I noticed when going through the post for the first chapter that the writing is very tiny and in some places large.
This is the preset style of the blogger I use and not the way I chose. :(
If there is enough interest I consider making this novel as e-book for all to read on their favorite devices.
Quick link to first chapter: http://michafire.blogspot.com/2012/10/unexpected-encounter-first-chapter.html
And now the second chapter:
-II-
Saturday
When Jason woke, it was
bright morning and cold. Very cold. The sun was shining as promised
by the "weather man" in the radio yesterday morning. And he
couldn't feel any change in the weather coming soon. He quickly made
a small breakfast, grabbed a bottle of water, put on his extra
sweater and went for a walk in the autumn forest.
This was going to be a very
nice and relaxing weekend for him with enough time to think about all
that was going on in his mind right now. Here, he had no distractions
through school or friends and family. He liked those quiet days.
Somehow, they had become rare for him.
To be out in nature alone
was something he had learned to appreciate some years ago when his
parents first went with them to this lodge. At that time he had hated
it, being away for three weeks during the holidays from his friends
and the bustle of the city where they had lived.
Both his mother and father
showed him and his sister how nice it was to be in the nature. And
how much more fun you could have there too.
Back in class that year, he
excitedly told his friends about this. But they couldn't follow his
idea. By now, Jason understood what his parents were always saying
about saving nature and "healing" the planet.
This was real life. The one
worth living. Not the distractions of the busy city he grew up in.
*
Forbidden
planet. This kept going
through his head. Why is it
forbidden? He just couldn't
remember that lesson they had given to him. They had been very
serious about it at that time.
He
instead had been only thinking about the woman, he had seen the day
before. For him a perfect match it seemed.
And
now this! He would never see her again, if they crashed here! Well,
he hasn't really seen her for some time already. Work and life kept
them apart for long stretches of time. To think of her and knowing
that she too was thinking of him and the short communications they
had, helped him over those times without being close to her. He
really missed her a lot sometimes. And now this!
Both his friends kept
calling for him to hurry and repair the wires. He was doing his best
in that small and stuffy compartment. He had to close the door to the
main room to get to some wires hanging out the wall behind it. The
voices of his friends now were muffled. The light was bad too. Soon
he would be finished, and, he hoped, in time to pull the ship away
from the planet.
He had a strange feeling
though, that he wasn't fast enough. It was getting hotter in here.
More than it should. And the angle the floor had was too steep too to
be still in regular space.
They had artificial
gravitation here, so the floor was always horizontal. Now it was
feeling as if it was slanting downward, toward the front where his
two friends were still shouting for him to hurry and help them. He
really hoped that they weren't in the gravitational field of the
planet already!
That, without being able to
steer the ship properly, could be deadly for them.
Suddenly, there was a fast
plunge forward (or was it
backward?) and he hit the
wall very hard with his right arm. That hurt and he was about to open
the door and ask his friends what they were doing, when suddenly
everything went black for him.
*
Jason
enjoyed the fresh air, looking at the leaves turning yellow and red.
With his feet, he rustled playfully through the ones that had already
dropped to the ground.
Suddenly, he saw a white
line in the sky coming closer and getting bigger too. No plane
crossing would leave such a line. It seemed this line was coming
directly toward him. And then it was too low to follow, going behind
the trees.
A short moment later, he
felt and heard a big thud, birds flying in the air and sudden quiet
again. Very quiet! Too quiet for nothing to be wrong!
He started to run into the
direction he thought this "thing" that had caused the line
would be and were he believed the thud had come from.
Very soon he could see
something shimmering through the trees and he thought, he could hear
something like fire too. He kept running to get closer and finally
reached this "thing". It sure looked strange: all silver
and it radiated heat too, causing some dry leaves to catch fire. It
was about four meters through the middle, he guessed. He wasn't sure.
It could be bigger or smaller. The surface was not reflecting the
trees. However, it was shiny enough to make it hard to see its actual
size.
