Those who fell jumped quickly back to their feet as though nothing had happened, except for Mrs Tate who lay lifelessly on the ground. It seemed that there was an emergency team on standby for such a circumstance and they burst through the entrance. They efficiently loaded Mrs Tate onto a stretcher and took her and Mr Tate into a room. Martin felt sorry for the woman and so did the migrants, standing next to her. Martin heard a few of them saying how sorry they were as she was carried out. Previously she had been the strong one who had helped others.
It seemed that every creature at the Channel of Exchange must have been informed that the station was expecting its first human passengers to be transported to Mars that day because they all seemed unconcerned by the migrants’ presence. Signs at every entrance stated which creatures were expected to travel through which portal. Everything was adequately signposted: toilets for humans; restaurants for aliens; Earth passengers only; Mars citizens only, and so on.
One sign said: ‘Robots Only’. There were many varieties of robots, which had been designed to look like they were different ages. Some, resembling teenagers, held hands with one another and showed affection. The migrants also spotted robot mums and dads with young, brightly coloured babies. Some looked rusty, others hovered above the ground; most had some form of metal or plastic covering, but some had exposed cables. They looked complex and impressive. All the robots were queuing, following the line towards their portal, scanning the humans as they did so.
Martin overheard Mr Stevens, and he turned to look at who he was speaking to. ‘Those two aren’t robots, are they?’ Mr Stevens asked, pointing and looking at James, who said nothing but smiled and nodded.
‘I mean, they look exactly like humans, including their body movements. Oh, I’ve spoken too soon. Look, they’re scanning like the rest,’ Mr Stevens said.
‘What do you mean?’ James asked.
‘You know! It’s like they zero in on an object and scan it,’ Mr Stevens explained.
‘Oh, I see,’ James responded. He stood with his legs apart and his hands behind his back like a bodyguard. After a brief silence, he asked, ‘Do you like robots?’
‘Yes, of course, I love robots,’ Mr Stevens said enthusiastically.
James didn’t appear interested in the subject under discussion; he was preoccupied with his surroundings.
Mr Stevens started to stutter. ‘Well . . . you know, I like the idea of robots. Not that I’d have one for myself.’
‘I like robots, too,’ James said, and that was the end of their conversation. Mr Stevens slowly looked away, as though he thought James was strange. Martin thought, this is the weirdest conversation I’ve ever witnessed.
Martin’s eyes darted to a corridor full of skeletons queuing for a gate: men’s, women’s and children’s skeletons were among those queuing, as well as some animal skeletons. They walked upright like humans, while the dogs, lions and horses behaved like living animals. Some were not skeletons as they were covered with dry sinews. Some were half-man, half-horse and covered in tendons. The organisers weren’t joking when they said we would encounter creatures. This is mind blowing, Martin concluded.
His attention was drawn by a burst of laughter from his group. Morgan was giggling and pointing at the skeletons. ‘What’s so funny?’ Martin asked.
‘Can’t you see? These poor creatures died and they were resurrected to walk the Earth as skeletons. Can’t they just let their bones rest in peace?’ asked Morgan.
‘If they let their bones rest in peace, there would be no tribe of living skeletons,’ Martin said without giving it a thought.
They all started laughing except for Monica, who moved slightly away from the boys.
‘Look how the horses walk majestically and with no sense of urgency, fanning their long tails behind them,’ said Chris.
Martin’s eyes fell on the skeletons of a group of puppies, which were chasing the exposed bones nearby. They tried to latch onto the bones of other skeletons; although the puppies were shaken or flicked off, they recovered and tried again.
‘Is this place funny or what? Look at the skeleton puppies! Ah, something about this is not right,’ Morgan said. ‘Have you seen how the puppies only attack the skeletons when they have some bone with dry sinews or tendon? You’d think that the puppies were hungry and looking for something to eat.’
‘It makes sense for them to attack the bones since they have no stomach to put the food,’ Martin replied. They were silent for a second.
