Discovery

by Douglas E Roff

  “What are you talking about? You’re not making any sense. You sound pretty human to me.”

  “Yes, I can see where that could be confusing. I do sound like one of you, but in truth, I am not. Nor are my brethren. We Gens pre-date all of humanity and have co-existed alongside you surreptitiously for tens of thousands of years. Yet you are essentially unaware of our existence or have any familiarity with our branch of the Tree of Life.”

  “You talk like you are human but if you aren’t, then what the hell are you?”

  “We are the Gens, the first people and the dominant species on this planet for millennia uncounted before the arrival of homo sapiens in our world some sixty thousand years ago. Longer in Africa, where your numbers were small and our interaction then virtually non-existent. We got on well with the more ancient varieties of the genus homo and with homo neanderthalensis that came after them. But you modern chaps, well you’re really a bit too pushy and capricious and way too technological for our taste. Most of life, collectively, on planet Earth would truly like to see you exit stage left. And soon, if possible. That would be sporting of you. However, we’d just prefer that you not destroy our habitat before you leave. How you leave is up to you; that you leave will be up to us. We’re pretty sure of that.

  “Gens? Never heard of you.”

  “Too bad for you. You, my friend, are about to get to know us up close and personal. Then we’ll see how well you deal with our dominance.”

  Chapter 23

  Alan had now situated himself in the little clearing, having slowly moved his pack, sans weapons, away from the dense brush and toward the deer trail that was his only way out. He still had only heard one person speaking, so this Ezekiel guy could well be alone and unaided. Although Ezekiel had cleverly relieved him of his .45 and rifle, he hadn’t relieved him of his hunting knife nor the other tools he had brought with him into the Preserve. Ezekiel was probably unaware that Alan could easily convert other objects in his pack into weapons if necessary.

  Alan decided that the only way he was going to get out of this jam, find Jimmy and then scamper as far away from the Preserve as they could manage was to draw Ezekiel out of the shadows. Alan was convinced that he had to first determine the degree of threat Ezekiel posed, then hope like hell that his “Gens” friends were imaginary bluster and therefore nowhere to be found. At least not nearby, anyway.

  What Alan didn’t realize was that he was already fully surrounded by Ezekiel’s brethren, if that was the correct term for them, and that Alan had absolutely no chance of escaping his situation alive. Alan’s present life expectancy had more to do with whatever confidential information he might have and how much he was willing to divulge ahead of his imminent demise. What Alan didn’t know was that the answers he gave Ezekiel might mitigate the horrific manner of his death, just not the event of death itself. Still, in Alan’s mind, hope did spring eternal in the human breast and he would make a break for it at an opportune time.

  “So, Ezekiel, are you going to show yourself to me or are you going to continue to act the coward, hiding in the darkness, with my guns and your buddies? Why not come out and at least let me see who’s planning to kill me.”

  “Not sure that’s a good idea for you but I can certainly do so if you insist. Your friend Jimmy was eager to see us too until he did see us, then he curled up into the fetal position as my fellow beings brought his life to an end. I think it might be best if you don’t repeat that sad experience.”

  “I think you’re full of shit and I’m guessing that Jimmy is alive and well, lost as usual, and will be here any minute.”

  “You do, do you?” A sound like a hiss came from Ezekiel, followed by another sound from a third creature emanating from a different direction. It was a low growl filling the air, growing in volume to a roar and resonating as from a primal creature.

  The small lantern illuminating the darkness was still quite dim, but Alan reached over to turn up the intensity. He wanted a better look at his adversary and to spot the best angle out from his present location. As he did, objects began being tossed at him from all directions nor in no order. Jimmy’s clothes, contents of his pack, his two guns, food and scientific instruments all landed at or close to Alan’s feet.

  This didn’t look promising, Alan thought.

  In a new panic, Alan said, “Where’s Jimmy? What have you done with him?”

  This was now getting deadly serious and Alan had come full circle from generalized fear and light anxiety to genuine concern for the survival and safety of his friend. He wasn’t leaving this place without Jimmy, so Alan still had some information he needed about Jimmy’s location before Alan would attempt his escape.

  Ezekiel said, “Jimmy is here. And I’ll bring him to you as soon as you answer some questions. But you will tell me what I want to know now, or this will go very badly for you. Do you understand?

  “I don’t know what more I can tell you. You’re wasting your time. I don’t know anything else, I truly don’t.”

  “This was exactly what Jimmy tried to tell us, Alan. But it didn’t work out very well for him and it will not work out very well for you either. Let me share a little secret with you. I know without question that you are lying to me.”

  Alan feigned more courage than he felt. But, he suppressed his anxiety to focus on survival.

  “Really because unless you’re psychic, I think you’re just guessing. And I’m not lying.”

  “There are two reasons I know you’re lying and the physical evidence is probably the most damning.”

  “What are you talking about?” Alan’s mind was racing, trying to process events he had never conceived.

