“Neither of you,” Alton pointed at the both of us, “ever made fun of me when I did venture out in public for a meal with other people. That’s the only reason you’re down here now. I’ve already turned others away before you got here, and I have a list of those who did indeed make fun of me while I was out an about. They won’t step foot inside this house…not without dying. I’ll drag them in here if need be.”
“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that, Alton.” Oscar gave me a very nervous look.
Alton gave a deep, hearty laugh. I looked over at Oscar; he shrugged, not knowing what to make of Alton’s sudden outburst of the funnies. Then the laughter stopped. “But it will. Don’t you two see? It will!”
“I’m not following you, Alton.”
Alton rubbed his head. “Of course you don’t. Look.” He turned in his chair and began typing on one of his keyboards. The monitor before him lit up and a tiny PLAY triangle blinked at the bottom of the screen. “Watch.”
He pushed a button and the video began.
News footage showed people walking into the oceans - not just one or two at a time, but hundreds of people, blank-eyed and staring at nothing. Newscast after newscast showed the same thing all over the world. I had seen some of this footage but it was all new to Oscar. His mouth was open and a blank, disbelieving look filled his face.
The news footage ended and a homemade video took its place. One incredible shot showed the rise of one of the soapy green monoliths from the depths of the ocean - somewhere near India, I think. It was both spectacular and haunting at the same time. Other videos showed locales all over the world, spliced in with newscast footage of the same astonishing events.
Then one particular home video played. One the news media hadn’t shown us.
There was no textual indication of the footage’s location, but having vacationed with Sandi I could tell it was in the tropics somewhere. The camera zoomed in on the monolith. It took me a minute to adjust to the swaying, up and down motion of the camera; it was clear the person recording the video was on a boat.
The camera panned down and I realized then that the monolith did indeed have a base because people were swarming up to it.
To my horror, the people had changed. No two were alike; some had elongated arms, while others sprouted long tentacles from their backs, sides, hips, and other places I will not say. Some no longer possessed feet. They had one thing in common: their eyes had grown large and bulbous, and glistened with a wet, shiny blackness.
They were bowing before the monolith like age-old worshippers to some golden idol, but this idol wasn’t gold - it was completely alien in structure and nature. As the video of the changed humans progressed, I saw the writing - or what appeared to be writing - all over the green stone walls. A few seconds later the camera focused on the inscriptions themselves. The writing was discernible, but still incomprehensible; shapes I couldn’t even begin to understand littered the threefold faces of the triangular structure.
The camera jerked downward. One of the changed humans swimming in the water had reached the boat was clambering aboard. Horror incarnate rose out of the water; tentacles flailed and searched with intelligence, and its flat, wide mouth opened in what I took to be a scream. The thing’s cold black eyes showed no remorse or indeed any human feeling for those onboard the boat. The camera fell to the floor and snow filled the screen.
A few seconds later the picture re-emerged, just in time to show the thing’s misshapen head explode in a ball of green-blue gelatinous liquid. The camera panned back out to the monolith and all the transformed people were diving into the water. Some pointed with their new appendages to the camera before jumped in the sea. The video ended.
Another began instantly. A digital display of 3:30 a.m. blinked in the middle of the black screen.
I knew that time. I was wandering around my house as the outside world turned into a thing from the Wizard of Oz. Blue lightning arced from the apex of the monolith and then the video screen split into twelve screens, each showing a different monolith but all crowned by that halo of wild lightning. A blinding blue flash filled the twelve displays – then, total blackness. I sat back in my chair and rubbed my temples. A piercing throb had taken residence in my head. Oscar sat on the edge of his seat and chewed on his thumbnail.
The video footage came back to life. Planets filled the monitor screen. I recognized those planets from when Sandi and I ventured outside after the blue light. The video then changed to a small man wearing glasses. Sound blared through the speakers. The man talked like one of those car announcers on TV at the end of the commercial telling you the fine print - fifty bazillion words as fast as you can.
“Alton, it’s worse than we feared. The moon didn’t come with us. You know what that means? I’ve done calculations as well, Alton. The Earth has stopped moving.
“Say goodbye to the coasts as we know them. New York is gone, LA is already halfway underwater and that’s just the start. Give it a month - if we survive that long - and the United States will be half the size it is now. I’m talking fast to preserve power. I hope you get this. I will be on 1790 freq when you get a chance to reply. One good thing: the atmosphere has amplified the signal for the hammers. It’s clearer than any cell phone we could ever hope for.
“A warning: Stay away from water of any kind with any depth. They are swimming everywhere now and they only seem to want to kill. I’m making the following educated guess. I hope I’m wrong but I doubt it. The change has long since passed. Those of us remaining are only here as food to sustain them. Food.
“But they do have enemies. I’m uploading some footage that’s close to home for you, and some others that people have sent me. I might have cracked the code on the monoliths. I need you to do some things for me your end. I only wish I had your computers for this. Remember, don’t go near the water. Look forward to your thoughts.”