He went around it as close
as he could because of the heat that came from it, extinguishing all
the small fires he came across at the same time. It was big and
shaped more like a ball: a big silver ball with no opening. Jason was
puzzled for a moment that this "ball" shaped thing didn’t
roll out of place on the uneven ground. Well,
maybe it is resting in a small dent in the soil.
When looking up he saw no
damage on the tree branches. This too seemed strange to him, assuming
it was the object from the sky. He was nearly all the way around it,
when he heard a soft sound behind one of the trees close by.
Quietly, so he didn't scare
off what was causing the sound, he went into the direction he thought
it came from. It was a kind of whining, as if some person or animal
was in pain. He listened carefully and then he was sure it was behind
this tree. He carefully went around the trunk.
His first reaction was
shock! There was someone sitting on the ground, leaned with the back
on the tree, the legs stretched flat in front. This person seemed to
be covered with blood on the right side.
Had this person come out
of that "ball"?
Carefully Jason went even closer, whispering a timid "Hello, can
I help?" at the same time.
The figure showed no
reaction.
Jason called a bit louder,
but still there was no reaction. He looked at him closer. The hair
was dark with a slight purple touch to it and the skin was rather
pale. The person wore no dress or skirt or had any other signs that
would define it as female to Jason. This defined him as male,
seemingly his own age.
The "man" was
dressed in an overall in silver and was about his size.
The actual size was hard to
judge for Jason though, standing there towering over the stranger on
the ground, softly moaning.
The worst thing to see was
the big gashing wound on the right side and the arm on that side
hanging in a strange angle too. He really seemed to need help.
Jason put all his courage
together and grabbed the man carefully on the left, seemingly
healthy, arm, saying louder than before: "I’m going to help
you. Don't be afraid. Just come along. My lodge isn't far away and I
can treat your wound there much better."
He pulled him up half way.
The man suddenly started to
fight back.
Jason was afraid, he had
hurt him further or that the man maybe had injuries inside as well.
He let go of the arm. The man simply started to fall back to the
ground and quickly Jason grabbed him again, this time holding on
strong. He dragged him away from the hot silver ball towards the
lodge.
The man, half conscious
now, stumbled along in Jason's hold. Sometimes he tried to pull free,
but then again was just moving his feet so he wouldn't be dragged
over the ground helplessly.
Jason didn't know how long
it took them to reach the cabin. It couldn’t have been too long.
The sun had not moved much and was still shining in through the
window next to his bed as it had when he had woken this morning. He
carefully dropped the man on the bed, glad he had managed to do this.
Now, he quickly tried to
treat the wound. To his relief, it wasn't bleeding as much as it
first had seemed. The man seemed unconscious again. His breathing was
regular now. Jason dared to have a closer look at the wound by trying
to push the material over it aside.
Suddenly he felt as if he
had touched an uncovered electric wire. Ouch,
that hurt. Was
it coming from the material?
He tried again. But this
time the man reached out with his left arm and stopped him. He made a
face as if in great pain and said some strange words. His voice was
nice, but rather high for a grown man of that size. The way the man
spoke, urgency and tone of the voice together with the mimic, was
enough so that Jason understood that the man didn't want to be
touched.
"Look, don't be
scared. I'm only trying to help you!" Jason noticed that the man
had closed his eyes again and seemed to be sleeping. OK, so he
wouldn't touch him. Who knew what would happen if he did while the
man wasn't really aware of what was going on around him. The wound
didn’t seem to be bleeding anymore too, so Jason just fetched the
blanket he had brought from home and put it over the man.
He pulled a chair closer
and simply watched the sleeping man for some time. What
kind of "ball" was that back in the forest? Has this man
come out of it? Is this an extraterrestrial even and the ball his
spaceship? Well, he didn't
look like an alien to Jason.
After some time, Jason got
up and made himself something to eat. Looking at his watch, he
noticed that it was after lunchtime already. He hadn't had a full
breakfast and was very hungry. However, with all that had happened,
Jason had not felt hungry until he started to eat.
