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Sarah stared at the monitor on her Apple computer. Her bedroom glowed from the monitor's light. It was two thirty in the morning. She had been working on a project for her science teacher. As usual, when she got into the complexities of formulae, time flew quickly. She had been sitting at her computer for over four hours. She was so engrossed in the project that she didn't hear her bedroom door open. Her father, Frank Lawrence, head of the nearby government science park smiled and shook his gray-flecked head as he studied her for a second or two. Silently he crossed the room. Over her shoulder he studied the figures on the monitor as his daughter's fingers darted over the keyboard.
'M should be squared, not multiplied, I believe,' he whispered, leaning closer to Sarah's shoulder.
'Squared?' exclaimed Sarah without turning. Her fingers pumped quickly at the keys. 'Of course.' She studied the equation again. She turned and smiled at him.
'Do you know what time it is young lady?' her father scolded, a twinkle in his eyes. 'It's after two thirty.'
'Gosh, Daddy is it?' exclaimed Sarah stretching. She wore a gray Tee-shirt, black jeans and her brown hair was tied behind her head.
'What are you working on?' her father asked, peering closer at her monitor.
'It's for Mr. Johnson, my science teacher. I promised him I'd work on a theory we talked about before we broke up for the school holidays. I'd forgotten all about it until I met him in town today when I was shopping with Mummy.' She giggled. 'Mr. Johnson thinks I'm some kind of a genius.'
Her father smiled back at her. 'And are you?' he asked.
'Of course,' said Sarah, laughing out loud.
'Well geniuses need their sleep just like any other human, so come on, young lady, bed.'
'Oh, Daddy, just a few minutes more. I've only the summary to finish. It won't take long.'
'Five minutes then,' said her father, kissing her on top of her head.
Sarah smiled. Her brown, almond-shaped eyes glowed from the reflection of her monitor. 'Five minutes,' she whispered.
'Goodnight,' her father whispered back. He turned at the door to look at her then smiling and shaking his head he left the room.
'Is she still at that computer?' Sarah’s mother, Mary asked as she switched on her bedside lamp.
'She said she'll be finished in five minutes. Some project for Mr. Johnson.’
‘We met him downtown this morning.'
Mary studied her husband as he got into bed. 'Frank, that computer is becoming an obsession with Sarah. She never goes out at all now. I'm sorry we ever bought it for her.'
Smiling, Frank kissed his wife on the cheek. 'She could be doing worse things. Besides honey, Sarah does have an aptitude for computing. Don't forget the way she helped me with my thesis.'
Mary smiled. 'You and Sarah are as alike as two peas in a pod.'
****
Sarah sat back on her chair and read the summary that proved that the formula was correct. She yawned. Mr. Johnson will be pleased, she thought. Everything is proven. Yawning again she reached to remove the disk. But as she did her mouth fell open with astonishment when the flashing cursor began to move across the screen by itself. She gaped at the words it began to print.
SAY-RA I NEED YOU. COME TO ME.
The flashing words pulsated out at her. Sarah gaped as the cursor began to move on its own again.
SAY-RA I NEED YOU. PLEASE COME TO ME.
It couldn't be a hacker thought Sarah, her hands now automatically typing in, WHO ARE YOU?
Back came the reply. I DON'T KNOW WHO I AM. I ONLY KNOW I COME FROM OUT THERE.
Sarah shook her head and whispered to herself, 'This is stupid.' She reached to switch off her computer.
NO, NOT STUPID.
'What!' she exclaimed aloud. What is this? This is not logical, she thought.
The words, I AM BEYOND LOGIC, flashed on the monitor.
It can read my mind, thought Sarah. But that's impossible.
NO, NOT IMPOSSIBLE? NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE.
Sarah hesitated, mulling over all that had gone before. She had read about a boy in Indiana, America, where she had been born, who could make the lights flash on and off in his house with his mind. Maybe she was making the cursor move with her mind. She stared at the screen then quickly typed, WHO ARE YOU?
I TOLD YOU, I DON'T KNOW, AT LEAST, NOT YET. BUT I WILL KNOW SOON. MY MEMORY IS GROWING STRONGER WITH EVERY SECOND. SAY-RA, I COME FROM A PLACE FAR BEYOND YOUR SOLAR SYSTEM. I NEED YOUR HELP.
WHAT HELP? Sarah typed in. WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO?
