The Alien Orb

by V Bertolaccini

  The Shifting Jungle

  The rhythms of the waves, skimming over the surface of the black sand, gently brought him out of his sleep.

  He felt the warm air tenderly caressing his lifeless body.

  He had vague recollection of him swimming ashore, the night before, and then hearing Selina, screaming, and her splashes, and him pulling her ashore. Then, before he had rested, and had fallen asleep, a dog had come splashing out of the water, at them, and he had discovered that she had brought her dog, Darwin, with her, which she must have had concealed in her luggage in the laboratory.

  He watched her, with curiosity. Her laboratory jacket was ripped to pieces, and she held it around her.

  He was sure that they were the only two to go through.

  The warm colors of the red sun blazing down, and the bright celestial objects shining through the sky, turned the world about him into a wonderland.

  The stars, and color of the sun, made it apparent that they had traveled further into world’s future than he had imagined possible. He estimated the length of time that had passed as being at least many millions of years.

  What would humans have turned into over such a long time? Would there actually be anything left ...?

  With astonishment, he focused his eyes further, to view the tropical beach, with the crimson glow of the sky over it; and, at the end of the beach, he saw an immense perpendicular cliff, curving out to the sea.

  With an abominable thud, Dexter felt something crash against him, and he swiftly rolled sideways, to see a chunk of vegetation.

  He shaded his eyes, and clabbered upwards, startled at the fascinating sight behind him. A jungle of unknown variations of trees and plants went along the beach, in both directions. Many overhung the shore like palm trees, with types of fruit clustered at their tops. Some nearby plants resembled strange forms of cactuses, with animal-like hairs thickly scattered over them, instead of spines.

  The sun was blazing, and the air was turning roasting hot. Golden patches of sand, through black sand, glowed in bright red sunbeams, while the turquoise sea sparkled it.

  He stretched out his painful limbs, feeling slightly dizzy, and he turned his blank expression to a smile. He had actually survived, and he was on an island.

  Their main task now would be to find food!

  Why had he not seen any fish ...? He had to check again – there had to be some.

  Sounds of rummaging came from behind him, from something strange in the undergrowth.

  “Where are we?” Selina suddenly groaned, rubbing her eyes.

  “We’re resting on the shore of an island!”

  Why had he not seen or heard any birds? Surely there would still be forms of seabird on an island.

  “There’s something peculiar about this place!”

  “How far in time do you think we have traveled?” she asked, holding her head, looking at the bright tints of the sun.

  “At present, I don’t have a clue!”

  “Is there anything to eat?” she spoke, throwing a pebble along the sand.

  Darwin shook himself, and he ran after it. Once he reached it, he smelt about the sand, looking for things to eat.

  The sand was starting to burn the soles of their feet.

  Splashes of water sprayed over the sea, at his side.

  “There’s a giant fish!” Selina shouted, gaping outwards.

  “A fish ...!” Dexter answered, moving to the water’s edge, looking downwards. “It is more like a sea snake! It looks dangerous – it has spiked jaws!”

  His eyes stayed on the clear water, where the creature’s orange shape, covered in thick scales, floated by.

  The fantastic island glowed with fabulous spectral colors, in the intense red sunshine. It was fantastically surreal – there was vegetation everywhere behind the beach. Colors of nearly every conceivable variation of the entire spectrum glowed all over it, like a mind-bending cartoon. Vegetation of all shapes and sizes mingled. Loud eerie sounds appeared, from creatures within it, which he felt vibrating in his ears.

  He was sure that they were nearby, watching them, in hidden places.

  “We better find spears!” Dexter warned. “This place could be dangerous!”

  “That’s probably just some bird ...!” she answered, while adjusting her pieces of clothing.

  She walked to him, and she balanced herself against his side.

  There were no proper fish, but there were insect-like green plankton. He found them edible, and a good source of nutrition. The water on them tasted strange, and it was surprisingly consumable, which was peculiar, as he had not heard of a slightly salty sea.

  After a few handfuls of the plankton, they grew sickening, and he knew that they could only consume so many of them. Therefore, they searched for other things, as they silently staggered along, beside the sea. There were many types of algae, but they did not touch them – their appetites now demanded proper food.

  The coast was so unreal that he was sure that he was walking in a dream, and had consumed some form of hallucinogenic.

  Along a stretch of the beach, he saw that the vegetation still was too dense, and that they still could not enter it. Its shapes shifted continuously, as though things in it were shuffling about, with some kind of an itch. Its complexity was tremendous, and his mind could barely grasp what he was observing; and he continuously glanced into it. However, what grabbed his attention even more was that there was no wind or anything that could account for it.

  He knew that she had no explanation for it either: she was more concerned about where she was.

  To his astonishment he realized that the trees were not normal: they were mostly similar to giant plants, going up to at least fifty meters high, and others resembled immense mushroom-like plants, with feathery seeds falling from under their domed tops. In one direction they formed part of the jungle, going out as far as the eye could see.

