin’ over here, Steve. Bye.”

“Yep.” beep. Great. What am I going to tell Jamie?

As the people drain out of McDonald’s, I quickly realize time has gone by. The sky showed a hue of dark orange as the sun set behind the mountains. I reach for my coat and head for “Heaven’s Doors” as I like to call. I here Shotwell back in the office calling my name. I ignore him. The parking lot is completely deserted. Except for one car. My awesome silver Cadillac with automatic doors... it was a gift.

As I’m driving up to Jamie’s place, my thoughts are all over what I’m going to tell her about Riley. Approaching the front door feels like approaching the guillotine. Knocking on the door, I get ready. “Hello?” she says.

“Hi. It’s me, Steve.” she opens the door.

“Hi Steve! Where are we going today?”

“Uh... you know my friend Riley?” her face immediately when from joyful look to a grimace.

“You’re not saying we’re going to HIS place, are we?”

“Well, he said there’s a meteor shower. Plus, I can’t let my best friend down.”

She lets out a long sigh.

“Fine.” she says reluctantly.

Driving along Nevada’s desert roads is pretty boring. Everything looks the same as your car swiftly bypasses anything. The scenery basically never changes. Jamie doesn’t look pleased. Every time I look over at her, she’s got the pouty look going. She hasn’t said anything the whole car ride. I’m not pleased with myself actually. I really wish I could have told Riley I was busy, but he never listens. Soon enough, his RV comes from in the distance.

“Look!” Jamie scares me out of my skull. She tells me to pull the car over to see tiny streaks racing across the dark sky. Suddenly, Riley comes speeding out of his RV.

“STEEEEVE!” me and Jamie exchange a glance, smirking. “Look at the meteors!”

“Yep. They sure are... wonderful.” I say. Jamie gives me a look.

“Gee, I’m sure glad we...” Jamie abruptly stops. “Hey, what’s that?” her arm points up towards a glistening star. Even Riley, the space expert, looked confused. The strangest thing is is that the star was getting bigger. The words “what the hell” escape my mouth before we all realize the star was a meteor crashing towards us! Riley began to panic. He started running around like a chicken with his head cut off. I take Jamie out of the way and yell for Riley to follow. He leaps towards us when the thunder explosion shakes the earth around us.

“Hey... Hey, Steve... STEVE!” Jamie shakes my arm continuously. “You’ve been unconscious for about a half an hour now.” Leaping up, I look towards the tremendous crater in the spot where Riley’s RV once was. You’d never guess what was in the center. An alien spaceship... of course!

Riley, being the extraterrestrial fanatic he is, was all over the thing. I don’t know how, but he must have managed to salvage his camera from the RV wreckage. It was in perfect condition too. Lucky day, I guess.

Jamie helps me up from the ground. We ease ourselves towards the steaming craft lying in the crater. Suddenly, the pod bay door opens. Jamie screams.

“Whoa...” says Riley in a stupefied way. Then he enters the thing.

“Riley! What the hell are you doing?!” I shout. I tell Jamie to stay by the car while I get Riley out of the spacecraft.

Navigating the labyrinth was like going through a grass maze. Every tunnel looks identical. Steam pour from tube-like objects in the hallways. Lights flashed a vibrant red, blinking every second. I’m running along this endless hall when I stumble across Riley’s glasses on the floor. They were dropped outside of a door.

“Riley!” I call put to him. Suddenly, Riley comes running out of the room like a road runner. He was holding a strange object. “Run!” he shouts.

“Run from what?” My attention turns to the door. Two intimidating eyes stared back at me. Green ooze dripped from them as they stumbled towards me. Backing up slowly, the eyes became an entity. A large creature, as thin as a skeleton, lumbered out of the door! I could feel my chest beating rapidly. Fear has overcome me. The creature had cuts all over its grey body. The cuts dripped a green liquid. Its eyes were as large as baseballs. The beast made grumbling sound, nothing like anything that had ever touched my ears. It has a large cranium, about as long as a surfboard. This was clearly nothing of this world.