The video shifted to an aerial shot of New Orleans; I picked it up right away as the Superdome was front and center. Other helicopters flew like gnats in the darkened sky, darting here and there, all wanting to get a glimpse of the new events. The camera jerked right and out of the bay a thing rose from the salty waters that had no right to exist. Water from the girth and sudden upsurge of the thing overran the levees of the city; within seconds New Orleans was half submerged.
The thing then moved or swam - I couldn’t tell from the camera angle - but needless to say it did the impossible. It raised itself to a horrific height, and literally dwarfed the Superdome. Its mighty maw, at least twenty city blocks wide, opened and feeler-like tentacles erupted from the blackness of its throat. They searched the air and the ground in rapid, writhing, sinuous movements.
The camera jerked left. It zoomed in on a helicopter just as a reddish-black tentacle snatched it out of the air. The chopper didn’t have a chance. The tentacle pulled it down to the thing’s mouth and the aircraft vanished into the darkness.
The creature was not meant to walk upright. I could see it straining to hold its body clear of the water.
Moments later its teeth-filled mouth closed and the thing plummeted to earth. The Superdome vanished beneath it. A wall of water at least fifty feet high spread through the city. Buildings crumbled and cars scattered like a giant child’s toys thrown away in boredom. All were lost in the tidal surge.
I dared not think of the lives lost in that instant. Images of Katrina ran through my mind as I watched. More tentacles, splitting at the tips, emerged from the thing’s body and searched for any survivors within reach.
Shapes in the water moved towards the creature. The misshapen things swam around it and in seconds thousands of beings surrounded its massive girth. In unison, they bowed. I blinked. My God, were they actually worshipping it? The camera shook and wobbled, then steadied.
I watched in horror as new tentacles – thin, rope-like appendages that moved with the speed of cracking bullwhips – emerged from the beast. The ropes wrapped around dozens of the misshapen th
ings that seemed to worship the behemoth and lifted them high in the air above the creature’s mouth. I didn’t want to see anymore but I found myself unable to look away. The tentacles released their captives and the changed things vanished into the creature’s black throat. The process repeated itself over and over and to my horror I saw the creatures in the water were multiplying. In seconds the thing had eaten hundreds of them, but still more came to meet their deaths.
The scene from New Orleans ended. New stills and short, five-ten second clips followed. I saw the Z birds that had attacked me and killed my wife. Other creatures followed; the stuff of nightmares.
All these and no telling what else inhabited our world now. I shuddered and heard Oscar sniff. The monitor then showed scenes from cities around the world. It was all the same. Dark grey skies, lightning streaking across the sky and occasionally striking ruined skyscrapers, streets potted and littered with wrecked cars as people ran wild and screaming. Most of the tall buildings were in ruin, and the mist hung just above their shattered remains. I saw the Z birds fly between the ruined buildings and then swoop down on some unlucky individual or group who, in vain, ran for their lives.
After what felt like an age the footage of the cities ended. It was replaced by a computer-generated map of the entire world surmounted by a digital calendar and clock. In a few moments the map changed to show the water encroachment. Pixels moved, the display shifted, the digital days flew by and the water moved steadily inward. Within one month half the world’s landmass was gone.
Alton pressed a button on the keyboard and the video ended. “Now do you have a better understanding of what’s going on?”
I couldn’t say or do anything but shake my head. Oscar let out a miserable groan and whispered to me, “This is just too much, Trent. Way too much.”
I asked Alton the most outlandish question I could think of, one I hoped he had an answer for but I didn’t get my hopes up. Not after what happened to Sandi and what I had seen on his monitor. “Alton, is there a way to get back home?”
“You mean back to our spot in the Milky Way?”
“Yeah.”
“Dean Winters seems to think so. He was the man in the video clip, a colleague of mine.”
Oscar shook his head and mumbled something, and then looked up at Alton. “How?”
“Would you like a refill on your drinks?” Alton said, “It seems you’ve finished both of them.”
“I’ll take a refill…please,” Oscar said.
I nodded in agreement. Alton quickly replenished our drinks. He settled down in his chair and began again.
“Dean was the one -”
Oscar interrupted him. “Alton, how did you get all this footage? It’s only been a little over three hours.”
“Three hours?” Alton said sharply. “The people began walking into the ocean over three weeks ago, Oscar, and the monoliths appeared only days after that. I set to work right away as did my colleagues. We’d have more information if we had clear images and not video tape to analyze and study.”
“Oh.”
“Is all this registering upstairs, Oscar?” Alton asked. “I know it’s hard to imagine let alone grasp with so much thrown at you.”
“Yes, it’s registering,” Oscar said defensively.
Alton raised his palms. “I mean no insult to your intelligence, Oscar. Please, don’t take it that way. Weaker minded men would be gibbering idiots after seeing the video footage you just saw...and the things you personally experienced.”
“What about the military, Alton?” I asked. “Surely they’ve done some good, haven’t they?”
“You’d think that wouldn’t you? Sadly, our glorious Navy has all but been wiped out. The transformed humans swarmed the ships and left no survivors. The ports have all but been destroyed as well…you know…water and all.”
“Well, what about the Air Force, the Army, and the damn Marines?” Oscar yelled.
