by Jesse Wilson
“Now wait just a damn minute. I’m the manager of this base, and I say we keep it here so we can report this to the authorities, because it’s just a matter of time before someone else finds it,” she said to them, trying to regain control of this situation.
“I’ve only known you for five minutes, and I don’t like you already. It’s going back in the ice, and that’s final,” Heather shot back with a glare. She was angry her friend had to be killed and nothing was going to stop her from letting it happen to anyone else.
Chapter Twelve
Over nine thousand miles away at Fort Nimrod in Texas, in the middle of nowhere, a man sitting at a monitor, bored and tired, is taken by surprise by a sudden squealing alarm on his console. His computer screen starts giving a read out.
“Fire at Antarctic Base Number 42, press here for video feed,” the man read out loud, so he pressed the button on his screen and his eyes went wide at what he saw. Immediately, he picked up the red phone at his side and dialed a number.
“Sir, I know what time it is, but you need to see this,” he said to the one on the other end. “Yes, sir, the feed records automatically…yes, sir, it’ll be here,” he said and hung up the phone. He still can’t believe what he saw on the video. It went from another average night of nothing to mind-blowing in seconds.
Base commander Bruce Williams marched through the door in less than acceptable military uniform. He had thrown on an old Metallica Master of Puppets T-shirt, a pair of blue jeans, and his hair was a mess. He walked to the console, not requiring any of the other personnel to stand at attention.
“Alright, Jim, what do you have for me that was so important?” Bruce asks him as he approaches, and stands over him. Jim replays the footage, and the commander sees the entire incident that without the fire would have gone totally unnoticed.
“Another Nuridian on Earth, not so weird, but what did it shoot? That’s new,” Williams said way too calmly for Jim’s liking and replayed the image again to try and get a better look at the attacker. He didn’t recognize it in the slightest.
“A Nuridian, sir?” Jim was confused at so many things right now.
“Yeah, a group of them came around about 1982. They were looking for something but never found it. I wonder if this is what they were looking for?” he mostly said to himself.
“Jim, three things I need you to do. First, transfer all of this footage to the secure core. Second, call that base and tell whoever the manager is to leave that stasis capsule right where it is, and third, forget you ever saw any of this for your own good, alright?” Bruce said to him with a smile.
“Yes, sir, I’ll do that right now,” Jim replied and wondered how he’d forget any of this. “There is a good retirement package in it for you if you don’t geek out on us and try to become a whistleblower. I mean, you do remember what happened to Steve, right?” Bruce said back to him, making sure no one else was listening in.
“Steve who?” Jim asked; he’d never heard of any Steve.
“Exactly,” Bruce replied to him and walked away.
“Keep up the good work, soldier,” the commander said to him as if everything was just fine. Jim transferred the footage with the touch of a few buttons, and then he picked up the phone and called the base. He’d never been good at making phone calls and this was going to be one of the toughest he’d ever have to make.
“Harry, you operate the controls. The rest of you go back to bed and don’t tell anyone else what you saw here tonight,” Sheila ordered the others who were behind him. The six men had no trouble in leaving the loading dock, but keeping the secret might not have been so easy.
“We’ll only need three people to put it back in,” Alex said. “I should be on that team because I know where to go,” he finished. Xule stepped forward as he did.
“No, I’ll go out there because I need to be sure it’s done right; it’s a personal thing,” he replied to him.
“You’re clearly a reptile. You’ll freeze to death out there for real this time if you go,” Bob said to him and Xule rolled his red eyes and sighed.
“Sippy here has my back, I’m not worried. So if we’re done talking now, let’s get this over with, right?” he said, already tired of explaining things. It was then the phone on Sheila’s side began to ring.
“What in the world?” she said as everyone was just as surprised as she was. “This doesn’t go anywhere in this frozen hell hole; it’s an internal phone only,” she said to them as she picked it up and answered it.
“Hello, who is this?” she asked slowly.
“Hello, this is the United States Government. We are aware you have a green delta situation. We are monitoring it as of right now. Your orders are now to secure the package and wait for us to come pick it up. Refusal to do so will result in you and everyone with you right now to be charged with treason. Do you understand?” It wasn’t a question as the voice on the other end waited.
“Yeah, I understand,” she replied to him weakly and the phone went dead. All the others were looking confused at her as she hung the phone back up.
“Uncle Sam wants it. If we move it we’ll all be charged with treason,” she said to them.
“Who’s Uncle Sam?” Xule asked them.
“The leaders, government, people you don’t want to mess with,” Bob replied to him.
“Snoz, we need to get rid of it anyway. We can’t let anyone have it,” Xule pleaded with them again.
“Sorry, they all have something to go back home to. No one is going to risk tangling with the Feds, even if it’s for the greater good of everyone,” Harry said to him and then smiled.
“But I believe you, so if it’s all the same to the rest of you, I’m going to help the lizard put that thing back in the ice,” Harry finished and started to climb up to the control panels for the crane it was attached to.
“I’m with them. I saw what a tiny piece of it did, and this is too dangerous to be anywhere else,” Heather said and started to put on her gear.
