The cruiser took air as it launched from one grass hummock to the next, the undercarriage shrieking protest. The men lurched forward in their seats, then bounced back as the car took flight again.

Trees close on both sides of the car reached branches toward the men and scratched along the side of the car, intent on inflicting damage.

The UFO was so close it was all Lamar could see as the front of the car swung up and then down. He was driving by instinct, his mind registering the terrain but his attention on the ship. There was no road, only a track between the trees for the fire trucks to access any fire, a trail filled with weeds and gopher mounds.

Porter ducked when a branch shattered on the windshield of the car. “We should be close to the road,” he shouted over the noise.

He was fully aware they were alone and following something he had never seen in his life, a real by God, UFO.

No lights from the other cars followed them on the firebreak, and Porter suspected none of them were even on the trail. They had lost the posse somewhere back on the dirt road. He could only hope the men would go to the Armstrong place when they discovered they had lost their leader.

They were chasing the UFO so close that Porter could not see the rim of the craft as it passed from view over the top of the car. They were too close.

As if to confirm his opinion, a light shot from the UFO to touch a tree as the car passed. Porter watched the tree turn brown and die within a second.

The firebreak turned abruptly, taking them away from the craft but not from the Intense light from the ship illuminating the path as it paralleled the trail. Porter could not see past Lamar and find the ship before the swiftly moving trees hid it from view.

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If the aliens on the ship were searching for victims, they were doing a poor job of their search. Lamar slowed the car, swerving around a jog in the trail, then pressed the accelerator again, intent on pushing the car and his talent to the limits. He had heard so many stories about cars losing their power while near UFOs that he expected some sort of trouble, yet nothing happened. It was as if the aliens were intent on a specific goal and a lone police car dogging their trail was of no concern.

On impulse, he reached out and flicked the switch for the overhead lights. Flashing lights atop the car lit the trail in a garish strobe effect.

“What the hell are you doing?” Porter looked at Lamar in shock.

“I wondered if they would notice.”

“You’re trying to pull a UFO over,” rolling his eyes in exasperation Porter looked for the UFO. “What are you going to do? Give it a speeding ticket?”

“It’s ignoring us,” Lamar replied with a nod. “What if that thing is some kind of decoy?”

A silver light flashed through the trees and sheered through the trunks of several trees ahead of the car, the trunks exploding in showers of flame.

“Hang on,” Lamar shouted and kept the accelerator pressed to the floor. He could slip the car under the falling trees, otherwise they would hit if he tried to use the brake.

Porter braced his hands against the dashboard and winced as the first tree brushed against the roof of the car, then fell heavily on the trunk. The car jerked but still rushed forward, the rear tires digging in and spurring dirt in a roster tail behind the car.

The next falling tree hit the cruiser with a glancing blow that ripped away the roof lights with a loud clatter over their heads.

A tree hit the front of the car, landing on the hood, and sliding back to crash through the windshield and trap the car in its grip.

Spinning from the weight of the tree and crashing into the woods, the wild ride stopped and Porter opened his eyes. The headlights were still working, leaving the men in the car surrounded by a wall of green. They had wedged between two trees with the fallen tree draped over the car.

He looked at Lamar. The cop was sitting in his seat as if nothing unusual had happened, spying the damage to the interior of the car.

“Nice trick,” Porter said evenly while holding his anger in check. “Do you want to get out and see if they pulled over? Do you need a pen for the ticket?”