I panicked. As I was about to turn tail in run, I heard a thud. Sluggishly, I turned back to see the alien lie lifeless on the floor. I creep towards the thing. Bending over, I reach out to touch its head.

“Steve!” Riley’s call scares me half to death. “What are you doing?! Leave it! Let’s go!” I hear his footsteps fade away before getting up to follow behind him.

When I got back to the car, Jamie was already inside. Riley hops in the back seat. I get in and start up the motor. Pretty soon, my hotrod as speeding down the desert highway.

Silence lingered in the atmosphere of my Cadillac.

“So, Riley? You want to tell Steve what you brought with us?” says Jamie, disturbing the atmosphere.

“What? I don’t know what you’re talking about?”

“Yes, Riley, please tell me what you brought with us?”

“Uh... Uh... Uhhhhhhh...”

“Riley, just tell me what you have!”

“Okay! I brought... an... egg.”

Silence.

“What? An egg? That’s it?!”

“Well, it’s not an ordinary egg.” he holds up an egg the size of a cat.

“Riley! What could you have been possibly thinking when you took that thing?!”

Riley is speechless.

“Oh, Steve. Look up ahead!” Jamie shouts, pointing to a roadblock.

“Riley! Hide the egg!”

I physically watch him put the egg under his seat.

As we approach the cars up the road, I immediately knew who these people were. The jet black cars, the black suits, the dark shades. The Federal Bureau of Investigation. How did they know about the UFO already? One man stretches his arm out, signaling me to stop. The man walks up to the window.

“Where’re you off to?”

“To Boulder City. Why? What’s going on?” I say, playing the ‘I don’t know’ game. The man doesn’t seem to suspect anything.

“What’s that you got?” he calls to Riley.

“What? This?”

“That a camera?”

“Ya.”

“May I see it?” This man was tall and intimidating. His shades hid his most likely piercing eyes. On his suit was a badge that said “lieutenant”. He was African American and had a tremendously low voice.

The man confiscates the camera. As he scans through the pictures, his expressionless face gradually turns into an interested one. He’s seen the pictures of the ship.

“Sir, I’m afraid I’m going to have to take you in for further questioning.”

“That wont be necessary, McCoy.”

Another man emerges from the shadows. This guy is huge. He has thick face fuzz and a mean looking crew-cut. His broad, stern expression never seems to change. He kind of reminds me of Sergeant Slaughter. “Just take the camera. We’ll need those photographs.”

“Yes sir, captain.”

McCoy walks back to a car with Riley’s camera.

“Okay, kids. I want you to do me a favor.”

“What would that be mister...”

“Knight. Mario Knight. We are going to try and conceal this incident from the public. That means, under all circumstances, that you can not tell anyone about this alien crash landing. Is that clear?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good.” Knight steps aside and lets us pass.

As the cars fade away from my rear-view mirror’s sight, I can’t help but feel stupid for letting Riley keep that egg. I don’t know what he intends to do with it. Sell it? Keep it? I should ask him...

“Hey, Riley.”

“What?”

“Why did you take that egg anyway? Did you plan to sell the thing or what?”

“No. I want to keep it.”

“Oh...”

“By the way, Steve. I need a place to stay. You know where I can stay?”

“There’s a motel down from where I live. Stay there. Call me when you get there and give me the phone number.”

“You got it, Stevo!”

After what seems like a month, we finally approach Jamie’s house. She looks scared. I don’t blame her. I am too! Jamie gets out of the car.

“Bye, Steve. Bye, Riley.”

“See later, Jamie.”


My mind is racing right now. Riley is going to keep the egg. The thought of the Captain Knight finding out Riley took the egg frightens me. That’s all I need is to get the freaking FBI on my bad side!

Next stop, El Rancho Boulder Motel. Riley gets out, the egg in a bag. I have no idea where it came form. All I can wait for now is that fateful call tomorrow from Riley saying “IT HATCHED!”