As the man seemed to be OK
for the moment, he decided to go and check the outside of the lodge
for any immediate repairs. He had checked a bit last night but with
the torchlight hadn't seen much. A
hurt man on my bed won’t stop me!
*
Marq
heard the door close again. Now he was finally alone. He tried to
remember what had happened. The last thing he remembered was that he
was in the ship, trying to get some wires attached and that it got
hot and then – black.
He faintly remembered too,
that there was a big thud. He guessed that it had not been possible
for his friends to keep the ship out of the gravitation field of the
"forbidden" planet. They must have been too close already
when he had thought about checking on the wires. As result of all of
this, the ship must have crashed on the surface of the planet they
were trying to avoid. It was the only explanation he could think of
right now.
The next thing he could
remember was smoke that burnt in his lungs, that his right side hurt
and he couldn't move that arm. Somehow, he had gotten out of the
ship. It was a shock. He had no idea what would expect him. All he
wanted was to get out of the smoke, not caring if the outside
environment would kill him instantly too.
What he saw then, he only
could describe as big brown sticks, in different thickness, some as
tall as a house, all around. Those sticks had little winking green,
yellow and red little things hanging on them, mostly high up. The
ground was covered with those little things too. In some places he
spotted those sticks in miniature. Feeling the heat of the ship in
his back and afraid it might explode, he went around one of those
sticks to take cover. Then everything went black for him again.
Slowly, he could recall
more of the following events. It was a mixture of images, sounds and
smells that he could sort out bit by bit and form into a storyline.
He could remember clearly
enough everything from sitting on the ground right up to the point of
this "man" leaving the place he was in now. He recalled the
next moments:
After he had slumped behind
that big stick, he, more automatically than really thinking about it,
had started to stop the bleeding on his side. He kept waking up and
going into that blackness repeatedly.
During the moments he was
more awake, he checked on where he was and what it was doing to him.
He was leaning against that stick that he had gone behind, with his
back propped to it.
The surface he was sitting
on was partly covered with those little things hanging from the
sticks, mainly in red, yellow and brown hues and they felt soft to
his touch.
He took a careful deep
breath, consciously sucking the air in to catch the smell and other,
maybe dangerous, substances. At least the air seemed to be suitable
for him. He had heard of people dying because they got into a
poisonous environment the way he did. He felt relived that he was
still alive, even if hurt.
He would take care of the
wounds in a moment. He let out a sigh and tried to concentrate with
closed eyes on stopping the pain and finding all other damages in his
body.
The next shock was when he
suddenly was being pulled up. That hurt unexpectedly and he
instinctively tried to fight back. Before he could actively do
anything though, everything went black around him.
It couldn't have been for
too long, as he could feel that this "thing" was touching
him again and uttering some sounds too. Well, at least it was an
intelligent life form and somehow he could feel that it meant no
harm.
He opened his eyes a little
to check on what that "thing" was and recognized it as a
"man". It looked and moved similar to his own kind. He was
relieved it didn't seem to be a wild animal that simply was having
him as dinner.
He allowed this "man"
to take him along to wherever that would be. It would be good to be
away from a maybe exploding spaceship for a while. He kept drifting
in and out of the blackness. Whenever he was more conscious, he tried
to put some weight on his own feet to aid the "man", who
was still more dragging than carrying him. He leaned heavily with his
healthy side on the right shoulder of the "man", his own
right arm dangling painfully at the side.
They were going in a rather
straight line, passing more of those sticks.
After what seemed ages to
him, they reached a structure and went inside.
The "man" laid
him on a raised, flat surface. He was going to touch him on the
wound. Marq had send out a protection field as a warning, but only
very short. The "man" pulled his hand away and didn't touch
him again. Inwardly Marq smiled, as this was another sign that this
"man" was intelligent. Instead, he now covered him with
something.