‘Yeah, this time, Martin really made sense in his explanation,’ Koi said. They all started laughing again.
Martin noticed James, who was standing close to them, crack a smile then quickly wipe it away. Meanwhile, the human skeletons carried on walking and their bones clanked together as they did so. The entrance to their gate was marked ‘Skeletons Only’.
There was a gate for human and animal giants. The human giants looked freakish and deformed. Some were limping, while others dragged giant feet on the ground; some looked like Frankenstein’s monster, with long bony fingers.
There was a gate for cosmic and mythical creatures. The mythical creatures had some of the features of the cosmic creatures, but they were massive and possessed a mixture of human and animal qualities. All of them were excessively tall and large. Despite their terrifying appearance and raspy breathing, they behaved politely. Martin thought that they acted tamely because they recognised that they weren’t in any imminent danger, but he wasn’t sure. He looked at the cosmic creatures; they were smaller in size and possessed deformed animal features such as multiple tentacles, one-eyed faces, gnashing teeth and protruding horns on a dog.
If I had a camera, the pictures I could take here would sell well in an art shop or even a museum, Martin thought, looking at the gigantic creatures in front of him. They were covered in scales, which extended across their hunched backs and their massive feet and arms. Their lumbering footsteps were the source of the massive shock waves spreading throughout the station; whenever they walked, it seemed as though their corridor was going to collapse.
Then there were the one-eyed monsters – the ones with tentacles all over their body. Some had multiple legs, hands and heads; some looked like they were made of melting goo. This goo never fell to the ground; instead it was recycled, like water in a fountain. Their bodies kept melting and then consolidating and starting all over again.
Ghosts floated merrily among these beings with not a care in the world. They appeared and vanished at will.
Martin wondered how the Special Forces, the Gatekeepers that controlled the Channel of Exchange, could keep track of so many creatures. Their ability to do so without any of them breaking free seemed mysterious, if not magical. Perhaps they are able to do so because they are the Universal Gatekeepers, he thought.
Morgan placed his hand on Martin’s shoulder. ‘Man, look at all these walking dead! Legend has it that they’re doomed to walk the Earth forever,’ he said.
‘What are doomed?’ asked Koi, approaching them.
‘You know, the zombies, werewolves, vampires, witches and wizards. Look, they’re all going through the same corridor. How weird is that? How do they get on?’ Morgan said, pointing.
Monica pushed his hand down and whispered, ‘Shh! They will hear you!’
‘Who will hear me?’ Morgan replied.
‘Geez, I don’t know! Maybe them?’ She frowned and tilted her head towards the witches.
‘Oh, them,’ Morgan said with a stupid grin. The boys started laughing and messing around as always.
‘This place is like being in the movies. Witches are carrying their cats, brooms and potion equipment. And magic wands. Why are they all dressed in black with long pointy hats? Is that some kind of dress code for witches?’ Martin whispered to Chris.
‘Martin, shut up. They could hear you and cast a spell on you,’ Monica said angrily. She stared at him to show how serious she was.
‘Don’t worry, there’s no way they can hear us. T
hey’re too far away,’ Martin said, laughing. He pulled Morgan closer and started whispering again. ‘Look at that one’s nose, so long and pointy. It’s like something out of a comic book.’ They stared at the witch for a second or so. ‘I wonder why they have brooms. It’s not like they’re going to fly on them. They must have a spaceship or something to take them to where they’re going. Otherwise, how would the vampires, zombies and werewolves travel with them?’
‘This room is flooded with daylight. How is that possible?’ Morgan asked.
‘How is what possible?’ Martin asked.
‘The vampires. I thought they self-destructed if exposed to daylight,’ Morgan explained.
‘That’s a myth. A myth cannot be a fact, right?’ Koi chimed in.
Morgan continued, ‘I don’t know, maybe it just happens that way in the movies. One thing is certain, they are definitely vampires – at least that’s what it says on their gate.’
