Hours more passed as I descended into the forest beneath the mountains, deeper in Echelon 67 than I’d ever thought I’d go. I reached the edge of a small clearing and peered inside, seeing a small domed building that kind of looked like a greenhouse or a conservatory, except from what I could see, there were no plants inside. The door looked to be slightly off its track, so I wandered closer, narrowing my eyes slightly trying to see anything that might put me on high alert.
Nothing moved. It was dead quiet. Not even the chirping of bugs bit through the air now. It was the type of quiet that screamed danger.
That should have been my first clue, but still, I trekked on.
I moved closer, tiptoeing toward the structure and still, nothing jumped out at me. I ventured one foot closer and then the next, before I reached the sliding door. I guessed that it was once activated by a retina scan, but it looked to be long broken. I gripped the door, pushed it a little to the side, and slipped into the small building.
My eyes drifted around me, clean white tile beneath my feet and tables that reminded me of many of the labs I used to work in. There was also what appeared to be an entrance to a stairway, as well as something that looked like a portal straight out of a science fiction movie.
Bl
ack and purple light glimmered in a round sphere and I ventured closer. I grabbed a piece of cardboard on the floor and walked as near as I dared, taking the sheet and pushing it partway into the portal. It pulled the cardboard in and at once, it disappeared.
Shit. That was cool.
I hadn’t known any technology like this had existed. I wondered where the portal would go, or if it was even safe, or if it would alert someone to the fact that I was here in this little building hidden deep in the woods. I chewed my lip, trying to decide what to do. My eyes slid to the stairs, and I elected to take them instead, figuring it was a safer and surer option. I took one stairwell down and then another until I reached a single door about three stories beneath the ground. It was slid partway open, the power cut off, so I edged inside. This part of the building seemed to be composed of high-powered, expensive scientific equipment. Sequencers and proteomics mass spectrometers lined the walls, as well as machines that I had no idea what their functions were. This was the dream laboratory of any scientist, that much I could tell.
Researchers around the world would kill for the use of some of this equipment.
There was an office off to the side of the room that I walked into next. Inside, I found an old-fashioned desk made out of recycled metal, smooth and definitely created in the style of desks one hundred years ago. I opened the drawers, noticing that the locks were electrical and long dead.
Whoever ran this laboratory before liked to read scientific literature on paper. Weird. I hadn’t seen anything like it in my lifetime. The world today was almost entirely electronic, dependent on holographic screens projected from wristbands and massive computerized touch screens. Everyone was connected at every minute of the day. There was no need for ancient technology like printers and paper.
I was surprised to see bundles of it in one of the drawers and one very thick folder on top. Manila. Extra weird.
‘Alienus Bestia’ was the label on the very front.
What the fuck did that mean?
When I flipped it open, I gasped at the contents. There were pictures printed out. What looked like a meteor impact location in the middle of the woods. Images of fire and destruction, but most important, the unmistakable shape of a deep crater and at the center, some sort of spacecraft. Not human. Like no technology I’ve ever seen on Earth before.
The printouts were dated. September 1, 2025.
My mouth dropped open. Holy shit. This couldn’t be real.
I flipped through more of the pictures, finding more figures and images of dead bodies that looked humanlike, only some of them were a coppery red color. It didn’t look like any human skin tone I’d seen before.
I found the abstract toward the top of the pile and began to read.
Over a hundred years ago, an alien ship crash-landed on Earth’s surface, in the northwestern corner of Washington State, bringing with them evidence of technology that human civilization has never seen the likes of before. Efforts are being made to study and harness this alien technology. No alien lifeforms survived the crash as it was later discovered that they could not harness Earth’s atmosphere for survival, but their genetic material endured.
I paused for a moment. Nothing like this had ever been recorded in any history book, in any news story. This was a monumental discovery. I swallowed my astonishment and continued reading.
Sperm, eggs, and stem cells were harvested and modified with human DNA. As a result, scientists were able to recreate a sustainable alien lifeform that can survive on Earth. A new species was created here on Earth for the very first time.
Holy fuck. I’d known something funky was going on here, but this was way more than I had anticipated.
It was discovered that Alienus Bestia exhibits superior strength and heightened sensory capabilities as compared to human controls. They also synthesize amplified levels of epinephrine, more commonly known as adrenaline, and can sustain high concentrations of the hormone for extended periods of time.
The paper continued on for pages. With a quick scan, I learned that efforts to harness the strength and power of the aliens had varying levels of success, with goals to use them for war efforts, for the creation of a special branch of the military. The grants funded by the military, governments from around the world and private industries. I had proof of everything right here.
Autopsies. Medical reports. Genetic sequencing. Everything.
I had the story of a lifetime in my hands.
The government was creating their very own line of super soldiers and humanity would have no defense against them. None.
My heart pounded with excitement. Then I heard the squeak of a boot scraping against tile. I froze.