“After the complete annihilation of the Navy the military decided to save its own skin. All efforts have been to protect the President and top government officials and the like. No National Guard either, I’m afraid.”
“Well, shit,” Oscar said.
“I’m surprised they haven’t decided to go the nuclear route,” I said.
“I’m certain they’ve considered it,” Alton said, “but why they haven’t gone through with it is anyone’s guess.”
We were silent. I looked around Alton’s room, and despite the horror I had witnessed I found myself impressed with what I saw. The technology in this room was expensive. “Hey, Alton.”
“Yes?”
“What do you do to afford all of this?”
“I teach computer programming courses for three online campuses. Why do you ask?”
“I just know it takes a lot of green to afford all this.”
He laughed. “Well, Trent, it’s not as expensive as you might think, but I think I spent my money wisely through the years.”
Oscar looked around the room. “You would never have guessed all this was down here.”
I shook my head trying to make sense of all this. My thoughts jumped from one thing to another. I couldn’t focus on anything for long, but I had to try. “How many friends or colleagues do you have that are like you with this sort of set-up?”
“Like mine? Not very many, Trent. Only two reside in the state: Dean Winter and Harvey Truboix. In the United States a handful, but I don’t know all of them. I know three of them very well: Leon Smalls, Wade Carrington, and Jerrod Little. Dean and Wade are the ones responsible for cracking the code on the monoliths.”
“Cracking the code?” Oscar asked.
“Yes, the code - or the writing - on the monoliths. Wade and Dean have deciphered the language on the walls. They can read what it says.”
“Do they all say the same thing?” I asked.
“Pretty much, Trent. Most are word for word with a just a few exceptions.”
“These being?”
“They are numbered in a totally perplex and elaborate system. There are a total of forty-seven monoliths spread across the globe. We think it’s how they ‘started up’ so to speak.”
“Started up?” Oscar asked.
“Yes, to become activated and operational enough to move a planet.”
“Oh.” Oscar went quiet again.
“Can we reverse the order?”
“You asked that already, Trent. Dean and Wade think it’s possible. I’ve told you that. Are you getting all this?”
I stifled a chuckle. “Yes, I’m getting it all too well, I’m afraid.”
“Good. I was beginning to worry.”
“No need, Alton. Oh, by the way: what are ‘hammers?’ I heard Dean mention it in the video.”
Alton smiled at the word. “HAM radio, of course.”
“Ah.”
“For whatever reason our new position and the combining of the atmospheres has put an amplifier in radio signals. Regular radio is ten times better, but it’s the HAM radios that get the biggest boost.”
“I take it you have one of these down here?” I asked.
“In the next room over there at the north end. Actually, I have four of them in there.” Alton pointed to yet another door behind the staircase.
“Four?”
“Hey, it’s a hobby of mine,” Alton said. “One is an old model and has seen better days. I just keep it around as a keepsake. I’ve had it since I was a young boy.”
I saw the love for these things in his eyes, and in that moment I felt sorry for Alton. No one got to know this man for who he really was. He was a bit odd, but aren’t we all in some way? The talk around town about Alton wasn’t complimentary and it’s a damned shame. Aside from the horrific events that had changed our world, I had enjoyed our talk with Alton; he was just as regular as anyone else in town and I’m sure he had knowledge that could have helped some people if they had only asked. A lot of people had missed out by not taking the time to know Alton Sleighbac
h and that was their loss. If they only knew the salvation of our world was in his hands I bet they’d all have sung a different tune.
“Have you told anyone that the monoliths can be reversed?” I asked.
Alton laughed. “You’re kidding right?”
“No, I’m not.”
“Do you honestly think they would listen to me even if I could get in touch with someone who could do something about it?”
“Any of the cell towers work?” Oscar asked.
“Most didn’t make the shift. Those that did are dying fast. People are burning them up and overloading the circuitry. They won’t even make twenty-four hours at that rate.”
“Damn,” Oscar said.
“I guess the phones are a no-go as well?” I asked.
“Cell phones get a busy signal and the regular phone lines fried when the monoliths activated. Even if you send a text there’s almost a twenty minute delay for the message to go through - if it goes through at all.”
“Wonderful,” Oscar chimed in again.
“I guess it’s every person for themself, then,” I said.
“Correct, Trent.”
“How many would it take to accomplish reversing the monoliths?”
“Dean said a couple of people at the most. That’s if you make it there at all and don’t run into any problems while you are at the monolith. Remember the footage of the things swarming the monoliths: it’s only gotten worse, Trent, but I guess it is doable if you’re carrying the right stuff with you.”
“Where would you have to be to reverse the order and put us back where we belong?” I took another drink of my Coke. To my surprise the can was empty.
“Dean seems to think that anyone can start the process, you’d just have to initiate the monolith you’re at as number one.”
“Is the language hard to grasp and read if someone has a key?”
“It’s very complex. Dean or Wade would have to be present.”
“And where are Dean and Wade located?” Oscar asked.
“Dean is not far from us, actually. Wade is in Missouri.”
Dreaming In Darkness Page 33