A. L. Kaplan

Tag: alien

  • ALIEN DECEIT

    047

    “Ensign Jeffries, there’s been a malfunction,” said Samuels.

    Teleportation was risky. People used to end up in walls, underground, midair, even floating in space, but there hadn’t been any off world malfunctions like this in years. She glanced at the strange dome with the bulging transparent material, then checked the air quality analyzer. This wasn’t Republic headquarters but at least the air was breathable.

    Trees and shrubs surrounded the huge structure. Hundreds of triangles formed the dome. It was unlike anything she’d ever seen in Republic space. Only a supremely advanced and powerful species would dare to construct such a fragile looking building. They must have severe punishments to keep their world under control. Trespassing was a jailable offence where she came from.

    “Begin emergency retrieve protocol.”

    Static greeted her, not unlike Jeffries’ expressionless look when he initiated the transport. Her throat began to constrict. Neither she nor Jeffries made mistakes. They were both top technicians up for the same promotion.

    A huge, furry creature barreled toward her. Its lips pulled back showing savage teeth and a long tongue. Her universal translator couldn’t interpret what it bellowed. Panic gripped her.

    “Jeffries, you can have the promotion! I don’t want it. Just get me out of here!”

    The massive beast knocked her to the ground. Samuels screamed. Saliva splattered her face.

    “Bad dog,” said a man. “I’m so sorry. He’s usually very gentle. Are you okay?”

    Samuels stopped shaking as he helped her stand. The man didn’t seem dangerous and was rather attractive. The dog flopped on its side, tail wagging, too cute to ignore. Maybe this place wasn’t so bad.

  • ALIEN PAINTBRUSH

    “Check out the weird goop covering all the trees,” said Jimmy. “It looks like Starburst vomit.”

    “You’re disgusting,” said Rachel. “It wasn’t here yesterday.”

    Jimmy laughed. “Maybe your imaginary space aliens left it last night.”

    “The UFO was real.”

    “Sure it was.”

    “That’s enough,” said Professor Goodwin. He didn’t have the patience for their bickering.

    Every shadow in the refuge made his skin prickle, like they were being watched. This place normally teamed with wildlife, but they hadn’t seen a single bird all morning. The rest of the students clustered together as silent as the woods. Only Jimmy and Rachel seemed unaffected.

    He studied the vibrant yellow and orange growth coating the tree. “Let me collect a sample then we’ll go back to the classroom.”

    “I got it,” said Jimmy, as he yanked a handful of the stuff. A second later he collapsed.

    “That hurt,” said a strange warbling voice. “How’d you like your skin pulled off?”

    Rachel screamed and pointed at two eyes on what the professor had thought was a tree.

    “What…who…?” Professor Goodwin couldn’t seem to put two words together.

    The tree like creature poked at Jimmy’s prone form. “Your boy tried to mutilate me.”

    “Tr…tree.”

    “Yes, I’m a plant. You humans are so animal centric. The name is Michelangelo Bernini Trillian.”

    The Professor pointed a shaking finger at Jimmy. “Dead?”

    “I thought you creatures were supposed to be intelligent. He’s breathing. My natural bio-toxin just knocked him out. Now get out of my sculpture.”

  • SHORE 4: DEAD SHORE

    “That’s the last time you clip your fingernails over my bunk,” said Flynn. His lip twisted into a sneer. “No more clip, clip. No more flying toenails.”

    That little habit had rankled Flynn’s patience for months. He holstered his flintlock and nodded, satisfied that Avery would never disturb him again. No one could survive a shot under the eye, not even Avery.

    Dealing with that man on board had been bad enough. Getting marooned together was more than either of them could handle. He plopped down under the lone palm tree on the uncharted island and leaned back, relishing the sound of lapping water. He’d worry about rescue later.

    “The least you could have done was close my eyes,” growled Avery. “I’m still seeing spots.”

    Flynn leaped to his feet. “How…You were dead….” he sputtered.

    “I fired. My cheek stung. Then I felt the sun burning my eyes.” Avery glared at him. “You can’t even kill a man right.”

    ***

    Do you think they will behave now?” said Catherine. Her golden-bronze tail flicked back and forth. “That’s the third time we have healed those men.”

    Tom sighed as he watched Avery and Flynn argue on the view screen. “I believe it will take more than nanites to fix these humans. They are nothing like the young man we hosted last year.”

    “What a shame. I thought for sure they could get along eventually,” said Catherine. “Very well, end the experiment and sent the results to headquarters on planet Mau.”

  • SHORE 3: HOSPITAL SHORE

    “They were aliens.”

    “You told me they were cats,” said the doctor. He tapped a pencil on his note pad.

    I glared at the doctor and raked my belly. I’d been relegated to the psychiatric ward ever since they found me unconscious on a barren island in the Pacific.

