Chapter 4 Aliens?

“Privates. I pray to God that you do not face the kind of horrors that I have. But if you do, do not stop. If you still have breath, keep living! If you can still move your legs, keep marching! Every step is a step closer to home. And if you ever think you’ve got it bad, better people have fought under worse circumstances so don’t you dare, EVER, give up! Now, for my graduation present. Half right FACE! Front leaning rest position, MOVE!”

-Drill Sergeant

Unknown Forest

Daniel

“Son of a BIIIITCH!” I could only watch helplessly as the thieves run off with my food. “AAAAAAAAAAAHHH!”

With the campfire half scattered, I stood there, in the darkness, fuming and not knowing what to do with my anger. That was mine! I worked for that food! Risked my life for it!

I’m going to kill them. I don’t know how or when, but I will find them… Perhaps I am overreacting. Maybe it’s all the pent up frustrations. But getting rudely awakened with the threat of death and having my food stolen before my eyes, in my weakened state no less, felt like I was being kicked while I was down. I was totally taken advantage of!

More than anything, having something I worked hard for taken away by someone triggers deep-rooted feelings of injustice from childhood. The few things I was able to find or build for myself constantly getting taken away or destroyed became another seed of resentment and anger that would crop up whenever anything remotely similar happened.

What am I doing? They’re just dumb animals. I need to get a hold of myself. Gathering the embers and firewood into a pile, I sat, resting my face in the palm of my hands for a while.

“Everything is going to be okay.” I whispered.

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Cautiously approaching the river, I looked to make sure there wasn’t anything dangerous nearby. Tall grass and shrubbery obscured my vision in some areas, keeping me paranoid, but I needed to hydrate myself.

After the visit from the hell dogs, I was eventually able to fall asleep again, but woke up feeling tired and heavy. There was a dull ache in my head as well a numb feeling around my injury. It still hurt so I haven’t lost all feeling yet but it wasn’t a good sign. I need to find civilization and fast.

Keeping a watchful eye on my surroundings, I dipped a hand into the river and brought it to my lips. About a hundred meters away, there was something big briefly breaking the surface of the water. Grabbing my crutch, I quickly backed off and returned to the woods.

The day went by slowly as I continued following the river at a distance, keeping an eye open for possible food. All the animals I passed were strange in some way, be it the size or color. Rodents, sloth-like creatures in the trees, rabbits. Some of them had patterns of green or orange fur. It's like I'm in another world... The most eye catching for me was the two meter tall deer munching on one of shorter trees. That thing was huge. Regardless, I can’t catch any of these at the moment.

Tired. I’ve been walking for what feels like hours, my body feeling heavier as the day drew on. I take breaks before getting too exhausted but the intervals between rests are getting shorter. And the fact that nothing changes no matter how much ground I cover is starting to take a toll on my psyche. Trees. Shrubs. Occasional berry bush I gratefully take advantage of. It’s the same unchanging scene with no sign of people or even a dirt path to keep me optimistic.

“Oh. That’s right, my phone.” Leaning up against a tree, I pull out my phone and wait for it to load.

No signal.

Sigh. I had forgotten to check it last night and hoped to see a change in status.

Switching off the phone, I look towards the direction of the river. I can’t keep avoiding it. I’m going to have to drink water at some point.

Even with my newfound power, I still get nervous at the thought of fighting something like that giant snake again. It should be fine right? I killed one, I can kill another. I just have to be careful not to get impaled again.

Crutching my way towards the sound of water, with my armpit feeling bruised from the constant pressure, I looked up at the canopy, thinking about the squirrels from yesterday. I kind of miss them for some reason. Now that I think about it, the way they stopped and went silent should have been a warning for me to turn back. Animals have a good sense of danger and they probably knew something was there. And I continued on like a moron. Hunger, thirst, basic needs of survival can bring on bad tunnel vision. I need to be more careful.

As my eyes reached the end of the canopy, I looked down the riverbank and stopped. Sitting around at the edge of the water were six grayish green… children? Bald and naked, with the physique of thin ten year olds, they were gutting what looked like an otter. Aliens? Am I hallucinating? One of them turns and stares at me for a second before crying out.

“KuKAAA!”

