by Jesse Wilson
“That’s not going away for a week,” she said way too loudly due to the state her ears were in.
“Thanks, we’ll be at Dreamland in about fifteen minutes,” Bruce said. Both Alex and Bob heard that, and their eyes widened.
“Dreamland, really?” Bob said and chills went down his spine. Heather was confused, not up on all the lingo he was, and didn’t feel the same sense of excitement.
“What’s a dreamland?” she asked them. Bob shook his head and laughed.
“Area 51 is commonly known as Dreamland because apparently test pilots get to fly all the cool stuff there first,” Bob replied to her as his ears cracked, returning to normal.
“Where they keep all the alien stuff. Great, can’t wait to go there.” Heather was still not as impressed as the guys were.
“See? Not totally clueless after all. It’s a good day,” Bruce said and walked back to his original console.
Fifteen minutes on the fastest aircraft on earth went by incredibly fast.
“We are arriving at our destination, prepare to land,” a voice came over the speakers. The three of them still had the Antarctic chill in them.
“Guys, what the hell, take off your winter gear, it’s going to be hot once that door opens,” the commander said to them. The three of them felt stupid and began to peel off their winter gear as the plane began to land. There was a slight shift in the direction that they could feel, but unlike every other plane, there was no defining sensation that they were turning at all.
“The hold is detached from the rest of the plane, stabilized by magnets. It’s never going to shift from this spot; it is actually kind of cool,” Bruce said to them, just to get ahead of their questions.
Soon, the cargo door opened up just like it did before, and a blast of hot desert air flowed into the chamber. It was a shock to the three of them. The six men came out of a door on the side, took the stasis chamber out of the holding place it was in, and again carried it like a casket down the ramp.
“People, follow me; we’re going to a place that no one like you should ever be allowed to go, but hey, you’re special,” Bruce said with a fair amount of sarcasm and walked forward.
“Yes, we are special, way more than anyone else,” Alex said as the sarcasm sailed right over his head.
“Let’s just go before they change their minds,” Bob said to him and walked forward. The other two followed him. Area 51 didn’t look all that impressive as they got their first view of it.
“It’s like every other base I’ve ever been to or seen ever,” Alex said and was disappointed; he expected to see something else, anything else.
“Come on inside; we have lots to discuss,” Bruce said to them and he walked away. Not wanting to get lost or left behind, they followed him.
“This place smells funny, does anyone else smell that?” Alex asked no one really. “Oh, that’s likely just the jet fuel,” Bob replied to him, but Xule wasn’t so sure. “Sippy, can you do a scan for Xeloids?” he asked his computer.
“I can, but you know as well as I do that they’ve been banished for ages. It’s a waste of a scan,” she replied to him as he walked.
“I know, but just do it anyway, please. I’ve been to more than my share of lairs and they smelled like this, and we should be sure,” Xule replied and was getting a bit nervous.
“You got it. It’ll take a bit because this place is impressively shielded, but I can do it,” she said to him as he walked behind the others.
“Hey, what’s a Xeloid?” Heather asked him as she heard him say the word.
“Just another terrible thing, don’t worry about it yet. I’ll tell you if it becomes important,” he replied to her. She didn’t like that, but for now, it would have to do.“Alright then, just don’t be keeping any information from us that will be useful about fifteen minutes from now, alright?” she said to him.
“Don’t worry, if you need to know something, I promise that you’ll know before it becomes life threatening,” he replied to her.
They walked into the building, and there was nothing out of the ordinary to see. Personnel were walking around, and the only thing unusual was that not a single one was too alarmed at Xule’s presence; other than that, it was all normal.
Bruce led them to a large elevator. With a press of a button, he opened it and walked in; there was more than enough room for all of them. They all stepped inside, and as soon as they were in, the doors closed. They were going deep into the earth.
“So, Bruce, when are you going to give us a world-shattering speech that changes us all at our cores?” Bob asked him, breaking the silence.
“Me? No, I’m leaving that to our scaly friend here. You all have questions that the answers could fill entire books on each one alone, you do know that, right?” Bruce answered him.
Bob, nor the others really knew anything. Elevator music would have been helpful right now, but there was none.
“Me? Why do I need to say anything?” Xule asked as the door opened revealing a very different scene in front of them. The greatest secret of Area 51 wasn’t a crashed UFO or little green people from Mars. In front of them in the center of a room was a great glass case with something inside.
Chapter Fourteen
Inside was a hideous thing that seemed to have no solid shape. It’s body folded in on itself almost constantly and it was blacker than any night. Alex immediately looked away and got dizzy. Bob felt his stomach turn and he was going to throw up.
Heather looked at the thing and could swear it was looking back at her. She felt something in her head that sounded like a voice that could do nothing but scream.
“I knew this place smelled funny,” Xule said as Sippy chimed in. “Xeloid DNA detected,” she said at the same time.
“This thing escaped, and we caught it making a meal out of the natives of some island. We call it a star spawn, but we think it’s dead,” Bruce said to him, ignoring the effects it had on the others.
