Off The Edge

  “You alien?”

  Joe nodded slowly. On seeing that his captive did not faint, he continued, his tone growing stronger and faster with every sentence. “Yes. I am an alien. THE alien to be precise. And a human is exactly what I need. The way you behave, I do presume you are not particularly fond of the rest of humanity?”

  On seeing Gary's tiny, frightful nod, he gave a reassuring grin. Or that’s what he thought it was, his teeth were still of his natural form and to Gary it looked like a snarl. Gary whimpered. Joe tapped the communication device at his ear.

  “Max, bring the ship to where I am, I got our action man.” He paused. “Although he doesn't look like much action now...” He then took his hand off the device.

  His hair hung down over his face wet with rain. He shook it out of the way and sat down next to Gary. “So, what are you known as?” Gary took a moment to understand the question.

  “Gary.”, he said.

  “You?”

  “Joe.”

  Gary paused, surprised that an alien had such a simple name.

  Gary, who believed in extraterrestrial life, slowly grew excited.

  “Which planet are you from?”

  “A very very far off planet,” Joe said idly, still staring up at the sky for his ship. Gary saw it. It was an invisible disturbance in the sky, since the rain bounced off it. The rain free patch of sky slowly descended closer and closer. Joe put a finger on his communication device “Bring it down George!”

  Slowly, a rope descended from the base of the disturbance. No super beam, no hatch which sucks you up. Just a rope. With a stirrup at its end. Joe caught the stirrup with one hand, caught Gary with the other and yelled “UP George!!” Slowly and steadily, the rope began to shorten, lifting Gary off the rooftop. Before he knew it, he was in the lower chamber of a spaceship. It was a dingy place, nothing like those described in science fiction. There was very little light, and Gary could see the dim outlines of large stacks of crates. He wondered what they were for. But he was whisked away into the upper portions of the ship before he could get any ideas.

  ************

  The bridge of the spaceship was quite simple, yet it was elegant and practical. There was a giant screen in the middle of the room, on which the status of the ship and other information blinked steadily. In front of it was a holographic keyboard. Along the walls of the bridge, were windows. There were four computers along the wall, from which information could be pulled up about anything. Only one passage led off the bridge, to the residences.

  Gary was lead into the bridge by Joe and a curly-haired, willowy boy, whom he presumed was George. When Gary entered the bridge, he saw the scrawny, bespectacled Max, typing away on the main computer. Joe introduced him to Gary. He gave a nod to Gary and furiously glared at Joe. Gary was then introduced to Jerry, who was an extremely bulky and muscular boy. He had ears that pointed outward, like fins and a big spike of hair on top of his head, like a dorsal fin.

  Once the introductions were over, Max quietly said, “So shall we begin with our plans then?” Joe nodded. He walked out of the bridge and returned a moment later followed by two other men. Max introduced Gary to these men. Neither of them looked like they cared. Next, they were introduced to Gary.

  “This is General Van Li” he said, pointing at a Chinese man who stood unusually erect. “His entire unit of soldiers have given their loyalty to us, so we have firepower in human form. This,” said Max, pointing at the other man, who sported a sharp moustache, “Is Vincent Gecco. He is a don from Italy and will also be providing us with arms and men.”

  Gary gave a courteous nod to both these men, and then wondered what on earth, sorry, what in the universe had happened to his life...

  **********

  “The humans, like always are confused. It is this confusion that we must take advantage of. Our influence has been strong on the humans. They have reached the tipping point. They are slowly turning against each other based on their loyalty. One little push from our side will be enough to start a major World War.” Joe stopped. He looked at each of his three listeners, the Chinese general, the Italian don and the Indian teenager.

  “This is where you three come in.” he said, looking at the three humans. Gecco and Li, we need your people and resources. Gary, you are our action man. But before we tell you about our plan, we want your word that you will not betray us.” Joe produced a knife from his pocket.

