“I think this will be a day to remember alright – the day we had an island to ourselves. We're going to go see if there is a coffee shop open,” Isaac said.
The island marina was a beautifully quaint scene. A handful of docked sailboats lined the wharf and cozy storefronts invited visitors to feel comfortable. Paul and Janine walked hand in hand down the rocky beach as a light drizzle began to fall. Paul closed his eyes and took a breath of the fresh, damp ocean air. He loved the sound of the ocean and the sails in the wind. It was nice to visit a city like Vancouver but he always felt more at home in a quiet place like this. This is just what we needed.
“It’s nice here; so quiet. Honey, you know I love you, right?” Paul asked.
Janine paused and turned to look at him. “Yes. I do know you love me, even though you try hard to not show it sometimes. Like when you won't let me see the parade when we had a once in a lifetime chance to see a Daffy Duck float.”
“Once in a lifetime chance? You know I'm going to be a famous author one day right? Daffy will want to meet me and I'll be sure to invite you along.” Paul leaned in for a quick kiss.
“Yeah, yeah, famous, alright...let's go find the other guys and see if anyone is open who can make a cup of coffee,” Janine said.
They walked back to the street lined with cozy shops and saw Bryla and Isaac peering into a coffee shop.
“Well gang, it appears that in light of the parade, all coffee shops must be closed. I might die of caffeine under-dose,” Bryla stated with dripping sarcasm. “Good thing we brought food with us.”
“We're here for a hike. Let's go see what this empty little island has to offer us. Surely some trees and streams, I'm going to assume. If we are lucky a duck or two,” Janine said and rolled her eyes.
“Honey, we know hiking is not your thing and float watching might be, but at least try to have a good time? If you are extra good we can hit that sushi place later. The one you like.” Paul batted his eyelashes.
“Fine, but you owe me one.”
12:29 PM, Saturday, June 21st, 2014
The sky was covered with dark, ominous clouds and the rain was coming down heavily. Paul held his umbrella over his head as he attempted to eat a roast beef sandwich. They'd been here for a few hours now and something was off to him. It was more than the damp air and muddy paths.
“Have you guys seen anyone here? I mean, outside, in a boat, in a car, on a bike...anyone anywhere?” Isaac asked into the wind. The island had a lot of paths and trails but it also had quite a few houses. Neighbourhoods dominated one side of the landscape and houses stood all around the island’s perimeter. They took advantage of the beautiful water views and cityscape in the distance.
“No, I haven't. I've heard a few dogs barking, but other than that it's been dead quiet.” Bryla answered. “Not even a bird singing.”
“Birds tend to take cover in the rain, so that might explain that, but there is no way there are zero people on this island,” Isaac said, his voice rising slightly. “There's no way that every damn person on this place left on a ferry before we got here this morning and went into Vancouver.”
“I'm sure there are people here but they are probably just inside their nice houses, hanging out in front of their warm fireplaces with a cup of hot coffee,” Paul said. “If I can be honest...I wish I was in front of a warm fire with a hot coffee.” Paul rubbed his hands together and couldn't help shake the feeling that he was being watched. That odd sensation was pricking the hair on his neck up. I feel like a cat who just got scared. Everyone is probably just in the city to join in the festivities.
“You're probably right. Let's finish up our sandwiches and see if this rain will ease up. I bet if we head inland down the trail, the tree canopy will keep us a little drier.”
In a couple of minutes their back-packs were again flung across their shoulders and they were heading deeper into the island.
Close to half an hour passed and they had all put their umbrellas away. Paul's boots squished into the muddy ground as they came to a stop. He looked around in astonishment at his surroundings. The forest was gorgeously green; the trees here must have been hundreds of years old; they reached high into the sky. Salmon runs cut through the island but Paul assumed it was off season since there was no sign of the fish.
“Do you smell that?” Janine asked Paul.
He sniffed the air and turned his head to the left. “Yeah, I think it's over here. Probably just some skunk cabbage flowers or something.”
They moved to what appeared to be a small swampy area and in the middle they saw the pile. Bryla took one look and gagged. Bones were heaped high in a deliberate mound. From this distance they weren't able to tell what kind of animal they were from. Paul could see flesh still hanging on some of the skeletons.
“Oh my god, that's disgusting. What is it?” Janine was crying.
“I don't know. Maybe a wild animal has been collecting these or something,” Paul answered. His hands were shaking he choked back some bile of his own. This is just getting stranger.
“Or maybe a sick psychopath is on the island with us and he has killed everyone and piled them here. He could be watching us right now!”
“Calm down Janny, let's just get out of here. Something is wrong here. I say we go to the dock and catch the next ferry out of here. Does everyone agree?” Paul asked.
“Yeah man. Sounds good to me,” Isaac agreed.
The feeling of being watched was stronger than ever now and Paul shuddered as they turned in the harbour’s direction. He closed his eyes and tried to calm himself but all he could see were piles of bones.
“Does anyone know where we can find a shovel?” Bryla asked.