“What… the fuck…” Their faces were in a permanent grimace with a large protruding nose and eyes too big for their heads.

“““KuKA!”””

“““KuKAA!”””

“JaffrAK KIka!”

“Crap.” The little green men jumped up and ran at me with bone knives and wooden spears. Despite the danger of the situation, I kept thinking, ‘This is how I get probed,’ as they blocked my escape and surrounded me.

One of the alien, green things stroked its bone-tipped spear and gave an unnaturally wide grin, revealing sharp, jagged teeth. “Chuumak Puuuleh.”

“““Eheeheehee!”””

Dropping my crutch, I readied the snake horn as they closed in. Four spears and two knives… no sweat… Wait, what am I doing? I have chi now!

“Kaaah!” One of the spearmen lunged, and I quickly parried with my left hand and stepped in, pushing the snake horn into its chest. Taking his wooden spear, I thrust it into the knife wielding creature behind me as the rest of the greenlings jumped in.

These things were savage, going all in with no reservations or hesitation. One slashed at my shin as I stepped over the first creature I took down, breaking their encirclement. I hopped back towards the river as they came jumping and slashing.

“Raaah!” *PFFSLK!* I punched out towards them, bursting one apart and sending another tumbling into a tree. The remaining two continued their attack as I immediately jumped at the one on my right, taking control of its knife hand while dodging a stab from the other.

With an uppercut, the head blew off the creature I held onto, splattering dark red gore into the air. The last remaining greenling seemed to realize it was now alone and I finally saw hesitation in its gray eyes. But I wasn’t about to show mercy here. Taking the knife from the headless body, I slashed at its neck and saw a familiar flash of yellow. The creature gurgled as the head rolled off to the ground, the body following soon after.

I found myself panting from the exertion and pounding in my head, realizing again, my condition is worsening. The whole ordeal probably took less than a minute and I was already hurting and out of breath.

Looking down at the knife, the blade was about four inches long and only half of it made contact with the neck. “Uh…huh.”

Chi flows through objects as well? It seems to have responded to my intention to cut. Pushing chi through the knife, the blade gave off a faint yellow glow. I wonder what else I can do with this. From my standing position, I slash towards the ground but only see a shallow cut drawn on the dirt. I try the same with an empty hand and an inch-wide gash forms on the ground. It’s only a couple inches deep but definitely had more power. Looks like pushing chi through objects limits it but adds precision depending on the shape.

Wait, if I can send chi outside my body… Raising a hand, I will the power to flow out and the space above my palm glowed a gentle yellow. “Wow.”

Pushing a hand through the light, warmth passed over my skin as I watched it separate and slowly dissipate. This is… pretty amazing. I stood in awe for a while before snapping out of my reverie and beheld scene around me. What a mess.

My gaze fell on the wide eyed head on the ground, and wondered what they were. Little green men… Their blood was red but very dark, almost black. Aliens right? Or people suffering from some kind of genetic mutation? Although, their pointy ears, size, and skin color reminded me of goblins… I don’t know what to think right now. I’ve seen too many weird things in these last two days and the thought that I died and I’m currently in some kind of hell surfaced again. No, I’m still alive. Alive, breathing, and bleeding.

There was a cut on my left shin from the slash earlier, bleeding over the strips of cloth. It doesn’t look too deep but I should at least wash it off.

Various thoughts clouded my mind as I hobbled to my crutch and retrieved my snake horn. Did aliens crash land here and end up living as cavemen? Perhaps the folklore of goblins are actually alien sightings. ‘Little green men’ and goblins do kind of match.

I paused as a more disturbing thought crossed my mind. What if I was abducted? It would explain a lot. Weird animals, these alien goblin things, and no home or road in sight for miles... Shaking my head, I pushed those thoughts away.

"No. Hahaha. That's just crazy." I can't accept something like that. It would make this whole struggle worthless. I just need to think of what's in front of me. Survive. Find people. This is all I need to think of right now.

Taking a deep breath, I went back to what I was doing. The area around here seem to be free of tall grass and shrubs, giving a clear view of possible dangers. Even the river seemed to be more shallow. Maybe that’s why the goblins just sat around without minding their surroundings too much. But then again, who knows what these things were thinking.

