Eternal Horizon: The Chronicle of Vincent Saturn (Eternal Horizon: A Star Saga Book 1) (2 page)

CHAPTER I

The Alien

The sun lowered on the horizon, peering over the mountains and stretching their shadows toward the sandy crater. The evening brought along a slight breeze that soothed the arid atmosphere, caressing Vincent’s face and tousling his hair. After more than an hour of direct sunlight in that scorching valley, that wind was more than a blessing. He welcomed it, relieved at the fact that he wore nothing but a shirt and jeans as compared to his prudent partner or the soldiers with their thick and heavy armament.

Tired of standing for hours, he now hunkered down, continuing to observe the scene before him: a crater in the middle of the desert with an unusual vessel half-buried deep in its base. When they first saw it, they were stricken with awe like deer caught in headlights. The case of the soldiers was reasonable, knowing full well they were there to secure the perimeter and not ask questions or offer opinions, but the fact that the two of them, being the only federal agents on site, were doing nothing, drove him to the brink of insanity. His partner, their aides, and the soldiers were all trying to maintain seriousness, nodding between each other and scribing down tons of paperwork without an ounce of implication that not one of them really knew just what was going on.

Rather than continuing the argument with his colleague, Vincent veered into one of his moments of meditation. Just as he was ready to head home, they received a call about a foreign object penetrating US airspace. Upon arrival, they faced something that escaped the boundaries of reality. He was outraged that they were told to merely watch the area and stay away from the
object
. To others it was duty, but to Vincent, that vessel was a waking call from his “boring” life.

His partner, a man in a black suit with shades, paced back and forth, trying to figure out the thing in the ground. “Russian?” he asked, looking at Vincent for some form of an answer, offering another dull suggestion.

Vincent shook his head.

“Chinese?”

“No way. Their technology’s not capable of such machinery, and the symbols on its hull are not Russian or Chinese…” He paused and then said irritably, “Why don’t you stop making these stupid guesses and face the obvious?”

“Exactly what are you saying, Vince?” the former said, taking off his glasses as the sun finally disappeared.

“The very thing that was on your mind when we first saw this,” Vincent said.

His partner snorted. “You can’t be serious…”

“Why?” Vincent looked up. “What are you afraid of? Once you rule out what you know, Alex, it’s the most logical explanation.”

The agent named Alex turned away and muttered something, but Vincent ignored him. He could barely control his urge to run down to the ship. This was beyond his imagination, and he knew that the longer they remained there, the less of a chance he would have to see the inside of that strange vessel; and simultaneously there was also the awareness that if he didn’t do anything, he’d live to regret it for the rest of his life.

There was no point in quarrelling with Alex, however. The man was a perfect recipe for an obedient agent: doing everything according to the book, never questioning his superiors, never thinking outside the box. Even to the extent of wearing a three-piece suit in the middle of a smoldering desert!

Vincent scooped up a handful of the dry ground and watched the sand grains seep between his fingers. They fell to the ground and blended in with the sand just like the days of his life were fading into nothingness. He reached an age when all of his friends and acquaintances were married and had families, living
normal
lives that he always found boring. He loved his lifestyle, loved being a bachelor, but his choice also alienated him from others. And that brought more boredom. He thought he could find solace by taking a job with the government, but when it turned out to be the same thing day in and day out, he quickly found out that it was not as adventurous as the movies made it seem.

He looked back at the ship. It teased him, called him to come down and try to pry open its doors. It promised change, it promised deliverance from his life of apathy.

Yes…
he thought.
Something needs to be done
. It was one of those moments when he knew that his actions would have severe consequences, yet—as if groveling before an all-powerful master—he succumbed to the power of the unknown. Tossing every precaution aside, he reached a conclusion:
It’s up to me.

He instinctively got up, turned around, approached their SUV, reached into the back seat, grabbed a briefcase, opened it, and pulled out a pair of gloves.

“What are you doing?” Alex asked, shocked. He knew by his partner’s expression that he meant to take the matter into his own hands, and he also knew that when Vincent decided to do that, it was nearly impossible to stop him.

“Something we should’ve done when we first got here.” Vincent donned the gloves and took out a flashlight.

“You’re not implying we go down there?”

“Yes, I am,” Vincent replied, going past him.

“Are you nuts? It’s not up to us to get any deeper in this!”

“Look, Alex,” Vincent said, “we’ve been at this site for nearly three hours doing nothing but dancing around. The Pentagon wants to know where this ship comes from, and—more importantly—what’s inside.” He shifted his gaze back to the vessel. “This thing’s not of this planet. I’m certain of it, and I’m not reporting back empty-handed.”

“What? The Pen… the
Pentagon
?” Alex fumed. “
You’re
not reporting back empty-handed? Just who the heck do you think you are? Are you even listening to yourself? I’m your superior and I have direct orders
not
to go down there!”

“Well… then write me up for insubordination,” Vincent said, taking a step down into the crater.

“Vincent!” Alex halted him. “You do know we can get fired for this, right? Or even worse…” He put a forefinger to his temple and pulled an imaginary trigger.