“It’s just a soldier. It’s quite dead, as dead as a construct can be. Did you seal the breach it came from or did you leave it?” Xule asked, visually disgusted at the twisted abomination before him.
“We have a constant patrol over the area. It’s sealed,” he replied and looked to the others.
“You three going to be alright? Or is the truth a bit more than you could handle?” Bruce asked them. Heather didn’t hear any of those words; all she heard was the constant screaming in her head. The blank stare was more than enough to give it away.
“Damn it, the telepathic shields must be down,” Bruce said and walked to the red phone on the wall, picking it up. “Turn the shields on, now; someone is being affected by it,” he said in a hurry.
Seconds later, there was a glow of light around the cage and the screaming in Heather’s head stopped. She shook her head as it did.
“Xeloid creations are highly telepathic at all times. It is one of their weapons if the soldiers are defeated. They send out the Xel wave to incapacitate enemies like a psychic bomb. Simple water blocks most it, but sensitive minds are often susceptible in close range without shielding,” Xule said to them.
The others seemed to start feeling better too. Xule couldn’t blame them. The first time he had seen what the Xeloids turned themselves into he was just as repulsed and sickened too.
“Yeah, it’s a nasty critter. Before we figured out the shields, we lost twenty good, bright minds to insanity,” Bruce said to them and didn’t blame them. He just hoped they wouldn’t lose it.
“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine,” Bob said after standing up straight. Alex slowly did too. Bruce reached into his pocket and pulled out a pack of gum and offered them some.
“Take some, it helps distract the mind by focusing on something else instead of that. I use it often,” Bruce said as he took a piece for himself too.
The three of them didn’t hesitate in taking a piece.
“So, Nuridian, are you going to tell me if whatever in the can is related to this
or not? That’s all I need to know,” Bruce said to him.
“Directly related to it, is that all you really need to know? Can you promise that you’ll keep it locked up forever?” Xule asked him plainly.
“Of course not, son, we’re going to study it and find out if we can make it useful for us somehow. We are a tad bit more prepared than using a power drill and a chisel to get a chunk off to study, trust us,” Bruce replied to him and Xule narrowed his eyes.
“You have no idea what you’re doing and you will pay for it,” Xule said and hated to say it.
“It’s a risk I am willing to take, but I think we’ll manage. Now, I’m going to show you to your room and you can wait there until we decide on when to send you home. We get all the cable channels, local news and whatever you might be into, so feel free to watch whatever you like. Follow me,” Bruce told them and started to walk parallel to the alien in the tank.
Alex was chewing his gum, doing his best not to look at the thing. Bob was trying to put the pieces of the story together, and suddenly there was only one thing that actually made sense to him in the long run. He kept his mouth shut for now as they walked.
Bruce turned right and walked down a hallway. Three doors down, he pushed a button and the door slid open.
“Home sweet home. The alien can stay with you for now; he’s harmless enough,” Bruce said as they all walked inside.
“Thanks for bringing us here,” Alex finally was able to say.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about, neither you or I have ever met, but you’re welcome,” Bruce said and shut the door as he walked out.
Xule sat down on a metal chair for the first time since he had been revived and didn’t realize just how tired he was or how uncomfortable his battle armor was.
The others claimed beds and sat on the edge of them. This was actually like staying in a weird hotel room.
“What in the hell is a Xeloid?” Alex finally asked, not being able to take it anymore.
“It’s got to be the thing from those stories; all the details fit. Remember those old Lovecraft stories? Cthulhu and all his nasty friends? It’s almost identical to that.” Bob spouted out what he put together as if he’d discovered the cure to cancer. Xule decided he wanted to lay down, so he moved to the last bed and lay on it.
“Those are just silly stories, nothing more than that,” Heather replied to him in a hurry. There was no way that this could be real.
“Do you want a story?” Xule asked them all, tired of all their questions.
“There is a 98% chance this room is under surveillance, so everyone is listening,” Sippy’s voice said to them all.
“Of course we want a story; tell us what’s going on.” Bob was desperate to know if he was right or even close.
“Alright, get comfortable, it’s kind of a long one,” Xule said and waited for them to get situated. It didn’t take the others much time to get comfortable.
“Ready when you are,” Bob said to him.
Chapter Fifteen
“A long time ago, back when I was younger, the Xeloids were different. They were still arrogant snozbuckets, but they were a shining race of people. They called themselves the first ones, old ones, and the parent race. No one really paid much attention to their ranting about it. They were determined to beat the only real enemy they ever had. That enemy was death. They figured that death was just another problem to be solved. Every other race in the systems had accepted that it was a part of life, but not them. Oh, no, they wanted more,” Xule said and tried to remember all the details that were once a part of his daily life. He continued on with his story with a sullen voice.
“They traveled to worlds outside of the time stasis system and did genetic experiments on worlds that could support life. They would start entire species of life and sit to watch to see how they progressed. Millions of years passed on these planets, but in their ships, it was only a couple of years. Once they decided that their experiment was a failure, they would just up and leave to try again; always seeking a cure to death and always failing,” Xule told them and started into it when someone interrupted him.
