The Alien Orb (39 page)

Selina strolled towards him, and he
desperately tried to hide his startled looks.

“
Here
’
s some food!
”

He took the food, and he chewed large bits
out of it, as he tried to think of a way to check it. He might not
be able hold his breath long enough, to activate the machine, to
return. He could put himself in great danger, or be stuck
there.

He just put his hand out, and he put the
view on it again.

“
What is it?
”
Selina murmured, glaring at
him.

Without any explanations, he just leapt into
its blackness, as he was sure that he could do it, and it went past
his head like a black line. And he swam up through the water, to
where light beamed down.

He leaped through the surface of the water,
and he crawled onto an embankment.

As he cleaned the water from his eyes, he
saw some of the animals that they had left at the pool, jumping
back from him, as they saw him.

It was incredible, he had thought that he
would ever see the cave again, but it had been his intention to
return.

As he rested, he wondered if he had
condemned himself to be stuck at it for the rest of his life. Yet
he knew where he was, and where the others were. Moreover, all he
needed to do was find a way to drain the pool.

While he tested his breathing, proving that
it was about normal, he stood. But as he was about to dive, he
remembered the lifting device. He had to try it first, even though
its powers might not be enough. The rewards for getting it to the
surface would be outstanding.

Once he had it, he practiced using it, and
he dived into the water, as fast as he possibly could. If he could
swim down fast enough, he might have enough oxygen left. The pool
seemed to go endlessly down, but he swam fast and furiously into
it. As it grew very dim, the bottom finally appeared beneath
him.

He frantically searched, trying to find the
machine, but it was not visible to him. However, he recalled where
it had been, and he found it. Then he traced its shape into the
mud.

Dexter swiftly activated a control, and his
height increased, dragging up a tremendous weight beneath him,
including the mud and water, surrounding the machine. Even though
he had activated the control that made it swiftly lift, it only was
capable of taking him up at a gradual pace.

His lungs began to lust for air, and he
thought he was going to die. But he saw the surface over him. Then
the water rushed away, and he gasped for air.

He was soon lying on a layer of water, on
the ground, with the machine next to him.

Selina appeared at his side, and he saw that
the water had stopped pouring off the machine.

“
What did you do?
”
Burrell moaned, as he
approached him.

Dexter coughed furiously, and rested.

“
We
’
re back at the cave!
”
Basinger explained, in
amazement.
“
And the animals are here!
”

Dexter smiled, and he nodded
rhythmically.

He had never seen them so troubled for an
explanation.

Basinger and Burrell then strolled into the
cave, looking baffled, and Selina stayed with him.

She cleaned some of the mud from the
machine, with water.

Basinger and Burrell congratulated him, when
they returned, with the things that they needed, and they quickly
left, to get some precious food supplies.

There was a large amount of things that they
needed from the island, and they would have to keep making trips to
it. They had not found anywhere else to get proper food.

However, they had not seen that many
destinations. And the machine, in front of him, would have
destinations on it that were not on other.

The next morning, Dexter helped Basinger
check more locations, on the machine at the structure.

Dexter carefully marked down the locations
that they were able to go to, and what he saw at the places, which
were mostly deserts and rocky locations.

Basinger did not know why another swamp
region had not appeared. He eventually returned to the information
machine, where he sat captivated, trying to find details on various
things.

Dexter examined the locations on the
machine, and he would remove them from the list if he realized that
they were too dangerous, or if he might not be able to
return
–
especially if the machine looked as though it was in a place
that might have damaged it.

He finally decided that it was time to check
the machine at the cave, and he went to it.

After only checking a few destinations on
it, a dark green shade appeared, and he realized that it was a type
of forest. And he marked it down as a possible source of food for
them. He then closely examined the types of soil at various
locations about the world.

Then a spectacular whiteness illuminated at
one destination, and he saw that it was ice and snow. And he
wondered why the snow had not covered the machine, or why it had
not been in a glacier, and he decided to investigate it.

A bitter breeze hit his face, as he swiftly
walked through, onto crunching snow. And an unusual sight opened
out behind him, where he had only expected to see the sun beaming
brightly. A hill of square stones went out for about half a mile,
of the remains of a stone structure.

What confused him was that the machine
was out in the open
–
and not under the stones. There were no
indications why the machine was there. However, it might have been
in part of the structure that had deteriorated away, over the many
years, by the harsh winter conditions. Its remaining parts had to
be under him, and the weather must have destroyed it.

Then he noticed that there was an area
missing from the stones, as though the machine had been in the
stones.

He was sure that it was a sort of
observation point, to check the region, and that it was at the edge
of a polar region. He was sure, by the fact that the structure was
not under the ice, that the world now had a stable climate.

At the controls of the machine, he touched a
control, and it reversed the black hole. The brilliant whiteness
vanished, as he went back through, and the dim surroundings of the
cavity engulfed him.

