Death of the Unknown

Death of the Unknown

Chapter 1: A VISIT
Michael Deccard sat in his ‘87 Bonneville for at least 7 minutes. He really didn't want to visit his old friend Gill Anders. He always came out of the dilapidated house feeling depressed. Seeing his buddy wasting his life away in that hovel, working out every day as if he needed to prepare because the war had never ended. What a sad ending for such a courageous war hero. Thank goodness for that mental disability check and that honorable discharge. At least his friend didn't have to worry about starving.
Then he remembered why he had come. Remembered that he trusted no one more. Remembered his friend rushing in to enemy fire to drag him out of the kill box after he had been shot in both legs. Remembered how Gill refused to let go of his leg even though the slugs from the enemy guns tore thick, meaty chunks from his torso and glutes. Recalled how the fear of death had been dispersed and replaced with laughter by a few words from his powerful friend as they lay bleeding but safe at the bottom of their unit’s trench.
Gill looked into his terror filled eyes, panting after his heroic exertion, and spoke. “Thank God you only got shot in the legs and will pull through.” he said smiling. “You have to let me date that fine sister of yours now! I just saved your ass!” Shaking his head and laughing in disbelief at the outrageous statement, Michael said “Fuck you, Gill.” Chuckling at the remembrance, Michael finally opened the car door.
As usual, Gill rushed forward and hugged his old friend, loudly greeting Michael with the joy evident in his voice. After the usual pleasantries were over, Michael found himself sitting across a medium sized dining table from his shirtless friend. The muscles rippled across his powerful torso as he poured Michael another glass of wine. “So, what's up Mike. You used to come every three months for a visit. Hell. I haven't seen you in over a year.” At the flood of memories Gills' question stirred up, Michaels' face darkened. “My dad went missing, Gill. He went to sell some investment property that he has in Arizona. He never came back. I looked for over a year, but my savings have finally run out. My little furniture company has gone to shit while I've been away. If I don't go back and take charge, I'll be in bankruptcy court in a year. I don't want to give up hope, but I have to go back to work.”
Both men were silent for a few seconds, thinking about how kind Old Man Deccard had been to both of them as they grew up together in the same neighborhood over the years. Then Gill asked “You want me to go to Arizona and keep looking, Mike? I will, if you want.” Mike smiled and replied “No, Gill. I've searched and driven down that lonely stretch of desert road a thousand times. And not by myself, either Gill. After the local police told me people have been disappearing down that road for years, I hired two private detective agencies to help me look. We always had two or three cars out there looking for any sign of dad. I've been a million times to the spot where they found his car, but never found a thing. It's as if he just vanished off the face of the earth. No, Gill. My dad isn't alive anymore. I can sense it. I know it.”
Gill said “Well, anything I can do Mike, just let me know.”
“Actually, Gill, I do have a favor to ask of you. But I didn't come here just to ask you for a favor. I also came to repay my debt to you. First the favor part. As I told you, all our family is broke from looking for dad. We're in desperate need of funds to give us a little breathing room. One of our family has power of attorney over dads' property. It was a precaution dad took when he turned seventy. This person is going to have to drive to Arizona and sell dads' house and its contents. Obviously, after what happened to dad, I don't want them going alone.” Michael looked around at the vast number of automatic weapons hanging on the walls. “I want someone who has more than my '38 to go along for protection. Somebody I trust. In short, you Gill. What do you say?” Gill didn't even hesitate. “I'm honored, Mike. Of course I'll come. I'll die before I let anything happen to your family.” Michael had to stop for a few seconds until the feeling of warmth his friend’s loyal words started dissipated a bit. “Thanks, Gill. And now the debt part.”
Gill smiled as Mike mentioned the word debt. “Don't be silly, Mike. We grew up together. You don't owe me anything.” Deccard smiled, then replied. “You remember when we came back from the war and we found out my sister Evelyn had been married for seven months? Well, her husband died in a car wreck two years ago. I've been talking you up for the past week or so.” Gill froze in disbelief, and his eyes grew wide. “You mean you got that beautiful angel to agree to go out with me?” Gill stammered. “Of course not.” Michael laughed. “She says you're far too ugly to ever go out with.” At the look of disappointment on Gills' face, Michael laughed again. “No, Gill. She won't accept you as a suitor.” Suddenly, Michaels' face grew serious. Then, he continued. “This wooden leg prevents me from being fast, Gill. So I reminded her of your bravery and, in light of my insistence that she must have a bodyguard on the trip to Arizona, despite our lack of funds, she has agreed that you may serve as her protector. It's my belief, Gill, that traveling with you for over a thousand miles will give her ample opportunity to see what I see in you. A kind, brave man, who would risk everything for those he cares about. It's not a date, Gill. It's just a chance to show your true self, and let her decide. But don't forget that your number one objective is to protect her. If there's some biker renegades out there ambushing lone travelers like the police seem to think, I want you to have enough firepower out there to watch over my sister. Got it?” Gill stood up and, holding his giant fist in front of him said “I swear it, Mike. Your sister will be safe with me.”
