Her phone had gone from full bars to no bars the moment she’d gotten within exactly ten miles of the truck stop. That’s also where the signs started. The blatantly large, very well-lit billboards could not be missed as travelers made their way toward Alienn, Arkansas and the Big Bang Truck Stop.
Maxwell the Martian, a short, scrawny-bodied cartoon alien with gray skin, a big head, lively oversized blue eyes and a smile shaping his small mouth, started extolling the virtues of the Big Bang Truck Stop, only ten miles ahead, with the very first sign.
Every mile all the way toward the town limits of Alienn, Arkansas, was a different billboard with Maxwell the Martian proclaiming the amazing accolades of the truck stop. For example, “Stop in Alienn for out of this world prices!”; “Keep on Truckin’ to Alienn, Arkansas for gas and snacks so you can keep on truckin’ to your favorite destination!”; and “Alienn, Arkansas…Where you get a Big Bang for your Buck!”
She’d been intrigued and amused, reading each sign out loud as she drove along the highway, forgetting momentarily about her lack of phone service. Soon it would be dusk, and depending on how long this took, she’d definitely be driving home in the dark. At least it was less than an hour back home to Doraydo.
In the distance, maybe half a mile from the Big Bang Truck Stop, the town’s water tower was eye-catching in the fading sunlight. The tank was cleverly painted to look like a flying saucer with a 3-D version of Maxwell the Martian hanging off the side as if for dear life, but with his signature goofy smile in place as if he merely rode an amusement park roller coaster and not an out-of-control space craft about to crash to Earth.
This whole place was over the top. The truck stop itself was probably half the size of the small town of Alienn, perched on the edge of the city limits on the semi-major Route 88 that connected Mississippi and Texas through southern Arkansas.
Juliana had inquired about the manager at the convenience store. It was seemingly the hub of the whole place, given that it was a truck stop and the primary reason people stopped in town was for fuel.
The name Diesel Grey had been whispered behind a hand when she met with Pete Harriman, who’d assigned her to write the tell-all article. Mr. Harriman would proffer her piece to Finder’s for evaluation and inclusion in the next special edition travel book. He was one of the editors for the project.
Mr. Harriman, one of her former teachers at the university in Doraydo, whispered most of the information as if the space aliens he believed in might be listening in on their conversation some way, somehow.
She was dubious about each and every word he said, but she figured that would make her article all the more credible. “Once I was a disbeliever, but now I see the truth. Aliens do walk among us and here’s my proof.” Or something like that.
Unless she didn’t find anything credible. Then her article would be more factual, thediscover for yourself if all the rumors are truly debunkedapproach.
Either way, she simply wanted to get the promised large paycheck and…well, get on with her life. Maybe she needed to adopt the truck stop’s slogan as a personal motto for life: keep on truckin’.
From hidden speakers in every part of the truck stop she’d visited so far, ’80s music, and only ’80s music, played non-stop. Juliana found herself bobbing her head to a raucous oldies tune belted out by Cyndi Lauper. She had to forcefully make her body stop wanting to bop to the music.
The convenience store clerk who had directed Juliana to the manager’s office wore a nametag that said: Welcome, Earthling! My name is Paulo. He’d pointed toward a good-sized hallway at the back corner of the building. Past the Space Gals and Space Guys bathrooms, an arched doorway opened into a room to the right. The hallway continued through a second archway to, Juliana assumed, the manager’s office, judging by the humorous sign mounted above the door. Apparently in keeping with the truck stop’s extraterrestrial theme, he wasn’t the manager, but the Fearless Leader. Perfect.
She wondered what kind of man Diesel Grey was. When she’d asked the receptionist—her Welcome, Earthling nametag helpfully identified her as Nova—at the pin-neat desk if she could speak to the manager, the woman paused for quite a long time before finally asking, “You mean you’d like to speak to Our Fearless Leader?”
Juliana nodded politely.
Nova was a bit strange and off-putting for a receptionist. She stared at Juliana so intently she wondered sardonically if she’d been mind-probed. Or was the receptionist trying to scare her off with an angry look? Good luck with that. Juliana needed Diesel Grey’s cooperation to complete this article. She hoped he’d be willing to send her into a new direction that would help ensure her write-up could be included in the book. She wanted to find one little piece of unproven information to include in her article. Or perhaps a tiny, tantalizing fact that readers wouldn’t be able to prove or disprove for themselves. And it would be great if it was info no one else had ever discovered.
That would be perfect. It was unlikely, but she could dream.
A single heated look from a receptionist wasn’t going to scare her off. Not much was going to scare her off unless a strange creature with slimy gray skin and three eyes walked up and introduced itself. But she didn’t actually believe in aliens from outer space, so she felt fairly safe in the thesis of her article so far. Her take: it was likely all a big suggestive hoax to make a buck.
She’d gotten all of her background information from a source Mr. Harriman had spoken to. His name was Norm—no last name given—and Juliana had sworn never to reveal that this source had talked. As if she could.
Juliana didn’t know who the person was, had no way to find out and she wasn’t certain if the most scandalous tidbit would stand up to scrutiny. All she had were a few notes that Mr. Harriman had scribbled down on the back of a bar napkin based on his conversation with Norm. It was so outlandish it couldn’t possibly be true, but she was ready to give it a shot.
It might be the one thing she could use to put her article over the edge and into the publish pile for the book deal.
“Wait here,” Nova had said after a few more seconds of close scrutiny. She hurried through the second archway toward the office of the man…or whatever was in charge of this place.
Waiting for the Fearless Leader of the Big Bang Truck Stop had given her idle time to check her phone repeatedly. She truly did not have a single thread of service. Not a blip. Not even a whisper. Her phone wasn’t even trying to find a signal anymore.Stupid useless thing.She tucked it back in her purse out of sight and took out her steno pad and pen.
If nothing else, she could at least find out the reason for the lack of cellular service in the area. Did the whole township and the truck stop really only have hard-wired lines? In this day and age?
She didn’t know what she’d been expecting the Fearless Leader to look like. Maybe a life-sized version of Maxwell the Martian in a bad Halloween costume, or a guy with skin painted the color of old gravestones. The tall, handsome man who strolled out to greet her was completely unexpected. She stood up on surprisingly weak legs as he approached.
He had dark blond hair, vivid blue eyes, a five o’clock shadow covering his solid jaw and chin, plus a wide, engaging smile that almost made her forget her own name. Unlike every other employee she’d seen, he wasn’t wearing silver lamé, but a blue denim shirt open at the throat, nicely fitted black jeans and hiking boots.
There was no sign of Nova. Not that Juliana would have spared the other woman a glance right now.
“Hello. I’m Diesel Grey. I’m in charge of the Big Bang Truck Stop. What can I do for you today…Juliana, is it?” He extended his hand and grasped her fingers in a firm grip. She literally felt a bit of spark when their hands connected. And she liked it, holding on way too long. She also stared at his face for way too long.
He seemed to recognize the flash of the connection. His gaze darted to their hands before leaping back to her eyes.
