"They look kinda like us, and a lot of them seem hurt. I see at least thirty, and more are still coming out. Some of them aren’t moving. They…" She paused. "They look like humans!"
From the other side, the nerd spoke up. "Well, they definitely aren't greys. You think it could be us? Like, a Soviet test that failed, or something?"
"I don't know," Hailey breathed, focused on the wreckage. "That ship is huge. It's like," she fell silent as she counted, her lips moving with the numbers. "I think around twenty stories tall, if those are windows on each floor."
"That's almost the size of a town," the nerd gasped.
At the same time, the emergency vehicles began to arrive. Not at the crash site, but at the beach. Paramedics quickly moved through the remaining people, checking for injuries, and police secured the area. The public section was cordoned off to keep the civilians away from the military vehicles driving out toward the ship. It was at least a mile away, probably a few more, but she didn't know for sure.
Hailey kept her eyes on the people moving around the ship, shocked to see them acting just like she'd expect. They gathered in clumps, a few tending the wounded. The unconscious were moved to the side, and more were escorted through the hatches. Over and over, the process repeated, the strangers looking as confused as the viewers on the beach.
When the military arrived, they did so with guns aimed. It seemed like everyone down there had guns - except the people on the ship. Hailey kept a running monologue for those around her, trying to put what she saw into words. The survivors of the crash were forced to kneel on the ground, and a few groups got pressed face-down in the dirt and zip-cuffed. In truth, it looked just like some news report about border patrol agents securing illegal immigrants.
And then things got weird. Entire groups blinked out of existence. They just vanished.
"Did you see that?" the nerd asked.
"They're gone," Hailey breathed. "Just... not there anymore."
But the closer she looked, the more she realized that might not be the truth. A halo of a body crept between the flames and her view, the edges outlined in light but the person invisible. Except for a minor distortion, she never would have seen it. Hailey was so shocked that she didn't say a word, just swung the telescope to the rest of the survivors.
At most, she'd seen maybe seventy people, but now there were only fifty, probably less. As more exited the ship, others disappeared. Finally, her description was enough for the old man to want a look. She backed away, stepping slowly while her eyes scanned the miniature war zone in the distance. Through the telescope, it had seemed so close. With the naked eye, it was still surreal, but far enough away to be no threat.
"It's like Scotty's beaming them up," the man whispered, his voice reverent. "Mary, they look just like humans. Come see."
Hailey's hands were shaking, and her heart felt like it was trying to pound right out of her chest. There was nothing to do, but damned if her baser instincts weren't screaming that she should be running away. Fighting it, she took deep breaths and sank into one of the powder coated benches set on the far side of the clearing.
She could still see the crash site. The flames were so intense they illuminated the entire sky, brighter than a football stadium. Only the wet ground prevented them from spreading further. To the naked eye, the people were little more than dark specks around the base of the ship, but the lights from vehicles were everywhere. Yellow strobes spun above trucks; headlights all pointed in the same direction. It all looked like a bad movie scene, but it was real. It was all too real.
We're not alone anymore, she thought, trying to come to grips with the scene before her. It felt like any minute, someone would announce that this was performance art or some cinema magic. There was no way an alien ship could simply crash into the North Carolina shore and vomit up people. Just an hour ago, humans had been alone in the universe.
She pulled out her phone, wondering what the news was making of all this. A touch of the screen showed nothing - no signal at all. Neither calls nor data were flowing. It wasn't minimal. It was just gone.
With the elderly couple engrossed in their telescope and the geek getting everything he could on digital film, all she could really do was sit there and watch the flames burn around the base of the ship. Time passed, she didn't know how much, and people began to head back home. There really wasn't much more to see. The craft burned. The damp marshy island was too wet to do more than smoke, and without the telescope, the only things she could see were the lights of emergency vehicles - some coming, some going. No one stopped to explain what had happened. No one came to make them leave. The scene just went on and on.
Finally, she pulled herself to her feet. Maybe the news would have more information. Hell, they'd at least have better pictures. If nothing else, she still had to finish her laundry before work tomorrow. Alien ship or not, there was no way she could afford to take a day off. Hailey glanced over her shoulder one last time, thinking that Miles had picked a bad night to stand her up, then she started walking slowly back home.
Chapter Two
The impact had thrown him against the bulkhead. Without a noise, Tsij struggled to his feet, looking around for casualties. Ixala stood braced against the table, staring at the data monitors with one arm held against her waist.
"You ok?" he asked in their native language.
She turned her deep green eyes on him, then nodded, flashes of panic streaking across her markings. "We didn't make it to the ocean. Orders are to evacuate."
Tsij stumbled toward her. "We can't!"
She took a deep breath. "They already have. Humans are coming, Tsij. Some are probably out there already." Her eyes flicked down his body, and her skin paled to a drab green. "Tsij!"
He flared his colors at her. "I'm fine. Just get me some pain medication, an immune booster, and extra dispensers."
While she turned for the medical cabinet, he began grabbing a few small devices from the floor. Almost everything in the science bay was ruined, but there was enough. Hopefully, it would be enough. If they were on Earth with no contamination protocol, he'd only have a few days before this was out of control. He'd need everything he could find or this would be the biggest catastrophe in their history.
Ixala saw what he was doing and made no effort to stop him. Instead, she just yanked back his sleeve and buried an injection probe into his arm. He paused long enough for her to give the second shot, then they both focused on collecting as much of their equipment as they could.
"I cannot blink," she said quietly, shoving everything into a historical earth-like backpack. "I have three native costumes for you, a biosane coat, food, and all of the pain medication we have in stock." She paused. "But I cannot blink, Tsij. Most of us can't. You know what they'll do to us if they see us."
"I know." He took the backpack and placed a few more things on top. "Just tell everyone what I'm doing, Ix, then get away. You might not be able to blink, but you can blend. Get as many as you can away from here. Someplace quiet."
"Blues might have luck - I think it's night - but the reds and yellows? There's no way."