Marq ignored this and tried
to concentrate on healing the wound and sort out what was wrong with
the arm. He kept his eyes closed, breathing evenly. He heard that the
man was pulling something closer and then sitting down on it.
Still, he should better do
as if he was asleep. He wasn't sure if the "man" was afraid
of him or just curiously watching him. After a while, he heard this
man moving about and finally going outside through the opening they
had come in.
Marq relaxed more.
Now
he was here, alone, hurt, and had time to sort out how to continue.
Well, this planet might be
forbidden, but it isn't immediately deadly either.
Marq
slowly opened his eyes and had a first look around.
It was rather dark inside.
There were openings in the walls with light coming in too. Of what
material the structure was made of, he couldn’t define right away.
After some time, comparing
what he saw to what he knew, he could recognize it as a kind of
dwelling place. There was heat coming from one place and lifting his
head a bit he could see that the heat emanated from an open fire
confined to a separate space in the wall.
It all looked rather low
standard for a living place. Well, some of the "lower"
people on his home planet (by
definition of his father they were lower than the nobles he
"belonged" to, not by his)
had lived like this too. That
was before I took care of it against the will of my father.
Lifting his head didn’t
hurt his side as much as he thought it would, so he tried to get up.
Just in that moment, the "man" came back in.
*
"Oh,
so you're awake again." Jason greeted the man, already sitting
up half way, with a smile and a friendly voice. He was bringing in
some wood to keep the fire burning overnight. So far, he couldn't
find any repairs that needed his attention. It left enough time for
him to get to know this stranger better and think about what to do
with him. Hurt as he was, Jason didn't want to throw him out of the
lodge when he left tomorrow.
Marq tried to communicate
with the man. "I need to go back to the ship to see if it can
start again and what has happened to my friends. You know in which
direction it is."
He was going to add some
more, but seeing the puzzled face of the "man", he realized
that he didn’t understand his language.
Jason did hear that the man
was saying something to him, but he couldn't understand one word of
it. If it was a language at all, with all those strange sounds in
between. It didn't sound like any he had heard before.
Both looked at each other
for a moment, thinking about this, when Marq started to make signs
with his healthy hand to make the other understand what he wanted.
Jason understood that this
man wanted to tell him something and that it seemed important. But
those movements he made with his one arm? He just couldn't figure out
what the man wanted.
Eventually, as the other
kept repeating the signs, Jason went over to the cupboard, took a
paper and pen they always had in there and put it on the table,
pulling the chair closer. He helped the man, who was starting to get
up anyway, onto the chair and gave him the pen. Maybe
he can write down what he wants.
Marq realized that his
signs had no meaning to the man and when he had finally decided to
simply get up to go to the ship alone, the man went over to a thing
in front of one wall and took something out, placed it on the higher
structure standing in the middle of the room and pulled the seating
device closer. Then he came closer to him and pushed or moved him
over to what he had prepared and put something in his hand.
Puzzled, Marq sat down and
slowly realized that the man wanted him to write down what he wanted.
So, he took that small stick that was used as pen and made a few
signs on that piece the man had put on the table.
When he looked up, Marq saw
that the man still didn't understand.
He sighed. So,
treat him like a child that can’t read yet.
He made a rough drawing of the spaceship and two persons, one partly
carrying the other and made an arrow line from them to the ship.
Jason's face brightened up.
Now he understood. This man wanted to go back to that silver ball. It
seemed to be important and he wanted him to help him. "Sure,
I'll show you were that ball is and help you get there. I hope you
feel strong enough for it!" he said to the man.
Marq saw that the other now
understood and said something to him. Though now, it was his turn of
not understanding any of the sounds this man made. This
will be hard for both of us. There is a basis for communication at
least. Both could use speech
and with simple drawings make them understand each other. He smiled.
With time, they would learn.
Jason
took a small scarf out of a drawer and, after some resistance from
the man, put it as a sling around the man's neck and the right arm
through this.