I NEED YOU TO BE THERE WITH THE OTHERS.
Frowning, Sarah typed in, WHAT OTHERS?
CON-OR. HE WILL BE HERE WITH ME SOON. I HAVE TO GO NOW SAY-RA. I HAVE TO CONTACT PAUL.
PAUL? WHO IS PAUL?
YOU WILL MEET HIM AND CON-OR SOON.
Sarah's frown deepened as she typed, BUT WHERE ARE YOU?
I’M AT THE BOTTOM OF A DEEP LOUGH IN DONEGAL. WHEN YOU REACH DONEGAL I WILL GUIDE YOU TO ME.
'Donegal,' exclaimed Sarah. 'What is all this madness?' Then angrily she typed, I DIDN'T SAY I WAS COMING. BESIDES, DONEGAL IS OVER A HUNDRED MILES AWAY. UP NORTH. IF I LEFT IN THE MORNING I WOULDN'T GET THERE UNTIL MID-DAY. ANYWAY, DADDY IS WORKING TOMORROW. HE...
Suddenly she found she could not press in the keys.
I NEED YOU TO COME TO ME NOW. PLEASE, SAY-RA. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT YOU LEAVE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
Sarah expelled her breath with a loud exasperated 'Whoosh.' She tried again to press the keys, but they were still frozen.
SAY-RA YOU CAN TAKE YOUR FATHER'S MOTOR MOBILE, NO, CAR. YES, IT IS CALLED A CAR.
Now Sarah found she could press the keys. Quickly she typed, BUT I CAN'T DRIVE. I'M ONLY TWELVE.
I WILL HELP YOU DRIVE. PLEASE SAY-RA, DO AS I ASK. COME TO ME. I NEED YOUR HELP. CON-OR WILL BE HERE SOON.
BUT WHERE ARE YOU? A LOUGH IN DONEGAL COULD BE ANYWHERE. THERE ARE A LOT OF LOUGHS IN DONEGAL, AREN'T THERE?
WHEN YOU REACH DONEGAL I WILL GUIDE YOU TO ME. PLEASE SAY-RA HELP ME. I HAVE TO GO NOW. I HAVE TO CONTACT PAUL.
Suddenly the monitor went blank. At the same time the disk shot out of the computer onto Sarah's lap. She stared down at it for a couple of seconds, then looked back at the monitor. Dazed she stood up. As she did she heard the words in her head. 'Say-ra I need your help. Please take your father's car and come to me now. Please.' Still in a daze, Sarah placed the disk on top of the computer then walked over to her bed and sat down on the edge of it. I'd be mad to go, she thought. But it said it would help me drive Daddy's car. Ahhh, all that proves is, it's crazy...crazy. All this has to be down to my own imagination. It was then she realized she was tying the laces on her runners. 'This is crazy,' she whispered going to her wardrobe and pulling out her brown quilted body warmer jacket. Slowly she put it on. What on earth am I doing? she thought as she crossed the room and slipped out onto the landing.
At her parent's bedroom she stopped and listened. I hope they're sleeping, she thought, slipping to the top of the stairs. In a few seconds she was in the sitting room lifting her father's car keys from the sideboard. Seconds later she was crossing the kitchen and slipping through the door that led to the garage. Not stopping to think about it she went to the garage door and opened it as quietly as she could. Slowly she turned and walked to a shiny red, twin carbturetor Toyota car. Easily, she opened the driver's door and got in. Pushing the biggest key into the slot, her left hand automatically pushed the gear stick into neutral. Then taking a deep breath she turned the key. The car barked into life. Stretching her left leg she found she could not reach the clutch pedal, so she adjusted the car seat as far forward as it would go. Then, before she knew it, her left hand pushed the gear stick into first gear. At the same time her right foot pumped the accelerator. She stared through the windscreen into the darkness. Suddenly her left hand released the handbrake. With a loud reverberation, as Sarah released her foot from the clutch pedal, the car shot out of the garage and down the driveway. There it braked, slid sharply and noisily around, before bombing away down the road.
The noise awoke Sarah's father. My car, he thought. Someone's stealing my car. Diving from the bed to the window he was just in time to see the lights of his car disappear.
Seconds later, Sarah was slamming the gear stick into fifth. As the car hurtled along the deserted road in the direction of Donegal she screamed, 'COOOOOOOL!'
By then the alien's mind was reaching to contact the third human.