CHAPTER 315
In the green glow of the room Dr. Guitierrez saw a creature of powerful stature. It did indeed have the look and demeanor of a large scavenging bird and most resembled a turkey vulture if anything. There was an underdeveloped look to its feathers, like a baby parrot, but its size, posture, and muscles told Dr. Guitierrez that this was an adult. From nose to tail Marty estimated the animal was twenty feet in length.
"My God. What are you?"
The creature repeated one of his words. "G-o-d?" It drug out every letter, and this time there was the slight intonation of inquiry.
Marty was almost fascinated, but it did not suppress his fear. "Do you understand me?" His voice trembled.
The vulture appeared unresponsive. A slow blink crossed its eyes, but nothing else. Marty could only speculate that this animal's intelligence was like that of a parrot, and it could mimmic more than it really understood. Then again, it did hold a sense of higher intellect in its expressions. At present, Marty could be sure of nothing.
Questions ran through Marty's mind. What did this creature want with him? Was he in danger? What, if anything, should he do next?
Dr. Guitierrez shifted, and he heard a pile of papers crinkle beneath him. He looked down and saw that he was laying on what appeared to be pages upon pages of magazine cut outs. An impulsive curiosity moved his hand to pick up one of the pages. It was wrinkled, and the edge torn rather than cut from the magazine.
In the green glow Dr. Guitierrez squinted, though there was a shadow as the creature in the aquarium passed across the glass. It drifted away, and a little more light cast upon the glossy paper in Marty's fingers. What he saw on the page was a picture of a city skyline. It might have been New York, perhaps.
He glanced over the paper at the vulture and saw that the creature was staring at him with deep intent. Marty shifted onto his knees and picked up another magazine page. This one had mountains on it that appeared to be somewhere in The Rockies. Dr. Guitierrez looked up at the vulture again.
"What is this?"
The vulture's throat moved while its scaly lips parted slightly. "Whhaaat."
Despite his fear Marty marveled at the methods by which the creature mimicked his words and how similar it really was to the way a parrot spoke.
A chill ran down Marty's spine. The presence of the strange and powerful creature before him was humbling and troubling.
"What in God's name do you want?"
The vulture's tongue shifted slowly betwixt its slightly parted jaws, and its throat undulated. "God." The word almost sounded like a deep drawn out belch.
Dr. Guitierrez put the papers down. As soon as he did this the vulture became agitated. It looked at the pile of papers and then at Marty. Dr. Guitierrez could almost see an urgency in the creature's eyes. The animal let out a bark that startled Marty. His body trembled. He was purely scared again. The vulture dipped its head at the loose pages and let out another bark.
Marty opened his palms. His heart filled with panic. "What?"
The creature extended a claw from its feather covered arms and pointed to the papers.
Marty picked up a handful of the loose pages in each hand. He looked at them hurriedly for some kind of clues. "What? What do you want?"
"Whaaat!" The vulture shrieked back at him. The creature stomped around the table barking and roaring and on occasion would shriek again, "whaaat!"
Marty cringed at the noise and commotion. He shuffled through the papers in his hands and noticed that the one thing they all had in common was that they were dominantly image oriented. It made perfect sense if this creature was of a high intelligence, and it was making an attempt to communicate with him. Photographs could be universally understood despite a barrier in language.
The vulture approached Marty and knocked the papers out of his hands. Marty cowered and shook.
"I'm sorry," he said. "I don't know what you want."
The vulture lowered its head and turned away just enough that its face was majorly obscured by the prickles of its shoulder plumage.
"G-od d-damn it," the vulture croaked and grumbled.
Dr. Guitierrez once again found himself inflicted with an odd stroke of wonder that felt somewhat inappropriate considering the potential for threat against his life. This creature, this animal, had taken one word that Marty had said and paired it with another that he was fairly certain he hadn't. Furthermore it seemed that the vulture was aware that it had executed the phrase in an appropriate context of frustration. It was clear that Dr. Guitierrez was not the first person to have spoken around this animal.
He heard a human-like sigh, and the vulture turned back to face him. Marty recoiled a little, as his level of uncertainty was quite high.
The vulture reached out and began shifting through the papers with its fore claws. From time to time it would dip its head and nose them about with its snout. The vulture was bringing several pages to the surface of the pile and lining them up. Before long Dr. Guitierrez saw a theme emerge.
One page had a picture of a small jetliner flying over a tropical island scape. Another had a helicopter above a city. There were five images in total, and each one had an aircraft in it. It was clear which part of the pictures the vulture was interested in.
Marty pointed to the airplane flying over the tropical island. "Airplane," he said with great enunciation.
The vulture looked at him quizzically.
Marty tried something easier. "Plane."
The vulture still appeared quizzical.
Marty said, "jet?"
The vulture's state of perplexity made Marty feel that he, once again, did not have an understanding with the vulture.
The vulture reached out a claw and tapped the image of the helicopter.
Marty said, "helicopter."
The vulture crunched its face and let out an exasperated huff.
"Chopper?" Marty said.
The vulture extended an arm and tapped Dr. Guitierrez in the chest. Then it tapped the picture of the helicopter.
Marty thought about it. They had arrived on the island in a helicopter. He tapped his chest and then tapped the helicopter image.
This seemed to elicit a state of content in the creature which gave Dr. Guitierrez a small sense of relief.
Now the vulture tapped its chest and then tapped the picture of the helicopter. A moment passed, and then the vulture tapped Marty's chest, followed by the helicopter, then its own chest, and back to the helicopter.
When Marty gave a look of confusion the vulture repeated the gestures with greater emphasis, and a hint of frustration. This time the poke at Marty's chest was a jab, and it hurt.
"Ow." He rubbed his sternum. Marty looked at the pictures and looked at the vulture. "What on Earth are you trying to say?"