by Allan Burd
“Doesn’t matter. This man needs help.” Logan bent down to lift the fallen tree, stopping when he heard the clicking sound that Chase’s gun made as it was being cocked.
Chase spoke in a low rough tone. “You’re just a civilian. Nobody knows you’re here. Nobody’s going to care if you don’t come back. Now back away from him and that’s an order.”
“Sorry, I’m not one of your little soldier boys,” said Logan defiantly. Then, as he began to lift the fallen tree to free Major Gaines pinned legs, Chase fired.
35
Logan watched the hot smoke dissipate as it drifted out of the barrel of Chase’s gun. He turned his head to see where the bullet hit. He noticed a chip and a friction burn on the bark of the oak towering behind him, then turned back. “Are you through?” he asked.
Colonel Chase paused. “Aw shit,” he mumbled as he lowered his gun. He knew the standoff was over and Logan had won. He quickly scouted the perimeter for any sign of the extraterrestrials.
“All clear,” replied Blaze to his unspoken question. He was noticeably shaking.
Chase couldn’t tell if that was because of his actions, the alien creatures, the horrifying carnage of the combat, or simply the cold. He’d known Dr. Blaze for years, and even though he was a scientist and not a soldier, Chase had never known him to be afraid of anything. In fact, whereas most people feared the unknown, Jeff Blaze embraced it. He assumed it must have been the latter. “You’re one lucky sonuva bitch. You know that, Major,” said Chase, as he bent down to assist Logan with lifting the large fallen tree off Gaines’ legs.
Using his arms against the ground as leverage, Gaines pulled himself free. “I’m lucky enough to find the American military trespassing on Canadian soil,” replied Gaines as he stood up and wiped the dirt off him.
“Trespassing. We just saved your pathetic life,” angrily replied Chase.
“I’m grateful. That’s the only reason I’m not placing the three of you under arrest,” answered Gaines.
“That’s a laugh. Doesn’t look like you have any men left alive to do just that.”
That remark brought out Gaines’ ire. It was one thing to argue with him, quite another to insult the memory—the sacrifice—of Canadian soldiers. “You heartless bastard. Good men died out here today,” screamed Gaines.
“And you almost joined them. There was no need for any of this,” Colonel Chase screamed back.
“We were just defending ourselves.”
“Save it.” Chase returned his attention to Jeff and Logan. “Let’s go. We still have a job to do. Keep your eyes peeled for the aliens, but do not engage.”
“Where the hell do you think you’re going?” asked Gaines.
Chase got right into Gaines’ face. “We’re going in to do the job right.”
“No you’re not,” responded Gaines forcibly. “Like it or not you’re under Canadian jurisdiction and as such, you—”
“Shove your jurisdiction,” Colonel Chase interrupted. He pulled out his weapon and trained it on Gaines a second time. “Besides, how’re you gonna stop us?”
Chase’s answer was the clicking sound of a cocked revolver. He turned to his left, spotting a gun pointed at him, just as his was pointed at Major Gaines. A female voice called out, “With very little difficulty, I assure you. Now drop the gun before I drop you,” said Rebecca.
“Drop the gun, lady, or he dies,” threatened Chase.
“He dies, you die next,” Rebecca answered.
Chase knew he was in trouble. For all his bravado, he knew he wouldn’t shoot Gaines, and Gaines knew it too. However, he also knew what was at stake. He wasn’t sure how to play it. “No dice,” he replied.
Logan interceded. “Do you think we can settle all this without blowing each other’s heads off?” He approached Rebecca with his hands raised.
Rebecca fired once at his feet halting his approach. “That’s up to your friend here.”
“You don’t know what’s going on here. There’s much more at stake than either one of you realize and we’re not just going to walk away from it,” said Chase in his first effort at diplomacy.
“Explain,” Rebecca ordered.
“After you lower the weapon,” replied Chase.
“You first,” Rebecca countered.
“If you drop it, I can guarantee you she won’t fire,” said Gaines.