Beep! Beep! Beep!

I swear, this alarm clock makes the most annoying sound I’ve ever heard. Sluggishly, I hit the alarm clock. That’s when it comes. The phone call. I jump out of my bed and race for the phone. Sure enough, it’s Riley.

“Hello?”

“Steve...”

“Yes, What is it?”

“You might want to come over here. My room number is 51.”

Click!

I immediately know. Hanging up, I sprint for the door, keys jingling in my pants pocket.

At least it doesn’t take long to get to El Rancho. It’s pretty easy to find, being the largest motel in town. Something deep within me is telling me that this motel is going to become famous after today. For a motel, it has huge parking lot.

Room 51. I’ll never forget that number.

Knock, knock.

“Come in.”

Riley sure doesn’t sound frightened. Maybe he called me for some other reason. Opening the door, I feel like I’m entering Shotwell’s office. The room was a mess. The end table next to the bed was tipped over, lamp pieces were shattered everywhere. A painting of the desert hanged off one corner. The bed was clearly not made yet. Pillow feathers and torn shreds of bed sheets were scattered all over the floor. Riley was standing behind the bed with a big, dopey grin on his face. Then he’s says, “If you need to go to the bathroom, I suggest you hold it.”

“What?”

I put my ear up to the door. Distinct grumbles, crashes, and screeches made me realize my nightmare became reality.

“Open the door, Steve.”

“Open the door! Are you crazy?! I’m not going to open that door! There’s no way I’ll ever do that!”

Suddenly, the bathroom beast crashes through the door. The baby alien looked exactly like the adult one... except smaller. It’s head bobs around constantly, probably surveying the area.

“I named him Klatu.” Riley says proudly.

“Klatu? Where on Earth did you get that name?”

“From my favorite movie of all time, The Day the Earth Stood Still! Duh! You should have known that, Steve!”

“Ya, like I’m supposed to know what your favorite movie is. Does this thing even look like Klatu from the movie.”

Riley thinks about it.

“Um, no. It does not look like Klatu from the movie.”

“Then why did you call him Klatu?! In fact, why did you name him at all?!”

“First, the name’s freaking awesome! Second, he’s my pet now!”

I give him a look.

“Riley? Have you ever considered getting a dog?”

The creature makes its way towards me, teeth bared. Instead of attacking, it hugs my leg and begins to make a funny gurgling noise. It’s sort of ticklish.

“What the?!”

“Awwwwww! Good boy, Klatu! You didn’t eat him!”

Probably at the most inconvenient time ever, the owner of El Rancho decides to walk in the room.

“Hey, buddy! What’s goin’ on in h-” he spots Klatu. Fear spreads across his face.

“Jesus!”

Klatu roars at him. In seconds, the guy is running back to his office.

“Riley! You know what he’s going to do?!”

“What, Steve?”

“He’s going to call Captain Knight! If we don’t get moving, the FBI will have our heads mantled over a fireplace!”

I quickly come up with an idea.

“Come on, Riley. I know where to go first.”

Peeking around both corners of the entrance, I signal Riley to follow behind me. He comes waltzing out of the room holding Klatu’s hand. Good lord. It’s like he’s trying to get attention. That’s what we’re trying to avoid!

“Quick, get in!”

“Come on Klatu!”

When he finally gets into the car, a gang of dark cars drive up to El Rancho. It’s Mario Knight and his men for sure. My heart jumps out my throat when I see Lieutenant McCoy swiftly jump out his car, pistol in hand, and fire at us! Luckily, no bullets hit the tires.


It’s already noon. Jamie lives a half a mile from El Rancho, so it doesn’t take long to get to her house. Riley takes Klatu up to her door with him.

“Steve. I think she’s had enough of all this alien business. Why don’t we just leave her alone.”

“And your the one to tell me what to do when it comes to my relationship.” Riley looks down at his feet. Klatu mimics him.

“Think about it for a minute. Captain Knight would know to come here first to get answers out of Jamie.”

