Where the Strangers Live

by Phipps, Oliver

  The images were blurry at first, but as they watched, the images became clearer and were very realistic and frightening. In one of the round areas, a large serpent like creature with the upper body of a woman could be seen moving towards men armed with spears and crude weapons. On the serpent woman's head were six snakes all alive and moving about. They appeared to be cobras and extended around three feet from the head of the strange snake woman.

  In the other round area that displayed images they could see the scenes as if watching from the eyes of the serpent headed woman. They saw the terror in the men's eyes as they tried to fight the creature. It was as if the strange creature had a camera in her head that was recording the violence and terror.

  Sophie let out a sound of shock as the realistic images became clear and played out before them. "That's a Gorgon, one of the Greek mythological creatures."

  Without turning from the shocking images Troy responded to Sophie's comment.

  "You mean like Medusa?"

  "Yeah, that's it. Medusa was one, but not the only one. There were a number of them if I remember correctly. One of my college classes covered Greek mythology. These images are not like any movie I've ever seen though." Sophie spoke but had difficulty turning from the startling images.

  The snake woman attacked the men again and again. The snakes bit them with a violent ferocity. The men screamed and backed up. As some fell from the lethal snakebites, others appeared to "freeze" from fear and became victims of the Gorgon. Still the other men tried to fight off the attack. Then women and children could be seen as the battle moved forward and it became evident that the men were trying to defend their village and families.

  Sophie now put her hand to her mouth as the snake woman attacked the remaining men and then the women and children.

  "My god, what is this? It looks so real. Is this some sort of movie?"

  As she said this and they watched the terrible holographic images of carnage in front of them, they failed to notice the fog substance in the glass cylinder beside them had completely disappeared.

  Now the lights were bright and from the corner of her eye Sophie noticed movement in the glass cylinder beside them.

  Troy and Eliot watched the images closely as the scenes changed and now the snake woman fought men who seemed to be ancient Greek soldiers. The men wore Grecian armor and fought the attacking creature with spears, swords and ancient weapons. Troy noticed a few of the soldiers also froze with fear and the serpents on the woman's head quickly bit these and continued attacking the soldiers with a violent aggressiveness.

  Sophie turned to the large cylindrical structure and immediately felt as if she were about to be run over by a train. Fear clenched her every muscle in a strained contraction as she viewed with terror the very same creature staring down at her with serpent eyes. The creature was every bit of seven feet tall. The snakeheads were moving about with an ominous precision, as if stalking prey.

  The Gorgon's upper body was of a woman. Her face was symmetrical and attractive, but her eyes were of a snake. Her exposed breasts were large and full. Her skin was an emerald color with a bluish sheen. Her lower half was of a large snake and over her backside were the distinct emerald green snake scales. Her underside resembled a snake's belly until the mid-section and then it merged into a woman's stomach and chest with the color being a lighter emerald green.

  Sophie moaned a little as fear had caused her to completely freeze in place. Troy and Eliot continued to watch the scenes playing out in front of them and remained unaware of the large Gorgon slithering about right next to them.

  Then the two men noticed the strange behavior of Sophie. Both studied her frozen appearance briefly, and then turned to the clear cylindrical structure just in time to see several of the large cobra heads strike the barrier between them.

  "Ohh, shi......eezz, Son of a! what the hel...!” The two men both stumbled back in fear. As they did so they pushed Sophie and she came out of her trance screaming. All three fell to the floor and scrambled on their hands and knees to get away from the Gorgon.

  As the three crawled and scooted away from the Gorgon's container they moved up to another larger cylindrical structure. Immediately upon getting close to this large container Sophie realized there was something in it and again screamed as she beheld the frightening creature moving around inside.

  Troy and Eliot now turned their attention up to the massive beast moving inside and glaring down at them.

  This creature had the body of a massive horse. Eliot immediately realized the horse body resembled a Clydesdale as he'd been close to this breed of horse before. Where the neck was, a large and burly man sprouted from the horse body. The man appeared to be the size of a huge football player as he was muscular and had armor as well as a helmet that resembled something from ancient Greece. He held a shield in one hand and a large sword in the other.

  Now the three scrambled away from this case as panic grabbed them from deep inside. Sophie began to cry and as Troy gazed about the massive bay area he noticed all the cases no longer had the liquid fog inside them and he could see strange and frightening creatures moving about inside the round holding devices.

  "Cela ne peut pas être réel. This is impossible; we're over four miles under the ocean. How can this be real?" Sophie expressed the disbelief all three felt as they cautiously stood up and moved quickly away from the large and frightening assortment of creatures.

  With her only thought being to get away, Sophie continued to move with a sense of panic, but she moved in the opposite direction of the Oceana. Troy and Eliot followed her as they also had no desire to go near the creatures.

  Backing up, they moved into a large hallway and the lights began to come on as if triggered by a sensor in the doorway. All three stood gazing into the large open bay area with the multitude of cylindrical containers holding the strange creatures.

  Finally Sophie calmed down and all three felt a little more secure in the hallway.