    “They were alien cats and they walked on two legs like we do.” The irritation on my stomach continued to irk me as much as this conversation. “I swear. I’m not making this up.”

    “I’m sure you believe that’s true. Tell me again how your ship sunk.”

    My teeth pressed together until they hurt. At least it distracted me from the damned itch. I’d told the same story for a month. No one believed me. Had I hallucinated Catherine and Tom? Had I really been that sun mad to have concocted the whole story?

    “We hit something during a storm and the ship sunk. I was the only survivor. Tom found me washed up on their spaceship disguised as an island. He and Catherine fed me the best seared fish I’ve ever had. That’s all I have to say.”

    The doctor’s brow wrinkled. “Looks like you’re not ready to face reality yet. I’ll have an orderly bring you back to your room.”

    The lock clicked behind me like a doomsday chime. Maybe I was crazy. Maybe I really had imagined the whole thing. I scratched my stomach again, then looked at the irritation. A tawny gold and black pattern decorated my skin, just like the spots on Catherine’s fur. My heart jumped. It was real, and I’d been tagged and released.

  • No Stopping

    “Damn!”

    Mitch slammed his foot on the break, continuing to curse as the red light loomed rapidly closer. Eileen’s face twisted into an ugly snarl and her tone left no doubt of the contempt she felt for him.

    “Don’t you dare stop this car until we get to the hospital.” She shook her hand for emphasis, displaying the palm sized creature clamped on her upper arm.

    “Don’t worry,” he’d said when she delivered a package the postal carrier had given her by error. “It’s not dangerous.”

    Wrong. When Eileen came near it had sunk its teeth and tail into her arm. He’d found the monkey-like creature in the woods the day after the meteor fell and didn’t give a second thought about bringing it home. Now his spontaneity had destroyed any chance he had with his dream girl. That same quirk had put him on the wrong side of trouble for years. If it wasn’t for Deputy Dunbar glaring at him from the lot across the way he would have run the light without thinking, but one more infraction and he’d lose his license for good.

    Eileen opened her mouth and Mitch cringed, expecting another snarky complaint.

    “Hey, Tiger.”

    The words purred from her mouth, rich and husky. Her thick lashes fluttered, settling low across her eyes. Mitch saw the creature wink as Eileen kissed him long and hard. When the light turned, so did Mitch – right back home. That creature was staying right where it was.

  • Conflagration

    Flames tore at the old wooden house, devouring each board and the memories hidden within. Ian stood a good hundred yards from the structure shivering even as heat from the blaze scorched his skin. Emotions swirled in his mind vacillating from terror to rejoicing. The old man told him not to play with matches, told him with the strap of his belt and the point of his boots. Ian knew those boots and belt too well. It didn’t’ take much to rile father, especially when he was drinking.

    Ian was free now. Free from fear and pain, free to live all the dreams he had barely wished for. But who would believe him? Even as the sirens drew nearer, he knew what everyone would think. ‘Poor boy, driven by desperation to kill his dad.’ But it wasn’t Ian that started this fire. His hands were clean. A smile twisted across Ian’s face as he looked at his hands, the ones father always said were deformed. He brushed away tears, wincing as he bumped his bruised cheek. Beside him his rescuer place a hand on his shoulder, three elongated fingers giving a gentle squeeze.

    “It’s time to go, little one.”

    “Will we ever return?”

    Grandpa frowned. “After what he did to you, to her? You deserve better.”

    “Mother loved this world. She even loved him once.”

    “Maybe someday, Ian. Once hearts have healed.”

    Shimmering light swirled around them. Ian’s skin prickled as the transport beam pulled them onto the waiting ship.

  • Playhouse Poltergeist

    Katie tugged at the top of her corset nervously as she waited for the curtain to go up. She told the costumer it didn’t fit ages ago but nothing was done to fix it. The costume wasn’t the only thing putting Katie on edge. There had been several questionable incidents at this theatre and people had gone missing. Then there were the rumors of a mystery man hidden in the sealed box off stage right. The whole situation felt like a sick version of Phantom of the Opera. Katie took a deep breath trying not to wonder whether he was here tonight and if that would doom the show to failure or make it the greatest hit. This was the break she had dreamed of since she was little and nothing would keep her from going on stage.

    As the curtain parted and Katie danced on stage belting out the opening number, Donavan smiled. He had transported directly into his box as always. No one would know he was there unless he desired it. Katie’s voice echoed around him and her image danced across the screen in front of him. Micro cameras hidden throughout the theatre delivered an array of angles. With a flick of his hand, Donavan zoomed in on Katie. Young, enthusiastic, beautiful, talented, exactly what the Intergalactic Thespian Society was looking for. When the curtain closed he transported a single rose onto Katie’s dressing table. Soon he would make himself known. Until then…he’d remain a phantom.