Marq at first was surprised
that this man was touching him again, but then realized that he
wanted to do something for the arm. Oh,
well, let him do it; but it sure isn't necessary.
Without making a sound although it hurt to have this man move the
arm, he let Jason finish binding the arm close to the body for
stability.
Oh, now I understand
what is wrong with my arm! Marq's
face brightened up. I must
have broken it. This man recognized that so easily! The bandage won’t
heal it though, so I will take care of that later in a quiet moment.
Both went out of the lodge,
with Jason leading. Marq walked on his own, feeling slightly dizzy
for some moments. He made sure the other didn't notice though. He
wanted to be independent and avoid the man to keep having to touch
him to aid him to stay upright.
When they got close to the
area, where the ship was shimmering through the trees, Marq, now
forgetting everything else, started to run toward it.
"Be careful! You're
hurt, don't forget that!" Jason called after him and started to
run as well. But when he reached the ball, the man was nowhere to be
seen. Jason walked around the ball and there was an opening now.
Before, he was so sure, it had not been there. He went closer and put
his head through.
When
Marq had reached the ball, he mentally activated the opener. That
still works, so there is still energy left.
Relieved, he went inside. The sight shocked him. His friends were in
their seats, both as burnt black forms. Nothing else resembled what
they once had been. He slumped to the floor for a moment in total
disbelieve. How have I come
out of this nearly unhurt? Maybe because I have been in that small
compartment?
Marq quickly got up, when
he heard that man come closer, and kept his emotions concealed. With
a quick check on some switches, he realized that the engine –
actually most of the ship – were so damaged that he couldn’t
start it just like that. This would require a longer repair and thus
a longer stay on this "forbidden" planet.
Oh, well, no way to change that now!
Marq saw that the "native"
was inside, seemingly shocked and staring at the burnt bodies. Marq
didn't care for him or his impressions right now. Instead, he
searched for things that could be useful for survival here and other
undamaged things that might be of value as well. He found a seemingly
intact food package and some minor medicines.
Actually, he didn't need
those for himself. They had been for his friends. And as long as he
was with them, they too had no need for them. He could heal them like
he healed himself. Marq had inherited the healing ability from his
mother. With a sad grin, he realized that now they did not need his
abilities. There was nothing he could do for them anymore.
He also found a small bag
of tools. Something like this
can always be helpful. He
found a small computer. Maybe he could use that to communicate with
the native. What he couldn’t activate though and had been one of
his main intentions was the long range emergency call. No one back
home would know that the ship had crashed and where it was now. Soon
the ones back home might start to miss the information they were
supposed to send back regularly.
Jason's
first reaction after stepping inside and getting accustomed to the
dim light was shock. There were two more persons, but both burnt
black. What a horrible death.
He slowly looked around. He noticed the man moving around swiftly,
checking and picking up things and putting them into something like a
belt on the suit he was wearing. So,
this is really a spaceship.
But, if this is a spaceship,
the military radar will have seen it too and they are on their way
here now. This man is an alien and in even greater danger than he was
by the crash itself.
With this realization,
Jason went into action. He called over to the man: "Hey, we
better get out of here and back to the lodge. Maybe it's even better
to get away from this place as far as we can and that rather fast
too. The army is coming and I don't want think about what they will
do with you, when they find you!"
Marq
noticed the native saying something and it seemed to be important and
he also noticed the motions the man made, pointing outside. Well, he
was finished in here. Only his friends needed a proper burial. He
went over to them and started to lift one up when the native pulled
him on the healthy arm toward the door.
"We don't have time
for this. Sorry, I know how you feel about it. But this is something
we just don’t have time for. Hurry up!" Jason pulled the man
out urgently and he reluctantly came along.
Whatever it is, this man
is very concerned about it. And I'm part of it.
Marq followed the man, but he kept looking back at the ship. He
should go back very soon and bury those bodies. He mentally turned
the switch that closed the door. No
one else should disturb the death place of my friends until I can
take care of their physical leftovers.