“What’s a time stasis system?” Bob asked him.
“It’s complicated. I know it works, but I don’t know how, just be thankful it does,” he answered. “Now can I continue my story or not?” Xule asked him.
“Yes, go ahead,” Bob replied, feeling bad about interrupting.
“Anyway, the Xeloids failed every single time no matter what they tried. So, they tried a different approach. They turned their genetic experiments onto themselves. Apparently, it worked. I don’t know all the details of that process, but they turned from shining, literally shining, beings into dark, twisted things. They all looked like that thing in the tank out there, only much bigger. Tentacles and slime, eyes and countless mouths were their form now.” Xule took a breath, trying not to have a flashback of some dark memory, and continued.
“Each one was unique to the other, but it was nearly impossible to tell one from another because of how hard they were to look at. The Xeloids had turned themselves into abominations, and their new bodies were able to live forever. The stars all emit Lazon radiation; it’s harmless, but they managed to find a way to consume it no matter where they were in the universe. As long as there were stars, they would never die,” Xule recalled this and continued the best he could.
“We don’t wage war based on appearances, and the Xeloids didn’t bother anyone after that. One of them, however, decided that the gift had to be shared with the rest of the universe. No one can say what one it was now; no one really knows. So, the race came up with what they called the ‘Azathoth Project.’ The name came from an old god they long stopped worshiping ages ago once they figured they were gods,” Xule said, and even now this story sounded insane, but it was true. The others were completely attentive to what he was saying, so he decided to continue.
“They decided to give their gift with stealth, but they needed a test run to make sure it was perfect. They came to Yola and infected a Narbosaurus with their genetic cocktail. The effects were instant. The dinosaur mutated into something nature never intended for it to be,” Xule said with a slight break in his voice but continued.
“Xeloid intelligence is great, but their arrogance was just as great. They didn’t detect or care about the Nuridian hunting party that was on the planet. Narbosaurus killed the hunting party with ease, but not before it sent one report back to the home planet, revealing what the Xeloids had done and appeared to have planned to do with the rest of us. The interplanetary council declared this an act of war, and to war we went. Thousands of Nuridians like me allied themselves with all kinds of races most of us had never met,” Xule said and struggled on how to describe it all but did his best before he continued.
“You could call it a war to remain individuals, to remain free. The Xeloids, I still truly believe, they understand why we rose up to attack them. But they fought back the only way they could. They merged together by the hundreds to create fifteen bodies of war. Each one was a juggernaut of death, up to six thousand of your feet long, just so you could understand it, and they hid in their ships that were several miles long,” Xule said, recounting the enemy as best as he could before he continued.
“They would use their bodies as weapons, fire off mindless constructs at us, telepathic soldiers whose only objective was to kill or infect anything organic they could find. Our weapons could handle them, but it was like fighting off the symptoms of a disease when you couldn’t cure it. They were immortal. All the damage you did to them healed nearly instantly. It was a war we were going to lose in the long run,” Xule said, waited for any questions but saw there wouldn’t be any, and continued.
“Then a Dolrum scientist, in an act of desperation to protect his planet, as a last-ditch effort turned his planetary shield against one of the main Xeloid bodies and surrounded it in an attempt to slow it down to aid in the evacuation. No one noticed at first, but soon it was
apparent that the mass had stopped moving and almost instantly stopped living. It was rendered harmless by the shield. It was quickly discovered that the shield cut off their star radiation, and without it, they were as good as dead,” Xule said, realized he had their complete attention, and kept going.
“The war took a drastic turn as we altered the time stasis field to block out their radiation. The Xeloid threat was finished. So, we did the only thing we could do with them. We locked them in their ships, brought them to primitive planets, and buried them deep under oceans so their telepathy couldn’t escape,” Xule said and smiled. Those days would be ones he would never forget.
“They are dead, but dreaming in effect. Sometimes, though, the water wasn’t enough, and a crazy wave would get through to primitive people, inspiring them to, at best, write stories based on them, and at worst, go completely insane and worship them as the gods they saw themselves as. You have to understand that they are not gods in the slightest. They just like telling everyone that, as most gods tend to do,” Xule said and continued.
“Their most common theme of prophecy is ‘we will return when the stars are right,’ and the most people can seem to get out of that is that the stars have to be in some kind of pattern for them to be free, when literally the stars are not right, and never will be again as long as we have anything to say about it,” he finished and took a breath.
“So, Cthulhu is a real thing, and that means all the other things must be true, too,” Bob said and excited about this, but not sure why.
“Yeah, we trapped one of them on Earth after it proved to have a stronger than average telepathic ability because there was no intelligent life on it at the time. After they changed, they gave themselves all nearly unpronounceable names for no particular reason other than to make everyone feel stupid when they tried to say them out loud. They are not gods, just over zealous scientists that tried to make everyone like them, that’s all,” Xule finished.