He was about to activate the controls of the
machine at a fast pace, as there were many destinations under the
ground appearing on the screen, when he saw a faint shape, within
one. When he closely examined it, he did not see anything else.
However, since the faint light that was about him that was
traveling into the machine was not bright, he waited for the sun to
appear from behind a cloud.

Then, when the sun flashed, he saw a
room.

When he entered it, he instantly smelt a
deep stale odor, and rapidly proved he could breath it.

Then he spotted speckles in the darkness!
And he moved further in, and realized that he was glaring out at
the stars of deep space.

Chapter 12

The Gateway to the
Stars

A blue radiance shone so dimly, through a
crack in its structure, that he knew that he would not normally
have seen it. He surely would have mistaken it for a reflection,
but, in his alert state, he positively recognized it.

His emotions had been running amok, seeing
the spectacular view of space, in the darkness; and they were
nothing compared to the eerie sensations that were now gripping
him. He sensed a presence, as though the entity from the pool was
nearby, and he was sure that it had to be at the blueness.

Was this place associated with the
mysterious things that had happened on the island? Why had the
civilization left a spaceship in space? Had their civilization
advanced so far that they had been able to leave spaceships all
over space? There were not any signs of the world, and he was sure
that it was traveling through the stars.

He tenderly approached the crack,
exiting into something, which created a vague beam of blueness. He
could not imagine what it could be
–
what would live here, in this barn
place? A desolate spaceship, left out in the depths of space,
endlessly trapped ...

An entrance became visible, where the crack
was, and he gripped and pulled its shape, until it finally opened,
revealing another interior, full of beaming blue controls.

Had mankind actually traveled to the stars?
What had they found in space? Had it destroyed mankind ...?

He accepted the truth
–
the creatures
had been aliens!

Had mankind contacted them, or had they
found them? Had these things killed every last human? Yet they
surely would have recorded it, somewhere ...

He continued his search, through the
controls, looking for anything familiar, daring not to touch
anything. Gradually, he backed away, and went back into the other
room.

While he was entering the machine, he
wondered if the spaceship was actually traveling through another
galaxy, on a voyage to somewhere.

Basinger only slightly accepted his
explanation of what the civilization had been, and he continued to
work, at the machine.

“
Do you think that these creatures
invaded the world?
”
Burrell replied.

“
I do not know what they did, but I
know that they are aliens, and I was in one of their spaceships
...!
”

“
You were in a
spaceship!
”
Selina exclaimed, and they stared at him.

“
Yes, and I have news for you
–
they were aliens
...!
”

“
My god!
”
Burrell shrieked.

“
What did they do to the human
race?
”
Dexter pleaded.

“
Calm down,
”
Basinger replied,
“
there is no
evidence that anything happened! There will be a logical
explanation! Do not forget how long ago mankind was here. We have
not found one piece of evidence that indicates that mankind even
existed. The information might have been lost in the depths of
time! This race was too logical to destroy an entire race of
beings! Their information suggests that they mostly ate plants. I
am going to get to the bottom of this if it takes me the rest of my
life!
”

“
What type of world do you think they
are from?
”
Selina muttered.

Dexter shrugged his shoulders, and he looked
at the structure differently.

“
Well, I would like to see this alien
spaceship ...!
”
Basinger spoke, walking towards him.
“
Technology was progressing
at a very fast pace when we left ... Think of how far mankind could
have advanced in the amount of time it probably existed
...!
”

“
Let
’
s see this alien
spaceship!
”
Burrell stated.

Dexter held out his arm and bowed, and they
stared at him, with worried looks.

Once at the cavity, they examined the dark
screen, with interest.

“
Why is it dark?
”
Burrell gasped.
“
Is there no
lights on in it?
”

Dexter ignored him, and he walked into the
machine.

Once inside the spaceship, he stood at
the edge of the machine, and he examined the faint rays coming
through, out of the blackness; then something distorted them, and
Basinger
’
s
figure magically appeared from its blackness, with his eyes bulging
out, as he tried to see about him. He then moved himself about, as
he felt the lighter artificial gravity.

Once the others had entered, they stayed
silent, and listened to a distant hum. Then Dexter took them to the
window, where they stood glaring out at the stars of the
universe.

Basinger
’
s thirst for knowledge was
increasing, and he insisted in checking the other locations, while
Dexter watched; and the others went to get food. Dexter saw the
same type of places randomly appear, and he no longer thought that
the machine would have any more good destinations. He could not
understand why it had a spaceship as one of its destinations, and
it was not on the other machine. However, he was sure that they had
mainly used it for transporting goods, to the island.

“
Why are we trying this machine
...?
”
he
finally asked Basinger.

“
We have checked the other one
...!
”

“
Yes, but that other one was for
transporting goods, and this one was probably used by the
inhabitants of the island.
”

“
Of course, it would be better to try
the machine on the spaceship!
”

“
Think of the destinations that it
would have ...!
”

As he stepped into it, he noticed again that
the air in the spaceship was weak.

The first destinations were disappointedly
similar to the other machines, but a surreal sight lit up, and he
saw that it was another world.