The Seamaiden reached the Bayvue docks without incident, and the team quickly transferred to Jack’s truck. The air was breezy, but the normally bustling town appeared almost deserted as they drove through it’s winding, hilly roads. The picturesque houses stood in stark contrast to the eerie quiet that enveloped the area.
“Feels like a ghost town,” Mason remarked, gazing out of the window.
“Maybe everyone evacuated,” Ava suggested, her eyes scanning the surroundings for any signs of life as they drove by. “Or they’re hiding from the aliens.”
Jack kept his eyes on the road, navigating the narrow turns with practiced ease. “Let’s hope that’s the case. We can’t afford any distractions.”
Dr. Turner sat silently in the backseat next to Mason, his thoughts seemingly elsewhere. After a few moments, he spoke up, his voice laced with what sounded like regret. “It’s strange, isn’t it? How quickly everything can change. One moment, you’re pursuing what seems like the greater good, something that could change, even save the world…and the next, you’re facing the consequences of your actions.”
Mason looked at him. “What’re you on about, Turner?”
The scientist sighed, taking a moment to carefully choose his words. “When you study something as…impossible, as extraordinary as extraterrestrial life, you make certain…compromises. You convince yourself that it’s all in the name of progress, that the knowledge you gain will benefit humanity by and large. But sometimes, the lines blur, and you find yourself wondering if you’ve made the right choices.”
Jack glanced at Turner through the rearview mirror, raising a brow in combination of curiosity and concern.
Ava turned to look at him. “Are you saying you had doubts about your research?”
Turner nodded, his expression pained. “Yes, but by the time I realized the full extent of what was happening, it was too late. The path had been set, and there was no turning back.”
Jack tightened his grip on the steering wheel, sensing the tension in Turner’s voice. “We all have to live with our choices. The important thing now is to fix what we can.”
The rest of the drive was filled with a heavy silence, each person lost in their own thoughts, all of them about what Turner said. Was it sympathy for his work? Or was it an admission of guilt cloaked beneath somber words of regret?
As they approached the radio tower, the imposing structure stood high over them, both a beacon of hope that they could at least buy some time and representative of the daunting journey they had before them.
They parked the truck on the paved caliche at the base of the tower and stepped out, the cool breeze brushing against their faces. Mason and Jack began unloading the equipment while Ava and Dr. Turner assessed the climb they needed to make.
“Let’s get this done,” Mason said. “Dr. Turner, you’re the expert. We’ll follow your lead.”
Turner nodded. “We’ll install the signal and adjust it to cover the widest area possible. After that, I will adjust the frequency to the level that disables the aliens and their parasitic counterparts. Let’s make sure all of this is not in vain.”
They wasted no time in climbing up to the top. Mason, being the fastest climber, reached the railed walkway first and began hooking up the equipment. The sun cast long shadows over the hilly landscape, adding an unmatched beauty to the backdrop as he worked.
“All set up!” Mason called down, securing the final connection as Dr. Turner approached him. He stepped back, and the scientist carefully attuned the frequency, the equipment emitting a screeching sound that quickly went silent to their ears as it reached a pitch beyond human hearing.
Almost immediately, the tranquil silence of the area was broken by distant echoes of screaming and shrieking. It was a horrifying realization that they were not alone, and it hit them all at once.
“We need to move, now!” Jack urged.
They climbed down the tower quickly, adrenaline fueling their haste. As soon as they reached the ground, they piled back into Jack’s truck.
“Where to next?” Mason asked, his voice breathless.
“Ava had a great idea,” Jack replied, starting the engine. “There’s an airport five miles down the road. We can use the control tower to send a distress signal.”
Ava nodded, her determination evident. “We can also buy some food at the Pale Sot near there,” she suggested, referring to the tavern that served clientèle from both a nearby lake and the airport. We’ll need all the food, drinks, and supplies we can get.”
Mason grinned, despite the tension. If the place was already hit by the extraterrestrials, he could just break into the vending machines.
As they drove down the winding road, the landscape of the suburbs passed by in a blur. The nice houses and well-kept yards were a stark contrast to the chaos they were experiencing. The drive was mostly uneventful, giving them a brief moment of calm to gather their thoughts and their energy.
The team reached the airport, passing the tavern in the process. The eerie stillness of the place only added to their sense of unease. Jack parked the truck, and they quickly made their way to the control tower, the sense of urgency driving them forward.
Jack, Ava, and Dr. Turner headed straight for the control tower, while Mason went the other direction to the terminal itself, heart set on raiding the snack machines in the main terminal. He moved quickly, filling his three empty backpacks with anything he believed would help them out on their journey: bottled and canned sodas (he made a point to get both), chips, candy bars, single packaged tuna and chicken salad snacks, newspapers, etc). But his curiosity was getting the best of him — he had to look around.
The airport was desolate, looking as if time had stopped. Abandoned luggage lay scattered across the terminal, luggage on the conveyor belts, and grey buckets at the airport’s lone checkpoint held items that went through the x-ray machine but were never collected. The emptiness was unsettling, as if the people had simply vanished. The shock waved over him, but it subsided, and he began taking rubber bands, bulldog clips, stacks of blank paper, markers, first aid kits, and more from the airline and airport offices. Literally anything that he thought would help them. It was a combination of desperation and the thrill of realizing he might be living in a reality that was not unlike his favorite survival video game. He even grabbed a few pieces of luggage on the way to out of the building, then headed back in for more after he unloaded it all into Jack’s truck bed, and made plans to loot several vehicles that would be easy to break into with the unassuming equipment he carried in his pocket.
Inside the control tower, Ava began recording the distress signal. “This is Ava Walker, and this is a distress signal. I am currently broadcasting from the Oakville Regional Airport, but we are on the move. We are facing an hostile invasion and need immediate assistance. We are not helpless, and can provide assistance, too. I repeat, this is a distress signal. Please respond to us – channel 9 on CB, 16 on VHF, or 2-1-8-2 Ham. 73, everyone. Repeat, this is a distress signal.”
Turner and Jack filled their duffel bags with spare CB and radio equipment, headsets, and any other electronics they felt would aid their cause, while Ava programmed and finally hit “submit, loop” on the broadcast device that the tower hosted. Jack wished he could just grab the Cessna, pile everyone and everything into it, and fly across country to get further away, but then he realized that further away could be worse than where they were. Plus, they were in this space right now for a reason.
As Mason finished raiding an energy drink truck, he couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was watching him. His heart raced as he quickly filled his final bag with canned drinks and even more supplies, this time tools from the back of the truck. As he made his way back to the control tower, he noticed something unusual – a few of the parasites lay lifeless on the floor, as if they had been taken out by someone or something else. “Oh.” He noted. “Oh shit.”
He reunited with Jack, Ava, and Dr. Turner at the control tower, his expression tense. “Guys, the terminal…it’s like people just disappeared. And there are dead parasites in there.”
Jack’s eyes narrowed. “Dead parasites? So someone else must have been here.”
Ava nodded. “We can’t afford to stay here any longer. Let’s get what we need and move on.”
They quickly gathered the supplies Mason had collected and made their way back to the truck. The sense of being watched still lingered, adding to their unease.
As they drove back down Airport Blvd, Ava suggested, “We should check out that tavern we passed. It might have more supplies.”
Jack nodded. “Good idea. We need all the resources we can get.”