“I don’t care,” Vincent insisted. “Once the NSA, CIA, or whoever they send gets here, we won’t have a chance. We’ll never know.” He paused, looking at his partner’s stumped face. “Come on, Alex. All those years at the academy, the rookie years—how many years—and nothing ever happens? Nothing! This is not why I signed up for this. This is a once-in-a-lifetime
oppor
—”

“I love the fact that nothing ever happens! Unlike you, I have a family to feed, you crazy son of—” Alex’s face turned red; he was out of words.

“Well, I don’t! You can stay here if you want, but I’m going down there,” Vincent said with a tone of confidence and turned back to the ship.

“Damn it, Vincent!” Alex grabbed him by the collar. “Stop!”

“Let go of me!” Vincent shrugged off Alex’s hand and began descending, his gray eyes gleaming in excitement. His
duty
no longer mattered. His curiosity played the upper hand. This was his inherent curse. He couldn’t help it: he
had
to know.

“
I command you to come back!
” Alex shouted, fully aware that it was useless. “I swear, this guy’s going to be the end of me,” he muttered, giving up. He was several years senior to Vincent, and therefore responsible for him both as a friend and as a superior. He sighed, told the soldiers to continue monitoring the perimeter, pulled out his handgun, and went down the crater after his erratic partner.

The ship was cylindrical, somewhat smaller than a city bus, made of a bluish metal with odd symbols and characters elaborately covering the multiple panels of its hull. Its bow was deeply buried, and three colossal engines jutted out of its stern—engines powerful enough to penetrate that vessel through the atmosphere or maybe even provide it with the ability to travel at light-speed. One would have to be a fool to believe that it was made on Earth.

Vincent circled the ship and saw that the left side had a hexagonal door. He stopped by the spot and carefully extended his hand.

“What are you doing?” Alex appeared from behind. “You sure it’s safe to touch that?”

Vincent looked over his shoulder. “So, you decided to come down as well?”

“Just make it quick,” Alex said, adhering to his partner’s nosiness. “Glance around if you must, but
don’t
touch anything.”

“Look… there seems to be a switch of sorts.” Vincent pointed at a small knob next to the door.

“No! Don’t—”

Vincent ignored him and pushed the button.

“
Idiot!
” Alex cried out. “Do you ever listen to me? What if this thing explodes?”

“Nothing’s happening, relax. Maybe somewhere else there’s a—”

A screeching noise forced the agents to jump back as the door disappeared, revealing an opening into the ship that was shrouded in darkness.

“Officers, are you all right down there?” one of the soldiers asked.

“
Yes!
” Alex shouted. “
Secure the area!
” And then he turned back to his partner and asked, “Well, Mr. Saturn, what are your plans now?”

“To go inside?” Vincent asked, which—as Alex knew—was a rhetorical question.

Alex’s lips formed a thin line; his nostrils flared. “Damn it, Vincent! You’re such a knucklehead! What if it’s a trap? You watch movies, right? Guys go up into the alien ship, and then something eats them!”

“Oh, so
now
it’s an alien ship?” Vincent sneered as he turned on the flashlight.

“I’m serious, Vincent! You take one more step, and I’ll—”

Vincent turned briskly. “You’ll what? You’re going to shoot me? Just cover my back, Alex. I’m going in.”

“Vince, I’ve a bad feeling about this…”

“Relax. Whatever’s inside is definitely hurt and in need of help. We need to blow this thing in the open. You do know that if—and when—
they
get here no one will ever hear about this?”

“For the better! This isn’t an adventure, Vincent! You’ve dedicated your life to serve your country, and as such you
must
abide by the rules of your superiors!”

“But we’ll be famous!”

“
And dead!
” Alex screamed out. “Have you gone crazy? What are you talking about?”

“Look, I’m not asking you to go. Wait here if you want.”

Before Alex could respond, Vincent leapt into the opening.

“
Vince!
” Alex lunged after him, but it was too late. He cursed, cocked his pistol, and neared the entrance.

It was extremely cold inside the ship. As Vincent set his foot on the slanted floor, a waft of frozen air encircled his entire body, forcing him to shudder. Entering this ship after the hours in the desert was similar to stepping into a deep freezer after a sauna. Holding one hand on the door frame, he began to move the flashlight around the interior. There were countless panels with faint blinking lights and buttons, some covered in the strange alien characters; numerous monitors were attached to the ceiling, one of them displaying white noise; cabinets attached to the walls; and further down in the shadows was a bolted table and swiveling chairs.

“That’s so creepy,” Alex whispered, peeking from the outside.

Vincent began lowering.

“Don’t,” Alex cautioned. “I can barely see you now, so don’t go any deeper.”

“Shut up,” Vincent fussed.

“Vincent, don’t—”

“Look!” Vincent flashed down into the cockpit beyond the table and the beam illuminated a body on the floor before the ships’ control panel.

“No!” Alex said nervously, taking a step back. “Don’t go near it!
That’s a direct order!
”

But Vincent disregarded him. This was something that he had always been searching for—his
prize
.

In spite of Alex’s warnings, he descended further.

The ship’s pilot had his back turned to Vincent. From what he could see, it was not an extraterrestrial, but instead a man dressed in a black outfit with strange metal boots and a thick vest. As he crouched down by the body, he saw something liquid on the floor—the man was lying in a pool of blood! Vincent gasped. “Get a medic here!” he shouted up. “We need to get this guy out!”