Red Centre (12 page)

After the initial shock on
being slammed to the ground, Roy started to freak out. He squirmed,
trying to get free. Chris sat on top of him, letting him
panic.

Chris let go two stiff
punches, connecting with Roy’s face. Roy unsuccessfully tried to
cover with his arms locked in front of his face
,
then rolled to his stomach in an
effort to hide from the onslaught. Big mistake. Chris punched him a
couple more times in the back of the head. He slipped his right arm
around Roy’s thick neck then quickly locked him in a half-nelson
sleeper hold.

After a moment of
squirming, Roy went limp.

Chris rolled him on his
side in the recovery position. He checked his pulse and breathing
to make sure he hadn’t killed the poor bastard. He was okay. Just
asleep. Chris didn’t have a choice. This was serious. He couldn’t
have a fool down here with him. They were potentially facing an
enemy no one had ever faced.

***

Chris cautiously moved
through the dark space. It was pitch black. No daylight. Just the
light from his small flashlight. Wherever he pointed his light, the
gun barrel followed. His head on a swivel.

Using some duct tape from
the backpack supplies he had fastened the tactical light to the end
of the barrel. Roy’s gun was locked to his right shoulder, his
pointed index finger safely near the trigger. He crouched low as he
moved quickly; no Roy to slow him down.

Water droplets fell more
and more from the moist cave ceiling. Water splashed around Chris’
calves. It was becoming a little hotter and more humid. His clothes
clung to his sweaty body.

A shiver moved down his
spine. A gut feeling that danger was approaching. Maybe it was a
foreign smell in the air that only his subconscious could detect.
Chris stopped in his tracks. He glanced behind him; only the dark
cavern. His attention snapped to the front again. His little light
moved around the tunnel. The light rested on a few large
stalagmites. A perfect place for cover.

The cave seemed silent.
Only the sound of water dripping from the ceiling. He could hear
his own breathing. He looked closer at one of the rock formations.
It didn’t look right. Was something hiding behind it? He couldn’t
tell.

He squinted his eyes.
Something was jutting out to the side. A leg maybe? He kept the
light on the unknown object. It didn’t move. He was out in the
open. It had the advantage of cover. Chris immediately dropped to
one knee
—
a
smaller target.

Sudden movement in the
water from behind pricked his ears; something rushed at speed.
Chris spun as he stood to face the impending attack. Too late. Out
of darkness, Roy body slammed Chris
—
both airborne
—
sending Chris crashing hard to the
ground, cushioned only by the shallow layer of water. Water
sprayed. The gun flew several feet away on impact.

Roy quickly stood over
him, as fast as his fat body could, grabbed Chris by the shirt and
rained down heavy punches.

Blood, mixed with cave
water, streamed out of Chris’ nose and mouth as the first two
punches hit their intended target. Chris covered his face as more
blows rained down. Roy was in a rage
—
berserk—and would fight dirty given
the chance. He was an experienced barroom brawler and fighting
dirty was always his strategy.

Capturing a blow, intended
to smash his face, Chris pulled Roy on top of him. For now it
stopped the attack. Chris wrapped his arm around the fat man’s neck
and wrapped up one of his arms. Water splashed as they struggled.
Roy grunted, trying to break free from the hold.

Chris let fly with a
couple of rapid elbows, from underneath. He was done playing with
this fool. The elbows connected across Roy’s forehead, opening him
up. Blood ran down his face, getting into his eyes. He reeled in
pain, trying to break free from Chris’ hold.

Chris hooked a leg under
Roy’s fat leg and elevated him. Roy’s bulky body almost spun in the
air as Chris reversed the position.

With Chris now on top,
there was no holding back; he let go punch after punch; rapid fire,
striking Roy’s face. A fast and brutal whoop ass. Roy, a bloody
mess.

The punishment didn’t stop
until he had been punched into submission. Roy lay
unconscious
—
bobbing in shallow water. Chris slowly stood, exhausted. He
spat his blood-filled saliva onto Roy as a final insult.