By the time they reached
the lodge, it was getting dark.
Jason was still worried. If
the army really came to investigate, they would know this lodge is
close, too close for the crash to have gone unnoticed. They surely
would come and check if anyone was here: either as a witness or as a
hidden alien. He was restlessly watching the other put the things
from the ship on the table and then drop on the bed.
Jason did not relight the
fire. A small lantern was all the light they would have right now. He
felt that it was better that no one could see or later notice that
they had been here after the crash.
Marq felt exhausted. His
situation was far worse than he had first thought. Maybe it would
have been better he had died in the ship too; like his friends. He
felt sorrow for the way their lives had ended. This
is not a death one can go into prepared.
It happened all too fast and
unexpected.
What disturbed him about
the situation right now though was that this other man was so
nervous. Something else seemed to be wrong. Something that he didn't
understand, but might have to do with the "forbidden"
planet. He tried to ignore him and concentrated on healing the wound
in his side and the broken arm. He was very exhausted and couldn't
fully concentrate. He tried anyway. He sighed that it didn't work as
easily as he was used to. It
must be because of the exhaustion and emotional turmoil.
Jason paced all over the
lodge, pondering their situation and finally made a decision. They
would not stay here the whole night. The
sooner they left, the better.
Maybe, he could even be home with the stranger before the army found
out whom this lodge belonged to and that he had been here. Now he was
glad he had not left a notice at home. No "witness" that he
had been here.
He packed the food and
water bottles into the car and then wanted to pack the things from
the spaceship away too.
Marq jumped up and stopped
him before Jason even could touch the first item.
"Sorry! I thought you
were asleep. Listen, we need to go away from here. Please pack those
things in this box." Jason pointed at the box he had put on the
table. "And then you better put on my spare clothes. The ones
you are wearing are too strange to go unnoticed." With this, he
handed him jeans and sweater.
Marq didn't quite
understand what the man wanted from him.
Jason threw the clothes on
the bed and started to pick up an item from the table.
Marq interfered again. But
this time he understood that he was supposed to put his things into
the box. And the things this man had thrown on the platform he had
lain on? Maybe he was to put them on? They sure looked like the
things the man was wearing himself.
Suddenly, Marq realized
what was going on. They had to leave this place and that rather fast,
although he didn't understand the reason. He quickly put his things
in the box and tried to dress himself with those strange clothes. He
left his own on underneath. At least for the moment. He felt "safer"
this way. It was hard for him with only one arm and the man, noticing
his clumsiness, helped him a bit.
They left the lodge.
Jason made sure the fire
was out and the fireplace cold; all lanterns were out and windows
closed as if prepared for winter. He wanted it to look as if no one
had been here since the summer. In the last moment, he noticed the
sheet of paper on the table and grabbed it, putting it in a pocket of
his jeans.
He led the stranger to the
car and opened the side door motioning for him to get in.
Marq stood there dumbfound.
What was that thing he was supposed to get in?
Because he stopped, Jason
put his hand on the box the stranger carried, trying to take it from
the man.
Marq held on to it for a
moment, but then let go of it. This man was only helping and just
because he couldn’t talk to him in his own language didn't mean not
to trust him. At least for now it was the only thing he could do
anyway. As long as the man didn't seem to be threatening him
directly, he would do as he wanted him to. He then sat down in the
thing.
Jason closed the door, went
around the car and got on the driver seat. He started the engine and
the stranger seemed to be surprised and even a little scared as the
car moved first backwards and then forwards onto the road out of the
forest. Well, if this is an
alien – he certainly is not used to our technology.
Jason tried to explain what
he was doing. Seeing the look on the strangers face, he shut up
again. No use to talk about
such things right now. Once we can understand the language of the
other it will be better.
Jason continued the drive in silence.
For Marq it was a queer
feeling to be moving in this "thing". He realized very fast
that it was just a low developed vehicle. He had heard of similar
things being used in very ancient times on his home planet. That was
thousands of generations before him.
