Chapter 21: Quite the Hello
It was a calm day on the beach, the wind was gently, the sun was hot. It was pretty much perfect inside the hidden little cove in the middle of the tropics. A family of four were spending the day at the small, hidden beach. It was their favorite go to spot when then needed a break from their normal, busy life. They had drove their range rover right onto the sand from the hidden road that was covered in heavy brush and unpacked a variety of items for the day.
The parents were enjoying some cold drinks from their cooler under the protection of a large umbrella while their two children happily played in the shallow waters in front of them. The warm tropical waters were known to produce a shark or two from time to time, so both parents watched the waters for such predators, but knew that they did not have to worry much. A shark attack was almost unheard of around these parts.
So they continued to chat with one another, talking about their lives and solving small, house hold problems while they did. It was a good day and ones that they cherished. It was something that they attributes to their great marriage because it gave them time to talk, something that coupe did not seem to do much these days. They were either too busy trying to make money to put food on the table, or spending time with their 'work family' to have much energy left to put into their actual family.
So this couple had decided to break the meta and took steps to have a great life with one another. It had been a difficult journey to take, especially when both of them had found the courage to tell their families they were gay. It was a surprise to the two women when their parents had been extremely happy when they found out, wanting the two to be as happy as they could. Some of their friends had already known and were supportive, others were a bit shocked, but were understanding. There were hard times when society hit them with a figurative hammer, but they were both fighters, and it would take much more them that to break them down.
It was something they loved about one another, their strong will and ability to take the punches and then solve the problem with a black eye. It was why their marriage was so beautiful. They had decided they would make it so. As the two smiled at one another, they both felt loved and safe.
A scream from a child cut through the perfect moment like a knife through paper. The parents stood up quickly to see what was going on and noticed that both of their children had retreated from the water and were now sprinting towards them across the sand.
The two mothers ran to meet them half way, arms out stretched to receive their frightened children. Covered in tears, both of them ran to their mothers open arms and buried their faced deep into their chests.
"What is wrong Maria? What happened?" Asked one of the mothers. "Are you hurt?"
"Monster!" The child screamed. "In the water!" Alex looked up at her mother through the tears that were covering her eyes.
"O hija, there are no monst-" Her words were taken from her lips as she looked out over the crystal, clear blue waters of their oasis. Fear took her as she watched ten, twenty, no fifty black objects now occupying the blue water in front of them. She looked over and noticed that her wife's eyes were also locked onto the moving shadows. She scooped up her child and took a few steps towards the water, wanting to see if she could tell what they were.
The possibility of a school of manta rays came to mind, it would explain the larger shape and color. However, they didn't move right. They did not slowly 'fly' through the water as a normal ray did, these seemed to sway back and forth like an sea snake. A snake the size of a shark. It made no sense! She took a few more steps towards the water with protest from her wife behind her.
"Come back love, I don't like this!" She heard over her shoulder. She turned to look at her love, seeing the concern on her face, and decided that she was probably right. She should not have taken that last glance at the water before she left, for when she did, a shadow that was the size of a large boat started to emerge from the deeper waters. Her breath was stolen by the fear that flooded her body.
"Mierda...what the hell..." She said to herself. Her question was answered the giant shadow began to break the surface of the water. It's skin was jet black, smoothed, and surrounded by sharp points. It was also the size of the jeep that was parked behind them. She watched, frozen in fear, when she saw the teeth. They must have been four or six inched long! They were inside the mouth of a head, but one that had no face. There were no other features other than those razor sharp teeth.
She heard a scream from behind but could not do anything about it, her body was not responding, shaking and trembling as if she had been caught in a blizzard. The creature started to come out of the water more and more, reviling the nightmarish body that carried the large crown. Her knees gave way, dropping her into the soft sand below. This was a thing of hell, a deamon! Her grandmother would always tell them stories as kids of the monsters that would get them if they did not listen to her. She had never really believed her, she was regretting that now.
The creature kept moving towards the beach, sloshing water out of its way as easy as if it was air. She could see the long, powerful tail that ended with a large blade, break the water's surface and began to sway back and forth. Some sort of spikes and tubes protruded from its back and looked like some strange form of flashy accessories.
Closer and closer it got to her, but something seemed off, it was as if it had not noticed her. Almost looking off into the forest past her. Just as the creature reached the beach, it stopped, looked around, then turned its gaze back to the water. Finding her courage, she jumped on the opportunity and got to her feet. She sprinted towards her wife, who was still holding their other child in her arms on the beach. She grabbed her hand and started pulling her towards the jeep, leaving all their beach items behind.
