The Cartographer (2 page)

I Have A Dinosaur In My Closet

I
opened my eyes and looked around. Everything around me—the walls, the ceiling, the furnishings—was the color of tarnished metal. I tried to stand up but restraints held my arms and legs firmly to the bed. The bonds, securely fastened around my wrists and ankles, were actually living, writhing tentacles pulling at my body. In panicked horror I pulled with all my might, but slimy appendages held me in place.

“HELP ME!” I coughed, and it seemed the more I struggled, the tighter they became.

They had no source and were nothing more than alien, disembodied limbs. Despite their lack of a host body, they were very much alive—like a set of slimy eels.

My cries for help echoed off the metallic walls which gave off the impression of being entombed inside a giant lunchbox.

I closed my eyes and breathed deeply in an attempt to calm myself. My composure was the last thing I wanted to lose in this strange place. I failed, however, and couldn't stop the inevitable flow of tears. My eyes burned with them and I turned my head to look for an exit, but the entire room became a blurred mess. My voice cracked from the uncontrollable sobbing and I was afraid I would start hyperventilating.

“Help,” I croaked. My eyes fell upon a metal door with a wheel, similar to an escape hatch, in the corner of the room. I trembled with fear, wondering what monstrosities lay beyond it.

A loud screech and a thud broke the tomb-like silence of the room. The door slowly swung inward and the monster from the cave entered with a box—no bigger than a briefcase—in his hand. He dropped it at the end of the bed and fixed me with an icy stare. Cold pin pricks poked at the base of my spine and I stiffened with a combination of fear and anticipation at what might be contained inside.

Turning his glossy eyes toward me, his beaky mouth gurgled something that sounded like a baby drowning and stood there with his hands on his hips, waiting for a response.

I shook my head furiously, causing tears to ping-pong off the satin pillow. “What do you want from me?”

He rolled a small cabinet toward the bed and removed a tiny headset—with microphone attachment—and placed it over his head. The earphones covered the creature's ears, which seemed less like ears and more like gill-covered holes. I started to wonder if I was on some kind of crazy reality show. I have heard about shows that place unsuspecting people in scary situations and video tape their reactions to the delight of audiences worldwide. Before I could figure out which show I had been cast in he tapped his earphone with a scaly finger. The item glowed with a faint green neon light and he thrust a second set toward me.

To say I had a fondness for technology would have been an understatement. It would have been more accurate to say I had a morbid curiosity for all modern gadgets. Instead of being afraid of the item, I was curious. I had already assumed the device wouldn't hurt me since it didn't seem to cause the alien any type of discomfort, and I did not put up a fight when he placed it on my head. He adjusted it so the earphones fit snugly against my ears.

He held up a finger and made a tapping motion against his left ear, urging me to do the same.

I mimicked him and found a button next to the earphone. When I pressed the button loud static streamed from the gadget, causing me to wince. It eventually cleared and the ringing in my ears faded. I heard everything around me clearly, as if nothing happened.

The creature spoke again in the drowning-gurgling dialect like before, but this time I understood it.

“Do not be afraid, human. The object I placed on your head is called an interstellar translator. My name is Satou and I am the lead engineer aboard this ship.”

I was speechless. Instead of a gurgling monstrosity from my worst nightmare speaking gibberish, there was now a gurgling monstrosity from my worst nightmare speaking English.

“I apologize for the restraints, but it is for your own safety.” He pushed the cabinet out of the way and his eyes bored into me uncomfortably. “We don't need you wandering the halls and getting lost.”

“Did you say I was aboard a ship?” I asked.

Satou ignored the question and heaved his chest, as if he struggled to breathe the air around us. His eyes shifted to the corners of the room, searching for something. He reached inside the box at the end of my bed and retrieved a clear plastic squirt bottle which contained a cloudy liquid. He pointed it at me and squeezed the trigger, letting loose a fine mist that formed a thin, wet veil on my face with a taste that reminded me of peppermint.

“What the heck,” I sputtered.