  “The instruments you and Jimmy have each have in your possession convict you as liars and spies. Take for instance that red thing. It’s an instrument used in the oil and gas industry to measure hydrocarbon and mineral content in rocks and soil. Could be used in hydrology for measuring contaminants but these portable gadgets are quite costly and environmental groups can’t usually afford them. That means governments too, unless it’s the military. Then there is the blue meter over there. Used in mining to detect mineralization in soil and rock. Then there’s portable mass spectrometer, which is a favorite of Big Pharma for measuring and identifying organic compounds. Your GPS and satellite map overlays along with tree identification and age estimates are probably to identify the more valuable “old growth” varieties that lumber companies and their foreign buyers so adore. Your satellite phone could be just a safety precaution but the hookup to your computers and the other instrumentation seems suspicious. So, does the totality of what we have been watching you doing since you arrived.”

  “That’s your proof? Seems very weak. We can use those instruments for a lot of things, and not just here. Certainly, your evidence is not a ‘death penalty’ transgression. C’mon, you have to do better than this.”

  Ezekiel continued, “Then there’s your physical condition and physical changes that have occurred while we have been chatting.”

  “Such as? I don’t follow.” Alan truly did not follow.

  “Let me explain. My people can exist in three separate physical states, somewhat like tadpoles to frogs. We are born into our natural state as Gens and if nothing else intervenes to bring us in close proximity to homo sapiens, then that is the form in which we remain for our entire lives. Contact with human can change that however and that is the problem we have been dealing with: the overabundance of humans on this planet; a human infestation.”

  “Meaning?” Alan didn’t follow this seemingly random and unconnected statement.

  “Meaning that under certain causal circumstances, contact with humans can manifest a change in my people. That can precipitate the second and third states of being: metamorphosis and transformation. I am presently in a state half way between natural and transformed and for the brief time it requires for me to transform in either direction, I retain many functions and abilities fro
m both states.”

  “Fascinating. So?”

  “So, in my present state, I can detect a great deal about you that I cannot when I am in a fully human transformed state. For instance, in my natural state, I can detect changes in breathing, in respiration and other fluctuations due to changes in blood pressure and other bodily functions that tell me exactly how you are feeling. You’ve heard the claim that animals can smell fear, well that’s quire correct. The sensation of prey fears we experience is not like a conscious, separate awareness of that fear. Rather, we just know. It is a series of physical perceptions we sense and which we incorporate into the hunt, into defending ourselves and which our kind employ to detect dangerous and avoidable situations. But it is the part of me that is transformed to human attributes that allows me to understand the meaning of this heightened sensory adaptation and share that information with my untransformed brethren. So right this very minute you are emanating changes in breathing and heart rate as well as many other factors that show me that you are experiencing fear to the edge of panic and that your physical responses to my questions strongly suggests prevarication.”

  “Really?” Alan said. “All that from a little look. No lie detectors or drugs?”

  “Unnecessary as far as I’m concerned. That you are lying is abundantly clear and that is all I need to know. If you won’t talk to me about your true aims and intentions here, then your value to me drops to an immediate zero. So, who do you work for and what are you doing on my land?”

  “I am here with Jimmy to do some camping and hiking. That’s all.”

  “And all those science experiments, that’s all part of camping too?”

  “We take scientific samples. We share data with environmental groups, which if you knew anything at all, are deeply interested in understanding interconnected ecosystems. Beyond that, what we are doing does not concern you.”

  “I believe you are incorrect, so let me demonstrate.”

  Ezekiel began his half hiss, half growl low intonation. The sound grew and varied in intensity, then trailed off. The dim echo of a hundred other voices, all vocalizing in low, hushed tones could be heard above the wind but just barely. It was as if the sounds being uttered were carried on the wind itself, blending in so effortlessly that any audible sound heard would appear to be no more that the rustle of the wind through the trees.

  Several objects fell at Alan’s feet. The light was very poor, so he couldn’t immediately make out what the objects were. Then they came into rapid focus.

  They weren’t animal parts. They were human body parts.

  Chapter 24

  Alan recoiled when his visual focus allowed his brain to finally grasp the nature of what lay before him. He was appalled by the sight of Jimmy’s mangled and bloody torso, extremities detached, laying at his feet in disarray. Jimmy’s head, though intact and unblemished, showed a violent and cruel death. The lifeless corpse was Jimmy, of that Alan had no doubt whatsoever.

  Alan screamed in horror at the sight, cursing these people, whoever they were, for committing such an atrocity on such a harmless and innocent soul. He flailed his arms and grabbed for the nearest gun. Nobody stepped forward nor did Ezekiel attempt to prevent his outburst or his desperate and futile effort to grab one of the guns. Each had already been unloaded and rendered useless.

  “In what fucked up, insane world do you filthy animals think you live in anyway. You’ll pay for this. Jimmy, Jimmy, Jimmy, what have they done to you?” Alan shouted out loud to no one in particular. Alan gingerly caressed the features of Jimmy’s face and smoothed his hair back from his closed eyes. Tears rolled down Alan’s cheeks for the lifeless figure who had been his best friend for as long as he could remember. “He just wanted to live in the wild. That’s all. Now you killed him and for what? What does killing him do for you?”

