Beyond the Firefly Field Read Online Free Page B

at the blisters on his hand. “It better be aliens, Brian.”
    â€œHey! This was your butt-wipe idea.”
    â€œWell, we're almost there, so we shouldn't waste the blisters we earned,” Wayne said as he stood. “Come on, guys. Besides, who could possibly ask for a better trail?”
    They marched across the meadow and into the last stretch of woods, hacking madly since the end was in sight. Rain drizzled off and on, but the boys didn't get wet under the heavy tree canopy. The thick leaves also buffered the last streams of daylight as the woods quickly darkened. With night falling fast, the boys finished the remaining distance with a flurry of activity, arriving at the clearing's edge with a unanimous cheer. They were sweating profusely and gasping for breath, finding that the skies were much lighter after they'd escaped the woods. The boys spread out along the field's edge. It was roughly seventy yards across, and stretched for a hundred yards on either side.
    â€œSee! There's the lake, so this has to be the last meadow,” Dillon said.
    The boys were disappointed to see that this meadow looked like all the others. It was nothing special. Not even a crop circle. Before them stood waist-high grass, bunches of wildflowers, and an outcropping of small bushes. Surrounding the field sprung a line of bushy plants and saplings leading into the woods. Near the lake, cattails indicated a marsh was lurking.
    After catching their breath, the boys took more notice of their surroundings. Crickets chirped. Birds settled in the trees, offering short songs of welcome. Fireflies sparkled here and there around the field. Leaves rustled in the woods behind them as raccoons searched for their evening meal. Ducks called to each other and splashed as they landed in the marsh. The boys silently watched as a herd of deer walked across the meadow to drink at the lake. It was a peaceful setting, but peaceful wasn't what the boys were looking for.
    â€œTell me we didn't do all this for nothing, Ron,” Wayne begged as he stopped poking at his blisters.
    â€œI told you we should have gone into town with Mom today,” Phil said as he mimicked his twin. Both boys rubbed their lower backs and stretched their stiff muscles.
    â€œYou did not,” Paul retorted, a delayed but expected reply.
    â€œYou don't even listen when I talk or you would have heard me,” Phil accused, heating up for another argument.
    â€œI do too. You…”
    A cookie bounced off of Paul's head, cutting him off as Ron ordered, “Quiet, you guys, it's not even time yet. It's still too light.”
    The boys returned their attention to the field, except Paul, who bent down and picked up the cookie at his feet. They quietly watched and listened as more crickets joined the chorus, more birds roosted on heavy branches, more noise erupted from the woods as nocturnal animals scurried for their dinners, and more fireflies fueled the sky.
    Finally, after watching hundreds of fireflies lighting the field, Karl broke the silence. “If there were millions of these fireflies, you just might be able to see this field for miles.”
    â€œIt's just as I suspected,” Brian whispered in a serious tone, “and now I'm sure. The fireflies light up the field as a beacon so aliens know where to land.”
    â€œOh shut up, you moron! I shouldn't have told anyone and just come here alone,” Ron ranted amid the laughter.
    â€œYeah, and we'd end up finding your skeleton next to Brer Rabbit's,” Wayne teased.
    â€œWow!” was all Karl could say.
    The few firefly knots that initially dotted the field quickly grew into dozens of clusters made up of hundreds of the winged lanterns. The clusters multiplied from the hundreds to the thousands, making it hard to look at anything else.
    As the sky darkened, the firefly groups swarmed together and connected, covering the entire field. As the boys watched in amazement, the fireflies