Pit Bulls vs Aliens by Neal Wooten

my books.”
    “May I say something?” Sally asked, ignoring the last comment.
    Thomas nodded.
    “It’s amazing you say that because it coincides with what I was going to mention, at least one of the things.” Sally opened her briefcase and produced a stack of papers. “I wondered also if greenhouse gases were to blame, or any other man-made scenario. If we were indeed heating the air, wouldn’t it heat the water evenly?”
    “Not necessarily,” Dr. McNair said. “There would be several variables. For instance, the depth and speed of the water would be huge factors.”
    “Exactly,” she said and slid a large map across the desk. “I got this from the National Oceanographic Data Center. It shows the areas where the ocean temps have become the most elevated. You’ll notice that they all are aligned with the ocean currents like the Gulf Stream. These are the areas of the deepest and fastest-moving waters.”
    Dr. McNair put on his reading glasses, picked up the map, and stared at it.
    Sally continued. “It just seems those would be the areas least affected. And since warmer air around the entire planet would wreak havoc on shallow and stagnant water more, why isn’t it raising the temps for all the lakes in the world?”
    “Those are good questions,” Thomas said.
    “It’s not just the temps either.”
    Dr. McNair looked up over his reading glasses. “Yes?”
    Sally slid another paper across the desk. “We tag and track as many animals as we can. This shows the migration of a young humpback named Walter—“
    Dr. McNair laughed. As Sally stared at him, he apologized. “Sorry. I just think it’s funny that you give human names to fish.”
    “Mammals,” she corrected. “And that hardly seems appropriate coming from a man who gives human names to storms.”
    Thomas laughed so hard he almost fell out of the chair. “She got you there.”
    “Touché,” Dr. McNair said. “Please continue.”
    Sally ran a finger along the dotted line on the paper. “This young whale, and several others we monitor, has begun migrating along the currents. These are highly unusual patterns. And it’s not just that.”
    Thomas and Dr. McNair were paying close attention.
    “In the last few years, there have been many reports of ocean mammals acting very odd, even attacking divers. This is not their usual behavior.”
    “Why?” Thomas asked.
    She shrugged. “We just don’t know.”
    “They are mammals as you say,” Dr. McNair said, “so why would any mammal do this? Why would land mammals do this?”
    Sally looked at Thomas as if afraid to answer. “Well, there’s only one reason we know of. This is how mammals act if there’s a very dangerous or foreign predator around. Some dogs have attacked their own masters when bears or other large predators come within their vicinity.”
    Thomas sat back and smiled. “I knew it. I’m telling you; it’s aliens.”
    Dr. McNair looked at Sally. “Is that what you’re saying?”
    “No. I never even considered that.”
    “But now?” Thomas asked.
    “No, not even now,” Sally snapped.
    “Boy, you sure are pretty when you’re angry,” Thomas said with a grin. “Do you have a boyfriend?”
    “Can we please stick to the matter at hand?” Sally asked.
    Thomas continued to push it. “We can make this the matter at hand.”
    “I don’t have a boyfriend,” Sally said, giving in. “I don’t need or want one either. I don’t have time. And even if I did, it wouldn’t be a wacko who believes in the bogeyman.”
    “I like a feisty woman,” Thomas said.
    “Dr. McNair, please, a little help here.”
    Dr. McNair had been taking the opportunity of them sparring over boyfriend-girlfriend stuff to finish his meal. He threw the empty bag in the trash and looked again at the map. “You make some fine points, Ms. Xie. If global warming was being caused by the atmosphere getting hotter, it should heat the water according to certain variables. As for whales traveling the