  With a sudden, swift movement, Joe cut a slit in the forearms of all the three humans. A single spurt of blood fell on Joe's chest, from each of their wrists. Slowly, it sank into his chest, glowing faintly as it disappeared. “The promise is done.” He then sliced his own wrist and three spurts of his pale blue blood sank into the three humans' chests. “Now, none of us can betray you in any way.”

  He then looked at Max, who was standing all along behind Joe, holding some documents in hand. Max cleared his throat and came forward to meet the three men. He was about half a foot shorter than Van Li, who was the shortest of the three.

  “Here's the plan....”

  **********

  The city of London, was bustling with activity. This was nothing new. It was the usual Wednesday morning activity. People going to school, work, tourist spots, hospitals and so on. Many were excited as the weekend was just two days away.

  Somewhere, a few miles to the north of all this hustle and bustle, was a forest. Not a dense jungle, but a wooded area of a few hectares. Somewhere in the middle of these woods was a large, spacious clearing. On the seventeenth of July, two thousand and nine, a large crowd had gathered at this clearing. There was supposed to be a convention on “The Alien Threat to Humanity”. There was a stage erected on one end of the clearing. On it stood probably the most powerful man left alive. He was a leading politician of Germany. His name was Hans Kolden. At noon, he walked up to the mike on the stage and cleared his throat. The large mass of the audience, which were mainly eminent politicians and military-men, fell silent. Among them was a short, stocky, Indian-looking boy. In his right pocket, he carried a revolver, in his left, an alien gun. Gary Pathan looked around. He noticed the camouflage-coloured troops hiding in the woods. He also noticed the faint wetness of the soil around the clearing. Everything was going according to plan.

  Hans Kolden began his speech in his rough voice.

  “We all know why we have gathered here. The alien threat is now upon us. We have already taken more time than they have given us. Any day now, they will begin their takeover of our planet. We must form enough resistance. But, unfortunately, like all wars, there must be traitors amongst us, whom we must weed out.” He paused, looking around as though someone would lift their hand and yell “I'm a traitor!!” No one did. All this while, Gary was slowly moving forward. He was soon right against the stage.

  Kolden continued. “All countries of earth must unite against this threat. The only problem is that we have no information whatsoever on these aliens. Where do they come from? How many are there? What technologies do they have? Why have they come to earth and not to any other planet, as far as we know? If we manage to obtain the answers of any of these questions, we would be better off in ensuring our survival. As of now, I have a crude plan of action.” he said, pulling out a piece of paper from his pocket. “As of now our first priority must be to-”

  He never finished the sentence. From the front row of the audience, a single bullet from a revolver hit the man in his chest. He collapsed instantaneously. The moment Hans Kolden hit the ground, Gary leaped onto the stage. Before Hans Kolden's bodyguards could react from the periphery of the platform, Gary seized the microphone and yelled “FREEZE!!!!” His word had its effect.

  “Any attempt to attack me will result in everybody's immediate death. I do not stand here alone. Even if I am harmed, my allies, who are the aliens, will make sure of your immediate death.” To show this resolution of his, Gary shot one of the guards, who moved toward him. The bullet tore through his burly chest, and
somewhere in Jamaica, a four year old boy lost his father.

  All of a sudden, things began to move quickly. Soundlessly, a shadow fell across the clearing. Several people looked up and screamed. It was the dreaded alien ship. A single, small cannon appeared from it and a single shot fired. This shot hit the edge of the clearing, which had gasoline in the soil (added before the meeting by Van Li's troops). Within ten seconds, the entire clearing was surrounded by a wall of fire. Gary continued to shout like a maniac, despite the commotion in the clearing

  “The alien rule will succeed!!! The human government will fall!!! War will break out across the world!!! Either surrender to the forces of space, or die fighting!!! THE WAR HAS BEGUN!!!!!”

  Security rushed upon Gary as he had expected. He shot down several of the guards. He then whipped out the alien weapon from his left pocket and began using it like he was taught. He blasted the guards into fried chunks of flesh. He then jumped off the stage and began shooting down random people. He was on a high. Adrenaline rushed through his blood. All around him, people tried to escape or kill each other. This was like hell. Suddenly from somewhere, a single stirrup attached to a rope fell in front of him. He grabbed on to it and was slowly lifted off the ground. His plan had been successful.

