The heavy dark clouds built up more and more across the December night sky. Massive wide triangular alien ships hovered just within the clouds, shimmering deep blue, with pale green lights shone through the dark crystal windows. A deep hum cut across the silence of the night. The ships formed a wide circle. Several aliens appeared in the front windows of one ship. They were slightly taller than the tallest humans, with slender arms pointing out. Their half moon shaped eyes burned bright white, staring down. Deep humming grew louder, sending shockwaves through the blood red sky. Waves pumped out through the dark red clouds. In an instant, the ships lit up bright flashing blue. Intense, white lights shot out, down to the ground, lighting up the three kids…
The kids believe they have found the location where the Christmas Ghost Express will begin. Which one do you think it is? That answer is about to be revealed. If you haven’t yet, go back and check out the previous post titled: The Christmas Ghost Express Part One to see the clues. Also, if you want to see the real magic of Christmas, a story from the bible, check out the top post on my facebook page at:
https://www.facebook.com/jeff.sanborn.100/
Cade, Blake, and Josiah still have to find the exact point where the Christmas Ghost Express will appear, but they have a bigger problem, the aliens found them…
The intense white alien light crossed the other alien light over the narrow valley cutting to the right between the spiraling mass of towering mountains. Several towering evergreens with cone shaped tops called Mayers lit up intensely blue, glowing bright in the chilling night. The two narrow, triangular alien ships in burning blue shine hovered just under the fast flowing red clouds, one on each side of the valley.
A slim shadow powered ahead through the dead bushes and flattened grass sliding to a stop at a high rising Mayer in lush red leaves. He turned back, and gave an impatient wave. Another shadow flew straight up, barely missing several Mayers, didn’t flinch and slid fast to a stop. Faint, energetic singing started up, singing a sad song, sounding distant. His bright eyes almost glowed in the dark under the glittering red star shaped leaves.
Deep humming grew louder from the two ships. A few bright stars appeared momentarily through the fiery red passing clouds. The two kids stared across the lower shadow covered valley.
“What’s he waiting for?”
“Who knows.”
“They’re going to light up any minute.”
“I know.”
“Did you try waving for him?”
“Like ten times already,” he said with a long sigh. Chilling wind rushed down through the pass between the massive peaks touching the rough clouds. Several more alien ships lit up past them. They dropped down low over the lush blue, red, and green evergreens. Chilling winds rushed through the forest, blurring the glowing colours in a bright mass. Their stale lights splashed down through the tall spiraling branches. Shadows spread out left and right.
“Come on, Cade,” Blake said, agitated.
“They have us surrounded,” said Josiah, gazing up at the hovering deep blue ships. He got down low, staring across the bright green forest floor covered in golden flowers barely lit under the roaming alien lights. “When’s he going to get here?”
“Knowing Cade, he’s probably standing right near us right now, waiting for just the right moment.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah, he does it all the time.”
“Not all the time.” Josiah jumped. Cade appeared between them with an amused smile. Blake just rolled his eyes.
“How we getting out of this?” Blake asked, gazing up at the hovering ships. Search lights shot out into the forest. “Get down.” The kids got down low.
“We need to get through unseen,” said Cade staring at the bright colourful masses lit up in the roaming lights.
“Really?” Blake said, shaking his head. “Thanks for that brilliant idea.”
“What I meeaannnn, is we need them to only see the trees, not us.”
“I don’t get it.”
“I think he means we need to look like trees so they think we’re trees and not us,” said Josiah, nodding energetically. “Yeah, I don’t get it either.”
“I think you do,” said Cade, with a smile.
“We’re going to dress up like trees?” asked Josiah. “These aliens figured out how to build ships and fly across the universe only to be fooled by three kids dressed up like trees?”
“No,” said Cade, digging into his pack, “we don’t have to dress up. We wait for the wind, carry these coloured lights, I think I have the ones we need in here, hold on…” Josiah watched the crossing shadows anxiously.