“Screw it.” Throwing caution to the wind, I dropped my shorts and stepped into the water. The coolness of the river was refreshing and was a good distraction from my headache as I washed off the bloodstains and sweat that accumulated these past two days.

After the bath, the cut on my shin already stopped bleeding. I thought about checking and cleaning my stab wound but wasn’t sure if it would help or make it worse without any disinfectant. Guess I’ll just have to leave it and hope for the best.

Drinking my fill of water, I cleaned one of the bone knives and cut out some meat from the otter. Considering the size of the animal, there wasn’t a lot of meat on it. Nevertheless, it’s enough for a meal.

Before making my way back into the woods, I took one last, long look at the ugly creatures. They were quite disturbing and just added to my already befuddled mind. Shaking off my thoughts again, I hobbled along my way.

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The sky was already darkening by the time I felt it was far enough away from the scene of the slaughter. I had a slight dizziness coming on but I can probably sleep it off in a bit.

While starting the campfire, the thought of aliens got me thinking of Star Trek and other space faring TV shows.

Startrek… That reminds me. There was a guy I deployed with who was obsessed with the show. ‘Picard,’ we would call him. He kept his head shaved clean and constantly narrated even the most banal things that happened throughout the day with ‘Captains log.’ Those were some interesting times.

With my best Picard impression, I monologued, “Captains log, Stardate, blehblehbleh, I have made contact with the Little Green Men. They were kind enough to supply me with food and sent me on my way… heh. Stupid.”

I hated the politics in the army and got out as soon as I was able to, but I kind of miss those days.

Sticking the meat onto sticks, I set them over the fire to roast as I thought of the faces of the men and women who served with me through those years, both hellish and mundane. They were quite the collection of characters, the lot of them…

It’s weird. Ever since I was little, other than anger, I’ve felt detached from most other emotions people normally feel. But after Grandpa Kwan passed, I felt the feeling of longing. This feeling came back after I left the Army and the people I served with. Back then, I didn’t know what to do with this emotion and just kept myself busy until it went away. But here it is again, an ache in my chest. Maybe I just need to stop thinking about things. Is this why people drown themselves in alcohol?

Taking a meat stick, I blew on it and took a bite. Otter meat is gross. Felt like I was chewing on a greasy tire. It was really oily and hard with an unpleasant aftertaste.

“Captains log. Otter meat is disgusting. Send some to Delgado the next chance we get.”

Finishing off the meat, I laid next to the fire, playing with the chi, materializing it above me. I was exhausted and the headache was reaching bad migraine levels but I was too curious of the recent discovery with chi. I’ve found that I could control it to some degree and make it move to my will. I looked on, letting the soft light swirl like a galaxy as I thought of the people I suffered with.

Camaraderie as soldiers was nice. Knowing someone has your back in life or death situations… it was like having a family. After Grandpa Kwan, they were the closest I got to having one I guess. Too bad this one didn’t last very long. If the war doesn’t get you, then your mind does. The few who returned with me either had their bank accounts emptied and their lovers gone or just couldn’t cope being left alone with their own thoughts. Maybe… I should have called them more often…

By now, my body felt like a sack of lead and my eyes heavily closed on their own. Holding the snake horn close, I let the tiredness overtake my mind.

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I was walking down a gray corridor following a squirrel. There were so many turns and every time I got around a corner, I would only see it’s tail disappear around another. White noise played in the background as something chased after me, a shadowy serpent with several dark figures. But I could only walk.

I’m co~oming. A seething voice whispered.

Every step made me more tired and I just wanted to sleep. The more tired I became, the slower I walked. The slower I walked, the darker the corridors became and the ear numbing white noise became ever so louder.

Left! Left! Left right le~eft! Familiar voices shouted.

Who’s singing cadence? Turning another corner, I saw the fluffy red tail disappear again. When will this end?

Sleeeep, you’ve done enough. You’ve worked hard for so long. A cold voice whispered.

Sleep? That sounds nice. I know which way the squirrel went. I’ll just follow it after a short break. I have a lead on the shadows anyway so… just for a few seconds… I’ll close my eyes. The corridor turned darker as I slowed my steps and my body began to tilt. The darkness felt so peaceful.

Get up soldier. You’re not done yet.

Huh? The obstacle course? My mind seemed more detached as the darkness grew closer.