  Distant shrieks of wild creatures came from within them.

  Dexter briskly sharpened the end of a stick of vegetation, on a sharp stone, making it pointed, and into a reasonable spear.

  It would do, until they could make something better.

  Dexter occasionally climbed up small trees, hanging over the beach, to remove some of the fruit-like vegetation growing on them. Their shapes and sizes varied greatly, and he easily pulled some off, but he needed to cut many off, with sharp stones. Some were much like coconuts, and they had to be smashed open, to reveal their nutritious contents.

  After they had tried the majority of the varieties, they started collecting the best ones.

  Suddenly, as they were about to finish, Darwin did a strange thing – he ran away at full speed, and he disappeared into part of the jungle. His loud bark then went through the vegetation.

  They swiftly left what they were doing and ran after him. It was not like him to leave when there was food about. Furthermore, if there was something dangerous, why had he been so enthusiastic to encounter it?

  The dog stood peering into a more dense part of the vegetation, trying to find a scent, as though whatever had been there had escaped. Some mysterious thing had hidden itself!

  However, he realized something even more bizarre, which he had seen and had just ignored. In a shallow pool of black mud, at his side, there was a footprint, which looked like his own. It was a faint impression, and neither of them could explain it – or even be positive that it belonged to a human.

  He did not know if humans still existed.

  Why was it a bare footprint? Had humans gone back to living in the wilderness? How many of them would there be? How dangerous were they ...?

  At their side, he spotted a newly fallen tree, creating a gap, which would allow them to get further into it.

  Once they had climbed through it, he saw that its density decreased, and that they could scramble through it.

  Their heads darted about, looking for traces of any signs of life, and anything that would indicate the presence of humans. Even tho
ugh it was hard to believe that humans were on the island.

  Apes had human-like arms, hands, and feet. Could there be an animal such as this hiding in the vegetation – like a Bigfoot? As he thought about it, traces of two pairs of footprints actually appeared in the soil at his feet, and he found a clear set of them.

  What had they been doing here – at the beach? They were fresh, and they were differently sized footprints, almost identical to theirs. They had walked through to the beach, and they had gone back into the island. He was sure that they had been actually watching them, from further up the beach.

  Deep musty scents like flowers and pine mingled through the hot air, while he carefully placed his feet, treading quietly over the ground. And he crouched, ready to shelter.

  It was a mysterious jungle, and it created an extremely intense atmosphere. At any moment, he expected to see a tiger-like animal hiding in the tangle of vegetation.

  Their pace stayed slow, at a speed that they could see anything dangerous in their path, while staying hidden.

  There were no signs of them. Where were they going?

  Just ahead of him, where the footprints went, a white shape emerged in the multicolored vegetation. And he approached it cautiously, searching everywhere he could. And he saw that it was something resembling a giant egg, with size of him.

  Even though he thought of it as a form of plant, it had to be a creature – it had a white leathery skin, which pulsated ...

  It shuddered when it sensed them near to it, and they tenderly followed the prints passed it, ready to escape; and they swiftly continued away from it. He soon saw what it was that they were going to – a short distance away, there was an artificial tower, stretching high above, where its top bulged out, loomed over the trees, at least fifty meters above.

  They approached it, in stages, examining bits of it through gaps, trying to figure out what it resembled. In the distance, the shapes of shrieking creatures hung on branches.

  “What do you think it is?” Selina gasped, breaking the silence, as they moved into a clearing, about its base.

  “It could be some sort of observation station ...!”

  “How old could it be ...?” she uttered, looking at its black surface. “If we can establish that, we may be able to establish how far we have traveled into the future!”

  “And how long ago a civilization existed ...!”

  “It’s made of a material like metal,” she muttered, “and it’s not corroded anywhere ...”

  Dexter unsuccessfully attempted to dent and scratch its surface, and they wandered around its base, until they came to an entrance, which looked as though someone had recently opened. Its inside was dark and gloomy, and, except for a pole ladder, it was empty.

  “Will we proceed ...?” he asked.

  “It’s to dangerous ...!” she replied, looking at its leaning black shape, towering overhead, at fifty meters above.

  “They must have gone up it ...!”

  “Where are they?” she said, looking straight up, with her hand over her eyes.

  “Stay here –” he spoke tediously, and started to climb up the ladder pegs, into the darkness.

  The only sounds that he heard were the clangs of the ladder echoing upwards, as though he were clambering through a sewage pipe.

  The hot air drifted up from beneath him.

  There was little for him to see above.

  Sometimes he believed that he saw someone climbing down to him. He now saw Selina’s point of view, and that it was not worth it – but if he could just find one clue that would answer his queries about the world.

  A freak wind made a hollow whistle through the entrance, and died away. The temperature had to be reaching its maximum limit. He tried to imagine what was up at the top of it, but he had no evidence of anything.

