The Alien Orb (32 page)

“
What is he up to
...?
”
Basinger explained loudly, placing his hands on his hips,
shaking his head from side to side.

“
He
’
s probably having a little fun, or something
...
”
Selina
replied, smiling.

“
So he
’
s having fun!
”
Basinger mumbled.
“
He
’
s running about mad now! Look! What did I
tell you ...!
”

His eyes popped out their sockets, gapping
at the footprints, which went in wild strides over the ground. Then
they went from one side of a stream to the other side,
demonstrating that he had done a long jump over it.

Basinger casually walked over the stream,
shaking his head, while balancing himself upright.

“
Where has he gone?
”
his voice exploded, as he
panted, trying to inhale properly.
“
Just think
–
we might have had a good day on the
beach, instead of going after him!
”

“
Is that him there?
”
Selina asked.

They looked up at the top of a hill, in
front of them, where a dark figure stood, facing something.

“
He seems to have found something
...!
”
Dexter spoke silently, keeping himself uninvolved.

There would be a good explanation for
Burrell doing what he was doing. One of his jokes might have
annoyed Basinger. He had been awake for most of the night.

The hill ascended more than they had
noticed, and they strained themselves climbing it.

A full view of the island below started to
appear, and it curved out, for five miles across.

He saw that it was the highest hill in a
region that was flat.

When they reached the top, they were all
tired and hungry.

“
What is that ...?
”
Basinger mumbled, pointing
to a structure, marching across to it.

“
Is that structure made of the same
material as the tower?
”
Selina asked exhausted, reaching the
top.

“
Yes, it is!
”
Dexter replied, from behind
her.

He saw a small forest of vegetation
surrounding the square structure. Then he saw that the forest had a
pool of water in it, and that the land looked moist. His excitement
grew, when he saw some of the edible plants that they had
discovered. Then he saw food on the trees. It was a good place for
them to stay!

It had a full view of their part of the
island. The ground was fertile, and he thought about planting the
seeds that he had collected. There only were small amounts of them,
but they could easily get more. Their real problem would be to find
enough meat.

Dexter watched Basinger and Burrell
squabbling. Then they stood at its edge, silently discussing
something, and they went around the structure.

He tiredly strolled over to Selina, and they
eventually followed them around the structure.

Its foundations had slightly sunk into the
ground at one side, and it was resting at an angle. Fawn mud
surrounded its base, and he searched it for prints. Selina followed
him and Darwin.

He could not imagine them scaling it, as it
was too high, and it loomed above like a giant black box, with a
smooth surface.

As he went around the corner, he saw that
Basinger and Burrell were in a knee-high hole, arguing about how
they should continue digging. They agreed about something, and then
they showed him and Selina their discovery.

At the side of the structure, where Burrell
had dug the hole, he saw faint lines, which was obviously a closed
entrance. And he knew, by their attitude, that it was the only way
that they could enter it.

He rummaged through some sticks, scattered
about the outer vegetation, for a strong one. He settled for a
stick similar to the one that Burrell was using, and he knelt at
the side of them, and pulled muck from it, pushing it onto a heap,
at his other side. He scraped and dug at the soil, but he barely
made any distinguishable progress.

The trees hanging overhead allowed the sun
through.

Then dimness went across the edge of his
sight again, as a gust of wind rushed past, blowing the trees
across the sun, and Basinger suddenly fell backwards, and the
entrance opened.

Dexter instantly dropped his stick into the
hole.

Then he saw Selina, pushing a stick into the
structure, where she had found an opening mechanism. They had not
seen her, and Basinger had fallen into it, to where the light met
the dimness inside. He had been resting on it, while it had
opened.

Its interior was remarkably clean, but
incredibly dark and gloomy. There were no signs of water or dirt
anywhere. The structure had to be airtight.

“
Are you all right?
”
Selina asked, helping
Basinger.

“
Yes, I am fine!
”

“
Good timing!
”
Dexter congratulated
Selina.

The sun
’
s beams radiated over them, and as
Dexter moved into it, his eyesight adjusted to its dimness
–
and a large
interior became visible.

“
What
’
s that there?
”
Burrell exclaimed, from
behind him.

It obviously was another entrance, which
they soon found they could not open, and which did not seem to have
anything to open it.

Basinger finally led them out of it, and
they went around the structure.

“
Do you want to go back to the cave to
get a rope?
”
Burrell explained.
“
I made one long enough to throw over the
top
–
to
the other side
–
and we can fasten it to a tree.
”

“
Why do we want to climb up onto the
roof?
”
Basinger asked.
“
This is pointless ...!
”

“
We could live here
–
instead of in that cave!
There may be artifacts in it, which we could use
...!
”

“
Why would there be a door on the
roof? What would artifacts be doing in there, on top of an
island?
”

“
We do not need to go back to the cave
...!
”
Selina called out, towards Dexter, from an area at the
trees.

“
Why do we not need to go back
...?
”
Basinger moaned.