Just after they had reached
the highway, Jason could see a convoy of military cars and trucks
going into the opposite direction. He had been right. They had seen
the crash and now were searching for the UFO!
*
Jonathan
was irritated. Ever since they had called him over to the office in
the midst of his work yesterday, he felt as if something was going
on. Something important for sure; or why would they want his advice?
He had nothing to do with military things or politics. He was just a
simple scientist that had once said the there could be life on other
planets as well. Such planets had been discovered just recently; but
all so far away, that there was no means of ever going to them or
even sending an unmanned probe and it sending any results back within
one man’s lifetime.
So, what was all this about
then? As far as he had been told, an UFO had been detected in Earth
orbit and it was coming closer fast. And then this morning, he got
news that it actually had landed. The observers had followed its
course and estimated where it had landed. Now, they were all going
there.
Jonathan didn't like this
aggressive military way at all. He had told that to the officials and
they only laughed. However, if there really were "aliens"
on that UFO, this military procedure would certainly scare them and
could even make them react hostile instead of friendly. Or so he
believed it to be like.
He didn't really know what
aliens would be like. He just hoped they would be better than the
humans on Earth. If they were so advanced, compared to here, in their
technology to go over such long distances between the stars, they had
to be more advanced in their "behavior" too. That was his
strongest believe ever since he had gotten interested in this subject
of life on other planets. The
way we live here on this planet can't be the way it was meant to be.
This, he and his wife had always tried to teach their children too.
He still felt irritated and
it got worse when he realized the convoy was going into the direction
where his summer lodge was. When they turned off the highway into the
street that went to the forest, he was sure. It was near his summer
lodge.
He had tried to call Jason
at home to tell him that he might not come home as planned on Sunday,
but Jason hadn’t answered the phone. He had asked if he could go
and check his son at home before going, but they refused.
Jonathan really hoped now
that Jason had not had the idea of going to the lodge for the
weekend. Although he very well might have gone there as the weather
was so fine.
He was worried that
something might have happened to his son and he had no means of
checking until this "expedition" was over.
When
they finally reached the forest, it was already very dark. So they
decided to only send in a few "spies" to check where
exactly the UFO was and the rest would camp for the night at the
forest edge.
For a moment, Jonathan
thought he had seen his car go in the other direction. But
my car is not that special at all. Maybe an old model, but nothing
special. It could have been any other car as well.
But still, he felt very uneasy about the fact that this was so close
to his summer lodge.
The military officials
didn't know that he had a lodge here and he hoped that they would
never find out. It would be possible though the way they
investigated. Then he would have to find a new place for summer. He
assumed that this forest would be "off limits" for very
long for everyone once they found an alien UFO here. Actually, he was
certain of this.
*
Jason
drove in silence. The man next to him seemed to be asleep again.
Well, it is better to sleep
now after this crash. He will recover faster when he sleeps. But I
really could use someone to talk to, just to keep me awake on this
monotonous night drive.
Finally, he decided to turn on the radio even if it might wake the
stranger.
It was news time right now
too. They reported about some UFO sightings. Now Jason was sure he
had done the right thing, leaving the site of the crash as fast as
possible with the stranger. He knew from his father, the reports and
movies on TV how "evil" aliens would be treated once
captured and he didn’t want this to happen to the man next to him.
He didn't look dangerous at all and he didn't behave like an "enemy"
of the human race either. Jason was sure that the ideas of his father
were the better ones. The idea that aliens are "better"
than humans.
Marq
woke, hearing voices. They sounded electronic. He opened his eyes and
realized they were still in the vehicle. He didn't know how much time
had passed and he still felt so weak. Well, he hadn't had any food or
drink since…
He couldn't remember since
when. And his arm and side still hurt. He hasn’t had any chance yet
to make a proper healing attempt. And the voices! They came from the
front of the vehicle. This man seemed to listen to them. Then the
voices stopped and strange sounds came instead.
