Swirling lights coming out of larger light at high altitude. Fast with trails. Aware of us observing.

Noticed a "star" split apart and began watching it join and split several times.  Then noticed several lights  moving thru the sky seeming to chase each other and following the exact turns of the one in front of it.  Moving at a high rate of speed and then slowing to almost hover.  My friend and I watched this for about 40 min and decided to go away from the city lights to get a better view of them. Each smaller light eventually returned to the larger one and it seemed to "catch" it.  The larger obgect matched the speed and trajectory of the smaller object as it merged for just a moment and then returned to its previous position. And then it got weird, I had noticed that they left a slight trail on the retina like a flashbulb dot but just a trace so you could see the lines of their movement.  I began playing this game with them where I'd look into an empty portion of sky and one would fly right into the spot I was looking at, stop and then began zipping around again.  I did this maybe 10 times before it really began to freak me out as it seemed they knew what I was looking at. My friend had noticed the same thing and said they were "writing in the sky"  I was about 25yds. from the truck and My friend yelled there was one in the trees about 100yds. behind me - I looked and dismissed it as a ballfield light.  Then he cracked "well then why is it moving?" and as I looked back it was rising above the trees and had lit them up from the side I was on, so I ran like hell screaming start the truck over and over.  It cast my shadow on the ground as I ran.  Looking back it was moving over the field without a sound casting very bright beams of slightly bluish light. Made it to the truck, dived in the back and screamed hit it. It went srtaight up and disappeared.  This event still freaks me out. More or less went right home, locked up the house and didin't sleep until daybreak.  Feel very fortunate it backed off, hope to never see another event.