With the aliens disarmed attention shifted for a moment to the Church and Pastor Joan. Very quickly the announcement came " It's a boy". They were expecting a girl but a healthy boy is fine.
Pastor Joan was having trouble in the delivery and the old midwife didn't know what to do. That's when the other midwife showed up. Her name was Rebecca W. Oops. Nobody had ever seen her before but she took control of the situation. She and Herman delivered the baby. After that it was almost like magic as the baby was born with no further problems. Rebecca went to the rest room to clean up and neve came back. Nobody has seen her since. She has become a mystery woman to be talked anout at Nancy's over coffee.
With the birth now over. Tommy turned to the alien leader. You do understand that we could have destroyed you as easily as those weapons. We could have made you our slaves, a fate you might deserve. But we chose not to do that . Instead we send you unarmed back to your home planet. By the time you arrive a group of Guardians will alreay be there. They will have destroyed your stockpiles of weapons. They will have dismantled the factories you make them in. They will destroy any other rocket ships you have.
One of our Guardians will go back with you and destroy these ships when you arrive back. Special instruments will be installed that will alert the Guardians if you test rockets or weapons and regular inspections will take place.
Now get on your ships and leave before we change our mind.
The aien leader, one of the Guardians and the alien soldiers returned to the ships and left.
Will we ever find out how Tommy pulled this off? Who was that strange midwife? How special is this baby? Where did the extra wooly elephant beasts come from? Is Tommy to be reunited with his birth father only to see him leave?
Perhaps some of these questions will be answered tomorrow. One can hope.

Tommy, still smiling. I can see that you really want to see what else we have. He then waved his hand and the door on the Masonic Building opened and out came not one but three men in black.
They came and stood one on each side of Tommy and Herman and one between them,
"I'd like to introduce my father and his two Guardi9an friuends" Tommy said. " Of course Oscar you already know him as you betrayed him a long time ago . Now I am giving you one more chance to surrender. Lay down your arms and we will let you depart unharmed. Of course the Guardians will remove all the weapons from your ships as well."
The Alien leader looked at him with a look of pure hatred then signaled his men to begin laying down their arms. As that went on one of the Guardians transported himself into the rocket ship and began destroying the on board weapons.
When all of the weapons from the ground troops were piled up Tommy's father focused a blue beam on them and they were gone, disintegrated.
As all of this was taking place Herman was summoned to the Church. The baby was coming. What a wonderful day on which to be born.
Where did all of Tommy's troops come from? How did his father and friends arrive ? Will it be a boy or a girl? Shouldn't Oops be there? These and other space taking questions might be answered tomorrow.

Tommy turned to the man in black and said " Why don't you go stand with your boss Oscar? You know which side your on."
Oscar walked slowly down the street to stand next to the alien leader.
" Then there are only two of you against all this firepower, three rocket ships, and the unbelievable power of a Guardian so you have no choice but to surrender." The alien leader announced.
Tommy smiled and said " Since you have been so nice as to let us surrender we offer you the same possibility. Lay down all your weapons and we will let you go back on your ships and leave unharmed. Otherwise we will wipe you from the face of the universe."
The alien leader began to laugh. " You do have guts boy" he said." But let us demonstrate our power".
A door opened on the side of one of the ships and a large weapon emerged pointed at the barn. The alien leader gave the command to fire. A blue ray moved from the end of the weapon toward the barn but then turned back and the ship began to glow.
" I'd have them turn them off if you want a ship to fly home in" Tommy said." Now you have felt the power of our poltergeist. It has enveloped all three of your ships and they can't help you."
" That means it can't help you either and we have superior firepower and a Guardian" the leader said.
" Look behind your men " Tommy directed.
There coming down the road was row upon row of woolly elephant like creatures each with a rider with a weapon that looked equal to that of the weapons the aliens had.

" Do you want to surrender now or do we need to bring out our last surprise?" Tommy asked looking toward the Masonic building.
What surprise can Tommy possibly have left? Where did all those troops come from? Will the alien leader surrender?
Tomorrow a few answers or more questions.