Chase looked Gaines and Rebecca squarely in the eyes to gauge their trust and determination. He found neither one wanting. He returned his weapon to his holster. Rebecca didn’t do the same.
“This is the deal,” said Chase. “The five of us go in together. Any technology, weapons or otherwise, we find, gets shared between our countries. Same deal on anything else we learn as well. Agreed?”
“What do we need you for?” asked Rebecca. “The ship’s already on Canadian soil.”
“Besides the fact that we saved his ass,” Chase answered. He got no reaction so he continued. “We know more about them than any of you. We go in on this together, we’ll tell you everything. Plus, I have what you need. Dr. Jeff Blaze is our top physicist. He’s an expert on aerial phenomena. He’ll know what’s what once we get aboard. And Mr. Logan Grey here is a kinesics expert. He knows everything about body language and can communicate with ‘em. After the way you guys handled the situation, that’s going to come in very handy.”
I can, Logan thought. What the hell do I know? But he did give Chase credit for playing his hand expertly given the cards he was dealt. He might’ve just turned a no win situation into a win-win.
“No deal,” answered Rebecca, catching Major Gaines by surprise with her overreach of authority.
“No. It’s agreed,” said Gaines overruling her. “How do I know you have the authority to back up your claim?”
“When—if—we can secure the ship, you can arrange for our pickup?” said Chase.
“So what makes you so sure I’ll keep my end of the bargain?” asked Gaines.
“Cause your government is going to want to know everything we know, and that will only happen with full cooperation,” answered Chase.
Gaines nodded his approval.
Rebecca lowered her gun and walked towards him. “Le Buc … Is he—?” She didn’t have to finish the question.
Gaines just nodded his reply.
“I’m so sorry, David,” said Rebecca. “I know what he meant to you.”
Gaines walked back to his dead friend who laid face up, his bloodied body wrapped in the biohazard suit, his eyes obscenely vacant. All the knowledge, all the warmth that made Pierre Le Buc the man he was, was gone. All that remained was a lifeless shell. No, that’s not true, Gaines thought. The memories are still here and all the lessons he taught me. He placed his fingers gently on Pierre’s eyelids and closed them. A proper memorial service would have to wait until later.
36
As they approached the ship, Colonel Chase took point, Rebecca and Major Gaines guarded the flank. Logan stayed close to Dr. Blaze as they brought up the rear. For that, at least, Logan was grateful. He felt totally out of place dragged from the corporate world into this surrealistic, military, sci-fi nightmare. Dr. Blaze was the only one he could relate to. The only one who had an iota of understanding for how he felt. The boardroom was Logan’s battleground, not here. Within the confines of conference room walls, he reigned supreme. Able to read the tiniest inflection in someone’s voice, the slightest body motion, he always held the advantage. He was always in control. However, in the cold, snow-covered, mountainous terrain, fighting aliens and the Canadian military, he felt next to useless.
Why couldn’t they have called me in later, if and when, they captured one? he thought. Remembering the carnage he just walked through, he realized why. Death had been the result of unsuccessful communication. He decided to make small talk with Dr. Blaze to ease his mind. “Is he always like this?” he asked, referring to Colonel Chase.
“Only when the situation’s this serious. How did you know he wouldn
’t kill you?” asked Blaze.
“His eyes. I wasn’t sure when they were focused solely on me. I thought he might really do it. But he took a brief glance over towards you … kind of an assurance to you that he wouldn’t really do it. When you steered clear, I figured I was right. So are you going to tell me what’s really going on?” Logan asked.
“What do you mean?” asked Blaze with feigned confusion.
Logan momentarily stopped walking. “Come on,” he said. He picked up his pace to catch up with Blaze. “I understand why we had to come in quickly without waiting for the SEAL team. We had to beat the Canadians to the ship and get whatever information we could before they got to it. That’s what you need me for—to translate and communicate with any alien survivors. Then we get here and there’s carnage. Obviously, the Canadians beat us here, but there was a war … like we were being invaded or something. However, when we head towards the first sounds of battle, Chase spares the alien and treats the Canadians like they’re the enemy.”
