Chapter 2
Two figures were emerging from the dust as they entered out little room. But they didn't look like any figures I've ever seen. My first thought was that the police had arrived to save us. But then I realised that the police don't have four legs. Nor do they have horns. Nor tails. The creature appeared to trot towards us on its four hooves. I gazed at it, mouth opening and shutting like a fish. It looked like some kind of small horse, or perhaps a deer. But it also had a somewhat humanoid torso and weak looking arms – like a centaur. What I'd thought were horns were actually bendable stalks with – I yelped – eyeballs on the ends! The stalk eyes were moving this way and that, clearly independent of each other. As the creature turned towards me, I got a clearer look at its face. If the creatures' chest and arms resembled a human, its face certainly didn't. The head was roughly triangular, with a slender neck. It had two further eyes in the middle of its face, large, glittering green and almond shaped. The nose appeared to be three short vertical slits. The ears were long and tufted, like a horses'. There was no mouth. I guess it didn't eat like we do. The whole creature was covered in bluish brown fur which was thicker on its horse like parts, and thinner and shorter on its face and torso. It wore no clothes, apart from a sash which seemed to hold an array of strange-looking handheld weapons. I glanced back at its face, which was now facing directly towards me. I felt a chill rush through me as we made eye contact. I thought the eye stalks were bad enough, but then I saw the tail. It was long and thick, like a muscular kangaroo's tail. It arched up over the creatures' head, poised and ready. On the end of this tail was a large, razor sharp blade at the end. The blade looked a little like a small, flat rhino's horn, but smoother, like the ivory of an elephant's tusk. I had no doubt that creature could do some serious damaged with that tail if it wanted to.
I glanced over at the others. Ferdie's eyes were wide open, unblinking. His brother still lay unconscious. The girl at the end was struggling to get a better view. "Oh My. Gawd!" she cried. It was the first time she had spoken. "What the 'ell is that!". The girl's voice was the complete opposite to Ferdie's – East London. Cockney. As I said, funny what you notice when you're staring at a four eyed, scorpion tailed, blue furred deer.
--Keep calm. Do not worry.-- A voice! The creature was speaking to us! But I couldn't hear its voice with my ears – I heard it in my head! Telepathy! The Cockney girl must have worked that out too, because I heard her screech,
"Blimey! It's speaking to me 'ead!" She looked at Ferdie. "Did you 'ear that voice in your 'ead?"
"Yes, I heard it. I 'eard it in me 'ead'!" Ferdie replied. I laughed at plumy Ferdie putting on a Cockney accent. Then I laughed again because I couldn't believe I found an unknown stranger taking the mick out of another stranger funny, whilst what seemed to be an alien stood by talking to our minds.
--Yes, I am speaking to you with my mind. A practice known as 'thought-speak'.-- The voice was low and profession, like an army major, or a doctor. It seemed to be male. He spoke again, addressing us all.
--I need to get you all out of here, otherwise you will die.--
Well, this guy was certainly wasting no time in getting straight to the point. He trotted over to a box on the wall next to me. He opened the plastic covering and typed something into a strange-looking keypad. Suddenly, the cuffs on my wrists snapped open! The alien pressed a couple more buttons, and all the cuffs on the other guys' beds tables opened to. Ferdie and the girl at the far end jumped to their feet immediately. I sat up slowly, rubbing my wrists and brushing the dust off my face.
--One of you appears to be injured,-- the alien remarked, looking at Philip's bleeding leg. Smart guy. --My soldiers will help him. You three,-- he said, nodding at myself, Ferdie and the other girl, --You need to follow me. Quickly. We have very little time. But first, I need you all to gather around me and press your hands against this device.-- The second creature, a taller version than our friend, stepped over fallen debris and scoped up the unconscious guy in his arms, and bought him over to the first creature. He looked at the four of us, then turned to the other alien.
--Sir?-- he said, in same thought-speak voice as the first one. --Wasn't there another of them? My briefing told me there were five humans.--
"There are only the four us, at least, that's how many of us I've seen". I said, looking at Ferdie. He nodded. But the Cockney girl walked up to the alien and glared at him.
"What is goin' on, bruvver?" she asked. "What are you? And where on earth are we!"
The alien seemed to smile in a mouthless way, using only his eyes. --We are not on earth,-- he said, kicking what was once part of the ceiling out from under his hoof, apparently not offended that the girl had not said 'who'. He raised his tail higher. --And you need to get up, fast. You must do as I say. We will help you.--
I raised my eyebrows. "Help us?" We don't even know who this guy was! "How can we trust you? We have no idea what is going on, where we are or who anyone is – the four of us are strangers!"
--There are others. They are coming for you. Come round me, press your hands against this device.--
I stopped arguing and jumped to my feet, trying not to cut my bare feet on the rubble. "What's that?" I asked. The smaller alien, who seemed to be in command of the other guy, had just removed a small, blue cube-like object from his sash.
--It is called the Escafil device. It is your only way out.-- The object was a shimmering blue box. The surface moved like the surface of a bubble. The corners of the cube were rounded and smooth. It looked like nothing I'd ever seen before. I looked up at the alien. "What does it do?" I whispered. I had no doubt that something this beautiful and so unusually would carry some kind of immense power – just like the aliens themselves.
--It will do something to your bodies that will help you to escape from here. There are other aliens looking for you, and they must not catch you. It would be very helpful if they did not see you as you are.-- The alien seemed to be speaking these last words to his soldier, rather than us. I guessed what he was about to do was pretty controversial – a quick, no turning back decision made in the heat of the action – that his colleague did not approve of.
The three of us exchanged glances. "Let's do this." I said, trying to sound like I knew what I was doing. There seemed to be no choice for us. The situation was absurd anyway, touching a strange box seamed like nothing but a funny ritual. We gathered round the alien, who held the cube in the palm of his left, many fingered, hand. I placed my hand on the side nearest to me. Ferdie, and the other girl placed their hands on different sides. The taller alien reluctantly placed Philip's hand – red and sticky from the blood that was still gushing from his leg - on another side. Then the first alien appeared to take a deep breath, and placed his hand on the top of the cube. Instantly, an electric shock surged through my body, creating a tingling sensation. I gasped. I tried to take my hand away, but my arm wouldn't let me. After a couple of seconds, the tingling resided, replaced by a feeling of heat. My already burnt hand trembled as I struggled to keep it in place. Suddenly, the heat disappeared. I took my hand away. The injured guy woke with a start, breathing heavily and trembling. --It is done.-- said the alien.