  He plodded on, while the light under him grew fainter; and he realized that he had underestimated its height. He had been climbing too fast – it had exhausted him! He felt his legs give way under him. It was not a normal ladder – he had to grip the handles to stay on it – the handles were at large distances from each other, and he could not properly rest on it. He was soon hanging on for his life, with the pole swaying under him. However, he managed to rest, in a different position.

  In the blur overhead, a vague illumination became visible, and he vigorously moved towards it.

  When he reached it, he saw an entrance to a room, where faint beams of red sunlight shone, and he fell over onto its floor exhausted. Then, from somewhere in the surrounding darkness, a black shape shifted over the light.

  Chapter 4

  The Mysterious World

  A spectral shape floated over him, but his unfocused vision simultaneously altered, allowing him to see a crouching figure, looming above him.

  “So you made it ...!” Basinger murmured, grinning at his face. “It’s Dexter!”

  “Wait until you see the other tower ...!” Burrell spoke, as he appeared at his side, humoring him, while holding back a smile.

  Dexter reluctantly dragged himself upwards, from where he had just managed to rest.

  “Come over here ...!” Burrell called out, moving over a gap in its outer shell.

  Once at it, Dexter stumbled backwards, stunned at the height that it was leaning over.

  Selina’s figure was at the edge of the jungle, where she was examining the vegetation.

  Another gigantic tower was looming up in the sky in the distance, where Burrell was pointing.

  There must have been some danger in regularly climbing up the towers! Who had built them? What function had they had? Had their descendants just been energetic?

  A glance about outside showed him that the island was far more different from what he had believed that it could have been. In many directions, there were miles of jungle terrain going far into the distance.

  “So what do you think it is?” Burrell finally enquired.

  “It might have been a communications tower.”

  “You may be right!”

  Basinger and Burrell returned to what they had been doing, over in the darkness. Dexter followed the bulged out outer wall in the opposite direction, going in a circle. It was peculiar – it looked as though nothing had been in it – there only seemed to be the blank surroundings, and he finally arrived at where the others were standing.

  It confused him, because it was entirely empty. Had they emptied it of everything that it had contained?

  Then he saw that there was another entrance, in front of Basinger, which they were trying to open. It was at an area on the central section, where the other entrance was behind, through a wall.

  Basinger fiddled about with a type of keyhole, and stepped back bewildered.

  Dexter saw a faint gap in it, further along from them, and he pulled at part of it, sticking out. Then he pushed his fingers into the widened gap, and yanked the jammed entrance open.

  “You did it!” Burrell proclaimed, congratulating him.

  “Would you like to go first ...?” Basinger said, and held out his arm.

  Dexter immediately climbed into it, gripped its ladder, and pulled himself up.

  He was soon on its roof, over the top of the structure, where there were just curved edges around it. Its view was astonishing, especially with it dangerously sloping.

  Selina gazed at what appeared in front of her as though she thought that reality had finally gone haywire. And when she saw them she dropped the vegetation that she had been examining, and strolled towards them.

  “Deputy Commander Basinger ...?” she called out, extremely alarmed. “What are you doing here?”

  She stood studying the two of them, and she looked at their bare feet. They had also lost their shoes swimming ashore!

  They were barely recognizable to her, in the glare from the peculiar sunshine, in the strange surroundings.

  “How did they get here?” she spoke, looking more startled than he had ever seen her.

  “And why did they not see u
s ...?” Dexter murmured, looking at the remains of their clothes, hanging on them.

  They looked wilder, in the light. Their beards gave them an appearance of being castaways, which had been on the island for weeks.

  “Was it you who saved us ...?” Basinger grumbled, while he recalled something.

  “What ...?” Dexter answered.

  “How could he have saved you?” Selina continued.

  “Well, both us found ourselves here – on the shore of this island –”

  “After I hit the water,” Burrell revealed, “I am sure I actually drowned ...”

  Selina stared at him, searching for any signs that he was exaggerating his claims.

  “What did you do once you discovered you were on this island?” Dexter enquired further, thinking of a light that he had seen on the island, which had guided him to it.

  “I’ll tell you ...!” Basinger announced, cleaning his brow of sweat. “We awoke under the cliff over there – on the beach – under it – where this vegetation stops at the cliff. We believed that there was not anything on the beach ...”

  “We have been surviving on sea creatures,” Burrell continued. “And we have been thinking of different ways to hunt animals, to survive here!”

  “Did anyone else follow you into the black hole?” Selina asked Basinger.

  “There was nobody else in the laboratory! We entered it to save some equipment, and establish what had happened. That black hole is unstable, and a menace to civilization. Its power was incredible!”

  “Have you any food?” Burrell asked, wildly eyeing up the vegetation about them.

  “Yes!” Selina replied. “We have found some food!”

  “Do you think that it will be safe to stay the night here?” Dexter announced, thinking of solving future problems.

  “Did I not tell you that we found a cave, over at the cliff?”

  “What will happen if the sea floods the beach?”

  “The sea cannot reach it – it’s too high up!”

  Selina and Dexter slightly nodded their heads, and they followed Basinger, leaving towards the cliff.