THe war to end all wars began yesterday at 4;00. The bouncing heads information was correct.
Because they were ready when the first people appeared on the street Calab and group moved out wearing and carrying the hats with the giant spider spider webs in them and carrying the blankets covered with the same. They put hats on the some poeople threw blankets over others and moved them into the Church which God promised Herman He would protect. It was a beautiful operation to ewatch and went perfectly.
By the time the first rocket ships arrived the street was clear.
Herman and Tommy stood in the middle of the street in front of the Masonic building. Before the Alien leader landed and without any warning the man in black came and stood between them. Tommy turned to Herman and dais " I told you he would show up."
Then the Alien leader showed up thirty feet away facing them. Behind him row upon row of alien soldiers with horrible looking weapons began to appear.
The aliens were not as ugly as the ones in Tommy's dreams but they had four arms instead of two. So they really didn't look human.
" We do not want to destroy you!" the Leader announced ." We are willing to let you surrender."
" What makes you think you will win ?" Tommy asked.
" Well there are only three of you and despite your power you can't fight us all." The leader responded.
" What makes you think there are three?" Tommy asked
The leader laughed " I hope you don't expect any help from that rag tag bunch you have in the barn. We have a three weapons from the ship aimed at the barn and if the door opens we will vaporize it."
It was Tommy's turn to laugh." No I meant what made you think there were three of us when there are only two."
Has Tommy lost it? Can't he count? What is going on. Is the war lost before it starts ?
It is possible tomorrow might answer a question or two.

Tommy UK skipped school today. One of the bouncing heads brought information that their intelligence people are convinced the alien attack will come this afternoon. They are trying to verify that information.
So Tommy is meeting with the group over at Last Lutheran going over the game plan. They are ready with the special blankets and some special hats. They hope to have the street cleared and the people safely in the sanctuary before the first Alien lands.
Given Tommy's nightmares they are discussing how to best use the group in the barn.
The man in black hasn't shown up yet but Tommy is sure that he will. Herman is not so sure.
Also because of Tommy's nghtmares they are discussing the possibility of Herman and Tommy blocking the aliens while the street is cleared if the aliens land before that is completed. Their first priority is to protect as many people as possible.
Herman is also worried aboutr Pastor Joan. He is afraid that just when the battle begins she will go into labor. He has made sure there is a midwife in the church at all times.
Now they have to wait .
Is this it? Is the battle finally going to take place? Will the man in black show up? Can they possibly win?

Poor Tommy knew the battle was lost but didn't want to surrender. If he turned off his power that was the same as surrendering but that's what the voice wanted him to do. He looked at Herman but Herman didn't seem to hear the voice. He knew the voice. It said it could help. He needed help.
Finally he decided to trust it really was Oops.
He turned off the power.
He felt himself being shaken then he was sitting up not on the street but in his bed. His mother was shaking him.
" You had a bad nightmare" she said. " You put out some kind of shield that kept us out of the room as we tried to help you."
Tommy hoped it was only a nightmare and not a vision of things to come otherwise he had seen the end of Pigeon Falls. He couldn't understand how he had projected power without the rock which was in the desk drawer well out of his reach. Another mystery for him to solve later if they lived through this battle.
How many more nights of this before the real thing?

Tommy looked to his right and suddenly he could see Oops standing there but she was somewhat transparent.
" Tommy! I cam help you" she said. " I cvan use my power in one of two ways and I'll let you decide. I can wipe out the aliens on the ground and two of the spaceships. The other will go back where it came from . All of mankind will be saved but Pigeon Falls will be gone, forever.
Or!
I can push time back to just two hours before the battle started and allow you and Herman to remember everything.
That means you can get the people to safety in the Church as you originally planned. You can warn the man in black to put his shield up. You can use your troops in the barn differently. You can warn the dragons. You might be able to win.
So choose save mankind for sure or save Pigeon Falls and mankind possibly. But either way I can't enter your dimension until you turn the power off.
Tommy was still not sure it was really Oops and if it was what he should do.
Is it really Oops.? Will Tommy opt for the sure saving of mankind if it is. Is Pigeo0n Falls gone forever? Spme of these annoying questions might be answered tomorrow.

