Darkworld: Earth

2.14.

The shuttle dropped out of the hyperatomic plane, and Gabriel soaked in the light of Sol for the first time in almost two years. They weren’t close enough for the sun to be particularly bright, but it was the brightest star in the sky.

There were eighteen of the shuttles in the fleet. The Earthlings were all aboard one of them, with Yonohoan delegates on each of the others. A single monolithic fortress ship sat in the center of the fleet; one of the self-defense ships had followed them from planet Totola to defend the unarmed shuttles.

The Keeper was also en route with its own protector in case whichever force had stopped it previously decided to make a reappearance. Due to its relatively slow speed, it would take some time to arrive in Sol's system.

He thought back to his brief stay on the alien planet and smiled. He had only seen the hospital, but it had been a pleasant stay. They’d had a more thorough examination, but mostly they had relaxed in the peaceful environment. Gabriel had spent some time consoling Sarah, who was still recovering from the shock of having her delusions shattered by Diego.

He knew that the next few weeks would not be nearly so pleasant. The Yonohoans might be confident in their ability to detect and prevent the spread of any diseases that their human allies might have brought to or picked up on the planet, but the people of Earth would not be nearly so laid back about the matter.

Hopefully they had a good selection of books in whatever military hospital they would be quarantined in, Gabriel thought.

~~~~~

“Hello. I am Eolai. I apologize for arriving early,” the voice on the screen said. Major Mary Phillips sat with the rest of the council, some of whom were still arriving after receiving the emergency notice that something was happening in space once more.

“Would you care to explain why you’re ahead of schedule?” General Turnball inquired.

“Yes. I wish to inquire as to whether or not you have seen this shuttlecraft,” Eolai said, and the view screen switched to show the image of the bogey which had been shot down in Washington. The room shifted uncomfortably.

“A craft resembling that was shot down over American soil for entering restricted airspace and failing to respond to directives of our air force,” Turnball said. “Would you care to issue an explanation at this time as to what element of your government is responsible for this action?”

“It was not our government. I do not know who was ultimately responsible for this action, but I fear that it will have drastic consequences for the future of the universe,” Eolai said.

“Do you care to explain what you mean by that? Is that a threat?”

“I wish only for the protection and peace of Earth. May I ask your name so that I can address you properly?” Eolai said.

“General Reginald Turnball. You can call me General Turnball.”

“General Turnball. The occupant of that shuttle is an operative with advanced training and technology. It is unlikely that they perished in the crash resulting from your airspace defense, for which I assure you the Yonohoans will take no retribution. We must at this time assume that Eodar is walking the surface of your planet. I apologize for not being able to prevent this from happening,” Eolai said.

“What or who is Eodar?” Turnball demanded.

“That is far too complicated to explain in a single breath, General Turball. There is much history involved in explaining it. Eodar was born somewhere between one hundred thousand and eighty thousand years ago. During the third stage of the liberation war, he emerged as a brilliant strategist and unifying force in the Liberation Swarms. I fear, however, that that is not the Eodar who is walking upon Earth at this moment. I fear that the Eodar of Earth is a far more violent, feral form. I wish that I could say that it was safe to allow him to live his life in peace on your beautiful world, but I do not know that this is the case.”

~~~~~

Olivia washed her hands, shaking her head. The news was still talking about the ‘aliens’ that were set to arrive any day now. She’d believe it when she saw one walking down the street.

She left the bathroom and bumped into one of her patients.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” she said, realizing that she’d nearly knocked John Doe over. “You shouldn’t stand so close to doors, you could get hurt.”

“Doctor Olivia Nunes,” the boy said, and Olivia almost froze.

It was the first words the boy had spoken in six days, since he had arrived.

“That’s my name,” she agreed. “Can you tell me yours?”

“Johndoe,” the boy said, putting the two syllables together as one.

Oliva smiled sadly. “That is the name we give people when we don’t know the name their parents gave them,” she explained. “Can you tell me your real name please?”