“
There
’
s an old tree that we could climb
up!
”

After they had surveyed the fallen over
tree, they gripped its wide trunk, and they pulled it over to the
structure, where they lifted the end of it onto the top of the
structure.

Basinger gripped the tree, and climbed up,
using his arms and legs. Then Dexter began climbing it.

At the top, he instantly saw two small
pillars, and that one of them looked like an entrance. Basinger
went over to the entrance, while he watched Dexter examining the
rest of it.

Dexter heard Selina and Burrell coming up
the structure.

“
Have you tried pushing
it?
”
Burrell enquired patiently.

“
Yes, at every angle
...!
”
Basinger replied.

Basinger tried again, and he felt its edge
with his fingers. Burrell found a stick, and he tried to insert it
in parts of it, then he gave up.

“
Is that a keyhole?
”
Selina spoke, as she
approached them, pointing at a mark, about half a meter away from
them.

Dexter took the stick from Burrell, and he
carefully inserted it into the hole; then he twirled it about.

A shuffling sound came from it, and a dark
interior appeared, where the line of the entrance was; and Dexter
saw a dark tunnel, going down into it.

“
Well, how do we get down
–
never mind back
up again?
”
Basinger asked.

“
There
’
s something!
”
Burrell replied, holding
his face close.

A shine came off a pole, with handles going
down its side.

Basinger leant forward, and he grabbed it.
Then he poked his leg into the entrance, putting it down upon a
lower handle, and he climbed into it.

Dexter waited until he had vanished below
somewhere, and he climbed into it, and rushed down after him.

At the bottom, he thought he saw Basinger
standing, holding something, in a large black-walled room, but when
he went near him, he saw him examining a machine, which resembled a
black jukebox.

Various machines became visible about him,
at different positions about the floor, as his eyes adjusted to the
darkness.

They had the same black material as the
structure, which he believed was one of the few materials to
survive.

“
If this is a computer
–
it may speak
some English ...!
”

What did Basinger actually want to know? He
had intensely investigated everything he had come across. He was
sure that Basinger was going to activate everything on it.

A high-pitched whistle screeched out
startling him.

The machine burst into life, making
hair-raising sounds, which had similarities to cat purrs, and
creature tones; while a vivid green light flashed about bright
illuminations, with shadows of Basinger
’
s figure in it.

“
This thing may be dangerous! It may
be better to just leave it
–
until we can at least test it
–
it could be
anything!
”

“
Of course, you are right! It could be
very dangerous! And I do not have the slightest idea what it
is!
”

Once the machine had ceased reacting, with
its lights and sounds, one light remained illuminated on it. And
they ignored it, and climbed back up the pole. But while they were
struggling to get out of the entrance, a giant black shadow became
visible, and they observed a twenty-meter disc soaring above the
structure.

Chapter 7

The Unknown Species of
Human

In the crest of the morning sky, a bright
whiteness soared against the upper atmosphere. For a brief moment
its spectacular features deceived Dexter, making him believe that
it was an aircraft, shining in the bright sun, but its distinct
flame gave away its identity, and that it was another immense
meteorite.

Dexter felt a sensation of balancing over
the world, as he towered over the darkened view of the island. The
warm sea breeze gently blew at his face. A rustle of dried animal
skins came from him. He once again saw how visible the structure
now was, with its dish activated.

He thought about building a plough, to plant
the seeds that he would collect. His foot touched a small
meteorite, embedded in the soil, at the edge of the hill, and he
again wondered why the meteorites were so common, and the stars so
densely packed. The others, who were resting in the structure,
occasionally looked for them in the sky, as though they were a
danger. But, as far as he knew, none of them had landed within a
mile of them, so far.

So far he had only discovered one animal
that might pull a plough, but he had only caught sight of the one.
The beast resembled a miniature ox, but the animal had looked as
though it might tire easy.

He believed that the structure was a
good place to stay, especially with the lower entrance now open.
However, it was not hidden, now that its dish was out; and they
would regret it, if there were in fact dangerous occupants on the
world. Yet their fears that there were humans left were gradually
decreasing. They had not found one trace of humans. He was sure
that the structure was a form of communications station. Dexter
believed that it ought to be able to receive something
–
if there was
anything in that part of the world.

If they had used helicopters to land on its
roof, there might have been other bases near it.

Whatever it had been communicating with,
surely had to have been in the direction of the other side of the
island, where it was facing. However, they did not want to give
away their presence, by using it. They did not know what they were
dealing with yet.

He listened to faint tones from Basinger and
Burrell, mingled with distant surges of waves, but their voices
were too vague to hear properly. However, he could imagine what
they were saying. They would be discussing the food that they had
collected from the remaining vegetation.

He felt like searching the entire landscape
for all the edible plants that there were. Their survival might
some day rely on it.

While he went to leave, his foot dragged
over the ground, pushing something open under the muck, revealing a
deep hole. He pushed it further forward, shoving his weight against
it, and it moved under the surface of the ground.