Tommy UK looked at Herman and knew they were doomed. They could protect themselves and even destroy a few aliens but around them was nothing but destruction.
The town was now on fire. People lay dead on the streets. The dragons which had tried to take out the space ships had been vaporized. The man in black was gone forever.
It looked like the end of Pigeon Falls and all mankind.
That's when Tommy heard the voice.
It said " Tommy! Release the power."
Tommy had no idea what the voice meant. If he turned off his power the aliens would vaporize him. It must be a trick.
The voice came again. " Tommy! Release the power now! I can help but you must release the power".
Tommy wanted to trust that voice but it made no sense.
He would not surrender. He would not give up.
Again the voice. " Tommy! Stop the power now! Let us in. We can help."
But who are they? How can they help? What should he do?
Is this the end of Pigeon Falls and Tommy?
Is there somebody out there that can help ?
What will Tommy do?
Tomorrow these question may or may not be answered but one can hope.

It started this morning.
Tommy UK was having breakfast when suddenly his parents left the house and stood in the middle of the road.
He put on his special hat, took his bicycle and pedaled as fast as he could to Last Lutheran. But by the time he got there three space ships were unloading alien soldiers, rank after rank. There was no time to get the people off the streets. All those carefully laid plans for nothing.
Quickly Tommy and Herman stood between the enemy and the people of Pigeon Falls. They would do their best to protect them.
Suddenly the man in black appeared and stood between Herman and Tommy.
"I told you he would show up " Tommy said to Herman.
They studied the aliens in front of them. They looked almost human. Tommy hadn't expected that. There was something odd about their faces but they had two arms, two legs, and looked right. They could pass as a rather ugly human being.
Without warning a purple ray came from one of the rocket ships hitting the man in black and he dissolved into a puddle on the road. Instantly Tommy and Herman acted to shield themselves. When the purple ray hit them it was reflected back to the first row of alien soldiers who then became puddles on the road.
But the next row stepped forward.
The doors of Danelson's big barn opened and out came one of those woolly elephant like creatures ridden by a strange creature with a weapon.
They charged the first row of alien soldiers smashing them to the ground while using the weapon to destroy the second row. But before they could turn and start again the purple ray from the ship hit them and they became a puddle.
Then the next woolly elephant creature with just a bouncing head on top charged out and took out two more rows of aliens before becoming a puddle.
Then the huge spider came throwing out webs. Every alien touched by the web died on the spot. The spider took out four rows of aliens and a few in the rows behind before being puddled.
But still the aliens kept coming from the space ships. Every alien destroyed was replaced by another.
All that was left now was Tommy UK and Herman.
Behind them lay dead and dieing Pigeon Falls residents, hit by the alien attempts to defend themselves.,
Is this the end of Pigeon Falls?
Can Tommy and Herman do nothing?
Is our entire world doomed?
Will the next ugly person you see really be an alien?
Some of these questions might be answered tomorrow in Pigeon Falls.

None of the group that is waiting for the great battle has been sleeping well. They have had bad dreams and nightmares. They really wish the battle would happen soon.
Herman is worried about Pastor Joan so he had a bed put in the room that used to be the Intern office back when Last Lutheran had an intern. The old desk has been pushed into a corner. The bed has a clean sheets and a comfortable pillow. If Pastor Joan goes into labor at the church there is now somewhere for her to have the baby rather than on a table in the fellowship hall or a desk in her office.
Tommy TW is beginning to wonder if the man in black is coming. He expected him to be here by this time. They would certainly feel better if he was ready to meet the aliens with them.
When will they come? That question is being asked over and over even as they plan in detail what they intend to do.
Today Tommy TW stayed home from school. He persuade his mother to tell the school he was sick with flue like symptoms. He couldn't concentrate in school in any case.

Eino called his friend at Homeland Security and told him that there was an indication that Pigeon Falls was going to be attacked by an alien invasion force. His friend just laughed and asked what Eino had been drinking. There will be no help coming from there.
And where in the world is the man in black. Will he arrive in time ?
It looks like our little group is on their own.
Where is that alien force? Why hasn't it come?
As if things weren't complicated enough it is almost time for Pastor Joan to have her baby. The group is trying to get her to go and stay with friends in Iron Mountain until the baby comes but she absolutely refuses to leave them. She says she is Pastor of Last Lutheran which alone can give sanctuary when the battle comes. She has an obligation to be here. Besides if the battle comes and they lose, the entire world will follow and Iron Mountain will not be a place of escape. Herman is afraid she will have the baby in the midst of the battle and they may not be able to get her some help.
She answered that by pointing out several of the women who should be at the church have midwife training. And if everything goes right the Nurse Practicioner may be there as well.