The gun lay a few feet
away with the tiny light shining into the blackness. He quickly
moved to retrieve it.

Gun locked to shoulder,
Chris pointed the barrel at the stalagmites. With the back of his
arm he wiped blood, sweat and water from his face and re-focused
his eyes. Whatever was there before was now gone. “Roy!” He cursed
his name under his breath.

Cautiously he pressed
forward
—
closer
and closer to clear the rocks. Sweat ran down his forehead into his
eye, the salty drop stinging. Wiping at it with a sleeve, he
quickly returned his grip to the shotgun. He blinked to let tears
flush his eye.

Water splashed from behind
the rocks as Chris closed in. Immediately he sighted the shotgun on
what appeared to be a dark leg. His heart pounded. Shallow breaths.
He cocked the gun.

“
Don’t
you move!” he commanded, while circling at an angle—slicing the
pie—to identify the target.

He stayed low, shifting
his weight, adjusting his aim.

And then he saw
it
.

Leaning against the cave
wall was a slender, grayish, humanoid creature. The same one Chris
had hit with the truck. Except now he could see it properly. In
full view. Its almond-shaped, black eyes locked on Chris’
eyes
.
Chris
thought he could almost see his own reflection. It held its arm as
though it was hurt.

Cuts covered parts of its
body, highlighted by dry, purple liquid
—
probably its blood. The same purple
blood covered parts of its silver space suit. It was hard to tell
how hurt it was with all the water around and in the dim
light.

The creature shielded its
smooth, gray head as the flashlight shone in its eyes. Chris
couldn’t believe what he was looking at. Was it real? It didn’t
seem real.

He banged the side of his
head with an open hand; angry, frustrated. He didn’t want to admit
it, but Shawn had probably been taken by something unearthly and
this creature was the proof.

“
Where’s
my son?” he screamed, veins popping at the side of his neck. Face
red. Seeing this thing in the flesh put his head in a spin. The
only way to cope was with anger. But it made him think that Frank
and the crazy Russian weren’t so crazy after all.

Without taking his eyes
off the freak he carefully removed his backpack. He tried to keep
the gun aimed right at the creature’s head. It dared not move. He
removed a rope from the backpack. This thing had to be
restrained.

Looking at its rubbery
skin, he hesitated, not sure if he wanted to touch it, or even if
he should touch it. What did he know about it anyway? Nothing. Not
to mention it was also bleeding.

Every sci-fi movie he had
ever seen popped into mind. Could this thing spray acid from its
mouth? Was it part lizard? He pulled his shirt over his nose and
mouth. Not that it would protect him, but it made him feel better.
What if this creature had some foreign disease? What if it was
radioactive? This was a major discovery. Should he call a
government agency? Or try to get this thing to communicate? All
these questions flashed through Chris’ mind. His military training
was conflicting with his one and only desire to find his
son.

One thing he did know,
this was bigger than four guys in the outback of Australia chasing
down aliens. They now had one.

Under the cover of night the three men
hauled the creature to the back of the Corbin house. It had been
hogtied, and the backpack placed over its head. They finally
reached the second shed. They carefully placed the creature on the
ground. It didn’t put up a fight. It seemed too incapacitated for
that.

Frank slipped a key from his jeans pocket
and guided it into the lock.

“
I call this me little
Alcatraz,” he said, pushing the large doors open. The shed dark
inside.

Eager to see what this shed had to offer,
Chris started to edge forward to make his way in. What other
secrets was Frank keeping?

Frank turned to Chris. “This is as far as ya
go.”

Chris stepped back to take a breather. He
ran his fingers through his short hair. It was wet from sweat.
“What else do you have in there? What don’t you want me to
see?”

“
I don’t trust ya enough
yet,” Frank said sternly to Chris, with an eye-locked gaze that
looked as if it could turn to blows at any minute. “And until I do,
ya ain’t getting in.”

Roy punctuated Frank’s statement with a
raised middle finger, held close to his large stomach, and a
crooked smirk. His face bruised and swollen from the earlier
beating.