  "That's a Centaur. They're a mythological beast. They don't exist." She pointed to the large half horse and half man moving about in its case.

  "That's a Gorgon, and over there," she pointed to a large case across from the Centaur. "That's a Minotaur."

  Troy and Eliot examined the strange creature moving about inside the enclosed case. It had the head of a bull and a giant body of a man. The lower quarters were of a bull also and altogether the massive creature stood over seven feet tall, or more.

  "What is this place?" Troy moved cautiously back to the creature holding area as he strained to see the other cases.

  "Troy, don't go back in there." Sophie spoke with a whispered voice.

  "I just want to see what's on the other side of these things." He pointed at the creatures they had already seen as he moved back into the large bay area.

  Eliot now moved carefully behind Troy.

  "You guys don't leave me here." Sophie said in a louder whispering voice, and then crept out of the hallway and behind Eliot.

  "We've got to find out what's going on here." Troy spoke back to them in a whispered voice now as well.

  As they walked slowly back into the open bay area, the Gorgon slid back and forth in an obvious desire to get through the containment case and attack them. Occasionally, one or two of the snakes attached to her head would strike the clear barrier; this caused a loud thumping noise that sent a cringing fear through all three. Sophie would jump a little at every instance of the snakes striking.

  When they had ventured a ways back into the area containing the creatures, all three looked around in an effort to gather any information possible.

  "Those holographic scenes are playing on all the containment chambers now; do you see that." Eliot pointed at the visible images playing on the control console of the Centaur.

  Troy and Sophie examined the images and though at a distance, observed the scenes similar to those of the Gorgon. The Centaur was attacking soldiers and with his sword and shield in hand the massive b
east was decimating the unfortunate group of men.

  They glanced cautiously past the closest chambers and could see what appeared to be a small dragon moving about in its enclosure. On this chamber they could also see the images of this strange creature attacking soldiers in ancient armor. These men however looked to be oriental.

  "It's as if the holographic shows are samples of the destruction these creatures can inflict."

  Eliot and Sophie nodded and made sounds indicating they agreed with Troy's observation. Sophie again moved close enough to Troy that he could feel her body heat. Eliot noticed this and frowned a bit, though the other two didn't see it.

  The three stood for several minutes at the edge of the bay area, struggling to believe the unreal sites before them. Then, as the situation seemed very dire; Troy spotted something that sent chills throughout his entire body.

  "Oh My God,” he spoke now with unrestrained fear in his voice. The other two turned to where he looked. As Sophie noticed what Troy saw on the other side of the bay area, she began to cry.

  "Non, non , oh mon Dieu , pas....." She backed up and Troy and Eliot also backed slowly into the hall they had ventured from earlier. When they reached the hallway they stopped briefly to assess the new threat.

  Across the bay and in the area they had come from initially stood six beings staring across the bay and directly at them. They simply stood there and as the three watched them the beings initially made no move.

  "Are they human?" Eliot strained to see them from across the bay and in-between the various chambers.

  "This is not good. I don't think they're people. This is not anything made by the Americans or Russians. This is not good... Oh my God, I think we're going to die." Sophie's voice trembled with fear as she stared at the strange beings.

  Troy could see they wore some type of dark overalls. Their hair was black and appeared similar to a mane rather than the familiar characteristic of human hair. As he strained to identify their features another one walked in front of these six.

  "There's another one. We're out numbered more than two to one now." Eliot spoke with an obvious attempt to sound brave.

  Then, all seven of the strange beings began moving towards them.

  "Let's go!" Troy pulled on the other two and all three darted down the hall in an effort to get away from the new danger. The hall they moved down had by now lit up and as soon as the three found an open doorway Troy turned to go in quickly.

  Before they'd gone inside very far, the sights the room presented to them immediately halted their entry. Sophie and the two men cringed as they saw various sections of human bodies and an assortment of other creature’s body parts; all residing in the odd clear chambers. The parts were hanging by tiny wires and other connections. The strange grayish colored liquid fog floated in a mist all around the chambers.

  Sophie grimaced at the sight and began backing out of the doorway. "It looks like they're preserving body parts to use for experiments." Sophie's French accented voice cracked with fear. She moved back out of the doorway with Troy and Eliot following her and again the three jogged down the hallway in an effort to escape.

  Another door presented itself just as the strange beings appeared in the doorway the three had just fled from. Eliot glanced back at them quickly as he, Sophie and Troy moved closer to the next door. As the strange beings came up to this area they stopped. Again he counted seven of them and they now appeared to be blocking the door leading back to the area with the Gorgon and other creatures.

  "Come on Eliot." Sophie again spoke in a loud whisper as if this might somehow help their dire situation.

  Upon reaching the next entrance and peering in, the scene was obviously no more inviting than the last door. This appeared to be the room where the strange fighting creatures were assembled. Tables with various restraints along the sides as well as lifting devices and a multitude of other scientific and medical apparatuses were all positioned throughout the room and along the walls.