“The victim has gone out, but we should wrap it up in something and take it with us. We can’t risk any piece of the thing being free,” Xule said with a smile. These humans had more common sense than he had hoped for, and he was grateful for that fact. Bob and Alex were already getting the orange tarp to wrap the body in.
Sheila was going into a panic. She didn’t want to disappear in some government prison for the rest of her life because of these people and an alien. She didn’t even believe in aliens until today. She ran back through the door as the others worked. She ran a short distance and unlocked a door with a swipe of her security card.
There were two rifles there on a gun rack. She grabbed the one on top, checked if it was loaded, and left the room. Even though all weapons on Antarctica were illegal, she was sure every base on the continent had weapons in it. As she walked back into the loading dock, they were just getting ready to go.
“Stop, or someone is getting shot,” she screamed at them and aimed.
“Woman, have you lost your mind? Put that gun away,” Alex shouted back at her.
“No, I’ve never been more serious. You can’t just put all of our futures at risk like this. You can throw your own life away and walk outside if you want to, but I’ve had it. Now get out, and leave this thing where it is,” she screamed back at them.
“Harry, let’s go. She’s not going to shoot anyone,” Bob said to him and almost laughed about it, but didn’t want to make a bad situation worse. Xule opted to stand next to the stasis unit while the other four of them climbed in the cab; it was a tight fit. Harry started the engine and the doors began to slide open behind them.
Sheila walked in front of them as the tank-like tracks began to move. She pointed the rifle.
“One last warning, people; get out of the transport, or I will shoot,” she screamed at them again, but no one was listening as they backed up. Sheila pulled the trigger without really thinking where the bullet was aimed. The front windshield shattered and Harry’
s head flew back, then forward. The blood sprayed out the back of his head, and it splattered over the other three.
Shelia only meant to shoot the radiator of the thing out, but in her panic, she pulled the trigger before aiming. Harry was dead.
“Damn it, why didn’t you just do what I told you? Look what you made me do, oh God, look what you made me do,” she screamed and dropped to her knees, dropping the rifle. The transport came to a slow stop. Alex was the first one out of the transport. He rushed to her, picked up the rifle, and pointed it at her head.
“You just killed my friend, second one I’ve lost in a day. You, I don’t know you from any other run of the mill operator we get around here. I’m going to kill you.” Alex was furious and his eyes burned as he said those words.
“It was an accident, I swear; you have to believe me. I’m just so scared, we’re going to lose everything, don’t you understand that?” she said in between sobs.
“Of course I believe you. Now I want you to go to your happy place. Just think of a warm beach somewhere; it’ll all be over soon,” Alex said and put pressure on the trigger, his rage calm.
A green hand wrapped around the barrel and gently pulled the gun away from Sheila’s head.
“Don’t judge her too harshly. Fear makes people do stupid things on every world, not just this one,” Xule said to him.
“Enough blood has been spilled today,” he finished. Alex let go of the weapon and walked away. Bob and Heather had gotten out too and he walked towards them. Xule kneeled down to Sheila.
“When your entire planet is dead or infected by the thing that is in that capsule, I want you to remember what you did here. I hope you live long enough to experience the horror my kind have known for ages,” he whispered to her, stood up, and walked away.
“I liked that one; it is such a waste that he had to die,” Xule said as he looked at the cab.
“Can we still get it back into the ice?” Heather said then, trying to do anything to keep herself focused on anything else.
“No. Without the windshield, we’d all freeze to death in minutes out there,” Alex replied to her with a heavy sigh.
“All the other transports are just snow cats. They’d never make the trip with a load like that,” he finished, and Xule set the rifle on a wooden box next to him. Heather sat down on a stepladder and finally allowed reality to set in.
Two people had died because of this. It was turning out to be a bad day. Bob pulled a box next to her and sat down, putting her arm around her. There were no words to make this better; it was senseless.
“Can’t we just bury it close by? I mean, you had to get it out of the ice, right? Can’t we make another hole and just throw it in?” Alex suggested to them as a sudden stroke of inspiration hit.
“Yeah, we can do that. We don’t need a windshield for that,” Bob replied to him and looked at Harry there in the driver’s seat.
“Heather, I need to help Alex get Harry out, alright? We can still do this,” Bob said to her. Heather just nodded in response, still in deep shock trying to process what was going on.
“Yes, we can finally do something right for a change,” Xule said. Even though he had no connection to any of these people, he still couldn’t help but feel bad for them.
Bob and Alex were doing the grim work of removing Harry’s body when suddenly Sheila perked up.
“Does anyone else hear that?” she asked them, but no one heard her say it. She had got off her knees to sit down, but never moved from that spot. It wasn’t long before others heard it too: a whining engine-like sound coming from the sky, and it was getting louder.
“What is that sound?” Heather asked them, but no one could place it. Suddenly, the alien-looking plane appeared in the sky as it flew over the base.
“They just called twenty minutes ago, how could they be here now?” Bob was stunned as he thought he knew what he was looking at. The plane needed no runway as it landed in front of the loading dock doors. The cargo door slid to the ground and six heavily armed men came running out of it, surrounded by what appeared to be the commander.