It iis a quiet Monday morning in Pigeon Falls. Tommy UK and Tammy are getting ready to go to school but both think they should stay home. The alien attack could come at any time. Wonder if it comes when they are at school out of the community. The consolidated High School is fifteen miles from Pigeon Falls. But Tommy can't say to the Principal I'm waiting for an alien invasion you'll have to excuse me until the big battle is over.
People are telling mrs Trumble they are hearing strange noises in Danelson's big barn. She has responded that the twon is thinking of buying it so it is being cleaned but how long can they keep the creatures in the barn hidden?
The man in black has not been see and the group is not at all sure he will show up for the battle but Tommy UK is sure. He says that you can rely on the Man in Black's showing up.
The tension is building and building and the group has reached a point where win or lose they would like to have the battle over with.
They have no idea of how many aliens or the extent of their firepower. There is no way to find that out.

It is Saturday and time to look back on another week in Pigeon Falls. Despite all the planning and plotting concerning the coming aliens life went on pretty much as normal in Pigeon Falls.
Monday- Grandma Moose hung up her washing and did the spit thing with the bouncing heads. She is really getting to like them and the spit has just done wonders for her arthritis.
Tuesday- Bonnie McGregor's daughter came to stay for a week so that Bonnie and her husband could take a mini vacation away from the twins. The family paid for the parents to stay at the Ramada Inn in Marquette and just rest with a pool.
Wednesday- A hungry bear got one of Jon Bergall's cows. First time that has happened since he started farming there. The DNR came and live trapped the bear and moved it far away from the farm.
Thursday-Jack announced he might be closing his Sauna for good this winter and moving to Florida.The news was more disturbing than the possible alien invasion.
Friday- Tommy TW told Nancy, his wife, that when he finishes his current novel he is going to write one about a poltergeist in a coffee shop. Nancy told him nobody would read it as it is too unbelievable.

One would expect Mrs. Trumble to be worried. She is, after all, part of that small group of people who knows the full extent of the alien menace and the nature of the rag tag defenders. She should at least look somewhat sad but instead people are commenting on the fact that she has never seemed so happy.
It could be the visits from Tommy UK every day, after school , have reassured her that they can win. Tommy UK also seems happier and almost as if he was in a hurry for the battle to begin.
The man in black has not shown up yet but then in the past he has never shown up until Tommy UK really needed him. So that is not much of a surprise.
Tammy , Herman, Calab, and Pastor Joan also seem to look less worried.
It could be that they have done all they can.
The special blankets are piled on a table at the Last Lutheran. Tammy, Calab, and Herman have rehearsed what they are going to do when the time comes. Everybody knows what is expected of them. Pastor Joan and Herman have been doing a lot of praying.
The question of trusting or not trusting the man in black has been left open. At the moment it looks like they have to trust him.
The rag tag bunch will be waiting in the barn and if everything goes right Herman, Tommy UK, and the man in black will face the aliens on a main street cleared of people. The small group in the barn will be their surprise weapon such as it is.

The group held another meeting after school last night. After much discussion bordering on arguing they decided that if and when there is another attack they will have blankets at the Church covered with that special spider web. Calab and Herman will take and throw the blanket over a group of people on the street breaking the alien control. Then they will walk them still protected by the blanket into Last Lutheran and Sanctuary. As rapidly as possible the men in the group and some ladies will be given special hats and blankets and sent out to bring in more. They will in this way get as many off the street as possible before the battle begins.
As far as the man in black is concerned Tommy UK insisted that they trust him and assume that though the heads are on their side they got the story of the man in black wrong.
Late last night both Tommy UK and Tammy left their homes. Tammy returned at 4:00 in the morning and Tommy UK didn't come home at all.
When the first person came to the town hall looking for Mrs. Trumble she came out of the storage room and it looked like she had been crying.

