Chapter 9

Once again, they had dispatched him and his partner, Michael Quinn, to Nowhere, USA to dispel rumors of UFOs. From the case file, there wasn't a lot of things that could be used to explain what the townspeople were seeing. And it was hard to denounce dozens of witnesses who saw the thing that jumped from the fourth-floor story of the hospital with ease and dashed into the woods.

So, like always, the two left Ohio for South Carolina. After talking with the locals, including the original two witnesses, they were stumped. Elise and Jacob Conners had an actual close up, face-to-face encounters after an incident with the river. Their father, a hard-nosed farmer and sorta known as a hothead in the area, verified their claims, saying that he actually shot the creature with his shotgun. Although, the man added with a spooked look, only one pellet found its way into the shoulder as it did some sort of magic.

Quinn couldn't keep a straight face at that but thankfully managed to hide it.

After talking with some of the locals who had seen it jump out of the hospital floor, Hynek decided it would be prudent to search the woods. His hypothesis, after glancing at several newspapers that reported a meteor shower several weeks before the incidents started, is that the people were experiencing some sort of mass hysteria, probably brought on by some sort of gas that was brought down with a meteor.

"Great, so what do we do about proof?" the Air Force captain asked after Hynek espoused his theory.

Alan was silent for a moment before lighting up, "We find the meteor and bring back a sample."

"Uh-huh." Quinn looked very unamused by this, most likely tuning this out. "And, uh, how are we going to explain that weird green lady that supposedly survived a four-foot drop from a hospital and deflect shotgun pellets?"

"I don't know." Hynek admitted with a shrug. "But we're going to find a way."

Quinn didn't like the fact that meant trudging through the dreary late-fall-early-evening day, and Hynek didn't like it either. But they had a job to complete.

The two searched and searched and searched. For hours, they searched the woods, but found nothing. It was starting to get dark when Quinn made the suggestion that they wouldn't find anything. Even with the notes and map from the locals, they had gotten turned around.

Well, not completely turned around as they were near enough to the spot where the 'creature' jumped over a cliff and into a roaring river.

"Come on Doc," Quinn whined. "We're not going to find anything…uh."

The Professor glanced up from where he was examining the ground, sensing something was wrong. And he was right in that assumption.

Quinn was staring at the prone form of something…. not human. The figure was green-skinned with a scaly complexion. Hynek, much to Quinn's disapproving glance, took a cautious step forward, noting the strange tails that jutted out from the thing's cranium. Despite all sights, the creature was still alive, but barely. Its ragged breath could be seen in puffs of cold air that it expelled in short exhales. Hynek leaned over and saw that the creature was still alive. A moment later, though, it closed its eyes in seemingly death.

If not for the unsteady rise and fall of the creature's chest, Quinn would be certain it was.

Hynek straightened, turning around when he heard Quinn's pistol cocked. Sure enough, the Air Force captain had his weapon out, loaded and pointed at the creature in front of him.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Hynek shouted, foolishly placing himself in front of the gun.

"Step. Aside." Quinn ordered. "That…. thing threatened civilians."

"You don't know that!"

"You need to reread the case file then."

"And you need to remember what the Conners children said! This creature saved a young child from drowning!" Hynek stepped back, keeping his face to the Captain. "Just calm down and put the weapon away. We need to figure this out. But we can't if this thing wakes up, and you waving your gun around like an insane man isn't going to help."

Quinn slowly complied as he holstered his weapon. Hynek stepped closer, kneeling over the creature's body and started to examine it. The professor wasn't a certified doctor but he knew basic anatomy.

Although he worried that the creature in front of him had anatomy that wasn't human.

Hynek placed his hand on the creature's forehead, quickly drawing back as though burned. The creature's forehead was indeed burning with very high fever. It had to be because of something. The professor's eyes went to the shoulder that was wrapped with a rough brown cloth. He remembered what Jonas Conners said about shooting the creature a while back. If the wound wasn't cleaned properly, then out here there was a very likely chance that infection could set in.

"So that's why….." Hynek muttered. Quinn, who had placed himself as a sentry as sorts, turned back.

"What is it?"

Hynek didn't answer, only gently removing the makeshift bandage. He winced at the sight of the wound that greeted him, oozing a foul-smelling puss. The area around the bullet wound was inflamed and warm to the touch.

"Holy shit." Quinn muttered. The Air Force captain knelt lower in order to get a closer look at the wound.

"We've got to do something."

"Are you crazy? This is…. it's…. I don't even know what it is. But I know that it's not human."

"This thing saved a child before getting shot for its troubles. Helping it might be the least we can do." Hynek leaned back over the creature, before holding his hand up. "Give me your pocketknife."

"What?"

"Your pocketknife. Give it to me really quick."

"I'm not going to give you a potential weapon for the creature."

"All I'm going to do is drain the wound so we can fight the infection." Hynek snapped back. Digging into his pocket, Hynek pulled out a couple of dollars. "I need you to go and buy some antibiotic ointment and bandages from the drug store."

Quinn sighed as he took the money and started to walk off. There was a moment of hesitation, but that passed almost instantly. Quinn disappeared over the ridge a moment later. Hynek got to work, sterilizing the blade with his lighter before gently cutting the wound. He had to block out the cries of pain from the creature as the knife slipped past the dermis level. The professor tried to be as gentle as he could as he made an incision in the bullet wound. There was a moment when the creature tried to fight him but it was obvious that it was far too weak to fight him and went limp.

Hynek muttered a prayer as the wound, now open, started to ooze horrible smelling pus. He pulled out his handkerchief and started to gently wipe the oozing liquid off. Hynek repeated the process a couple of times until he was sure that the wound was clear of pus. As he was just about to start flushing out the wound, Quinn returned with antibiotics and some bandages.

"You owe me fifteen cents by the way." The Air Force Captain informed him as he tossed the ointment at him after he had finished flushing out the wound. Hynek held his hand up before gently applying the ointment to the wound. Quinn propped himself up against a tree, lighting a cigarette and taking a long draw as he watched the older man work.

"Give me a hand, huh?" Hynek asked as he prepared the bandages. Quinn tucked his cigarette into his mouth as he moved to help the professor. The creature, still unconscious, was far too light, with only Quinn really needed to hold the creature. The young man tried not to let the professor know how much those weird tails that the alien had on her head creep him out.

"Hurry up, Doc."

Hynek wrapped one last layer of bandage around the wound, tapping it off. "Alright. You can lay it, uh, her I think, back down."

Quinn did so, shivering in disgust as one of the tails brushed his hand. "What do we do now?"

Hynek got comfortable against the tree, tugging his coat tighter around himself. "Now? We wait."