Opening the back door, she placed her child into the seat and with trembling hands, did the belt up around their lap. Once she knew her child would be ok, she closed the door and made her way inside the vehicle as well. Her wife was already inside the passenger seat after getting their other child in the back. She scrambling to do up her own seat belt. She went for the keys so she could start the jeep and get away from this nightmare that had shown up on the beach. That's when she realized, she was wearing a bikini, nothing more.
"MIERDA! Sophie, the keys!" She had left the keys on the beach towel they had been sitting on. " I have to go back!"
"Alex no!" She didn't have time to argue as she took off out the door and back towards the sand. She took nothing more than a moment and noticed that the three story creature was still looking out into the water, as if waiting for something. She didn't think on it for too long, she needed to get her family out of here, get them to safety. She shifted her gaze back to the large towel that was on the ground not more than twenty feet from her. She was going to make it!
She slid on the sand and came to a sudden stop next to the beach towel, the keys right where she had left them. She scooped them up and thanked god she was going to get out of here alive. It had been too early to make that prayer. The sound of a thunderous foot step beside her paralyzed her entire body, she didn't even noticed the screams of horror that came from the jeep. Something propelled Alex to slowly turn her head and see what was now standing beside her, even though she knew exactly what it would be.
Never the less, she turned, and less than ten feet from here, was that same mouth full of teeth that she had seen come out of the water. She could hear its heavy breathing, but noticed that it's stomach did not seem to move as it did. The black skin of the creature glistened in the mid-days light, and almost looked like it was made of obsidian. She could hear the sound of water hitting the sand as it stood there, staring at her.
It did not move a muscle, looking at her, almost analyzing her. She locked her gaze onto its face, that eyeless face that seemed to hypnotize her as she stared into it. Thankfully she was not so far gone as to not notice the second creature coming up behind the first one. This one was slightly smaller, but still stood two stories tall! It was a bit more slender and had some different body features. Perhaps a different sex? It didn't really matter, Alex had to do something before she was eaten or killed. The first creature still had not moved, and the second one was getting closer, so she decided to take her chances. She bolted for the car!
The sand was not easy to run on, but years of living near the beach gave her a bit of an advantage over any other human. However, not so much over the towering monster that she could hear making its way after her. She could make it, she had to make it. She was only a few feet from the jeep when she suddenly could not feel the ground beneath her feet and something wrapped around her waist. She looked down and saw the giant clawed hand that now held her as she was being pulled up into the air.
She stopped breathing and began to tremble, knowing that her life was probably about to end. As the hand turned her around to face her fate, her eyes shot wide as she came face to face with the daemon of the water. It was so black, it was almost not natural. What part of this really was? She looked deep into the eye-less face that was now only a few feet from her. Frozen in fear, thinking that she was about to be eaten. Thoughts of her wife and children ran through her mind, she hoped that they could somehow get away and live.
Alex started at the beast for a moment...then for a few more...then what seemed like too long. Something was strange about this animal, like it didn't know what to do with her now that it had her. Her breathing began to slow down with each second that nothing happened. She decided to take a chance, she wanted to help her wife get away. He kept her eyes locked onto the monster as she called out.
" Sophie...take the kids and run! Get out of the jeep and go before it notices you." She only hoped that Sophie heard her cry. As soon as she finished the desperate call, the monster looked passed her, down towards where her family now hid. Why had it looked that way? Had it understood what she had said? Something was strange, she was beginning to think that this was no ordinary animal. Not just some beast that was driven by feral instincts. She watched as the animal looked from the jeep, back to her, and then did something she did not expect. It set her down.
Confusion took over, she had no idea what was going on! Was she about to be killed or not? She wished either option would just hurry up and happen already. Even stranger still, what when the three story tall creature started to draw in the dirt. Using its enormous claws to cut deep into the soft soil right beside her. She stood still as it had brought it's face closer to her in order to complete its doodling. She froze again, not wanting to provoke the animal when its teeth were so close. She still had trouble taking her eyes off of where its eyes should be. It was as if the darkness was pulling her inside.
After a while of her not dying, she decided to take a look at what it was doing to the dirt. There were lines everywhere, cutting this way and that. It didn't seem to make much sense, there was no pattern to it at all. She noticed that the monster looked to her, then to the scribble, then back to her.
"What the hell is going on?" She thought to herself. The fear that she had been feeling was slowly being replaced with confusion. That, and if she wasn't eaten by now, she might not actually be on the menu. She watched as again the animal looked to her, then to its scratching, then to her. Alex again looked to the ground where the dirt and sand had been disturbed and took a moment. Something started to seem familiar about the lines it had create. She couldn't quite put her finger on it.