“Sorry about that,” he apologized and returned the bottle to the box. “But I have a small allergy to humans. Nothing serious, mind you, but I find it difficult to breathe around them on occasion. Never fear, the substance I sprayed you with will eliminate most of your
scent
and has no known detrimental side effects.”

The film evaporated from my face and left behind a tacky substance, similar to dried sweat. The peppermint flavor faded and I fixed Satou with a sour look.

“At least it tastes good,” I muttered.

Satou chittered with laughter. It was odd seeing an octopus laugh and hard to describe but I truly believed that the image would live in my brain forever. I ignored him and smacked my lips together. The mist left me with a dry tongue.

“Do you happen to have anything to drink?” I asked.

As he bent down to examine me, the tentacles on Satou's chin reached toward me, like they were trying to sense my feelings, and I curled my lip in revulsion. He turned away from me and fumbled with an object that resembled a large microwave with a digital screen angled on top and a sliding door along the side. After pressing several buttons the door slid open, revealing a clear cup filled with a dark, bubbly liquid. The slimy restraints around my wrists and ankles retracted into the bed. I sat up slowly, rubbing my wrists, while he held the drink out.

I eyeballed the glass in his hand suspiciously. He paused, sensing my apprehension, and placed the drink on the table.

“Don't worry, it will not harm you.” His beak-like maw formed a small grin. “As a matter of fact, I believe you might even like it.”

I scrutinized the murky liquid, first tipping the glass to my nose and inhaling. A familiar crisp, caramel scent invaded my sinuses and I slowly lifted the glass to my lips, sipping cautiously. It tasted like Coca Cola, the last thing expected aboard an alien craft.

“Coke,” I said and held the glass out. “You don't seem like a soda drinker.”

My suspicion did not recede. I smacked my lips together, trying to detect any hidden poisons.

“Fear not, you are safe,” he replied.

My thirst overwhelmed me and I tipped the glass back and swallowed the liquid, almost gagging on it. The cold, carbonated beverage provided a welcome sugary rush.

“Thank you,” I coughed.

His features softened while I finished the drink, although his eyes were a mixture of sympathy and regret. I slowly placed the glass down on the table next to the bed and frowned, wondering if the beverage came with strings attached.

“Is something wrong?” I asked, glancing nervously at the empty glass.

Satou shifted his feet uncomfortably, the digits of his feet making wet, sucking sounds on the floor.

“Your presence aboard this ship is accidental, but I am afraid that gloop bargle gurglity goo—”

I held up my hand to stop him. “Whoa, slow down. I can't understand you.”

A confused look came across his face but he continued to talk. “Gloop garble.”

I pointed to my headset and spoke methodically, emphasizing each word. “
I…do…not…understand…you
.”

His confusion turned to frustration before he took the headset off and slapped it briskly against his leg before returning it to his head.

“Sorry about that! I wish the Consortium would process my requisition and upgrade the antiquated equipment we have aboard this ship. Such a long and tedious process to upgrade the simplest of our equipment!”

I chuckled nervously. “Yeah, I hate when that happens.”

“What I was trying to say was that I brought you aboard in a blind panic, I am embarrassed to say.” The bluish hue of his face brightened as he looked at the floor and I realized that he blushed. “Our activities on Earth have gone virtually undetected for generations, and I would have preferred to keep it that way.”

Suddenly fear crept into my heart as I became concerned for my personal safety. From Satou's tone, it sounded like he issued a death sentence.
Dead kids can't tell their friends about the big bad alien.
Then I thought of Sam and became concerned over the whereabouts of my lost spelunking partner.

“What did you do to Sam?” I asked, anger creeping into my voice. He recognized my unease and he waved his hands frantically.

“No, no, remain calm. I assure you that your companion on Earth is safe. He ran into the cave not long after we returned to the ship, lost his balance in the darkness and slammed his head on a rock.”

My heart skipped a beat. “I thought you said he was safe!”

Satou offered a weak smile. “Yes, fortunately for him, Madoc was able to slip into the cave unseen and administer aid. He carried your unconscious friend out of the cave and left him outside, safe from harm. Madoc monitored him from the dark recesses of the cave as he regained consciousness and was last seen running off toward your closest town. He has a nasty cut on his head but he will be fine.”