  **********

  Over the next few days, thanks to the media coverage of the seminar, the news of Gary's wild actions spread over the world. He was criticized by most, but secretly admired and appreciated by few. Then, one politician said that what Gary did was right.

  And then it began.

  The person who declared his allegiance to Gary and the aliens, was murdered shortly, then someone who tried to lead an anti-alien movement, was brutally killed. Each person, who made a public statement about the global crisis, was killed by one with opposing opinions. Soon pandemonium broke out. Within six months, as Max had predicted, a world war had begun. Cities began to get bombed, people were brutally killed on the streets.

  One year flew past, the planet was still at war and the aliens still hung around high above the planet. They seemed calmer than ever. After the outbreak of the war, the aliens had come onto earth only once, to declare that if the humans do not surrender to them, their forces will arrive within a year to ensure complete annihilation of the human species.

  The occupants of earth, who were already quite panicked at this time, turned absolutely frantic and began killing each other with more fury. Two other alien envoys had been killed. They had both been leaders of pro-alien troops. Gary managed to survive, despite the fact that he lead several attacks upon the anti-alien colonies.

  The concept of cities had vanished with the oncoming of the war. People flocked into either pro or anti alien colonies, where they were provided bunkers, rations and arms. But, these colonies were the main target for most attacks. Including Gary's. Gary's life was a permanent adrenaline rush. His only aim in life was to achieve alien rule. Everything else lay forgotten.

  **********

  Aleesha Thakker, or Alex, as she preferred to be known, was Gary's best friend. At least that’s what she thought she was, until she had personally watched him launch himself off his building, from her balcony. She had stared, her hurry to get out of the rain had vanished. He fell. And then there was the giant bat-thing which picked him up and carried him off. Alex stared, shocked. She craned her neck trying to catch a glimpse of the monster which had gone off with her best friend. But to no avail.

  Few weeks later, her father, a news anchorman, told her that her friend was on TV and had lost it. She watched the media coverage of the seminar where Gary went wild. She recorded it and watched it several times, unable to believe that this was the Gary she grew up with. She watched, with disbelief, as Gary shouted like a madman and killed people mercilessly.

  The war had begun. Alex watched as Gary's family was killed thanks to his stupidity. Along with her family, she left home and joined an anti-alien camp. Then the raids began. Planes roared into the camp, dropped bombs, sometimes troops, and left. Alex was taught how to use guns and grenades and the tricks of combat. After her training, she often left camp to join attacks on alien camps.

  About a year after the beginning of the war, Aleesha saw Gary. He was barely recognizable. His face had lost its roundness, his eyes had become inhumane and his body toned. He stood at the door of his airborne helicopter, yelling out commands and pointing out the weak spots of the camp they were about to bomb. He looked down and saw her, and for a second their eyes met.

  In that second, Alex made her decision. Her mind had reached a resolution. She pulled a sniper rifle from the stand of snipers nearby. Thankfully, she was on the roof of a watch tower, so she did not have to raise her gun to too much of an angle to see the helicopter through the telescopic sight. Her gun followed Gary as his helicopter circled the periphery of the camp. Then the moment presented itself. With a deep breath, she squeezed the trigger.

  There was a bang. Gary's eyes widened and his hand flew to his chest. He lifted his hand up to his face and saw the blood on it. His eyes then travelled to his former best friend standing on the watch tower, gazing at him. He could see her expression. She wore an expression of sadness on her face. Anybody would, if they had to murder their best friend. But it was inevitable. Gary had signed his own death warrant by taking the alien's side. He gave her one last look, and fell from his helicopter. His body landed in the undergrowth on the outside of the camp. Alex wiped a tear from her eye and shoved the sniper back into the stand. The last envoy was dead. Only the aliens left to kill.