“I think there are dark spirits out there, too,” he said quietly.
“We just have to go fast,” said Blake.
“When the winds hit, we light up, and fly past them,” said Cade with intense eyes. Blake checked his pocketwatch: 11:30.
“We’re almost out of time,” he said, “and we still haven’t found the exact spot.” Several dark figures appeared momentarily in the crossing alien lights. Josiah gazed out at the rising mountain on their left, leaning to the right with a misty circular peak.
Light rain started falling, sounding like quiet applause through the forest.
“We’ll have to hold out until the winds pick up,” said Josiah, gazing up at the nine hovering ships in a wide circle.
“I don’t know if we’re close enough to where they start,” said Blake, looking down the valley to where various creeks shimmered under the breaking moonlight. They spread out in various directions, spiraling down the mountainsides. Light gray mist curtains fell over them in the soft rains.
A massive sonic boom rocked the sky just overhead. The ships hummed loud, with shrill whistling overpowering the valley. The lights grew more intense, like fires, roaming fast in all directions. The kids watched anxiously as the ships started dropping, rising, flying fast from one side to the other.
“We need to go now,” said Josiah. Blake shook his head. “They’ll find us any minute now.”
“No, they won’t,” he answered calmly. “They don’t know where we are. That’s why they’re searching. Look at them. They’re just trying to overwhelm us, get us to panic. We need to hold down, wait this out.” Then he checked his watch: 11:40. “But we don’t have long to wait.”
“We’ll get our chance,” said Josiah. Cade stared out at the distant pool at the top of the valley surrounded by rough, dry rocks rising up on all sides. Dark mists fell over the valley peak, creating small ripples that turned to strong waves reaching further and further out.
“Where are they going to appear?” asked Cade. “What makes the most sense?”
“Somewhere dark and secret,” said Blake. “The song was hidden in the four letters, hidden in dark feelings.
“I mean, the song is about being like Israel,” said Josiah, “small, surrounded by enemies, but standing strong anyway, holding out in the storm.”
“Just like Cashes Dade,” Blake said quietly, looking up at the swarming alien lights.
“I GOT IT!” Cade jumped up. Blake pulled him back down.
“How about you tell us instead of them, okay?” said Josiah.
“Sorry. So, it’s about how they appear deep in the storm, the darkest terrain, right? Get it?” Cade was met with two blank stares. “The terrain? Terrraiinn. RAIN.”
“Where though,” said Blake, “it’s raining all over.”
Cade looked up in the falling light gray mists, then pointed to the distant pool under the heavy dark mists. “That’s it, right there.”
Blake checked his watch: 11:50. “We need the winds.”
“No, we don’t,” said Cade. “They only appear in the hard rains which means the more we go up the valley, the harder it will rain.”
“It’ll work,” said Josiah.
“Let’s go then,” said Blake, cracking a smile.
“You mean let’s roll,” said Josiah, nodding confidently.
“No, you’re both wrong,” said Cade. With eyes lit, he whispered, “Showtime.”
Blake lit up three sparkling candles shooting out blue, red, and green lights. The three of them did the ghost striker handshake, bumping fists, then drawing their hands back flat and fast going, “Shhhhh.”
Josiah blazed through the forest. Dark ghosts closed in on him. They reached for him. But he sped up faster right past them. Alien lights flew around. The rains fell harder in the cold night. Blake got down low charging up the valley toward the pool. Several dark spirits crossed his path. He faked left, faked right, then sprinted right for them. They got in position. He sprinted faster, launched off a rock and kicked out his feet as he landed on them, knocking them flat.
Blake smiled and waved goodbye charging up the last slope. Cade swerved right, then shot out left, slid to a stop, then shot back right, slanting up the slope. Blake checked his watch: 11:58.
The alien lights fell away behind them. Dark rain curtains fell hard over them, in strong waves, pushing them back. Their lights went out. Then the singing began, but not from above, from ahead. Cade and Blake heard a single, bright teenage voice singing in a slow rising melody:
“Sometimes the darkness falls down in waves.