Never let yourself stop.

Grandpa Kwan? Opening my eyes again, I righted myself. pulling a leg forward. My legs felt even heavier than before.

Move it private! Wait’n on you! DOUBLE TIIIIME!

Outlaws lead the way! Outlaws lead the way!

Yes Drill Sergeant. Moving Drill Sergeant. Pushing against the sluggish sensation, I moved my feet, one in front of the other, picking up the pace through what felt like walking against the current in deep waters. I have to keep moving. Can’t be the last one there.

The corridor shook and vibrated as cracks snaked across the walls.

Double time… I pushed myself to move faster, gradually picking up speed.

Let’s move! Move! Move!

Moving Drill Sergeant. It took so much willpower just to keep moving but I can’t let my platoon down. I finally got myself up to a jog and saw the squirrel again. It led me around a labyrinth of walls then disappeared into a brightly lit door frame.

Coming out the other side, a distant squawking echoed in a white space. I was sitting at a fancy looking table with a blonde haired, boyish looking woman in Army fatigues. Mary? What are you doing here? I had a bit of a crush on her. But the last time I saw Mary was at her funeral after that IED…

Looking at me with her pretty blue eyes, she spoke in my Drill Sergeant’s gruff voice. Wake up KoKo! Get your ass out there before it gets intimate with my boot!

...

An incessant squawking pulled me out of my dream. Opening my eyes, I find myself incredibly tired. Turning my head, I see a vibrant, lime-green, ring-necked parrot sitting on the tree root next to me. It stared, turning its head in different angles before flying away.

Laying on my back, just breathing seemed to tire me. I need to get up.

Slowly turning to my side, I pushed myself to a kneeling bow and briefly rested before pulling myself up against a tree.

Picking up my crutch, and horn, I started walking.

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I don’t know how long I’ve been crutching my way through the forest. I didn’t know if it was morning or afternoon. The only thing on my mind was to keep moving. Then I heard snorting.

Stopping, I turned to look at where the snorting was coming from and found a black boar, the size of a bull, facing me from a stone’s throw away. Of course. Why wouldn’t it be a giant boar.

“RE-E-E-E-E-E-E-EH!” It shrieked and charged. Throwing my crutch and horn to the side, I waited until it got close enough and did my best to leap out of the way while throwing a punch to the side of its head.

My jump was barely even a short hop as my thighs got caught in the boars forelegs, sending my punch towards its hindquarters.

*PuhSPLAK!* “RE! REE! REEEEH!” The boar lay thrashing its front legs as its lower body was now a messy stain on the forest floor. Its screeching quickly quieted to a low groan as it tried to get away with its entrails dragging behind. Then it lay silent and unmoving.

The pain from my injuries felt distant, like it was someone else's. I lay panting on the ground, dry leaves swaying with my breath. I need to get away from here…

Pushing myself off the ground, I stand but my vision suddenly turns dark and I fall forward, face-planting into the dirt. Hitting the ground again, I find myself unable to move.

The world was spinning around me and my muscles twitched in my attempt to get up. What do I do from here? Give me strength chi. There has to be a way to use it somehow.

Circulating my chi, I try to empower myself. My skin seemed to glow a bit and it did feel like I had a little more strength but there was no change to the dizziness and the swimming vision. Stretching a hand out towards my crutch, I make a futile attempt at grasping something out of reach. It felt like I could lose consciousness at any moment as I lay there staring through blurring tears. Is this my end?

I’m not afraid of death but… not like this. I worked so long and hard to build my place in this world. There’s so much I’ve put off in life to accomplish this. Love, family… I thought I’d have more time to figure them out.

It can’t end like this. Fighting to stay conscious, I organize what I know about chi so far. Grandpa Kwan said all life had it. I can manipulate it inside and outside my body. It responds to my intentions when attacking… come on… there has to be something.

Chi. What is chi anyway? Where does it come from? I still myself, feeling the power within, trying to find a source. If something exists, it has to come from somewhere. Everything has an origin. If I can just find it, maybe I could do something with it. In desperation, I grasped at the chi within and called out a command. Take me where you come from.

My vision blurred into a hazy image of a stone wall. It felt like I was dreaming and had a ‘floaty’ sensation. Turning around, I saw something bright surrounded by pillars before blacking out.

