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