Evelyn Deccard Mathews laughed at yet another of Gills' hilarious anecdotes. That's how it had been over the past 400 miles or so. Never in her life had she been with someone so full of life. She looked into Gills' eyes, and actually FELT something within herself that she hadn't felt since before her husband’s death. A longing. No, she thought to herself. More. A yearning. A yearning for another man.
She smiled as she recalled her attitude towards Gill at the beginning of their trip. Her revulsion at Gills' ugly face and his abnormally large size. The man was practically a giant. His muscles looked as if they had been carved out of rock. An animal. Ugh. Her husband had been the exact opposite. A gentle, kind man with a razor sharp intellect. Now she realized how similar the two actually were. True, Gill didn't have Stevens' intellect, but the gentleness and kindness were the same. She thought about how much this man had done for her family. She couldn't imagine life without her brother. And here he was again, helping her family out by playing “bodyguard” to her. Lord knows it wasn't for the money. No. He was only here because her brother was completely paranoid. As if she didn't have a 9mm in her purse at all times! As if she couldn't pull a trigger as well as any man! Jeez! Still, she loved her brother for caring. And while she would never admit it to anyone, she did feel safer with this giant of a man watching over her. Far from being repelled by his size, she wondered now what it would be like to be enveloped in those huge arms. To be lifted off the ground and smothered roughly by this mans' kisses. To have her clothes ripped off her and TAKEN. To . . .
“Evelyn? Earth to Evelyn. You ok?” Gill asked. “Yes, I'm ok, Gill.” she said. She felt the warmth on her face as she realized where her thoughts had been taking her. “I'm just tired. I know we only have a 100 miles left, but I was hoping we could stop at a hotel and rest. We can take up the last leg of the trip tomorrow. Ok?” Gill said “Of course, Evelyn. Whatever you want.”
Thirty minutes later, Gill pulled into a decent motel and opened the van door. As they were both walking towards the entrance, Evelyn stopped him with a touch of her hand. “Gill. I was thinking that instead of getting two rooms like we've been doing, we could share one instead. What do you say?” She couldn't look him in the face as she said this. Instead, she looked at the ground. Gill was silent for a few seconds as he stood facing her, and then lifted her face with his hand. As she looked into his eyes, she was surprised to see that his eyes had filled with a deep passion and longing. “Evelyn, of course I want to share a room with you. There's no way I can say no to a chance to be with you. You need to know though, that I have loved you since we were children. If you're just having fun, I beg you to stop me. I don't think I could stand to live if I just had you for today and never again.” She smiled, stepped forward, and pulled him down for a long, lingering kiss. Her breath going into his mouth as he lifted her to him, she muttered “It won't be just for today.”
True to her word, they didn't start on the last leg of the trip until the late afternoon of the third day. It had been years since her husband died, and there had been no one. Gill had opened the flood gates of her passion and the waters had been deep indeed. She nestled against his shoulder as they drove. She felt an odd mixture of deep joy and sadness. A tear fell from her right eye as she recalled her dead husband. Then she looked at Gills' face in the twilight and let the joy take over. Wiping the tear away, she smiled. “So, tell me what this mental disability stuff is about. If you're disabled, I'll eat my shoes” she said. Gill glanced at her while he scanned both sides of the road. They had turned onto the long dark country road that led to Old Man Deccards' home. The traffic was non-existent, and there were only twenty miles left to their destination. If they were to be ambushed by some rogue motorcycle gang, it would be soon. He mentally went through the inventory of grenades, machine guns, and knives he had ready to hand in the backseat as he answered her question. “Mainly, it's from the nightmares of wartime, baby. The doctors also say the war gave me an obsessive compulsive disorder. Apparently, they think my efforts to try being as prepared as possible for any firefight is abnormal, and is adversely affecting my ability to live a normal life. They tell me it comes from a deep seated fear of death that the war instilled.
Hell, who knows? Maybe they're right. The past few days with you has been the best part of my life for years.” “They are right, Gill. We live in a civilized society, not a war zone. While having protection from the criminal element is something anyone might want, having an arsenal like the one you have under that blanket in the backseat is ridiculous. Forgive me, Gill, but it's also stupid. If we were to be stopped, we would be in danger of losing our very freedom. And for what? The off chance we'll run into a crook that could be stopped with just a handgun. I tell you Gill, my brother has far too much influence over me. While I'm certainly going to thank him for putting you in my life, I think I'm going to straighten him................What the hell is that light?”
Chapter 2: The Unknown
The two seven foot aliens licked their row of fanged teeth in evil anticipation as they stared at the huge monitor. They flexed the muscles in their powerful humanoid frames as the screen showed the primitive conveyance filled with the delicious meat bags that this planet was famous for. The protein supplements on their planet were excrement compared to the delicacies this planet had to offer.
The aliens’ names were not translatable. The closest you could come was Pawey and Teth. Teth looked at Pawey and growled in hunger. “It's been too long, Pawey. We should have been eating these treats every day for the past year. You're the leader, but your caution is maddening. Our technology is far above theirs.” “You know better, Teth. The council has stopped the hunting on this planet, and you know it. They have deemed that the inhabitants exhibit enough signs of technology to be elevated to the status of sentient.