“What's a Madoc?”

A melodic beeping came from the door that reminded me of a cell phone ringtone.

“Come in,” Satou shouted.

The metal door squealed as it swung inward. I expected another octopus-like being to walk through the door. Instead a six foot tall cross between a man and a fish walked in. His entire body was covered in scales with small fins extending from his arms and legs. I immediately thought about a time when my science teacher, Mr. Yasinakas, taught us about angler fish, a mysterious species found within the deep oceans of the world. The alien that entered the room had a head similar to that very fish. Two bulbous eyes protruded from each side of its skull and several sharp teeth broke through his scaly lips. A stalk protruded from the middle of his forehead and dangled between his eyes. The end of the stalk glowed with a soft yellow light, like a built-in flashlight.

“Ah, Madoc, just in time. We were just talking about you,” Satou beamed.

Madoc gurgled in a similar language as Satou. He didn't come in equipped with a translator, so I had no idea what was said. Satou gurgled several words back and after a few animated gestures, Madoc left the room and I found myself alone again with Satou.

“Madoc assures me that your friend made it home safely.” Despite the good news, Satou looked grim.

“Is something wrong?” I asked gingerly.

“I apologize for his demeanor but we had a little bit of a…disagreement,” he responded with downcast eyes.

Once again, fear for my personal safety bubbled to the surface. “Oh yeah?”

“Madoc believes that we need to return you to the planet.” He paused and folded his hands in front of him.

“And you believe I need to stay?” I completed the sentence.

He inhaled deeply and let it out in one giant gust. “Make no mistake, I do not wish to keep you here against your will, but I fear the consequences of returning you to the planet.”

“And what would that be?” I asked, puzzled.

“For generations the Consortium visited your planet discreetly, nothing more than a shadow in the moonlight,” he explained. “I am afraid that our secret is one that you would not be able to keep.”

I disagreed and went to voice my opinion, but stopped when I realized that the words had a ring of truth. The more I thought about it, the more I believed he was right. I was abducted by aliens, how the heck could I keep that from my friends and family? I would be the coolest kid in town, rich and famous beyond my wildest dreams, maybe even the star of my own reality show. But the thought of staying with the aliens appealed to me and I found myself wondering what it would be like jetting around the universe with them, investigating strange, new worlds, going boldly where no human had gone before.

“I could be the next Captain Kirk,” I mumbled.

Satou cocked his head. “I do not understand.”

“Oh, nothing. I was just thinking out loud.”

His features softened. “I am sorry, I did not mean to air out our grievances and create undue stress. If you are up to it, I would like to conduct a tour around the Cirrus, getting you acclimated to your surroundings.”

I lifted an eyebrow. “Cirrus?”

Satou held out his hand and helped me off the bed. The cold, clammy feel of his hands did not surprise me, with him being a fish and all, but I was glad to see that I still wore my clothes and was not physically violated like some of the alien abduction horror stories penned in most tabloid magazines.

“Cirrus is our ship,” Satou replied. “It is an Interplanetary Class starship used by the Explorer's League during exploration missions, but more on that later. Let me show you around our facilities.”

He led me into the hallway where I stopped to admire the cavernous hallway. It ran almost thirty feet from floor to ceiling and about half of that in width. The rounded ceiling gave the impression that I stood inside of a train tunnel. I was dismayed to see the same dull gray color as the room I just exited. I was hoping for something a bit more vibrant—a bit more
alien
. My alien captors had no fashion sense I lamented, as I continued along the hallway. Many of the doors along the hall had no door handles but came equipped with small computer screens, no bigger than a cell phone, embedded in the wall next to them.

Satou studied my reaction as we traveled down the hall and smiled. “Not what you expected?”

I shook my head silently as we passed a door with a red cross etched into the wall next to it. I stopped and passed my hand over the symbol, which didn't seem painted on the wall but rather fused into it, as if someone punched it with a giant cross-shaped branding iron. I rubbed the symbol mindlessly, amazed at the similarities.