“So, for John that’s not so strange,” said Blaze nonchalantly.
“Well, don’t you find it strange how he didn’t show any surprise when he first saw the alien? He never even asked Gaines about them, like he already knew the answers. And how come they’re wearing protective suits and we’re not?” queried Logan.
“Later,” replied Jeff.
They advanced through the woods quickly, already beginning to function as a unit. Gaines’ injuries were minor enough not to deter a man with his determination. He stopped only briefly to fully remove his protective gear. It was torn and useless anyway.
Colonel Chase took charge, leading them cautiously to the ship. He scouted the area thoroughly, knowing there was at least one pissed off extraterrestrial remaining. He hoped if it spotted him first, it would take his intentional warning shots into account, but he knew there was little chance of that. He hoped the difference in his appearance might help more, although he knew if he wasn’t carrying a gun his appearance might be less threatening. Did he dare put it away? No. Too risky. Better to just proceed cautiously and hope for the best.
His next stopping point provided a full view of the craft. It was bigger than he pictured. Even partially buried, he could tell it was almost the size of a baseball field. It was coppery in color, except for the areas that were scorched during its untimely descent. The shape seemed round, but noticeably angular instead of a perfect circle. He also noticed grooves and plastic-like panels along its hull, which he assumed were for signaling lights. To the far right side of the ship he saw a hole. It wasn’t a door. The ragged copper-colored metal was bent outward as if something had exploded from the inside.
Chase waved the others up to his position. When they briefly stepped out onto the landing scar, they all saw the ship in full view. It was indeed a sight to behold. Logan’s mouth gaped wide as he stared in awe at the vessel.
“Admire it later. Keep your attention on what’s out here,” warned Chase. “You see that hole to the right? We’ll use that to get inside.”
At that moment an alien emerged from the opening, studied the terrain, spotted them, and darted into the forest. It wasn’t the same alien they had seen before. This one had jet black hair with skin that flowed between varying shades of blue and black, a stockier build, and it carried a pouch on its back.
Chase suddenly realized that the hole wasn’t caused by an explosion. The aliens deliberately made it to escape the confines of the ship. The normal exits were probably buried, blocked, or damaged by the fallen trees. “Shit! There’s no way we’re going to get in there without a fight,” he said to Gaines.
“They’re going to pick us off one by one from the trees with those damn energy weapons they have,” said Major Gaines.
Dr. Blaze was fascinated, though he did his best not to show it. Logan was transfixed between his fear of the situation and the utter amazement of it all.
Rebecca remained fully alert. “There,” she called out, spotting a gray being about thirty yards to her left. She flinched at its strange appearance. It was one thing to see one dead—another entirely to see one stalk you gracefully and silently from the trees.
They all dove for cover as the alien fired a blue beam over their heads, destroying a small tree behind them. Despite his leg injury, Major Gaines was the first to recover. Rolling to a kneeling position, he raised his semi-automatic towards the creature.
“NO!” Logan blurted out. He tackled him and knocked the gun from his hand before he could fire a round.
Major Gaines shoved him to the ground. “Are you crazy? That thing will kill all of us.”
Logan looked at Colonel Chase and Rebecca, who were also ready to fire. “NO! Don’t fire. Don’t do anything. Don’t even move.”
Colonel Chase looked at him puzzled. Major Gaines was ready to slug him if he didn’t speak fast.
Logan put up his hands in a surrendering position. “Don’t you see? He just gave us our way out. He just spoke to us.”
“What are you talking about?” asked Chase.
“You had him in your sights before, but you intentionally fired high. You let him live and just chased him away. Now he’s returning the favor. You gave him a warning shot, now he’s giving us one. He’s giving us a way out,” Logan explained.
“You’re saying he’s giving us a chance to leave,” said Gaines thoughtfully.
“Yes,” said Logan.
