AEON


Someone shouted and everyone turned toward the sound. A strange creature had appeared at the edge of the clearing. At the blink of an eye another one appeared and then another. Soon there were thirty or more of the creatures standing in a circle around them. The things were like something out of a horror movie. Their legs were long and slender and bent back like a kangaroo. Their arms were muscular and ended in three long fingers. At the end of each finger were long sharp claws. Their bodies were thin and muscular and above that, they had a long neck, and a tear shaped head. One of them twisted its upper body completely to the back without moving its lower half.

The head reminded Kevin of a giant version of the praying mantas from Earth. It had no hair and its skin was a light green. A membrane of clear skin flashed up and down over the huge dark green eyes and it had two slits where its nose should have been. Under the slits was a vicious looking mouth full of razor sharp teeth. A clear slime dripped from one corner of the creature’s mouth and a long tongue darted in and out. One of the creatures extended its legs and rose to well over six feet.

Everyone in the group quickly made a circle. Kevin’s mouth felt like cotton as he held his sphere out. Were these the creatures that built the ship, but they had no weapons. They didn’t even wear clothing.
Suddenly one of the creatures jumped from the ground to a limb of a nearby tree. The limb was over twenty or so feet above the ground. Even in the lighter gravity, it was quiet a jump. It balanced there easily, turning its ugly head from side to side. Then leaning down toward the others, it began to make sharp hissing and chirping sounds. The sounds were familiar, and then Kevin realized that it sounded like the bat things. The other creatures turned their heads up as the creature continued its rhetoric and then turned sharply back to the humans. Without warning, they begin to jump in toward the humans and then back out again. The chirping sounds became louder and louder. Each jump brought them closer.

Mike was the first one to speak. “Try for their belly!” he yelled. The creatures stopped in their tracks at the sound of the human voice and stood there, turning their heads back and forth. Then the one on the limb make a sharp chirping sound and the creatures begin their onslaught again.

Coming Soon.


A CRY IN THE DARK



Jennifer woke in complete darkness. She was on her stomach and her hands were under her. Everything about her hurt; her head throbbed, her mouth was dry, her wrists and hands were on fire and the side of her face hurt. She slowly realized that her hands were tied, and she was on a carpet floor. She could hear the throbbing of engines. There were other faint sounds a long way off. Then she realized that she was in a tiny room or closet. There was a tiny slit of light coming from under a closed door. After several tries she managed to turn over on her back. It relieved the pain in her face. Her wrists were tied to the front and they were too tight. The last thing she remembered was parking in the parking garage below the FBI building. Another car had bumped her car in the back. Two men got out of the other car and approached. She remembered hiding her cell phone somewhere; she couldn’t remember where. Everything was still fuzzy. She had opened the car door to get out, but one of the men had pushed her back inside. She tried to fight back but then a strange tasting mist floated toward her.

Jennifer held her breath. She heard voices. They were faint at first and then grew louder. The language wasn’t English, but she recognized the dialect. It was Arabic. The she realized something else. The floor was moving. A terror began to crawl through her guts. The movement was a rocking motion. She was on a boat. A door opened and light blinded her. She felt hands pulling her to her feet. She was dragged down a short hallway and forced through a metal door. Inside was a bunk bed and next to the bed was a small table with food and water. She was untied and thrown on the bed. A metal bracelet was slipped over her wrist. A length of chain was attached to the chain. The shadowy figures left. There was a light behind her and she turned toward the light. It was a porthole. She could see blue sky. Jennifer stood on the bed and pressed her face against the cool glass. There was water as far as she could see. It was a beautiful clear day. Jennifer jumped from the bed and started toward the door, but the chain stopped her.

Jennifer’s eyes adjusted to the light from the porthole. She was starving; she turned to the food and began to cram it into her mouth. It was a sandwich of some sort. She reached for the water and felt the coolness of the liquid as it wet her dry throat. Jennifer leaned back against the wall. She could feel the nourishment flowing through her body. She finally fell back on the hard mattress and felt something inside her bra. She pulled the cell phone out and began to laugh. She couldn’t stop. It was a release from the terror of the kidnapping, from the fear. It was hope that the phone could give her a way out. She tried to dial but there was no signal. She quickly turned the phone off. She had to conserve the batteries. She drew her knees up tight against her stomach and began to cry. “Oh God Tom, please find me, please!