  "No, not in here, we'll be trapped." As soon as Eliot said this all three quickly moved on down the hallway again. Sophie glanced back quickly and realized the beings were now following them again.

  "They’re coming up behind us." Her voice was strained even more under the increased stress.

  The three soon came up to a large opening that was half circular. Above the entrance was an odd sign with unfamiliar marking's. The odd figures glowed slightly and as they passed through a strange sound similar to a chime could be heard as each one entered.

  When all three had entered and stood inside this darker room that was about twenty-five feet square, they heard sounds as of movement all around them. Troy thought the sounds were similar to a hydraulic system starting up.

  "I don't know what this place is but I don't like it. Let's get out of here before we get trapped." Eliot then tried to move. His legs and feet moved but he went nowhere. Now Troy and Sophie tried to walk. They also went nowhere.

  "The floor is moving under us." Troy exclaimed as he looked down. It was as if they were on tiny rollers or ice. They took steps but went nowhere.

  Everything now began to change around them. The room moved as if they were in a three-dimensional computer program and within a few seconds they all stood in a completely alien environment.

  In a bewildered tone of voice Eliot spoke as he moved around and examined the strange jungle type surroundings.

  "What's going on? Did we just beam to another planet?"

  "I don't think so. This is some sort of environment manipulation room I think." Troy replied to Eliot but spoke with an equal amount of bewilderment.

  "So if we move." Sophie took several steps and appeared to be moving. "We seem to move and feel as if we're moving, but everything around us is actually moving?"

  "I think so. This must be what the planet looks like that those beings are from."

  Just as Troy said this Eliot pulled his arm and had him turn around. "Yeah, well they're right behind us now." The odd beings stood in the circular entryway staring at the three of them.

  "Let's just go!" Sophie began to run and without much thought Troy and Eliot again fell in behind her.

  Dampness began to permeate around them and a purple light floated in a misty haze. The leaves of the odd plants were damp and the air held a heavy sweet smell. They soon came to a path and Sophie followed it in a desperate bid to get away from the strange pursuers.

  "Slow down Sophie!" Troy tried to catch up to her. He began to realize they were actually going nowhere. Though they seemed to be traveling far he knew it must be the scenery around them that was actually moving and not them.

  Sophie stopped and tried to catch her breath. She began to cry now as she leaned over in exhaustion.

  "We're never going to get away from them are we?"

  Troy glanced back. He began to feel the fear now that Sophie expressed. They were trapped. They could run as much as they wanted to but would never get away from the beings. He tried to sound brave.

  "I think we're stuck." He glanced around at the strange surroundings.

  Then, something crept through the damp leafy bushes towards them. All three stood watching fearfully as the sounds of the unknown threat moved towards them. Suddenly the head of a snake like creature moved through the bushes and looked at them. It was the size of a large dog's head and it had teeth like those of a barracuda fish. The strange creature stared at them.

  Sophie screamed and all three took off running from fear. The wet leaves struck them as they passed through the jungle along the small pathway.

  After a few minutes of running, the jungle dispersed from around them and rather suddenly they were in an open area with odd houses and buildings around them.

  "This is unbelievable." Eliot gazed around in awe. "Are you sure we didn't beam to another planet?"

  Though Troy also felt they had somehow been transported to another planet his logical side prevailed.

  "No, I believe we're the same place that we were wh
en we walked into the room. But it certainly seems as though we're on another planet."

  The area resembled a city built in a swamp. The buildings and houses were on stilts but also featured advance technology that incorporated natural surroundings with living and working facilities. The path they had been on now moved onto a walkway that spanned over the swampy waters. Lights lined both sides of the walkway as the purple sky above them didn't appear to grow either brighter or darker.

  "What now?" Sophie asked, still trying to catch her breath.

  "Let's get away from this jungle." Troy began walking along the walkway and the other two followed close by.

  They began to get a better look at the strange beings as several walked out of their house and onto what looked like their porch. They looked at the three humans but made no irregular reaction.

  Their hair resembled the mane of a horse. It ran down their neck and a few inches down their backs. The females allowed their hair to grow longer and the males kept theirs shorter.

  They generally had features similar to humans, but their faces were dark and had faint stripes of a lighter color, similar to tiger stripes.

  The three continued to walk along the path while trying to get a better look at the aliens and they in turn went about their activities with no regard to the humans.

  "They don't even notice us." Sophie sort of took hold of Troy's arm as she said this and after they walked directly past more of the aliens.

  "I don't believe they're real. This has to be some sort of environmental re-creation chamber. Maybe this is to make those other aliens feel at home."

  "You think the real aliens come here on their off time?" Eliot never looked at Troy when he asked this but continued to watch the aliens closely.

  "Well, yeah I guess so. This is a simulation, but I guess the real aliens could come here and do much of the things they would do on their home planet."

  Right after saying this Troy turned and again had a rush of fright, “oh no."

  Now the other two turned to see what he spoke of. Behind them about a hundred feet stood the seven aliens that had been pursuing them earlier. They made no move but simply stood watching the humans.