“That’s not good enough,” said Colonel Chase. “We can’t leave. Someone else will come along and then things will get much worse.”
Logan paused, searching for a solution. “What’s it doing?”
“He’s just staring at us,” answered Rebecca.
“That’s good,” said Logan.
“Maybe he’s not alone. They could be all around us and we might not know it,” said Gaines.
Logan took a deep breath. Then he stood up.
Gaines quickly yanked him back down. “That’ll get you killed.”
“Don’t you see?” said Logan. “There’s only a few of them left. This one didn’t attack us back when we were saving your butt. We were vulnerable then, but instead of attacking us, it fled and never came back. It would only have done that if it were equally vulnerable. The fact that it didn’t kill us a moment ago makes me believe all the more that it’s willing to talk.”
“Maybe he doesn’t think he could take all five of us,” said Rebecca, unconsciously referring to the creature as a male.
Gaines answered. “No. I’ve seen their weapons in use. If it really wanted to, it could’ve taken us all out in one shot.”
Logan paused for a moment to listen for any other activity. Hearing none he stood up slowly with his hands in the air. Gaines tried to stop him again.
“Let him go,” said Colonel Chase.
Logan took a long deep breath and stepped out into the open. In a moment he would know if his assessment of the situation was correct. If he was wrong, he’d be dead. He looked at the position where the alien was last spotted. It was gone. He scanned the area, reacquiring it a few feet lower and to the left of its previous position. Its weapon was pointed directly at him.
Now what? Logan wondered, having not thought this far ahead. Should I talk? No. It wouldn’t understand me anyway and speech might be viewed as aggressive. Gestures? Same answer. Expressions? Hand Signals? All too dangerous. He knew hand signs that were globally recognized, but were they universal? He kept his hands wide open, palms up, and stepped forward.
The alien fired. A blue force beam ripped across the earth just meters in front of Logan. A hole was created and snow and dirt sprayed him hard. Logan didn’t move.
“That stubborn son of a bitch is going to get himself killed,” said Gaines.
“If this doesn’t work, we won’t need him anyway,” responded Chase.
“Give him a chance,” said Dr. Blaze. Logan was beginning to grow on him. “He’s already done more than any of you.”
Logan was stuck. He was com
municating with the alien but it was telling him to go away. Damn. How do I reason with something when we’ve just killed his friends and we’re trying to steal his property? He didn’t move.
The alien stared at the foursome crouched behind the rocks. They were still armed but not an immediate threat. It raised its weapon slightly, pointing it directly at Logan’s chest. Logan saw that it was losing patience. If he moved forward he was dead, yet retreat was not an option.
Think. What do we know about them? Nothing. No cultural differences to work my way around. It’s like communicating with an animal. That’s it! Gorillas. Logan crouched down in a non-threatening posture, turning his eyes away from the alien while keeping his hands visible.
The alien screeched, turned its weapon on the foursome instead, and fired.
“Scatter!” Chase yelled as he dove to his left, taking Jeff Blaze with him. Gaines and Rebecca dove right. Gaines grunted as his sudden lunge painfully extended his ribs. The blast struck the area where they used to be.
Logan stood up to see what was happening. It was a thoughtless mistake. By simply standing, he changed his position from a passive one to a threatening one.
The alien returned its focus on Logan and aimed its weapon.
Gunfire rang out and the alien slumped forward, falling from the branch before it could fire the shot.
They all rose slowly. Colonel Chase looked over at Rebecca and Major Gaines. They hadn’t fired. Neither did he. Slowly, a bloodied and battered figure limped from the underbrush, making his way towards Logan. “Hey, kid … ya oughta be more careful who you’re trying to make friends with,” the man said.
Logan was too stunned to reply. The others came forward with Gaines lagging behind. Logan walked over to the slain alien.
“Thank God you made it,” said Gaines. “Anyone else?”
Lt. Steele’s look was the only reply he needed. Gaines closed his eyes and raised his head in dismay.
“Friends of yours?” asked Steele.
“Something like that,” answered Gaines.