“Johndoe,” the boy repeated. “I am Johndoe.”

“Okay, okay. I’ll call you John, if that’s alright. Would you like to go somewhere private to talk to me?” she asked.

The boy nodded in the affirmative. She motioned, and he followed him into her office. “Would you like to sit with the toys, on the couch, or on the floor?” she asked.

The boy looked around for a moment, then sat on the floor. Olivia smiled and sat with him. “I am very glad you chose to speak with me today, John. We’ve been worried about you.”

“Why?” John asked.

“Because you appeared out of nowhere. Because you weren’t wearing clothes when you were found. Because at first you repeated every word that was spoken to you and then you stopped talking altogether,” Olivia explained. “That is not normal behavior for a child your age, and we were worried that someone hurt you.”

“What will happen to me?” John asked after considering her words for a moment.

“At this stage we’re not sure. You’re in a hospital right now, John, until we can figure out either where you came from and if it is safe to send you back, or until we can find you someplace safe to send you where nobody will hurt you.”

“No go back.”

“Okay.”

“I am strange.”

“We don’t care if you’re different, John. Have you always been different?”

“Yes.”

“Well, we’ll figure out a way for you to have a place here,” she promised. “How old are you John?”

“Alive twelve.”

“You’re twelve years old? That’s about how old we thought you were,” she said. “You didn’t speak english when you arrived, did you?”

“No english.”

“Were you brought here on an airplane?” she asked. “Did someone bring you here from your home?”

“I came alone.”

“You ran away from home?”

“Yes.”

“Were they hurting you? Is that why you ran away?”

“They want me stay, I want go.”

“Okay, John. I hope you don’t try to run away from the hospital. We want to help you and find you someplace safe.”

“I am safe here?”

“As safe as you can be.”

“What of bad things? Things from sky? Bad things.”

“Are you worried about the aliens?”

“Yes.”

“Is that why you spend all of the time listening to the radio?”

“No. Listen to learn.”

“Okay. What language do you normally speak, John?”

“Not speak here.”

“It’s okay. We won’t send you back somewhere where you’ll be in danger or that they hurt children, John. You can trust us, but we have to understand you to help you. Will you please tell me what language you speak?”

“No.”

“No?”

“No.”

“Okay.” Olivia knew well enough not to push too hard less the boy clam up and stop trusting her. “Is there anything you will tell me about your past, John?”

The boy was silent for a moment. “I fight.”

Olivia blinked in surprise. “You fight people?”

“No people. Bad things. Monsters.”

“What sort of monsters?”

“Topoka. Kortoko. Requeti. Know how fight all. Need me fight, I fight.”

“We don’t need you to fight, John. Please don’t start a fight with anyone, especially the other children.”

“No fight children,” John agreed. “Fight monsters.”

“Okay John. If I see any monsters I’ll give you a call, okay?”

“Yes.”

“I can tell you’re smart, John. Maybe very smart. Maybe that’s what makes you different, and why you were treated different,” Olivia said. “We value smart people, even if they act differently because their brain works differently.”

“Yes. Smart. Smarter than Rocktala. Learn on Toormonda,” John agreed.

Olivia continued to memorize the non-english words that John was using, determined to research them later. Possibly they were just made up children’s nonsense, but they could be a hint to his origins. Even if there was just an obscure myth about Topokas that she could find on an online search, that would help her learn more about John.

“Is there anything you want, John?” she asked him. “Anything I can get for you?”

Abruptly, he pointed to her. Specifically at her pockets. Where her phone was, she realized.

“You want to make a phone call?” she asked, trying not to sound excited.

“No call. Just phone,” he answerd.

She nodded. “Okay. I can’t give you a phone, but I can give you one of the tablets that has children’s games on it,” she offered.

“Yes,” he agreed. “Go now.”

“Okay,” she said, knowing that the interview with the strange child was over. Pushing for more information would only break whatever trust she’d managed to establish with him. “Follow me, and we’ll get you your tablet.”

‎