Apparently we weren’t quite enough because as soon as I said that, Jamie opens her front door.

“Steve. Why would that Knight guy want to come here?”

“Uh...” that’s when I feel Klatu grab onto my leg again. Jamie’s face turned from curiosity to terror. Jamie then charges up for the scream.

“Now, what ever you do, don’t scream. He hates that.”

She freezes, mouth open half way. Then she says, “How do you know it’s a he?!”

“I don’t.”

We both look at Riley and give him a suspicious stare. He just shrugs.

“Listen, Jamie. If you don’t want to get arrested by the FBI for concealing information on this beast, I suggest you come with us.”

Jamie gives me an uneasy stare.

“Trust me.”

“Okay. Where are we going?”

“I know where we can go!” Riley shouts.

“Where might I ask is that?”

“Just let me drive, Steve. I know where the place is.”


Here’s something surreal. Try to imagine a road trip gone wrong. You got me, your average joe looking to become famous. Then you have Jamie, a pretty girl who you’d think would be dating some jockey, but is with me. Riley, that not too bright alien fanatic driving my car. Weirdest of all, a baby alien with bug eyes who likes to hold on to my leg all the time (of course he gets to ride shotgun), we’re heading to “Place Undefined”, not far behind is Mario Knight and the whole FBI! Ya, I’ve had a very weird few days.

“So, where are we off to Riley?”

“Area 51.”

“Oh... wait, isn’t that a top secret military base?!”

“Yes.”

“Then how are we suppose to get in?”

“Oh, I have my ways.”

I honestly don’t like where this is going.

Area 51. It’s a desolate military compound, located somewhere in northwest Nevada. I’ve heard a lot of propaganda about that place. Aliens have supposedly landed in the area before and the government is trying to keep it a secret. Riley has talked about Area 51 before. He said he was blessed for being born in Nevada because Area 51 is here. That’s fine if he wants to go there, but here’s my problem. Area 51 is miles away from Boulder City! It’ll take hours to get there! Not the greatest place to head off to if you got the FBI on your trail. The only thing I can think to do is rest for the whole ride.


“Hey, Klatu! Knock it off!”

These words sound distant.

“Klatu!”

Now they’re really close.

“Stop biting Steve’s fingers!”

This certainly got my attention.

“AHHHH!”

My fingers were covered with large teeth marks. Some marks were bleeding. Klatu gives me a ‘I didn’t do it’ smile. This is when I get a really good glance at his teeth. My God are they huge! I would say the size of a great white shark’s!

“Hey, Riley! Control Klatu! After all, you said he’s your pet.”

“Sorry. Would you like me to multitask next time? You know I’m driving!”

Silence. It’s very fitting for tonight. Then Riley disturbs the silence.

“We’re here!”

Up ahead was big gate. We kept passing signs that said things like “restricted area” and “no trespassing”. I was actually expecting something much grander than just a couple buildings and a gate for a place Riley talks about so much. As we approach the compound, I keep thinking about what stupid thing Riley might do.

“Hold on!” he shouts.

Within seconds, we crash through the front gates of the base. Behind us were men, MPs probably, chasing us while shouting profanity.

“So, Riley. This was your master plan?”

“Yes, sir! YEEEEEEEEEHAAAAAA!” Klatu’s eyes widen at the loud sound.

“What exactly are we trying to accomplish here?” Jamie asks Riley.

“I built a universal translator that will let me communicate with others of Klatu’s kind.”

Another silent moment.

“What did I miss?!” shouts Jamie.

“I don’t know! I didn’t even know Riley made a universal translator! Riley, when did you make this thing and how?!”

“I’ve started building this beauty since I started high school to this day. I constructed it from spare parts I found in my father’s basement.”

“Wow. That’s impressive.”

“Thank you!”

“Oh my God! Captain Knight is behind us!” Jamie shouts.

Sure enough, behind us were several pairs of headlights for each car chasing us. That’s when it hit me. That bullet McCoy shot. It must have been a tracking device that allowed Knight to find where we were going!