“Greetings, my name is Bruce Williams. Thank you from the government for following orders,” he said to them as he walked in and the men stood, three on each side of him. Bruce turned and saw the still-smoldering body there, and the other dead man still in the transport.
“I see it’s been something of a bad day. Allow me to take this off your hands. Nuridian, you’re coming with me, along with whatever is in that capsule. The rest of you are going back home; have a great day. Oh, by the way. If you tell anyone what you saw here in any capacity, you’ll end up like your friend in the truck,” Bruce said, as if he’d said this many times before.
“And why would I go with you?” Xule asked him straight out, not trusting him but curious to know how he knew about where he was from.
“Simple: we’re going to send you home,” Bruce replied to him and pointed at the capsule. The men moved to it at once to begin freeing it from the crane’s harness.
“Wait, you can’t just expect us to stay here. We’re a part of it now. I’ve seen what that thing can do. You need at least the three of us to go,” Heather spoke up at once, refusing for it to just be over so quickly.
“We don’t need you, Heather; we got this, I promise, but thanks for the help,” Bruce replied to her, but still, the footage didn’t really catch what Xule shot. He’d wait a bit first on her offer. Heather was confused at how he knew her name, but then figured information was easy to get for a man like him.
“You can send me home? How?” Xule asked him. Now he was the one who had all the questions.
“All of your questions will be answered on the trip home, so come with me so we can help one another,” Bruce replied to him. Xule turned to look at the others.
“It’s been nice knowing you, but I really need to get home if I can. Best of luck to you,” Xule said and began walking towards the plane.
“Don’t trust them, man; they are the government. They lie like it’s breathing. You’ll never get home if you go with them,” Alex finally broke down. Bruce rolled his eyes.
“Great, another smart crazy person; it would have to be that way, wouldn’t it? Alright, the three of you can come with us. If you really want to know the truth, I’ll show it to you,” Bruce said, feeling frustrated. He hated the cold, so this was an easy choice to make. They were stunned at the sudden change of heart
“Don’t just stand there, get on the damned plane. Just you take nothing with you,” Bruce said to them and motioned to the plane. His men had attached their magnetic handles on to the sides of the stasis container and carried it on to the plane as if it were a casket.
“Three humans and an alien walk onto a plane. There has to be a bad joke in there somewhere,” Alex said as they walked up the ramp of the unearthly looking plane.
Bruce pulled out his sidearm and fired at Sheila. She was hit in the left shoulder with a green dart. The incident was silent. Shelia yelped in pain, pulled the dart out, and watched it crumble to dust in her fingers.
“You murdered a man for no reason. You really think we’d invest in a base and not be tapped into the cameras? I don’t think so. You’ll be dead of a heart attack in two hours. It’s better than you deserve, but thank you for securing the package for us,” Bruce said with a smile and walked towards the plane.
“No, I was just following your orders, you can’t do this to me,” she screamed at him, but he paid no attention as he walked up the cargo ramp and closed it behind him.
Chapter Thirteen
“What kind of plane can make the trip from one side of the world to the other so fast?” Alex asked the commander, and already he was annoyed by letting them on it.
“This is an Aurora Seven. It makes the internet conspiracy nerds wet when they look it up on Google. A hypersonic plane reverse engineered from our space friends when they were shot down in forty-two,” Bruce said as the thing came to life, and with a slight jolt,
lifted into the air. So many questions were had and he could practically smell them in the air. Bruce turned around and held up his hand.
“No questions. I suggest you all find a seat and lock yourself in, or at least hold on to something. You’re not used to this like I am,” he said to them and motioned to the empty chairs to his right. The men who brought the stasis chamber in had disappeared.
“Quickly now, no time to waste,” he urged them towards the chairs. Bob was the first one to go and sit in one; Heather followed. Alex was still wanting to ask all the questions he could but figured it was time to do as the man asked. Xule didn’t seem impressed.
“Hyperdrive engine? Really? Those things were ancient when I was just a kid. We use Vortex engines now,” he said and almost laughed.
“Well, for us lowly humans, it’s better than anything on this planet. So, while the kids are locking themselves in, do you want to tell me what’s in the icebox?” Bruce asked him, but had his eyes on a monitor.
“It isn’t something you want to mess with,” Xule replied to him and continued, “It’s something that should have been left in the ice,” he finished.
The Aurora jolted forward, and the pressure became intense for the uninitiated.
“This isn’t even possible; how are we going this fast?” Bob asked as it felt like his ears were going to explode; the others weren’t doing much better. Xule shook his head.
“Damn, you might like these engines, but you have your pressure settings all wrong. Your engine isn’t running like it should.” Xule walked across the floor to a control panel.
“Speaking your language and reading it are two different things, but the pressure should be seven microns per square inch, not ten, and this pressure really feels like ten,” Xule said, uselessly looking at a bunch of alien words on a screen.
Bruce walked and stood beside him. “We’ve always played it safe figuring ten was better, but if you say seven, what the hell,” Bruce said and pushed a few buttons on the console, lowering the pressure. As he did, everything started to feel better. Heather took her hands off of her ears and shook her head.
