1st of 8 Chapters (1 hour read total)

The Peril of Onion County
A local politico-science fiction thriller.

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Part 1 Peril in Onion County


After the major corruption bust of 44 New Jersey politicians in the summer of 2009 the reputation of New Jersey took a major hit (if thats at all possible). The in house authorities handling the press relations for the state of New Jersey were looking for something that would represent the good side of New Jersey. Seeing how well the gecko spokes-cartoon is doing for Geico Insurance they decided on a similar route. After paying $150,000 to an outside consultant, Slate Street Partners, the consultants quickly arrived at the proposition to use a newt for the intended purpose. After all, a newt is cuter than a gecko. Since the state has unlimited resources of tax monies at its disposal, the authorities took this idea one step further and instead of having a cartoon animated mascot they wanted a real one that could actually talk up New Jersey. With all the screw ups in the past from the state this brainstorm would certainly be a hit. It was the end of October when they contracted out with Professor N. Jay Dotcom, who maintains a secret experimental lab hidden in the hills of Watchung Reservation. The professor was given the charge of getting a cute mute newt to actually talk and then to speak highly of New Jersey, a seemingly Herculean task (ie: the part of speaking highly of NJ).

Given this charge, Professor Dotcom went about setting up his lab paraphernalia and since he was located within the Watchung Reservation he could easily turn over any rock, brush away any miscellaneous politicians and retrieve all the newts he needed.

His plan of attack was well thought out. He was to install a live newt in a small cage, with all the comforts of home. While the newt is enjoying himself, the newt would be wearing a small specially made beanie with integral tiny headphones. The professor figured he would play an audio loop tape with political and campaign rhetoric 24/7 and given enough time the newt may not only be able to formulate speech but also be it in the right vernacular saving that extra step. The tape loop played “Tippecanoe and Tyler too”, “I like Ike”, “a chicken in every pot, a car in every garage”, “a kinder more gentler nation”, “I did not have sex with that girl”, “mission accomplished”, “hope and change”, and so on. This should be sufficient to achieve his plan. Logging in his daily progress ledger, for the newt, he used a contrived scientific acronym of “NJN”, New Jersey Newt.

Then a set of events initiated a horrible reaction. The professor, while cleaning out the NJN cage, inadvertently dislodged the tiny aluminum headphone beanie from the newts cranium; and a coincident errant radiation bombardment from a far away solar flare engulfed the Watchung area. This harmless radiation, however, affected the NJN which was in a vulnerable transitional phase. The NJN started to grow and grow fast.

The growing height of the NJN busted through the cage and then through the ceiling and roof of Professor Dotcom’s secret lab. The height of the NJN soared above the building. The NJN topped out at a height of 110 feet. The Professor, standing among the falling debris of his lab wrote his final entries into the lab ledger, “What havoc has been wreaked! I have created a large hulking serpent with who knows what intentions towards the good citizens in the area.” Before fleeing for his life from his lab, his final entry identified the new creature with the deadly scientific acronym-“LHS”, large hulking serpent.

Let us tune in on this unfolding thriller...........

From its lab escape, the creature traverses down the Watchung slope thru Mountainside and is now wreaking that havoc on the surrounding Onion County communities of Westfield, Cranford, and Clark caught unawares of this calamity.

Police Chief Derby of Mountainside, following the path of destruction back to find what initiated the creature is the first to arrive at the destroyed Watchung lab and calls out to the Professor: What happened? What is that large creature? It just flattened Chrone’s Restaurant? We must alert high level authorities.

Professor Dotcom standing outside, dazed, nods in agreement and can only stammer: It is the dreaded LHS.

Chief Derby escorts the Professor down the hill to the center of Mountainside hopefully to assess and resolve the situation, but to no avail since the Professor is somewhat reticent, embarrassed at what was released on Onion County.

The initial alarm of the residents is well deserved. Immediate word goes out from the local officials to the local area US army officials. The regional army reserve corps is responding by dispatching a General Renna of the Reserves and his arrival in Mountainside is due shortly. The armories of Westfield, Plainfield and Rahway have been mobilized with men and tanks moving out and surrounding the LHS, trying to halt its progress. Onion County is, indeed, in Peril. General Renna pulled up to the center of Mountainside for initial fact-finding and command with Chief Derby and the Professor. Reports coming back from a fast established front note attempts made to stop the LHS with tanks and rockets have been feeble at best. The General turned to the Professor and stated:

We need your direction since you are the expert in matters such as this. Professor, please, there is a Clark Valley school with children in the path of the LHS. Help us! We must stop it. Of course, always as an easy resolution we can deploy an atomic bomb but that might damage outlying counties not in crisis. Professor we need input?

But the professor was swooning badly over the damage that he alone had inadvertently put in motion; and headed back toward his lab without hearing the pleas.


Part 2 Is it futile or is their hope?


With the LHS now deep inside of Onion County, General Renna decided to establish the main command HQ post at Garwood, the industrial center of the county. Monitoring and observation is now being made from the high roofs of the Lincoln-Franklin school complex with reports down to the adjacent command center. From the high point post, a cry via walkie-talkie from major Bury, the post observer with high powered telephoto binoculars:

General, my god! The LHS, being held at bay at Stiles Avenue and Raritan by the 5th battalion from Rahway Armory, is now spewing some sort of light green substance from its mouth. Reports from the ground state the whole 5th battalion was soaked by that LHS slime and is now staggering around responding with no common sense. Almost like zombies! Plus those huge fungus covered feet are stomping the local residents escaping from the Winfield district across the parkway sending those poor people to an early and moldy grave.

General Renna subsequently received ground reports stating some fleeing residents had found sanctuary in the local Cranford library and oddly the LHS stopped in its tracks and then veered around the building.

General Renna after hearing these reports astutely remarked to his subordinates: I find this odd that the LHS may be avoiding structures such as a library. Could be a structure, filled with books and magazines, can deflect this LHS onslaught? Could it be the creature’s weakness is bleached paper or maybe chemicals in the ink? This conjecture needs further thought and may be a small but good sign of hope. But we need the Professor on board to figure out a true course to stop this giant LHS and the dangerous spewing substance. The Professor appeared so distraught over his failed radiation experiment from whence this LHS was created. And we should note that the kids in that Clark Valley school which was in the direct path of LHS's destruction hid in the school library. That choice of hiding just may have saved their dear little lives.

The General turned to Captain Monarch standing in wait nearby: Go to the research lab at Watchung to see if you can bring the Professor back to his senses and back to HQ. But be wary, whatever that green substance is, it may be around the area of the lab when the LHS broke out of the facility.

Captain Monarch snaps a salutes, then proceeds towards the nearest command jeep and heads north down Walnut ave in Garwood avoiding any patches of green substance he sees on the road. On his trek to the Watchung Hills, he observes destruction of homes and the path of the creature through Gallows Hill Cemetery. “At least the LHS can’t harm those already at rest”, he thought.