“Now would be a good time to use that translator!”

“I’m driving! How can I use the-” Klatu interrupts us with a growl.

“Hey! That’s not very nice, Klatu!”

Suddenly, Riley’s hands pull away from the wheel. My car is driving itself.

“Holy cow! Klatu, you’re learning!”

“What’s he learning?”

“He can use telekinesis to move things with his mind! That’s totally awesome!”

“Yes, that’s fine and at all, but what about the translator?!”

“Oh ya!” Riley pulls the gadget out of his pocket.

“All I got to do is press this button and that’s it.”

Riley pushes a giant red button on the translator. Believe or not, we got a signal! Suddenly, a we all here a bang.

“Damn! Why do these guys have to damage my car?!”

“Sh! I’m trying to hear.”

Another shot goes off. This time, it hits a tire. The car comes to a halting stop.

“What, Klatu can’t use his telekinesis to make the car move anymore or what?”

Riley inspects him.

“He looks tired.”

“Well, isn’t that fantastic... Actually, maybe I can somehow negotiate these guys to not arresting us on so many levels. Everyone, step out of the car easily.”

All the FBI cars skid to a stop. Mario Knight is the only one that gets out of a car. “Listen, kids. It wasn’t very bright to not mention the egg. We find out about everything, you know.”

“We know. In fact, it’s my fault. I wanted to tell you my friend took it, but was-”

“I will take no excuses from you, boy! Hand over the egg!”

“Well, about the egg...”

Riley walks Klatu out into the open.

“Jesus...” the captain mutters.

“Please. Let us return the baby to his home. If we don’t, alien warfare could break out. I assume you, being captain of the FBI, wouldn’t want that to happen, would you?”

“No... No, I wouldn’t.”

“That’s what I thought.”

What happened after that couldn’t have been more than perfect timing. With glint in the sky, another spaceship, identical to the first, comes down to Area 51. As the craft landed, steam poured out the sides of the saucer-shape. Lights blinked everywhere. Klatu seemed to recognize it immediately. Riley’s eyes widened like an owl’s. Jamie’s did too. The door slowly opened and Klatu lethargically made his way toward the heavenly glow of the entrance. He glances back at Riley. Riley signals him to move up.

“Good bye, little Klatu!”

To my surprise, Klatu waves at Riley as the doors close. The ground begins to tremble. The legs of the ship slowly vanished into the ship. Out come huge jets in their place. Fire ignites from the jets, blasting the ship into the starry sky, leaving behind a giant pillar of smoke.

I turn to Riley. Tears were running down his eyes. Poor guy.

“You knew it was for the best, Riley... Besides, you didn’t even know Klatu for that long anyway! He just hatched!”

“I know... but we bonded in the last 24 hours.”

Knight walks over and pats Riley on the shoulder.

“Listen, kid. We all gotta let things go at some points in our lives. Maybe it’s time you started a new life of your own.”

Riley suddenly gains some confidence and stops crying.

“Sir, yes, sir!” Then Knight turns to me.

“As for you, sonny. That was a damn good speech you just pulled off there! Well done! You could make a good spokesman. A government official, even. You should try for it.”


It may seem a little odd, but Captain Knight was a strange inspiration for me. His words triggered me to quit my job at McDonald’s. After Klatu left, the three of us, Riley, Jamie and I, became nationally famous. I even found myself a spot in Nevada’s House of Representatives. I’d call that a step up McDonald’s, wouldn’t you? Riley was charged with a 20,000 dollar fee due to property damage. He’s is attending college in Las Vegas right now and took my place at the McDonald’s. He’s still into aliens, but not as majorly as before. I see him every once and a while. Jamie and I got married a few weeks after the whole “Klatu Affair” as we call it today. We’re still living in Boulder City. People come to our house asking autographs. To be honest, it’s quite funny. Today, everything’s peaceful. But I know for a fact that of the three of us, none will forget that summer day when aliens crashed into our little town.