Chris looked over at Roy
and then back at Frank. He knew Frank meant what he said. His eyes
wandered down to the strange figure lying on the ground. “What’re
we doing here, Frank?” He looked up at the two men. “This is too
much. We can’t keep this thing.” Chris wiped some sweat from his
brow with the back of his dirt-covered hands. “
This is bigger than us four guys. This is huge. We need to
bring in the government
, or
something.”

Frank took an aggressive step towards Chris.
“American? Australian? Ya know what the government does with this
kind of stuff? It disappears.”

Chris shook his head in disbelief. “We don’t
know that. This is a major discovery. We’ll let the media know.
Bring it to the world’s attention.”

“
Ya think this ”—Frank
pointed at the lifeless alien on the ground—“will bring the day of
disclosure from all major governments?”

Making a gun shape—thumb up and pointing his
index finger—Frank pointed at each one of them. “Bang, bang”—then
to his own head—“bang. A bullet to ya head and dump ya arse in the
bloody desert. You’ll be just another internet conspiracy theory
that no one can prove existed.”

Chris swallowed, realizing the seriousness
of the situation and knowing Frank was probably right. Who would
believe them? “I don’t know if I’m prepared for what happens
next.”

“
You don’t have to be here
if ya don’t wanna.” Frank motioned to Roy to grab the creature’s
legs. The two men struggled to get a good hold on the slippery
creature’s suit. Chris kept his distance as the two men slipped
inside, half dragging the slender figure.

Chris stepped forward, really wanting to see
what kind of freak show Frank could possibly have in this second
shed. Why all the secrecy? His eyes drifted to the star-filled sky,
mind pondering what kind of hell they would bring on themselves and
the world.

After a few minutes, the pair came back out.
Frank quickly re-secured the chain and padlocked the door. “We’ll
let Pav examine it in the morning.”

“
They’re going to come
back for their comrade. You know that, right?” Chris said. “There
will be more.”

Frank pushed past Chris, heading for his
back door. “That’s what I’m hoping.”

“
It’ll be war,” Chris
called after him.

Frank stopped, turned to face Chris. “I told
you. Ya didn’t get it. We’re already at war, ya dumb son of a
bitch.” Frank turned to Roy. “Get the guns. We’ll change shifts
every three hours.” He glanced around at the surroundings.
“Remember, they may already know it’s here. They could be watching
us right now.” He paused for a moment. “Yankee, you’re up
first.”

***

An array of stars littered the night sky. A
beautiful sight. Chris didn’t get this kind of night viewing back
home. He leant against the cold, iron shed wall, staring at the
view. Roy’s gun rested on his shoulder. His eyes were heavy. It had
been a long night and day and now this night was starting to
drag.

Three hours past. Roy was due to take over,
but the fat bastard was a no show.

Eyes heavy, Chris struggled to stay awake.
He wobbled on his feet a little and at times jolted awake. Rubbing
his face and eyes, he slid down the shed wall to rest on the
ground. Chris shook and scratched his head, trying to stay awake.
Bloodshot eyes blinked in slow motion; head slowly dropping
forward; he slipped into a micro sleep.

Images of alien faces flashed into mind.

War. Destruction.

He quickly shook off the sleep, taking
short, quick breaths—heart pounding. Sweat glistened on his
forehead. Was this really happening? It all seemed like a dream.
Ever since Shawn disappeared, life didn’t see real. Nothing much
else seemed to matter. He closed his eyes for a moment, took a deep
breath, trying to slow his heart rate and his breathing.

He glanced at his watch
again. This is bullshit!
He peered into
the quiet night sky. Was Shawn up there, somewhere amongst the
stars? His mind still couldn’t process it. It was too unbelievable.
Even with all he had witnessed, he just couldn’t accept it. How
could he tell Kate? Shit! Kate!
He hadn’t
spoken to her in days.
He grabbed for his
cell. It wasn’t in his pockets. Must have left it in the
Cherokee.