But I wait until the silence of the night.
We are surrounded by our enemies digging our graves.
But like Israel we have a mysterious power to fight.
We have suffered so much rejection and pain.
But I find peace and truth in continuing to do what’s right.
It’s hard to see hope in the deepest dark terrain.
But that’s when I hear their singing, glowing bright.”
The kids drove hard up the final slope. Glittering moonlight splashed across the creamy blue waters. A mysterious bluish-gold light appeared. Blake looked at his watch as he and Josiah reached the pool: Midnight. They turned to see a line of dark spirits blocking Cade’s way up the slick slope.
“He can’t get past him,” said Josiah.
“You want to bet?” asked Blake, pointing. Cade broke a wry smile. Then he started slowly up the slope, through the hard driving rains. Water splashed with every heavy step. He slanted right, then turned left, faked right, then started running harder left. The dark ghosts linked arms, held their position strong. Cade moved up left, then turned directly toward them. He sprinted right at them, gave them a wink, then kicked up tons of water at them.
They looked around confused as he dove right under their grasp, sliding far on the slick, watery grass. Then he heard it, deep humming in a fast driving rhythm. The voices, all different types, sang out:
Christmas lights are here, Christmas lights are here, Christmas lights are here.
Cade joined them just as the ghosts appeared, singing, with bright faces, glowing gold riding a long, blue carriage with all kinds of pictures and designs painted on it. The kids got on board. Alien lights blurred and faded fast into heavy darkness behind them. They flew above the first massive peak, staring out across several more peaks shimmering blue under the breaking moonlight of the Christmas night.
The clouds turned blue around them, breaking around them, their glowing lights shimmering under the bright moon above them. Cade, Blake, and Josiah just stared up in wonder at the bright, glittering star cluster shaped like a massive spiral above them. After a few hours they turned their intense gazed down at the dark, empty, frozen landscape below them as the singing continued:
Christmas lights are here, Christmas lights are here, Christmas lights are here.
A small village appeared in a wide spiral. Candles glowed in the windows. Citizens stood out on their balconies.
“I wonder which home is that kid’s,” said Josiah, “You know, the one into all the stars and planets?” They looked down at the various homes. One was full of numerous bright candles, flashing to the rhythm of the ghost song. Another large home had multi-coloured candles forming shapes of the mountains as seen from above, stacked up on the roof. Another home had many colourful candles showing all kinds of spiraling clusters in the windows, strung out across the outside and through the trees all around. Another home had bright, glittering candles in every window, forming a person in some kind of action: one showed a baker, another showed a singer, another showed a miner, while another showed a play actor, and another showed someone building a set, while yet another showed someone drawing.
The express slowly drifted down while kids danced energetically, in different ways, cool ways not seen before to the ghosts’ singing:
Christmas lights are here. Christmas lights are here. Christmas lights are here.
“This is such a lonely place,” said Josiah.
“Yeah, but who else gets to experience this?” asked Cade. The other two nodded.
“I’ve never seen anything like this,” said Blake as they landed. Loud cheers broke out, filling out the village. Then they began singing Silent Night as they swayed their candles, in all kinds of shapes and colours. They swayed them in cool waves, and as the second verse started, some sang a higher echo of the chorus, like angels. After the kids made their deliveries there, the people of the village all jumped on board, riding to Carolmire, the Christmas city.
They arrived into the gold glowing city of small old time shops and homes made of bricks with candles glowing in the windows.
“There’s something going on with the aliens,” said Blake. “They’re building something massive.”
“Austin said the DadeStar Revolution is starting to catch on in the schools,” said Josiah.
“We just need to stay focused on the next mission,” Cade said quietly. The students and their families, all the people of the northern village and Carolmire stood together, sang, and danced to the song, Joy to the World. Their bright voices began in the small town of Carolmire, in the cold darkness, but then rang out in slow rising waves reaching far out through the silent night.