1:25 PM, Saturday, June 21st, 2014
Paul looked down at his watch which was stuck at 9:23 a.m., the minute they set foot on the island. He thought now that this odd occurrence should have set something off in his mind. They’d walked hard to get to the dock as soon as possible, again seeing no sign of anyone else. They had stopped at a few homes, though knocking and door-bell ringing had proved fruitless. Paul tucked his umbrella into his backpack and saw the others do the same.
“At least the rain has stopped,” Issac said. “Since none of our watches seem to be working, we will have no idea when the ferry will show up. I'm sure it's after noon, somewhere around one or two, I would judge.”
“That sounds about right but it feels like we have been here for days already. What did the ferry guy say earlier? They come every half hour on the hour right?” Janine asked. “Let's just wait here and hope to God that it comes soon. The sooner we're off this island the better. Bryla, are you okay?”
Bryla was shuffling back and forth and looked very uncomfortable. Her eyes looked down to the ground and she was mumbling something.
“Bry, what is it? Are you alright?” Isaac asked as he approached her and took her hands.
“...dig, dig, dig, I have to dig,” she replied as she shuffled her feet and stared at the ground.
“What are you talking about? Dig what?” Isaac asked his girlfriend.
“I don't know. I just need to find a shovel and dig.”
Issac looked worried and his hands shook slightly. “Come here Bryla, everything will be alright. The ferry will come soon and we will get out of here and leave this strange place behind.”
They sat on a bench facing the harbour for over an hour with no sign of the ferry. The wind began to blow hard and waves crashed against the island's shore causing a high spray. Bryla continued to plead for Isaac to help her find a shovel and wouldn't stop mumbling about digging.
After another hour with no sign of help, Isaac stood and started walking away with Bryla.
“Whoa, where are you guys going?” Paul asked his brother. “I don't think it's a good idea to go anywhere right now. What if the ferry comes?”
“The ferry isn't coming, Paul, and we have some digging to do,” Isaac said quietly.
“Don't mess with me little brother. We have to do this. It's the only way out.”
Janine ran to Paul's side and they watched the other two walk back inland.
“Paul, what's going on here?”
5:25 PM, Saturday, June 21st, 2014
“I have no idea how to sail a boat Janny,” Paul said. “All the gas-powered motorized boats need keys and I can't find any. We need to go find Isaac and Bryla and figure this out together or force them back here if they are still all messed up.”
They had wandered around the perimeter of the beach hoping to find some way off. The houses overlooking the water were all empty, and many had been left unlocked. He looked for keys in the houses with docked boats outside them, but had no luck finding anything.
“Apparently the days where people rowed around in boats is over,” Janine said quietly. “I guess rowing small boats on the ocean can be dangerous if the winds pick up or a storm blows in.”
“Let's go find them so we can come up with a plan together.
“Paul, I have a really bad feeling. I feel like I have something clawing to be let in. Do you feel it?”
He closed his eyes and felt his fingers tingling. He did want to dig; needed to dig. Dig.
“No honey, I don't,” he lied. “Let’s go find them.”
6:04 PM, Saturday June 21st, 2014
The sky darkened and the island went from complete silence to a cacophony of dog howls and barks. Paul heard a quiet, high pitched noise grow to a deafening screech. He called to Janine who had moved ahead of him by a few strides but she didn't answer. She must be hearing this too. She stopped and turned to face him, a look of horror on her pretty face. Paul looked behind him to see what she was looking towards and thought he saw something move behind a tree.
“Paul...” He heard Janine through the noise.
“Did you see that?” he asked, turn to her.
She was suspended in the air, arms and legs pulled straight out like she was hung on a cross. Tears streamed down her face and her lips moved, as if calling out to him, but Paul couldn't hear anything. Paul almost froze in fear. He gathered his wits and ran forward to grab her - but as he neared, she vanished. One second her body floated in the air, the next it was gone.
He stumbled to his knees.
The dogs had stopped barking and the screeching noise was gone... Gone with his wife.
6:30 PM, Saturday June 21st, 2014
Paul wandered around the treed path towards the sound of the ocean. Janine had disappeared almost a half hour earlier and he still hadn't seen any sign of her, Bryla or Isaac. He kept seeing things moving in the bushes and behind trees but could never catch anything in his view to prove it. There it is again! Long limbs...is that a shovel? His hands were still shaking from the image of his wife frozen in the air, floating with nothing touching her. What could it have been? Then she was gone. His brother had separated from them a couple hours ago when Bryla had started to act strange. She kept saying something about digging; the whole thing was terrifying. And the bodies they had found; had they been animal or human? Dig I even want to know? Dig? Do I even want to know...what the hell is dig? Dig what??!!
Paul shook his head and kept moving toward the water in hope he could find someone or wave down a passing boat. The island was literally empty from what he could tell.
He heard something crack behind him and he turned quickly to face it. The creature stood a few feet away and Paul could hear it in his head. Dig Dig Dig Dig Dig Dig
7:17 PM, Saturday, June 21st, 2014
The tears fell and wouldn't stop. Bryla gripped the shovel; her bleeding hands making it torture to hold. She wanted to stop; needed to stop, but her mind wouldn't let her. She fought it as hard as she could but the result was always the same. She kept crying...and kept digging.
