Eternal Horizon: The Chronicle of Vincent Saturn (Eternal Horizon: A Star Saga Book 1) (3 page)

“
Get out of there, you fool!
” Alex shrieked in horror, looking past Vincent at the body.

“He’s wounded!” Vincent added before he turned back and froze. The man was staring right back at him! But there was something strange about this man: slightly pointy ears and eyes with shimmering crystals in the middle of his pupils. His rugged face was full of remorseful pain that he held within, seemingly fighting until the last minute to stay alive. Grizzled long hair extended down to his shoulders, forming a large widow’s peak on his high forehead, revealing that this alien man was in his elder years.

Before Vincent could open his mouth, he felt a grip on his wrist.

“Texanorra…” the creature garbled.

Vincent heard Alex shouting his name, ringing hollow… somewhere far… eons away… and then he saw a flash of lights—thousands upon thousands of little bright lights that bathed him, engulfed him, blinded him…

Then he saw visions—multiple visions that passed before his eyes like frames of a broken film reel. He saw millions of people crying in agony… he felt a sudden poignant pain—the kind he’d never felt before… a mechanical pyramid floating in the starry sky... a young man kneeling on a large flight of stairs with a dead woman in his hands...

Complete darkness swept over him.

*

Alex fell back, and the door of the shuttle closed; it was as if some unseen force shoved him out.

“
No!
” he screamed at the top of his lungs. “
Vincent!
” He jumped up and began slamming the door with the butt of his gun and his fist.

The soldiers rushed down into the crater, but a loud noise from the vessel forced them to reconsider. They stopped, weapons drawn, a bewildered look on their faces as the ship exerted out of the ground and began floating above them, tilting its bow towards the sky.

“
Shoot it!
” one of the soldiers shouted, opening fire.

“
No!
” Alex cried out amidst the discharge.

The giant engines opened, and blue and orange flames burst out, sending the ship straight up into the sky in fractions of a second.

The soldiers continued shooting.

“
Cease fire!
” Alex yelled out again, trying to grasp what happened. “My God…” he whispered. “Vincent.” His heart meagerly beating, eyes filling with tears, he ran up the crater wall and fell but continued nevertheless, clambering up. He hurried to one of the troops inside a military van. “Soldier, what do you see on the radar?
Where’s that ship?
”

“Sir,” the man replied, “it disappeared from our radar, and…” He paused, wiping the sweat off his forehead.

“
And what?
”

“It’s gone out of the atmosphere, sir,” the soldier finished with a shrug.

“What do you mean,
gone?
” Alex grabbed the
lad
by the collar. “Where is it, then?”

“That ship moved too fast for us to calculate its speed, sir. At that velocity, it might very well be on the other side of the solar system by now.” The soldier cleared his throat. “I’m sorry, sir.”

Alex felt weak in the back of his knees. He dropped his pistol and stumbled back, trying to maintain balance. “How will I explain this,” he mumbled, sitting down on the ground. He stared up into the evening sky, tears rolling down his cheeks. “Damn it, Vincent! You never listen to me!” He smashed the dry soil. He then took out his cell and dialed his friend’s number in a desperate attempt, but to his own dismay reached the voicemail recording he’d heard countless times, “Hi, this is Special Agent Vincent Saturn…”

*

Vincent awoke with the biggest headache he had ever had. His entire body ached as well, his left leg was cramped up, and drool covered the bottom portion of his face. It felt as if he had been asleep for days. Without pondering where he was, he rolled on his back and realized he was lying on a cold metal floor instead of his comfy bed. Opening his eyes to total darkness, he began peering at the shadows, trying to distinguish his whereabouts. He could gradually make out the shape of a chair and a control panel of a large vehicle. He stared at it for a few seconds and then promptly sat up, retracing his steps.

He realized
where
he was.

In complete panic, he began brushing his hands around the floor for the flashlight.

“
Alex!
” he cried out. He got up and took a staggering step into the darkness, noticing—much to his surprise—that the floor of the ship was level. He supported himself on the wall and looked behind. The windshield was covered in a thick layer of dirt from the impact, yet some light escaped through the cracks. Apparently, the vessel was out of the ground.
But how is it out?
was the more important question.

“What the…?” he said. He then turned towards the stern and saw a source of light emitting from the ship’s doorway. “
Alex!
” he repeated, limping towards the light alongside the wall. But just as he took several steps, he saw a moving shadow and felt a powerful blow to the back of his head that sent him reeling to the floor.

“
Larikhan
ka
hanno
!
” his attacker screamed out in a bizarre tongue.

Vincent rolled over and recoiled. His aggressor was every bit human—a brown-skinned, bald man of average height—but yet not human at all somehow. Some of his facial features were different: his nose was ridged throughout the top part of its shaft; his eyes were blue—dark blue, almost black; and the most unusual thing about this alien was the dazzling green crystal embedded in the middle of his forehead. He was dressed like a human as well, donning a camouflaged shirt, cargo pants, a pair of combat boots, and a gun-belt around his waist with one of the revolvers that he carried; the other he held in his gloved hand, frantically pointing it at Vincent.