Jason
liked that song and turned the radio up a bit after a quick side
check on his passenger. He was awake but looked, well, sick. "Do
you want to make a stop and eat something? There is a restaurant
ahead" he asked and the same moment realized that he couldn't
really go with the stranger in there. They would have to wait until
they got home.
Seeing that the stranger
was trying to sleep again, he turned the music softer and went silent
again. But what will I do once
we get home? This kept
Jason's mind busy for a while. Maybe he could ask his father how to
proceed in this case. One thing was certain: he would not hand this
man over to the military forces for investigations on aliens.
Marq listened to the
sounds, but couldn't find any sense in them. The man seemed to ask
him something; then changed his mind again. Yes,
that communication problem is one of the first things after healing I
will have to solve. He must
learn to understand this man. And maybe the whole species as they
only seemed to communicate through loud speech.
He had tried to ask the man
questions with his mind or at least read what the other was maybe
thinking as well as talking. But it was blank to him and the man
didn't seem to notice him in his mind at all.
He sighed and closed his
eyes again, allowing himself to drift back into a half sleep. As long
as the situation didn't change, he would have nothing to do but be
concerned about his health and recovery right now.
It was after midnight when
Jason reached home – now it
is my home – a safe harbor
for him at this moment after that exciting day. He drove the car into
the garage with lights turned off and softly woke the man, putting
his finger over the mouth to show him to be quiet. One thing Jason
certainly wanted to avoid: waking the neighbors in the middle of the
night and seeing him come home with someone they didn't know.
Marq understood that they
had arrived and that he was to be quiet. That gesture was simple and
effective. He had to smile at that. Some things seem to be universal
after all. He got out and only leaned the door close. He followed the
man into this new structure. It was more like what he would call a
place for living than the one they had been in first. He certainly
would have to learn a lot about these people and the planet.
Jason was thinking where to
place the man now, while he opened the door. The only place he could
"hide" him until he had talked with his father, was his own
room. Well, for the first night it would be OK. His father wouldn't
be home now. So he led the man upstairs into his room and showed him
his bed and gestured him to lay down on it. He would sleep on the
couch downstairs tonight.
Then he had a queer
thought. "Do you need to go to the toilette? I’ll show you
where it is" and in his mind he added: and
I'll have to show you how to use it, I guess.
Marq understood that he was
to use this platform right now and he gladly went to it. The man
asked him something and had blushed slightly at it, gesturing that he
wanted him to show something else before he lay down.
Curious, he followed into a
small room that felt cold. The man seemed to try to explain to him
how to use the objects that were in this room. Marq shook his head.
This sign he had so far recognized as a sign of denial.
He went back to the room
with the platform and lay down. Whatever it was the man was trying to
explain, he didn’t care. He would simply lie down and rest, and do
the necessary healing right now.
He wasn't interested in
learning anything new at the moment. Nor if anything could be
dangerous for him. He felt safe with this man around and his place.
Anything else would have to wait until later.
He closed his eyes, not
caring anymore about what was going on around him, concentrating on
himself. It was really the most important thing now. He simply had to
trust that everything was going to be OK.
Jason had tried to explain
how all those things in the bathroom worked. He didn't know if the
"alien" would understand or even needed any of it. But he
could have talked to a wall. The stranger shook his head and went
back to the bed, lay down closing his eyes and was very still now.
Jason sighed and covered
the stranger with a blanket. This, the man didn't seem to notice
anymore. He went to his parents' bedroom and took a blanket and
pillow from there downstairs with him to the couch in the living
room.
He wouldn't sleep in his
parents' bed, although that surely would have been more comfortable.
Very tired after that long
day, Jason fell asleep fast. In the very back of his mind though, he
had a strange thought: what if
the alien only waits until I'm asleep, then attack and even kill me?
No!
He pushed that thought very far away. This
alien is not like the ones in the movies!
He could and would trust
him as much as the alien trusted him.
 |
| Drawn in 2007 as illustration sketch to the novel. |
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