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When I came to, I was still laying on the forest floor, hand outstretched towards my crutch. Alive.

“Uuugh…” I still felt heavy but at least my breathing was steady now. Slowly flexing my hands, I find I’m able to move again.

Pushing off with my legs, I dragged myself towards the crutch and took my time getting up for fear of passing out again. I managed to stand, leaning heavily on the crutch. It’s going to be difficult carrying the snake horn like this… I don’t want to leave it behind.

Taking the snake horn, I stick it through my pants and let it dangle at the side of my good leg. There we go. Haha.

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“Captains… log… I’m… gonna die.” I continued walking in a daze, unsure of the passage of time. It took conscious effort just to keep breathing properly. The sound of my heartbeat pounded in my ears as I focused on taking one more step forward after the last.

“Ahaha, tou ddibi.”

“Aht tooaht eechee ele toululu!”

“Ha-oo AhtTAH! Aht-keteh Kaya. Tousooah”

Looking up, I realize the trees around me are shorter and arranged in a pattern. Several meters away were children picking berries and filling a woven basket. This seems to be someone’s orchard. I made it. People.

“…auh…gehs…” I attempt to speak but my mouth is too dry and the effort too bothersome. Just a little more.

Focussing on continuing my steps, I slowly make my way towards the chatting children. What language is that anyway?

As I got closer, aside from the short tunics, I noticed they were all wearing fur skirts and bunny ear accessories. I must be crashing some kids costume party. The children spot me and start making a fuss.

“Puleh… Lalai!”

“Lalai! Lalai!”

“Aaaah!”

The children shouted then ran away with incredible speed and stride. The way they ran was beyond impressive, it was impossible. But I couldn’t care about that right now. I think I’m seriously in trouble here.

“Ah…au…Yamka…”

There was one little girl left on a tree branch. She had short, wavy, light brown hair that came down to her jawline. The bunny ears made her look adorable. Poor kid was frozen with fear, hugging the trunk of the tree.

I slowly continued towards her and reached out when a rock hit me on the shoulder.

“Aht olta!” An older girl shouted from a couple meters away. She had chestnut hair in a double ponytail, Pointing a stick at me. “Tou eh-eul tah!”

She seems to have returned for the little girl. Well, stranger danger I guess. It’s a good response. Leaning against the tree, I reach up and take hold of the little girl.

“Aauu-!”

“Kaya!”

Setting the little girl down, I took a moment to let the dizziness pass, then pat her cheek and did my best to smile. Oh no… she's actually crying.

The little girl looked up at me sniffling then turned towards the older one. “Yamka… *hic*”

“Kaya, olta.” The older girl called out but the little one stood frozen in place, hands grasped tightly to her chest.

Making eye contact with the older girl, I motioned for her to come get the little one. She came a couple steps closer but stopped and called out to the little one again.

Come on… I should probably take a few steps back to let her feel safe but my tiredness kept me glued to the tree. I need to follow them to find some adults who can help me. Pulling out the goblin bone knife, I held it up by the blade and tossed it in front of the older girl. I’m giving up a weapon as a show of good faith so this should speed things up.

Contrary to my expectations, the older girl had a horrified look on her face. “Aht. Aht! Kaya…”

Now she’s crying? What did I do? Oh no… I’m about to pass out again. My vision starts to darken again when I hear more mature voices call out.

“Kaya! Yamka!”

““Kaya!””

“Ha-oo vileta!”

Several men and women in similar fur skirts and bunny ear accessories came running towards us. Did I run into a group of LARPers?

“Katoo PUleh!” One of the men shouts at me.

Seriously, what did I do wrong? Is it because I have more weapons? Pulling out the snake fang from my belt loop, I offer it to the man yelling at me but it drops from my hand as the world began to tilt.

My descent was slow. It felt like the world was in slow motion. I had a good look at the fur skirts they were wearing. Not only were they cut diagonally above the knees, but there was a slit on the side revealing well toned thighs and butts. It was very attractive on the ladies but why are the men wearing them too? Regardless, everyone here had amazing legs and butts. Heh, Brazil, eat your heart out.

Finally hitting the ground, I blacked out once again.