Martin saw that James was looking at the migrants. Perhaps his leader’s instinct had kicked in. Most of the migrants, including Carrol, were looking on in terror. She peered around fearfully and shied away. She was also wary of her fellow passengers and didn’t want them to see how scared she was. However, the programme organisers seemed to have everything under control.
Whether the creatures were controlled naturally or otherwise, Martin wasn’t sure; it seemed magical, if not mysterious, that there were so many predators and prey existing under one roof without an incident.
He was soon distracted when the creature strumming its long fingernails along the metal bars increased the frequency. His heart skipped a bit when he looked at it. As Martin stared, he remembered the striking, colourful images of creatures that adorned the walls of the hotel at Station X. He wondered if this was where the images were taken from.
The aliens’ departure gate was very close to that of the human migrants. The travellers could see their flying saucer hovering outside their gate. Martin heard his friends’ voices and zeroed in on their conversation again, wanting to know what they were talking about.
‘I didn’t realise aliens came in so many shapes and sizes. Only a few of them look like the ones we’re used to,’ Monica whispered to their group.
‘What do you mean?’ whispered Koi.
‘You know, the typical image. Greenish or grey colour, small body, big stomach, bulging eyes, skinny arms and legs.’
‘Yeah, but look, there are some of those at the back of their queue,’ Koi said, pointing them out before Monica pushed his hand down.
‘Oh, sorry, you’re right. I shouldn’t point,’ said Koi.
‘Some of them look like people. If I saw them in the street, I wouldn’t be able to tell them apart,’ Chris said. ‘But a lot of them are big, scary and complex-looking and some have lights beaming from an antenna on their head. Maybe the aliens intentionally send the most commonly identifiable ones to do their dirty work on Earth, to try to colonise humans without drawing attention to themselves.’
‘Are aliens trying to colonise Earth? Why?’ Morgan asked.
‘I don’t know, that’s just what I read in a magazine,’ Chris replied.
‘You had me fooled there. Man, I thought it was something you saw on the news,’ Morgan said, smiling.
‘I must say, they’re clearly among the more intelligent beings here. Look at them. They’re like the military. They curtsey and bow to their commanders,’ Koi said, watching with admiration.
‘Why did you say they’re the most intelligent beings? More intelligent than humans?’ Morgan asked.
‘Well, possibly,’ Koi replied. ‘But I meant here at the Channel of Exchange – though I’m pretty sure they could be more intelligent than people, too.’
‘Oh, where did you get that information? Because I’m not falling for that again!’ Morgan said, grinning. The boys started laughing.
‘The few people who have been lucky enough to see aliens on Earth have not only described them, they’ve also provided details about their conduct – and intelligence,’ Koi said with authority.
‘Wow,’ Morgan gasped.
Martin noticed a tall corridor, enforced with metal bars, for dragons and dinosaurs, both large and small. These included some skeleton dinosaurs, which were travelling together. Their gate was marked ‘Beware! Dangerous Animals’. It seemed true: some of the dinosaurs raged as they saw and smelled blood. The dragons opened their mouths wide, as though to throw flames, but nothing came out. They seemed disappointed and frustrated, but that didn’t stop them trying.
Why didn’t any of the large, predatory animals attack each other? It was something to behold as they queued up in their own corridor, moving along one at a time. Whether they lived as peaceably on their own planets or within their own realms was difficult to guess. Even people, with all their civility and politeness, often found it difficult to live in harmony.
Martin mulled this all over. There must be a supernatural control holding everything together, restraining the creatures from following their natural instincts, he thought.
CHAPTER 11
THE INCIDENT AT THE CHANNEL OF EXCHANGE
As the migrants queued in their corridor, Carrol’s mind drifted to what she’d seen in her room the previous night. Fear crept over her. What could it have been? I hope it wasn’t one of these creatures. What would they want from me? It’s not like I said or did anything to draw attention to myself. Maybe they can sense my anxiety. She knew that predatory animals could smell fear.