"O god..." She whispered as she realized what had happened. She kept her eyes on the ground, but walked around to be in line with the gaze of the creature that towered before her. Things started to line up and form symbols, symbols that were very human. Alex's English was not that of a medical doctor, but she was rather fluent in it. The word 'HELLO' was rather basic stuff.
Had...had this thing just written her a message?! With her one eye brow raised she turned to face the beast that was still behind her. She waited a moment, out of fear or confusion, she did not know. Thankfully the monster moved first, taking its claws once more to the soft earth.
"LOOKING FOR JUNGLE." Alex watched as it wrote, in rather nice writing, in front of her. She read the message and then looked backed to its eyeless face. She simply raised a finger, pointing towards the hidden road that her and her family had taken into their secluded beach. Apparently it was enough for it because it raised back to its full height. This caused Alex to fall backward onto her rump, shocked by the sudden movement.
There was a moment of silence before the second large one, who was still a ways off, turned and faced the ocean. It looking out into its teal, blue waters, waiting for something. Alex watched as the black figures that she had noticed before, all turned and started making their way towards the beach. One after another, long, black domes all began to emerge from the waters of the ocean. Creature after creature made its way onto the beach, moving the sand with their large foot prints.
That's when Alex realized they were coming towards her and her family! Fearing that she had done something wrong, she sprinted towards the jeep and almost leapt inside. Sophie was there and gave her a rather disappointed look. Alex would get a scolding later, she knew that. However, it got her the keys they needed to now get away. She focused on that, her hand making her way to the ignition. Suddenly the jeep jerked back, then forward, causing everyone to be thrown about. A large, clawed foot them slammed into the hood of the vehicle as one of the monsters made its way overtop of them.
That is when Alex looked out her side window and noticed all the smaller animals running past, they did not caring for the family that was cowering in the car. They seemed focused on something, something else that was off in the distance. They flew past with great speed and purpose, disappearing into the vegetation in a flash. Some, staying low to the ground and shooting under the large leaves of various plants, others leaping onto the trunks of the trees that created the dense canopy. As they flew past, she could barely make out any details about them before they disappeared from view. Her head, whipping back and forth in attempts to track one long enough to make anything out. However, she jerked back when one of them suddenly stopped in front of the window. She felt Sophie reach over, grabbing her arm, and attempt to pull her away from the glass. In the small jeep, it did not do much to take her out of harm's way.
So they could only watch as it come within a few inches of the glass and it's lips began to pull back to revile its own set of razor sharp teeth. Suddenly it's head snapped to the side, as if something had threatened it, then it took off after the others. In an instant, the small one was replaced by the face of the much larger creature that had written in the dirt. It's head easily taking up the entire view through the thin glass.
"Extraterrestre!" Came a shout from their older child in the back seat, Jose. It was the tone of the boy that had both Sophie and Alex looked to one another. It was not fear or horror, but rather one of excitement. They turned back and looked to their child. He attempted to explain. "Remember mamá! The one from the news. He was in the city, trying to save his reina, his queen. But he ran away. They shot him!" Alex's eyes shot wide.
She had forgotten all about the incident involving the alien! It had been a few years ago, and it had been called a hoax quickly after. Someone had called it fancy computer graphics that had been create for a new movie. Other called it a conspiracy that the government was working on biological weapons. Alex and Sophie had both brushed it off as just another alien sighting that had made its way around the internet. Nothing more.
She reconsidered that now, as she looked into the featureless head of the creature that was now outside her jeep. This was definitely not a hoax! The things did exist and the attacks had happened. She remembered reading all about them when it had first happened. When it had first tried to talk to the police to locate it's mate who had been captured by some company. Then a while later, when it was seen sprinting along a highway, took out a building, then was hauled off after the military had hit it with a missile. She remembered, someone had thought it had been a human at one point, that this company had been playing with genetic manipulation.
She remembered someone coming forward with information about people that had gone missing. Some from across the sea in large towns of people. And how they had found out who this 'king' alien had been. What was the name again, she thought hard.
The large face of the creature did not wait, it gave one last huff of air in their direction and pulled out of view, making its way towards the jungle with thunderous steps that shook the jeep. It's mate was quick to come beside him. Suddenly Alex remembered! She quickly shot for the door handle and wriggled out of the grip of her wife. She hit the soft sand, recovered and took a few steps after the large beast.
"AMUN!" Alex yelled loud.
It took one last step before slowly turning back to look at the woman. That eyeless face piercing through to her soul.