The piano tuner and his equipment arrived on the morning milk train along with a full contingent of ghost groupies. He was taken first to the town hall and then to the back room of the museum . They wanted him to hear the piano being played but they didn't want him to see that it was being played by a ghost. He was told that people had paid to sit in on the concert and so he would have to wait until it was over. He listened to the concert and remarked that whoever was playing was a master but even such a great player couldn't hide the fact that piano needed tuning.
When the concert was over and the ghost groupies had left then they ushered him and his equipment into the room. Under the agreement he was allowed to look at but not open the piano until he put the blindfold on. He sat down, played each key, opened his equipment case and put on the blindfold.
The lady in charge lifted the top of the piano for him so he could get to the strings and he started.
One hour later he finished. The piano was in perfect tune. They handed him his check. He commented that he felt like he was cheating since they had that expert there guiding him and even tuning some keys for him. He was alone in the room the entire time.

The Monday night meeting of Mrs. Trumble, Calab, Herman, Pastor Joan, Tammy, and Tommy UK was held. They have decided:
1. To trust the bouncing heads and wear the caps when they are out of the Church.
2. On hiding their rag tag fighting force in Danelson's big barn on the edge of town.
3. To continue to put off deciding about the man in black.
4. To continue to work on ways to protect the people on the street.
5. To meet again Wednesday evening.
After the meeting Tommy TW went to see Eino and asked for the old video disc.s of the trench when it was active. He intends to study them to see if they can help him make a decision about the man in black. Of course, they might show he was wrong about the bouncing heads and really shouldn't trust them. But the rest of the crew is fairly sure they are on the side of Pigeon Falls.
He spent the rest of the night studying the discs

Despite the threat hanging over the town life in Pigeon Falls goes on.
Mrs. Trumble has contacted the Piano Tuner in Milwaukee and offered him a hundred dollars over his usual fee if he can tune the museum piano blindfolded. He has agreed to come and try and should arrive on the milk train on Wednesday.
Yesterday ,after Church, Herman, Calab, Tammy, Tommy UK, and Mrs. Trumble met in the fellowship hall of Last Lutheran. They went over the driblet together and then they brainstormed.
A real argument broke out over the man in black. Tommy UK wanted to trust him but Mrs. Trumble was now having some doubts. Calab really trusts the bouncing head and if they say the man in black is not what he claims to be he believes them.
They went on to discuss how to get the people off the street and into the Sanctuary of the church. The aliens have to know that they will be reluctant to fight them if the fight could result in the destruction of all the people on the street.
They agreeded to meet again Monday night after school.

Saturday in Pigeon falls

It is Saturday and time to look back on the week in Pigeon Falls.
Monday- All kinds of strange things happened. People missed fifteen minutes of a program they were watching, a number of people had water overflow and do small amounts of damage, two people were talking on the phone and just stopped without hanging up, some farm animals escaped from gates left open, and according to the cleaning crew at Last Lutheran people went and stood on the rod for fifteen minutes but non of them remembered it later. It was a strange day for Pigeon Falls.
Tuesday-Mrs. Pemberthy had a vision and it scared her half to death. She was looking out at the beautiful sky when these things appeared. Huge spaceships with strange markings circling Pigeon Falls. Strange creatures seemed to drop from the ships to the ground where everybody was just standing on the road. But it was just a vision and it ended. Though she is a Methodist she attends one of Herman's Bible classes and she told Herman about the vision.
Wednesday- Mrs. Trumble contacted a Milwaukee Piano Tuner to see if he could really tune a piano blindfolded. She is still waiting for an answer.
Thursday-Calab gave Tammy and several others new hats.
Friday- Tommy UK gets a new hat.

Herman explained to Tommy UK all that Calab had told him. Tommy really wanted to believe that what Calab said was true. If it was true then his father was still alive but trapped beyond time in a rift between worlds. Indeed it might have ben his father who got Tammy and Tommy out of the rift they were in. If that was true he might be able to save his father.
On the other hand he had adventures with the man in black. He had shown up whenever Pigeon Falls needed help and had always been part of the solution. He had learned to trust him. Now he wouldr have to forget all that and plot against him.
Further if Calab was telling the truth then Tommy UK had helped seal the opening through which help was coming for Pigeon Falls. The town's destruction would be his fault. It was worse than that as the destruction of all mankind would be his fault.
But he had to decide. If the man in black was evil then Tommy should try to reopen the doorway. If the man in black is good then Tommy should destroy the talking heads. He went back to reading the driblet.