Universal Code

by William Songy

  For the first time in her life, Ayla looked on the waters with fear and an increased uncertainty after what had occurred. She sat on the muddy beach holding the young boy’s head in her lap thankful that her training in CPR had helped save one life. While walking the beach in search of Logan, or any signs of him, she found the unconscious boy. Several people were not so fortunate and were too far gone to be saved. But this one lived. She caressed his hair and cried while staring upon the aftermath. Ayla wondered if the child was now an orphan or where his parents could be found. So often in a natural disaster such as this, horrible people would use the aftermath to take advantage of children. Human trafficking was a tremendous evil and she did not want the boy to end up on an auction block. She desperately needed to find his parents and Logan.

  The horrific image of the wave crashing against Logan’s back and the look in his eyes as he was washed away played over and over in her mind. He pushed her to safety before trying to save himself. A man she had only just met saved her life yet again, quite possibly at the cost of his own. Ayla felt guilty that she was alive and well. There was a strong unexplainable sense that he defied the odds and had survived. As the hour grew later, she would have to keep casting off doubts that he would be found alive. She had walked the entire area of the beach calling out his name as others were doing in search of family members. Listening to the calls that evoked a sense of dread in some and begged for hope in others, was heartbreaking. The same desperate tone was in her voice when calling out his name. Each time it seemed to become more and more desperate. There was no response or evidence of him. Would they find his body washing up on a beach somewhere in the next day or in the days to come? Was he alive and floating out to sea? She wished that she had never visited the cursed island, then considered the boy’s life that was saved because she was there.

  As if speaking into her mind, a voice called out. It was female in nature and her senses instantly became elevated. At first, she thought it was her imagination, but panned her surroundings to make sure that no one was communicating from the darkness. Ayla paused for a second waiting to see if it would happen a second time. When nothing occurred, it was rendered to be of no significance. Was her mind beginning to play tricks on her?

  “Look up…in the water!” the voice shouted into her mind once again. It was louder and more demanding and she could not deny nor ignore what she had heard that time. Ayla looked up and scanned the water’s surface. There was nothing visible to her right and she panned to the left. Something was in the water and it seemed to be moving quickly toward their spot on the beach. With the absence of significant light, it was impossible to tell if what was coming toward her and the boy was a threat. Due to the intensity of the strange voice in her head, she decided that moving the boy further away from the surf was warranted.

  She stood, helped the boy to his feet, and began to move back when the log crashed onto the beach. A man was tossed into the shallow water onto his back. From her perspective, the man was dead. Ayla ran and grabbed the lifeless arm and fought to pull him onto the beach when she recognized the clothes and cuts on the midsection. A large wave came and lifted his body and she tugged using the assistance of the wave to move Logan’s limp body further inland while trying to keep the log from rolling over on top of him. Ayla grabbed his arm and leaned back, using her weight to drag him over the muddy wet sand.

  He had a weak cough and moved his head. She was so happy to see him that she nearly fell upon his damaged body and hugged him. Logan looked at her and was almost too exhausted to speak but managed to ask, “Where is Sonia? She was with me in the sea. Where is she?”

  “I don’t know who that is…wait, do you mean your sister?” she recalled the name from the previous day when he shared the story about her disappearance. Ayla realized that it was possibly associated with a hallucination. “No, you are only the second living person that I have seen come out of the water,” she sat down next to him.

  A small group of shadows crossed over from the tree line near the resort and began to spread out. Flashlights popped on and moved back and forth scanning the beach. Faint crying could be heard as weary and fretting family members desperately searched for their loved ones.

  Logan looked at Ayla without picking his head up, “I have never been so glad to see anyone in my entire life,” he said. “I’m so glad that you are okay.”

  “Me too. I’ve been worried sick. You almost died saving me,” tears filled her eyes and she grabbed his shoulders and hugged him. “Next time worry about getting yourself up and don’t worry about me,” she demanded wiping the tears from her eyes.

  After a few minutes, he was able to push himself into a sitting position, “Who is our new friend?” he asked looking at the boy.

  “Neville, sir,” he replied.

  “Neville…Neville!” an approaching voice from behind them yelled. The woman ran through the muddy sand and fell to her knees in front of the boy with no regard for soiling her clothes. She put her hands on both sides of his head and kissed him before wrapping him in her arms. The woman cried uncontrollably. Neville’s mom looked at Logan and Ayla and through a very thick French accent, thanked them and kissed their cheeks. The boy was strong enough to stand and the mother escorted her son away from the shore.

  “What the heck happened here? No warning of an earthquake, no warning of a tsunami…what happened? A tremendous failure on someone’s part,” Logan noted.

  “We need to get you somewhere and take care of those wounds. I don’t want them to get infected. There is no telling what was in that water…diseases or otherwise,” she said referencing the aquatic aliens.

  “How tall was the wave?” he asked squinting and attempting to judge how far inland the damage was.

  “The first wave that took you was twenty feet. I got up higher before the second wave came in. It was thirty feet or more. I’m not sure,” she replied staring at him.