  The camp broke into celebration. But Alex did not join in. she was thirsty for revenge. Those aliens had stolen her friend. They had made her kill her friend. She had to avenge his death...

  After the last of the 'envoy is dead' partiers had gone to sleep at the crack of dawn, Alex set off with two guns and a bottle of water. By noon she had trekked all the way to the local airbase. She found a one-man aircraft lying abandoned in a hangar and piloted it off the runway. She had an emotionless determination in her mind. No thoughts interfered with her goal. She knew the co-ordinates of the alien ship by heart. Two hours later, she was thirty thousand feet above the Pacific Ocean and could see the shimmer in the air. Her aircraft was almost out of fuel....

  Aleesha Thakker was by no means a religious person. Yet, at that moment before she jumped out of the aircraft, she prayed with all her heart.

  **********

  The news came in three days later, and all war activities ceased. The wreckage of the sleek silver spaceship was found floating in the Pacific Ocean, a few kilometers off the coast of a small pacific island. Inside the ship were four bodies. One tall bespectacled male with long hair, one muscular, bulky male with spiked hair that looked like fins, and two other males, one scrawny and pathetically built and the other willowy and curly haired. Meanwhile, the pacific island city of Honolulu had gained a new citizen, a young lady named Ms Freyda Focett, formerly known as Aleesha Thakker.

  The world had awoken. People began to realize that the past year had no benefits, only losses. The aliens were dead; the alien invasion was over, unfinished. Thousands of lives had been taken, to no benefit whatsoever. Governments had been ruined, valuable politicians killed out of blind faith. The earth was left in a pitiable and pathetic state.

  **********

  Two hundred and thirty three years later, once the earth's situation was stabilized and man was able to travel into the stars, a startling discovery was made. After searching for several years about the alien menace that had once threatened the earth, information was finally found. About three hundred years ago, there had been an epic intergalactic war between two civilizations. The war lasted almost a century and finally, one of the races won. An entire civilization was wiped out because of the war. Only four survivors were left. Four survivors who had come to earth in the last warship left, trying to conquer lands to amass manpower to take revenge on their destroyers. Four survivors who had acted as though they had an entire p
lanet under their control, ready to attack the earth. Four pathetic survivors who had terrorized billions of humans for an entire year.

  Even two hundred and thirty three years later, one could see the wreckage of the silver grey ship at the bottom of the ocean from the surface. The clear water betrayed the last clues of that traumatized year faced by mankind, thanks to that depressed young man named Gary Pathan.

  ~~~

  The Rebirth of Tyranny

  23rd Market Street was a busy little place in the outskirts of the city. On one side of the street, were small wooden shacks which housed all sorts of small shops and the residences of their owners. On the other side of the street was bare land- space to set up temporary stalls. The street itself was quite narrow, and only about fifty metres long.

  At one end, the road turned ninety degrees and went towards the city-a short walk away. The other end of the road wound off into the country side. On a clear day, one could see the edge of the forest from that end of the road.

  The bare land on the side of the road had several tents pitched on it. It was almost a puny village- tents interspersed with fires and cooking pots. People, too, roamed around these tents, cooking, bathing (in the open), gathering food or just roaming. These people had no job, no education and starved through most of their lives. Their very existence was because of the shopkeepers’ pity. They had spared a few metres of land immediately next to the road for the temporary stalls.

  At night, this little colony bustled with life. Little fires blazed at small clearings between tents. Black, brazen, semi-nude men sat around these fires, cooking, talking or singing songs in rough voices. The women mainly stayed inside the tents, tending to their little pot bellied children.

  It was one such night, when the howling winds made the tents flap dangerously, that the colony vanished. When the shopkeepers shut their doors, one by one, the cluster of tents seemed a little shaky due to the wind, but fine enough. But when they opened up their windows and doors the next morning, it was gone. The ground lay flat and new, as though it had never ever been trod upon, without a blemish on its smooth surface. Nobody knows how this mysterious transformation occurred. Nobody, except me. Here’s what happened that night: