Under an alien sky, p.3
Under an Alien Sky, page 3
“She certainly has a good question. Better yet, just what are going to do about it?”
Captain Richard Kincaid stuttered; his professional composure shattered. “Poss...possibly we should wake a few others...to...to...verify this. Don't you think?” He paused. When he spoke again, he seemed to be talking to himself, forgetting the others. “I don't understand. What's going on? How in hell am I supposed to explain this? God, what's happened to us? Waking everyone is probably the best idea…Yeah, yeah…let everyone see for themselves. There’ll be so many questions! And I don’t have answers.”
“Richard?!”
“What? Oh, sorry.” Kincaid cleared his throat, and after glancing at his watch, waved a hand at his sleeping charges. “We’d better wake everyone. It will be dawn soon. What time do you have, Michael?”
“Six-oh five. That’s Pacific Time…on earth.” He emphasized the last. “I don’t believe our watches are much use now.”
Kincaid started, uttered a soft, “Right” as he began to walk away, but before he could take another step, Michael put a hand on his arm.
Nodding at the sleeping passengers, Michael said, “Hold off for a bit. People will deal with this better in daylight. It looks like the moons are just rising; they’ll still be visible in a couple of hours. Let people sleep until it gets light. It won’t be quite so frightening in daylight.”
“You’re right…you’re absolutely right. I should’ve thought it through.” Kincaid’s gaze darted around the ravine. He ran a hand through his hair, sweeping non-existent strands back from his face. “Alright, we’ll hold off for a while. I hope I don’t end up with a screaming panic on my hands.”
Remembering Kyla, the airline pilot turned to her. “Okay young lady, uh, what’s your name?
“Kyla.”
“We’re going to wait on this, and you understand the reasons for it, don’t you?”
“Yes sir. But I don’t understand how we got here.”
“Neither do I.” He viewed the moons once more before turning toward the other man. “I hope to God someone has some better answers than I do. Everything I've trained for just got blown to Hell!”
Kyla’s legs stopped holding her up. She slid to the ground, pressing close against the rock, her fingers clutching their stable, embedded strength.
The bright wash of moonlight was electric on her skin. The trio of moons was beautiful, yet so very alien in appearance. Only now did she notice there were more than just those three. Circling with the two smaller ones was a field of smaller fragments, perhaps a fourth moon which shattered some distant eon in the past. The debris, caught in the biggest moon's gravitational pull, formed an uneven necklace strewn across its face. Kyla raised her hands and extended her arms; thumbs together with fingers spread wide, she could not cover the width of the three celestial bodies.
Cold star fire blazed everywhere in the dark sky! Massive patches blazed with a myriad of glittering stars, strewn across the heavens in exuberant handfuls like an artist throwing paint on canvas. Hungrily she followed each cloud as it cleared from a section, waiting for each reveal.
As she studied the strange stars, an agonizing chill slowly crawled through her, settling in her core. Gone was everything she knew or had ever wanted. Just gone. Closing her eyes, Kyla forced herself to think. I will not panic. Aunt Elva said when things go wrong; you do three things. Check to see if you’re hurt. Check to see if others around you are all right. Then do whatever it takes to survive. She opened her eyes and stared back at the alien moons.
Now its survival, pure and simple.
The stars were fading with the dawn into a gentle bluing sky as Captain Kincaid woke his crew. Minutes passed while they talked and gestured; their conversations animated. Kyla noticed two of the men left and slipped through the ravine opening, disappearing out into the world beyond their small haven.
People were stirring from their hard beds, stretching stiff muscles in the damp sea air. The cabin crew fanned out among them, stopping at each waking group. The Captain made his way through the crowd, occasionally stopping to wake someone or speak with those who clutched at him. Voices rose and even a scream, awakening even more.
On the verge of getting up and finding Anne, Kyla noticed the nurse moving purposely through the crowd. Finding Kincaid, she stopped him. Their heads were close together, but Anne was doing most of the talking. A family stood blocking her view, and when they moved both Anne and the Captain were gone.
Kyla heard a voice, muttering. Curly dark hair fashionably cut and disheveled; a young man sat not far away, his slight body rocking. He stared intently at the moons, his lips moving and his fluttering hands framing the sight. He jumped to his feet, and his gaze fell on Kyla.
“What an amazing sight!” He pointed to the sky. “Three moons? Unbelievable! Although, the big one does have a nice glow about it, doesn't it. Not cold, mind you, but soft, warm reds and gold tones and look at all those meteor hits. Interesting. But this is just ridiculous, isn’t it? This whole situation I mean. I’m sorry. Do I know you? No? My name is Patrick Szabo.” As he spoke, the young man grabbed her hand and after pumping it vigorously walked away leaving Kyla staring at his back in bewilderment.
The man named Michael stood at the edge of the crowd. He appeared to be looking for a way through the milling mass but spotting Kyla; he made his way to her.
“Mind the company?” He brushed accumulated sand and wood from his shirt, innocently showering her with the debris.
She nodded. “I'd enjoy someone to talk to right now.”
He sat and leaned back against the rock, sighing as he closed his eyes. “I needed to sit and rest for a while.”
“Please,” she said, touching his arm to draw his attention, “I want to thank you for helping us.”
“For what?”
“You helped carry the sick lady last night. And I think you kept most of the fires going during the night, too.”
“No big deal on either one. I’m Michael Tallin.” His gaze was out into the ravine now, watching movement.
“Kyla Anderson.”
He turned to look at her, “And how is the patient this morning?”
“To be honest, I don’t know. I don’t know a thing about nursing. She seemed to sleep most of the night, I think.” Self-conscious about her lack of social skills, she started to rise. “I left Anne alone. You know, maybe I better go check in with her. She might need help.”
“I wouldn't worry too much about it. If Anne really needs you, you're not too hard to find. I'm sure she can get all the help she needs.” He smiled; his brown eyes framed by a thick fringe of lashes, carried easy humor in their depths.
“No, I guess not.” Kyla found it hard to look away. His was a pleasant face, open and warm, and the description ruggedly handsome popped in her head. Kyla gestured at the people around them. “So now what?”
Lifting his head, he eyed the moons now dipping out of sight behind the rock barrier nearest the sea.
Shrugging, “Offhand, I’d say your guess is as good as mine. But, we’ve got three moons. When you could see between the clouds last night it was obviously a different star pattern.” He closed his eyes again and sighed. “I think we’re on our own. The last time I paid attention to the space program, we were only doing shuttles. And maybe a couple of probes doing fly-bys. NASA and the others doing space stuff don’t have the capability to get here, wherever here is, in the first place. I think the concept of a rescue is out of the question.”
Kyla frowned, “So how'd we get here?”
He shrugged again, “I’m no scientist. What are the latest Sci-Fi concepts being bandied about lately: wormholes, teleportation, a portal, cryogenic sleep?”
“I felt sick when I woke. Maybe we were drugged. I wonder how long.”
“Our watches say two days, but it could’ve been months, years.”
“Years! I don’t feel older.”
A slight smile tugged his lips as he leaned back against the rock. “Neither do I. Whoever or whatever brought us here, did so with a reason. Whether we like it or not, we'll have to wait and see what develops. Who knows, maybe they'll return us.”
It was sobering to have someone speak about it so pragmatically; however, his statement about being returned intrigued her. Their conversation stuttered and drifted away as they sat in companionable silence, physically close but their thoughts millions of miles away.
Her calm acceptance surprised even her. People would weep and lament the loss of their former lives, but in the end, nothing would change.
Life on this world is now my reality. Dead issue. Life goes on. We will still be here…wherever here is. One minute we’re going about our lives and the next…we’re sitting here staring at an alien sky in horror. Her tiny, internal voice whispered again, Is it really such a horror?
Kyla squashed the thought, forcing it back into the depths of her mind. Like some small worm relying on instinct, it began inching out into the open and the light.
Chapter 4
The sunrise was a double-edged issue; offering warmth and light but providing further proof they were no longer on Earth. Hot white and smaller, its radiance was far more intense than the one they had known.
“Listen up people.” Kincaid’s voice rebounded from the walls and voices stilled. “We’re in trouble. You all know it. You’ve seen the moons, now the sun; the ramifications are pretty clear. Somehow we’ve been transported to this place.”
Close to Michael, a thirty something woman with a quavering voice, asked, “Nobody’s coming for us, are they?”
“I seriously doubt it. We are on our own.” He spoke flatly, without tone or emotion as he continued to scan the face turned toward hm.
“I demand you find out who is responsible for this!” A man yelled.
Those closest didn’t even bother to look at him, most just shaking their heads. It hadn't sunk in for some yet.
Kincaid ignored the speaker. “We’re going to need to work together to get through this. We need food and water, and a decent shelter. I want to divide people into three teams. Probably the ocean will be our best bet for food, at least for the time being. You there, biologist, do you think you can find something we can eat?” The marine biologist nodded.
“Good. We’ll need teams for shelter and firewood. Until we find something better, this is home. Divide yourselves into one of the three groups. Shelter, assemble here. Firewood, over there. Food over there by Mr. Devlin. Women with infants or those unable to do physical labor, stay here. It will be your job to keep the fires going.”
Someone in the crowd asked, “What about water?”
“I've already got people working on it. Okay, let's get going.”
He walked to his crew, standing to one side as the passengers sorted themselves into whatever group they wanted. Michael made his way to the firewood group. The people assembled there were milling, and their faces lit up as Captain Kincaid approached.
The Captain asked, “Ready to get to work?” A small murmur responded, and he waved at the entrance to the ravine. “Let's go.”
Michael’s heart sank as he followed the others out the gap between the rocks.
God help us! We’re just gathering firewood, and they're standing around waiting for someone to tell them what to do.
Several hours later Kyla found herself kneeling over a tide pool. Her objective at the moment was a cluster of mussels tenaciously clinging in a rocky crevice. Unsuccessful in her attempt to wrench them off, she only succeeded in scraping her knuckles. She swore under her breath at the offending mussels, sucked the blood and grit from the cuts, then picked up a pointy rock and bashed it against their base. With a few direct hits, the mass of shells lost their grip.
The gray of yesterday’s storm was now a bright day with a green, low swell driven sea. The moons had dipped below the ocean’s horizon leaving behind a warming sun and a cloudless, vivid blue sky.
Kyla glanced at the meager pile of blue-black shells beside her. We’re billions of miles from earth, and here we find mussels? Her stomach audibly reminded her why she was here and twisting another shell free she dropped it on the growing pile.
The tide was out now, way out. Several rock formations once covered by yesterday’s crashing waves now stood twenty feet out of the gently lapping water. The marine biologist was only allowing them to harvest shellfish, mollusks and small fish they might trap in tide pools. Devlin found mussels he thought would be edible. Hidden in crevices, they weren’t easily accessible. Below the normal waterline, a slick, slimy algae coated water-worn rocks making footing slippery, and a rank odor rose as the exposed algae warmed in the sun.
From her view on the tiny, now exposed peninsula, the entirety of the beach was laid out before her; the high sand and gravel dunes at the base of the cliff, the sweep of packed sand and the now uncovered rocks and tidal pools. The beach was now pristine smooth from the high tidal surge.
What if we hadn't wakened on our own? Would the water have awakened us, or would we be washed by the waves and drowned? She shuddered.
Soon after they spread themselves across the rocks in search of food, a feminine shrill squeal brought everyone’s head up. A dark haired woman sat waist-deep in a pool; her light colored outfit slimed with green.
Realizing the woman wasn’t injured, Kyla grinned and returned to her work. A chuckle rose behind her, and she swung around to see Jenni perched on a rocky outcropping above her. Jenni viewed the woman with a broad smile, her blue eyes sparkling.
Recognition flashed in Kyla’s mind. “Isn’t she...?”
Flipping an errant curl from her face, Jenni inadvertently left a stripe of algae in its place. “Our female lead, Ms. Gillian Mikkelson. Just add the word diva in capital letters behind her name.”
The two watched as the wet actress floundered out of the pool, rejecting and even slapping away helping hands. The woman marched purposefully up the dunes, away from the ocean.
“Couldn’t have happened to a more deserving person,” Jenni snickered as she clambered down on the rock beside Kyla. “She enjoys being the center of attention, but I don’t think getting slimed was in her plan. Maybe she'll have to become a human being, instead of a ‘goddess’ while we’re here. You think?”
She shook her head, her rich auburn curls bouncing. “The woman is unreal. She uses people.” Looking around, Jenni moistened dry lips. “I hope they find water soon. I'm so thirsty. I could, like…kill for some bottled water. Several bottles in fact. Do you think there is a town or something close by, roughing it for a couple of days is okay, y'know, but how long is this stranded scenario going to last? Have you ever been camping before, Kyla? Yuck, what a smell. I hope these mussel things don't taste bad. Have you eaten them before? Oysters, yes. I’ve seen them on menus, y’know, at really good restaurants. I really don’t think I’m going to like them.”
They worked for an hour building a good-sized pile between them. Jennie was in the midst of sharing her very original theory on how they got here when a scream ripped through the air.
Pain pulsated in the cry—excruciating pain mingling with the sound of thrashing water. The second, longer, undulating scream sent harvesters frantically scrambling over the rocks.
Glancing around, Kyla realized they were the farthest out on the rock and closest to the water line. Her heart pounding, Kyla retreated slowly with Jenni physically clinging to her. They almost made it atop the rock when the horror became visible.
A creature swam around the ocean side of the rock. Clenched firmly in its muzzle was a body, bloody limbs dangling limply. As the animal swam closer to their position, a wave created by it’s passing lapped noisily against the slick rocks. Glimpsing Jenni readying herself for a leap to another ledge, Kyla grabbed her.
Kyla breathed, “Don’t move. We’re too close.” She added, “If we run, it’ll see us. It may come after us, or there may be more.”
Beneath her restraining hand, Jenni trembled, fighting to control her natural instincts. Kyla understood what the other girl was feeling; all she wanted to do was get away from it too. As it closed on their location, they saw its victim was female her blood-drenched hair mercifully obscuring her face. Jenni moaned softly, and Kyla squeezed her hand.
Flat and thickly armored like a crocodile the head stretched at least seven feet. Uneven teeth jutted from a long snout. A thick neck held the animal's head erect above the body several feet above the water. It floated flatly on the surface; it's scaled tail snaked its way through the water in pronounced sweeps from side to side. The creature, circling the rock slowly, inspected the surface with bright yellow, saucer-sized eyes. The unfamiliar gaze touched on and passed over them. Not seeing what it wanted or perhaps satisfied with the results of its hunt, the creature turned toward the open sea and submerged. A red wake remained for a few seconds, dissipating in the next washing swell.
Cautiously Kyla stood; surprised her shaking legs supported her. She drew a ragged breath as she checked both sides of the rock. No more animals and they were the only ones left. Kyla cautiously retraced her steps to the lower ledge. She scooped up the batch of mussels they had gathered, placing them in her shirt.
Above, Jenni danced nervously, edging toward the beach. “What’re you doing? Let’s get out of here!”
“We worked hard for them. You keep watch.”
“You’re crazy! With those things…out here…you’re worried about some shells?” Jenni disappeared as she moved away, only her voice remaining behind.
“Come on Kyla. Hurry!”
Kyla dropped the last mussel into her shirt. After losing one life, she was determined not to waste them. She picked up even more abandoned mussels as she made her way back. Jenni deserted her, bolting as soon as she set foot on the water packed sand, running up the dune for the safety of the group. Kyla followed, joining the rest of the gathering team on the dunes below the cliffs.
Breathless from running the length of the beach, Captain Kincaid reached the horrified and somewhat hysterical gathering just about the same time Kyla did. People clutched at him, battering him with words. He had to shout several times before the crowd quieted enough to hear him. He spoke words no one wanted to say.