  “My room is higher than that. I have some supplies in my room.” He stood with a slight moan. He was thankful to be alive and even more so now that Ayla was alright. Through the dark, they made their way to the mud-coated stairs of the resort and cautiously climbed up. The mud was as slick as oil and their feet slid nearly sending them back down to the landing with every step.

  They were relieved to reach the area above the mud-line and the outdoor walkway. When they approached Logan’s room, the door was partially open, and they could hear something rummaging through his belongings. Ayla watched in astonishment as the metal rod on his arm reformed into a blade. The metal had only done so when the alien beings were around. Logan knew at that point that it was one of two of the kinds of creatures they had encountered.

  He was tired and sore and knew he was not up to the fight. Slowly he pushed the door open enough to slide in. The dresser was against the wall to his right and if his things were in the same general area, the six-foot spear gun would be leaning against the wall with a flashlight next to it. Relief came when he felt the round metal and rubber bands that were used to power the spear. Logan cautiously picked it up, stepped back outside and pulled back two of the thick bands fighting the pain of his arms, back and abdominal area. It was a struggle to get them set as there was no light and it had to be done blindly. Relief came when the rubbers slid into the slots on the stainless-steel spear. He slid past the door and back into the room feeling for the flashlight. Fighting hard to control the exhaustion, Logan pointed the spear and light at the sounds in the room. When the button was pressed, the dive light pierced the darkness revealing the intruder. Logan immediately recognized the deformed ear. The stunned man spun around to face him and saw the speargun. The haunting ice-blue eyes of the driver of the transport that had driven him there reflected back at him and confirmed his gut instincts. The weapon seemed to delay his response. There were only two ways out, through the door behind them or over the balcony on the other side of the suite facing the beach. The intruder was unlikely to jump five stories.

 
As he had suspected during the drive, the man was more than he seemed to be and had ulterior motives. It now appeared that the encounter with the alien creature from the beach that night was not an accident. The alien features of its face were far more noticeable with the powerful white beam of the flashlight. The creature’s disguise was changing. It was difficult to discern its origin. It seemed like it was the same as the one on the beach.

  The alien stood still, clearly surprised by their entrance, “What are you doing here? What do you want?”

  The creature noticed the metal on his right arm and was very interested in it. It seemed to consider going after Logan, but the spear and the metal, despite his obvious condition, were too much for it to overcome. The creature turned to the balcony and moved toward it as if intending to jump to freedom. Logan ran across the bed to shorten the distance so that the metal cable on the spear would have plenty of slack. He raised the spear and fired into the center of the creature’s back. It made a foul noise as the razor-sharp tip penetrated its epidermis enough for the entire tip to enter its body. The spear shaft separated from the tip and dangled by the one-sixteenth inch thick cable. The flare at the base of the solid tip ensured that it could not simply be pulled out. Logan jerked on the cable and he could see the epidermis and knotted muscle mound up when pressure was applied. The alien being gave off a horrific sound incensed by the audacity of the Earth person to try and take it on. Angry, in pain, and with no other option, the beast turned and lunged at him. Logan backed off the bed as it charged. It reached out to grab him and Logan reversed his retreat lunging forward driving the blade through the hand that was reaching for him. Upon impact, a web of blue and white electricity started to envelop the hand. The creature desperately jerked back and pulled itself free. It let out another blood-curdling scream due to the pain in the injured hand and back. Sensing an opportunity, Logan quickly stepped forward and drove the silver metal into the upper arm. Electricity shot through the creature just as it had done to its comrade on the beach. It gyrated violently and fell to the floor. Logan held the blade in for a minute before removing it.

  Ayla was in awe as she watched what the metal did to the creature’s body without hurting Logan. It was crazy and completely violated the laws of physics. The sunlight on the beach made it impossible for her to see the web of currents streaming through the other being’s body earlier in the day but could unequivocally determine by its reaction that it was being electrocuted, “Is it dead?”

  “No, I want to keep this thing alive to see if we can get some information from it,” he said while taking a knee.

  “Are you serious? What if it recovers and tries to kill us?” Ayla asked skeptically.

  Logan was already binding the hands with the cordage from the dive gear, “I’m willing to take that chance. I’ll get my stuff together so we can get out of here quicker. If it recovers, we can try to communicate. I mean the thing drove the transport that got me here. It must know how to speak English. Where is your room?” he asked.

  “First floor. Paid extra for the view. Now, everything I brought with me is gone,” she said with a look of disgust.

  “I’m sorry. We will have to find you some clothes and whatever else you need,” he panned the flashlight around looking for the first aid kit to treat his wounds. Ayla gasped and took a step deeper into the room which she had no intention of doing with the live alien. Logan looked up to see the figure standing in the door. The metal was still in the form of a blade and he pointed it at the new visitor.

  The man put his hands up, “I mean you no harm.”

  “Who are you?” The metal transformed back to its original form leaving him to feel defenseless. His confidence was mildly deflated.

  “I wish you wouldn’t have killed him. We need to get information and take him back for trial,” the man looking to be in his early twenties said as he passed through the door.

  “I didn’t. He was still breathing,” Logan insisted leaning over to get a look at the creature.