Feeling light-headed, she leaned against the glass to support herself. Just then, she saw the massive head of a reptile in the middle corridor. Some of the reptiles were crawling, some hovered with little wings, while some walked on their two hind legs. They were heading to a corridor that had a sign that said, ‘Reptile Gate’.
She spotted a large, multi-coloured lizard that looked like the one she had seen in her room, with its distinctive bulging eyes. She turned her head away, hoping it hadn’t seen her staring. ‘Who knows what it will do to me if it catches me looking?’ she muttered under her breath. Still, an internal battle raged between the urge to look and the knowledge that she should resist – until she finally yielded and peeked at the lizard. It was as though a magnetic force was pulling her eyes in that direction.
As she turned away again, she glimpsed the lizard looking back at her. Shock waves surged through her body. She couldn’t turn away and she continued to stare at it until it passed by. At the last moment, it turned and winked at her before continuing on its way. Carrol stared open-mouthed and her legs almost buckled beneath her. She had to rest her body against the glass wall.
No, it didn’t wink at me. There are three hundred of us here, so who knows who it was winking at? If it even winked at all. Lizards don’t wink. Maybe it was just closing its eyes. Or maybe this journey has started to affect me and I’m going mental. On the other hand, after everything we’ve seen in the last hour, I guess it’s not inconceivable to think a lizard could wink.
One huge question remained. If it did wink at me, then why me? Am I in some kind of danger? Her heart raced even faster. No one else mentioned seeing a lizard in their room, she thought – but then she realised she hadn’t spoken to anyone. She couldn’t ask because everyone already thought she was a bit odd and this would make them think she was even crazier.
Carrol heard some of her fellow travellers shouting. They were pointing through the tall, long door that faced the bridge. They’d noticed that the nuts and bolts on the metal bridge were magically detaching and transforming into huge black birds that were flying in their direction towards the large doorway into the hall. The migrants’ only hope of protection was the glass wall of their corridor – if the creatures did not break through the glass. Meanwhile, this volatile situation was about to get even worse, as the migrants heard louder screams at the back of the queue by the elevator.
Hearing a loud pecking noise at the door, Carrol turned towards the elevator. She saw James, Mr Stevens
, Martin’s group and a few of the other passengers standing looking confused. Before they knew it, the door had opened. To their astonishment, a flock of the same black birds was hovering in the lift and they had managed to push the door open with their enormous, powerful wings.
Carrol gasped in horror, her eyes popping when she saw a stampede of screaming passengers rushing towards the front of the queue. In the chaos, several terror-stricken humans fell to the ground; others climbed over them.
James and Mr Stevens, being the last people in the queue, started trying to fight the birds and stop them attacking the other passengers. Martin and Morgan looked at each other and immediately rushed forward to help. They used their shoes to fight off the creatures. Suddenly Mr Stevens leapt backwards, lost his footing and fell into the lift. The birds, eager for prey, clawed ferociously at him.
James quickly pressed the elevator button to close the door so that no more birds could get in. Seeing the boys fighting with their shoes, he took off one of his own. With one hand, he grabbed Mr Stevens and tried to pull him back into the corridor before the elevator door closed while using his other hand to fight off the birds that were dive-bombing him.
By this stage, Mr Stevens was badly gored from the birds’ long, knife-like talons. Carrol and the rest of the migrants looked on with horror and many were screaming. Mr Stevens was also screaming as he struggled against these giant birds that had a wingspan of about six to seven feet. His eyes were full of tears as he was dragged back into the lift. The door finally closed, trapping him inside. Abruptly, James realised he was holding a severed hand. He dropped it onto the ground; it was pumping blood and it twitched for a moment. He and the boys stepped back from the severed limb.
Martin and Morgan went back to Chris and Koi. At that moment, Carrol experienced a flood of admiration for the two boys, regardless of what they had done to her in the past.
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