EPPINGTON: THE GUARDED SECRET

a hundred years had an office full of porn magazines stacked as high as the ceiling in one corner because all he did the entire day was sit in that lazy chair of his and drool over what he saw on those glossy pages.
Frank Arahna, a guard who’d put in twenty years on the job said they barely had anything to do on a regular work day because the inmates housed there for petty crimes were no bother at all. Not that the situation bugged him one bit. Wouldn’t have bugged me either. Anyway, the town of Eppington was changed from Happy Town back to its original name after Governor Cleland Foulkes was elected. He wasn’t as happy-go-lucky as his predecessor and in short thought Happy Town was a comical name. Guess he felt our neighbors in Crescent and elsewhere couldn’t possibly take us seriously with a name like that.
“Let’s go!” Jase exclaimed, leading the way as we headed through the bushes toward the edge of the asphalt road.
“You guys look worried…” Sam remarked. “What’s with all the serious faces, all of a sudden?”
“Didn’t you see what we just saw?” Rob asked her.
“You mean the UFO you don’t believe in?” she retorted.
“Knock it off, you two!” Jase said. “Let’s just focus on getting back home, okay?”
“You’re worried about your mom, aren’t you?” Sam asked.
Jase didn’t respond.
“Look guys...I think you’re all taking what we saw too seriously. Trust me, it was just one of the government’s clandestine operations. Y’all can’t possibly think that’s a real UFO.”
No one replied.
Sam shook her head. “You guys have got to be kidding.”
When we arrived at the edge of the road, something immediately caught our attention. It wasn’t just one thing, in particular. It was…everything.

3
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Instinctively, we all halted and crouched down in the overgrown brush near the road.
“Holy cow!” Rob softly blurted. “What’s going on?”
I don’t know about the others, but my heart started racing. I was disbelieving my own eyes, yet believing them at the same time, if you know what I mean. What I’m trying to convey is that just like with the UFO, I couldn’t ignore what was at least ten to fifteen yards in front of me—of us.
Our street was packed with animals—dogs and cats mainly, and I spotted a few squirrels and raccoons. We only saw raccoons occasionally; the li’l critters preferred their privacy even when they were surreptitiously climbing up the sugar apple tree in our backyard nabbing the delectable fruits. I didn’t mind though, since I figured they also needed a belly full every few hours or so; Rob wasn’t the only one.
Compared to other animals in the street, there was something noticeably different about the dogs. Although they looked like regular canines, some were on all fours as expected, but others were standing effortlessly on their hind legs. I noticed two—a rather large German Shepherd and a Labrador leaning against opposite sides of a wall and they appeared to be chatting. Yes—chatting! Not barking, but they were behaving more like humans instead of dogs. I was blown away as I watched. Our neighbors were standing in the street as well, facing the dogs who’d gathered near the eastern edge of the street, roughly six or seven feet in front of them. Other animals were sort of intermingled with the humans.
“What the hell?” Sam exclaimed. “They’re all just standing there looking like zombies or something!” She was referring to the people. “And do you see those dogs? It’s like they’re…”
“Human?” Rob chimed in.
“Yeah.”
I noticed that Jase was unusually quiet.
“There’s your mom, Jase!” Rob whispered. She’d moved from somewhere in the crowd closer to the front.
“Mom…” Jase stood up and started inching out further towards the road.
I yanked him by his shirt. “What’re you doing?” I whispered loudly. “Can’t you see there’s something wrong with them?”
“I’ve got to get to my Mom and find out what’s going on.” He looked back at me with those determined eyes of his.
“But it might not be safe,” I warned.
He shook himself free of my grip. “I’m going, bro, and that’s all there is to it!”
I watched worriedly as he headed toward the crowd and the rest of us moved slightly further back into the brush to avoid being seen on the heel of Jase’s departure. I knew he viewed himself as his mom’s protector, especially since they only had each other. So, in a way, I couldn’t say I blamed him.
“Mom!” He called as he moved in closer to her.
Suddenly, everyone’s head shifted in his direction, and that’s when I got a better look at our neighbors’ faces. There was definitely something off about them. As far as I could see, their eyes were eerily blank and they appeared to be in some sort of daze. A Rottweiler standing on hind legs approached Jase as he was a few feet away from his mom, who was looking at him as he called out to her, but wasn’t responding. The dog was rather poised, from what I could tell, no growling or anything which might indicate he was in attack mode.
“Why isn’t she answering, Jase?” Rob asked us.
“Beats me,” Sam replied. “They all look like they’re under some sort of spell.”
“Wonder where my folks are,” Rob said.
I sighed. “I’d bet all our folks are somewhere in that crowd.”
“You better not think of joining Jase, Rob, ‘cause we don’t know what the hell’s going on!” Sam clearly articulated.
Sam only had to say the word and Rob would stay in line. I doubt Mr. or Mrs. Powell had that kind of power over him on a daily basis. I always thought Rob felt Sam could kick his you know what if she was so inclined and he simply didn’t want to take the chance. Being a girl, Sam was taller and definitely stronger than Rob. I’d bet if they ever were to go at it, Sam would have him on the ground quicker than he could blink, similar to what she’d