Damn them. If it wasn't for their recent development of fission type weapons, we would be free to gorge ourselves while their so-called “governments” denied our very existence. As it is, the council has ordered the information networks and periodicals be closely monitored to keep track of their progress. If word of our presence got into any of them and word of it got back to the council, it wouldn't be that hard to find out who was in this area. The data beacons that transmit our coordinates in case of an emergency can’t be turned off, and record our location constantly. Also, the beams we use on the conveyances can only fire once every 20 minutes, leaving excess conveyances free to escape.
And while the far superior protein of this planet has made us far more powerful than any other of our species, we could not stand against the council. We would be atomized, as so many others have been over the years.” “You're right, Pawey. Eating good is not worth death. Damn this crowded planet. It's so hard to find meatbags that are truly alone. Ever since we got the last one, our favorite road has had far too much activity.” “Yes, Teth.” replied the leader. Then he looked at the monitor again, and they both smiled. As they stared hungrily at the lone conveyance out in the middle of nowhere, Pawey growled again. “But it looks as if our luck is changing. Drop stealth shields and fire the EMP beam. Scans show two meat-bags, one for each of us. Time to eat!”
Chapter 3: Death
The light flashed from the suddenly revealed ship 100 yards in front of them. As the ship hovered 50 feet above the ground, it slowly approached as the car died instantly. When the ship revealed itself, Evelyn screamed. Gill didn't hesitate, however. While he had never believed in extraterrestrials before, he had seen plenty of movies and abductee accounts. It was always the same. First, something to kill the car, then something to paralyze the inhabitants. Then, God knows what. He figured he only had seconds till they were paralyzed and helpless. He grabbed the keys and ran for the trunk. Evelyn screamed in terror “Gill!” He got what he wanted out of the trunk, and then stood beside the car, aiming carefully. As the ship approached to about 20 yards in front of them, the shining light began to change color. But it was too late. Gill fired the rocket launcher practically point blank at the ship, even as he felt his body stiffen up.
The world seemed to explode as the rocket struck the ship with devastating results. A giant hole opened on the bottom half of the ship and the ship lurched to the left and wobbled. Teth roared in pain as his torso burned from the explosion. Pawey lifted himself off the floor and scrambled for the controls. Unbelievable, he thought as he looked at the monitor readings. The meatbags had launched an explosive device at the ship. On most of the planet, the “governments” kept tight control over the more powerful weapons. Well, he would show the meatbags power. There was no way he could keep an incident like this under wraps. Teth was dead and his own life was forfeit. May as well set the fission weapon to self-destruct and take out a couple hundred square miles of these primitive animals. Then he froze as he looked at the monitor. Could that be........? Then he leaped for the gaping maw of the hole in the ship.
As soon as Gill was released from the paralyzing ray, he ran for the trunk again. He was hampered by a screaming Evelyn who promptly clung to him like a drowning man to a life preserver. He pushed her down screaming, “Not now, Evelyn!” Then he got the second rocket launcher out, aimed and fired. The new explosion sent the ship crashing to the earth in the vast field next to the road. The entire ship burned now with a weird green flame. As he watched the burning ship, he went to where Evelyn had fallen. Picking her up off the ground, he held her close and did his best to comfort her. “It's over Evelyn. Whatever was in there, it's.......urrk...”
Gill went flying yards away as the Pawey lifted and hurled him away in rage. Then opening his fearsome mouth, he stalked towards the smaller meatbag. Gill lifted himself off the ground and ran full speed towards the giant creature. Any ordinary being would at the very least have been stunned by the impact, but it hadn't even slowed Gill down. He slammed the alien against the side of the car just as it was reaching for a screaming Evelyn.
The towering monstrosity bled yellow slime from several deep gashes all over its body, but it's strength was seemingly undiminished. As Gill locked hands with him, they both exerted their prodigious strength. Almost 30 seconds went by as they struggled. Slowly, so slowly, Gill was forced back. The creature snarled in disbelief at the meat bags' strength. Still, he could sense that it wasn't quite enough. His heart leaped in triumph as he realized he was going to win.
An eruption of yellow slime hurled itself on Gill as he was deafened by the roar of machine gun fire. The aliens head seemed to disappear as Gill fell to the ground because of the sudden lack of resistance. After emptying the entire clip into the now dead alien, the crying woman hurled herself into her lovers' arms as he stood up. They held each other for a long time.
Epilogue
Six months later.
Evelyn kissed her new husband long and hard on the steps of the church. Gill smiled and opened the limo door for his wife. He had never been happier. The group of well-wishers threw rice and cheered for the newlyweds. Evelyn smiled and kissed her husband again as the door closed and saw the huge leather bag filled with weapons sitting on the floor of the spacious limo. “Is that...?” she asked. “All your favorites, baby.” he said as he leaned in to taste her lips yet again.
End.