  The man walked over and looked the limp body over, “No, he is dead.” The stranger pulled the head of the creature up and looked into its mouth, “Rather than be burned alive by that telenium, or interrogated, it ruptured the Dub sack in the back of its mouth. Not sure if it is a male or female, it is from Tavoy and it is hard for me to tell…not sure how they can even tell. These have the ability to alter some physical characteristics to hide their identity. Some things, like its hair, are not natural. But it is quite convincing, even close up,” the man said. The dead creature’s head landed with a loud thump as it fell to the floor.

  “Dub sack?” Ayla asked as if she was taking him seriously.

  “Yes. If it needs to destroy itself, it bites on the sack that is inserted in the back of the mouth. It ruptures, poison is delivered…it dies within seconds. You two have a lot to learn,” he replied with a nod of the head.

  Logan moved the flashlight to get a better look at the man. Sharp red-green hazel eyes stared back at him. The man, or alien creature, neither knew at this point, had short white or blond hair. The man was well built, he guessed about two hundred and twenty pounds. It was his clothes that threw Logan off as to his origin. He wore a red outfit that was void of a flag or any military credentials. “Who are you? How do we know that you are not another one of them? What’s the deal with your uniform?” Logan distrusted the stranger and was secretly sizing the man up planning for their defense.

  The man looked at him as if attempting to conjure up an adequate response to the question, “That depends on your definition,” he answered simply.

  “That is about as straightforward a question as there can be. Who do you work for? I don’t see any credentials on you,” Logan replied firmly.

  “Call me Honoré. One would think that you would be nice since I saved your life earlier by shooting the Kurun attempting to take you in the water. They almost took you. But, to answer your question, I am not officially with any nation on Earth or anywhere else. I guess I am kind of on my own but here in the interest of someone with a connection to you,” he noted.

  “That was you…the lights? So, how did you do it? Do you have a weaponized personal underwater craft? What do you mean they are called Kurun? What the heck is a Kurun? Those things that look like demonic mermaids? The things that were trying to drown me?”

  “Yes. Nasty, deadly aliens, as you call them. So, stay away from them,” Honoré persuasively suggested.

  “I’m not exactly sending out invitations,” Logan replied sardonically while turning back to look at Ayla.

  Ayla was taken back by the comment, “I didn’t see you when he washed up onshore. What does that mean? What other country or government are you talking about?”

  “There are a lot of other places out there. Too many to count. Earth is one of many. Where do you think this Tavoy agent or the Kurun came from? They are what you would refer to as ‘alien beings’ from another planet. Or, other planets. I’ve been to a lot of planets. Spent most of my life flying around. Probably spent less time on my planet than I have in my Stur—”

  “Stur? So, what hospital did you escape from?” Logan asked with a puzzled and concerned look on his face. He glanced briefly at Ayla who seemed to share his concerns.

  “Yeah, Stur Craft…my transport. You would call it a spaceship. Humor, at a time like this? I’m no less competent than you. Does this or the Kurun from the water look like any creatures you have ever seen? Do they look like they are from Earth? Is he normal?” Honoré pointed to the dead alien whose features had returned to normal. It no longer looked human but was clearly alien like the one from the beach. “That was no ‘by chance’ natural event. That wave was done on purpose by these butchers.”

  “Why?” Ayla asked.

  “Unconscious people are easier to collect and control than live ones. The conscious can fight back,” Honoré answered in disbelief of how little the Earth People understood.

  “What good is a dead man?” Logan asked.
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  He looked again at the metal in Logan’s hand, “All across the galaxies, the Tish and the Tavoy are known for trafficking living beings. The Kurun, are not usually known for that since they deal mostly in telenium and semsite, which is a narcotic that is highly addictive to many different beings. Regardless, they came to Earth to take your kind for selling as slaves on the black market. With the technology they have, they can bring a drowned human back to life with no side-effects after thirty minutes or an hour. Besides, some brain damage is good as far as they are concerned. They will pick up the ones washed out by the water. If they die, they will try to bring them back. If they are too far gone, it doesn’t matter to them. They just go somewhere else and do it all over again.”

  “So, they have no problem killing innocent people?” Logan was disgusted and began to pace to keep the soreness down.

  “Well, you people on Earth don’t seem to have a problem with it either. Humans kill by the thousands. As you refer to it, human trafficking and slavery are alive and well even now.”

  “That’s not something that most nations support,” Ayla snapped back insulted buy the comment despite the level of truth.

  “Okay, can you stop talking like that? You’re as human and as much an Earthling as I am,” Logan said. He reached into a bag and pulled out several canisters, pulled them open, and turned them on. The small lanterns barely provided enough light to cast shadows on the ceiling, so he began cranking the lever on them recharging the internal batteries. It was a better option than holding the dive light any longer.

  Honoré reached into a pocket and pulled out a thin round object the size of a bottle cap and set it on the dresser. He snapped his fingers and a bright light came forth illuminating the room casting an even covering of light that made the lanterns useless. “Believe that if it makes you feel better. No, I just returned to Earth with a specific reason.” The light reflected off the metal in Logan’s hand and he got another look at it. “Is that really what I think it is? I was just making a point earlier. How is that possible? Where did you get that?”