Isaac and her had dug up dozens of animal skeletons and they took the bones and piled them in the swamp with the others they had found hours earlier. The creatures’ disappointment echoed in her head every time they dug up another set of bones. It reminded her of the glare her mother used to give her when she did something wrong. But why have us dig and move bones if they are disappointed? It just makes no sense.
She thought of the creatures. She'd only seen them for a brief moment but that was enough to remember them for the rest of her life. They were tall; over seven feet. Their arms and legs were thin and long like a clay human had been stretched out. Their heads were small in proportion; eyes beady and black. Dig Dig Dig Dig. The compulsion grabbed her attention and she forgot everything else.
She heard Isaac groan as he found another body. This one looked to be a dog. It was obvious they were in a pet cemetery for the island but what wasn't obvious was why. They each grabbed an armful of bones and started off to dump them into the pile. She fought the urge but the tears kept falling and the shovel kept digging.
7:30 PM, Saturday, June 21st, 2014
The ground was soft and Paul had dug an opening large enough for a coffin. It felt right, like this was his sole purpose on this planet; to dig. He knew whatever he was digging for was here but had no idea how or why he knew. Even though the compulsion was strong but he could still think semi-clearly. He missed his wife and had no idea if he would ever see her again. Images flashed in his head of their past; how young they were when they met, their first little apartment, their wedding day in the mountains, standing at their dream house’s Sold sign as they smiled and held each other.
He teared up but kept digging the hole. Twenty minutes earlier he had passed his brother and Bryla in a field digging. He called to them but they didn't acknowledge him so he kept moving until he got here. Paul knew that they were not digging in the right spot. He was in the right spot and if he could find whatever it was they wanted, it would all be over. What over meant was something that Paul was scared to find out. He kept digging until he hit something hard and with a grunt, threw his shovel to the side. He began digging with his raw, blistering hands. This was it, and he knew it. The skies darkened like the sun prematurely went to bed. Soon the bones were uncovered and he climbed out of the hole to see it. His mind cleared and the compulsion was over. I did it! Whatever it is.
7:30 PM, Saturday, June 21st, 2014
Janine could sense something different in the visitors’ movements. She was in a dimly lit room, with monitors softly glowing on the walls. Around her were hundreds of unconscious bodies strewn about the floor. Initially she'd thought they were dead but could quickly see they were all breathing. The creatures that brought them here didn't seem the least bit interested in the humans’ comfort, and that was telling to Janine.
The whole day had been so strange and this was just the icing on the cake. She'd seen one of the creatures behind Paul and it was angry; angry at her for not listening to it. It wanted her to dig and she wouldn't listen. That was why they took her, she was sure of it. Paul must be so frightened. I'm so frightened! She'd appeared here in this grey open room. The walls had lights and what looked to be computer screens on them.
Janine waited until the tall sentry was down the hall and she snuck to one of the screens on the wall. It seemed to be in some sort of sleep mode. She touched it and it blinked to life, showing a detailed image of the island she'd just come from. There is something they want on that island and I will bet everything I have that it's underground. So they isolated the island, took everyone to their ship or wherever the hell I am. Our watches stopped working. I'd bet we arrived just after they beamed these people up. It all kind of makes sense. But why have us dig for them? M
aybe they'd started; and that was the pile of bones. She always found that thinking things through helped her along with problems – and this was a big problem. Bones...they are after a skeleton. We came along and they figured we could do the heavy lifting for them and dig up the island. My brain didn't obey the compulsion so they got mad and tossed me in with the rest of the inhabitants.
The lights started flashing and a siren sounded throughout the space. The thin alien forms moved down the dim halls in ranks. Something has their attention. I better follow them. I hope it’s my way out.
7:35 PM, Saturday, June 21st, 2014
The second Paul saw the long limbs and small skull he knew he was looking at one of the creatures’ corpses. Everything was quiet again and the rain had ceased to a light drizzle. He noticed something glowing in the chest region of the alien, or whatever it was, so he hopped back into the makeshift grave. It was a small cylinder held together around the creatures’ neck by a metal necklace, and after maneuvering the skull around, he had it off the bones. Wonder what this thing is? Is the mess we’re in because of what's in my hand? The amulet/device was only around two inches in length and one in diameter, like a shrunken soup can. What are you?
A flash of light struck him and Paul was lifted ten feet in the air, limbs pulled straight out with invisible ropes. Dozens of the aliens surrounded the grave, some bowing to the bones held in the ground. Paul's cries of pain were silent and he struggled to stay conscious as his arms felt like they were being ripped out of their sockets. The strain was worse than anything he could imagine and he thought he heard something pop. His vision blurred but something caught his attention. He heard Janine first then saw her pushing her way through the mess of long, grey limbs that stood before him.
Aliens - The Truth is Coming (Book of Aliens 1) Page 5