“
Larikhan
ka
hanno
!” the creature repeated as he aggressively shoved the barrel into Vincent’s cheekbone.

“I don’t understand,” Vincent replied, fighting to keep his cool. He gently pushed away the gun.

“
Larikhan
ka
hanno
!” The alien pointed his weapon at Vincent’s bloody glove.

“
I said I don’t understand!
”

The alien became quiet for a second, baffled. He took a step back, his weapon still pointed at Vincent’s face, and reached into one of his multiple pockets. He pulled out a small device and stretched it out.

Vincent dubiously looked at the alien and at the gadget.

“
Serama
niche,” the alien said, trying to hand him the device.

Vincent didn’t move, hoping that Alex or the soldiers would burst in and rescue him from the hostile creature.

“
Serama
niche ka
pett
!” The alien raised his voice. He then pulled out a similar mechanism out of his own ear and plugged it back in. He stretched out his hand again. “
Kha
!
”

Vincent realized he’d no choice but to consent, so he took off his gloves and reached for the device, which was an electronic gadget in the shape of a pill.

“
Serama
niche!” the alien repeated.

“Fine, then!” Vincent said and plugged the device in his ear. It fit perfectly, as if it were specifically designed for him. “Well?” he then said, louder. “Nothing’s happening.” He slowly got up, ignoring the weapon.

“Do you understand me now?” the alien said in perfect English.

“Whoa!” Vincent jerked back and slammed his back against the wall. “What the… what was that?”

“What I gave you is called a ‘Neural Translator’—a device that deciphers every intelligent language into one you can understand.”

“A
neuro
… neural translator?”

“I’m no professor,” the alien said impatiently, “I don’t know how it works. But now that we got the communication problem out of the way…” He clenched his weapon. “Who and
what
are you? And just what are you doin’ on Oryon’s ship?
Where are they?
”

“Slow down.” Vincent raised his hands. “I don’t know what’s going on here, but—”

“
Who
are you?”

“My name’s Vincent Saturn. I’m a federal agent. This ship crashed on our soil, and I was just investigating. I didn’t mean to intrude—”

“
Liar!
” The alien once again pointed the gun in Vincent’s face. “Where’s Oryon Krynne?”

“Who?”

“Did I stutter?
Oryon!
”

“I swear to you, I have no idea who he is!” Vincent cried out. “There are billions of people on this planet! I don’t know who this Ryan is!”

The creature paused, his face contorted in confusion.

“There are many soldiers outside, and they’ll shoot you unless you lower that weapon and come with me,” Vincent continued. “Then I’ll help you find this… this… Ryan.”

“What…?” The alien stepped back and glanced over his shoulder at the exit. He then asked, “Just what system are you from?”

“System? I don’t understand your question. I’m human, if that’s what you mean.”

The alien frowned. “A human? Never heard of ’em! Where are the men that were supposed to be on this ship? What have you
humans
done with ’em?”

“You’re the only one I see,” Vincent said.

“Speak, or I’ll kill you!” The alien was infuriated, demanding information that was beyond Vincent’s grasp.

Vincent raised his hands again. “Put down your weapon! No one’s going to harm you! If the soldiers see an alien, they’ll certainly open fire!”

“Stop
threatenin
’ me with some damn soldiers!” the creature retorted. “You’re
speakin
’ in riddles!” He paused for a second and then said, “And just who in the hell are you
callin
’ an alien?”

“Well… you…” Vincent said in an undertone.

“You’re the alien! I’ve never seen anyone like you!”

“Look, if you put your gun down and step outside with me, I’m sure I can resolve all of this.”

“You’ve no idea just where you’re at, do ya?” the alien asked, easing, a smirk appearing on his face. “Just where do you think you are?”

A rush of uncertainty passed through Vincent. He gasped for air as doubts ran through his mind. He tried to remember his last steps before the blackout, and then he thought about how long was he out for…“We’re on Earth,” he muttered, unsure whom he was trying to convince.

“Earth system? Never heard of it either. Now, stop
confusin
’ me,” the alien sustained. “Oryon… where’s he? What happened to him? Where’s Duell?
Talk!
”

Vincent shrugged. “I have no idea
what
or
who
you’re talking about.”

“How did
you
end up on this ship, then?”

“I’m sorry,” Vincent said, clasping his head, “but I don’t remember… there was a spark of light… and then…well, then you woke me up.”

“
Liar!
I saw you
ransackin
’ the ship as I entered!”

“I wasn’t ransacking; I don’t even remember how I got here!”

“And the blood?” The alien pointed his pistol at the stain on Vincent’s pants, at the gloves on the floor, and at the puddle in the cockpit.