  “You humans disgust me.” The man called Ezekiel had begun speaking in a far more hostile tone, one devoid of any human compassion and one that did not seem amenable to further delay and obfuscation of the truth. “Always about what ‘we’ do to you but never any responsibility for the unimaginable pain and suffering you not only inflict on your own less fortunate kind but on the countless other living creatures sharing this planet. When you die, it’s a tragedy; when we die, we’re road kill. If I were you, Alan, I’d be thinking carefully about the few options you have left and give some serious thought to what fate lies in store for you. And I mean in your immediate future.”

  “I’m dead at the hands of you monsters anyway. I’m not sure how this gets worse for me.”

  “Listen.”

  The sounds of recorded voices filled the night air and the conversation could be easily understood. A woman’s voice was front and center, questioning a clearly frightened and petrified Jimmy Phillips minutes before his death. As the questions were asked, Jimmy answered, giving the same stock replies that they had been trained to give to the authorities if they were ever detained and questioned. Stick to the script, they had been told by their employers, and we’ll get you out of whatever the legal situation may be no matter how bad it is. They had failed to mention the possibility of the Gens Collective and getting them out of this situation.

  In the end, Jimmy couldn’t stick to the script as the pain inflicted upon him could no longer be tolerated by the young man. In the end, Jimmy told the woman, Maya, anything and everything she wanted to know. To his great credit, Alan thought, Jimmy did not quite tell Maya the whole story; notwithstanding, the reward for his bravery would not be forthcoming like in the movies. Nobody had swooped in at the last minute to rescue Jimmy as was evidenced by the tattered and shattered body parts that lay in a heap in front of him, the meat and viscera exposed; displayed like an animal carcass at an open-air market in a third world country. Flies were in abundance all around the spectacle of the corpse remains and the evidence of Jimmy’s horrific death was all too real.

  Jimmy’s screams and the sounds of his final moments were, as Ezekiel had predicted, not a hopeful sign for the trapped and now hopeless Alan. Alan now knew he would not leave this place alive and the thought of a quick and painless death provided some relief to his already racing, confused and muddled state of mind.

  “What do you want to know?” Alan asked. His voice was laden with defeat, acceptance of his tenuous position in the world of the living.

  Ezekiel began his questions, which Alan answered fully and to the best of his knowledge. Unlike Jimmy, Alan saw no real reason to dissemble; he now believed that this man was fully capable of discerning truth from lie. If he was going to die, who was there left to protect?

  In the end, Alan felt alone and drained but no longer afraid of the certainty of his own demise.

  “I’m not buying all this mumbo jumbo you’ve been spooning me. But I’ve come clean with you and you seem to believe what I have told you. So, who are you really and why are you so afraid of coming out and into the light? I should have the right to witness my accuser and executioner.”

  “My people are standing all around you, in plain sight and have been since you arrived here. Our natural camouflage gives the effect of complete concealment, even in open and lit conditions. Several hundred of my brethren have surrounded you, yet you have been utterly unable to detect them. In the midday sun, you might have seen a slight visual irregularity in the space around us, as if light were passing through an invisible body. But we are not invisible, just well camouflaged. And your visual limitations are to our advantage and will be one of the factors in your eventual destruction.”

  “I don’t understand?” Alan now measured his remaining time on this planet in minutes, if that.

  “And it is not particularly useful for either us that you do. What is important is that, so far as I can tell, you have answered me truthfully, so we can leave it at that. As for seeing me, I guess I can grant you this one final wish.”

  Although Alan thought the man had been standing some ten yards or so away from him directly
ahead, a hunched figure began moving very slowly toward him from his extreme left flank. His features were, at first, indistinct, but as he moved closer, what came into view was unlike anything Alan had ever seen, in real life or in the movies.

  “As you can see, you’ve caught me at a somewhat inconvenient time. I have just finished my stay amongst my people which I quite enjoy every year. And I have healed up well from living among the most violent, careless, wasteful and toxic creatures on the planet. A week ago, we couldn’t have spoken like this. A week from now I’ll be back in Omaha in my lab coat trying to figure out how to eliminate your species as a threat to mine. What you get at the midpoint of transition is neither Gens nor human but some intermediate creature that can, for this brief period, act as a translator and conduit between our two species. I can still talk to my brethren in our Common Tongue as well as to you in English. But once fully transformed to my natural state, we cannot communicate.”

  Alan gazed at the figure, now fully enveloped in the dim light and could see a creature, this thing that was speaking to him as if he were … human. He was not.

  Ezekiel, as he had named himself, stood about six feet tall, with long flowing hair, some of which seemed to be transparent. What appeared to be splotches were simply the parts of his body that were visible while other parts seemed to be translucent. He was partially covered in a very fine flowing mat of fur with human skin in places that were otherwise bare. His fur was both like the hair on his head, visible and brownish in color, while the balance seemed to exist in a state of transition between visibility and transparency. As Alan looked more closely, he could see that the clear parts were not invisible just lacking in background and without enough contrast to be readily noticed.