Strange lights and other occurrences; a guide to alien housemates

Chapter 1: Descent

It was dark, as, at night, it should be. A light, Devonshire breeze whispered along the shore, teasing the dark waves, rustling the wild, cliff lining shrubs and wildflowers. Stars lit the sky like spilt crumbs on a bakery table, fireflies in the distance. All was the usual tone of seaside calm, the sort that arrives as all trace of humanity leaves, the cool depth of the near-midnight skies sinking into the Earth. Though the sunlight would bring tourists, fishermen, children by the dozens, the shore seemed to exist in a timeless and endless loop of settled calm.

At least, it was meant to be that way. And it was, until one of the distant firefly stars seemed to grow, the glow of it intensifying silently. Indeed, it was no star, but then again, if it had been, this would've been a very different story. The light continued to intensify, though not fast enough for the description of our second setting to be too badly interrupted by its arrival.

About 300 yards from the shore stood a field of holiday caravans, inside which were sleeping families, children tucked up, dreaming of tomorrow, adults tucked up, dreaming of tomorrow, and then there were Dan and Phil, the night owls. The heating turned down, both sat wrapped in blankets, comfortably seated in the open plan living room, browsing the internet and chatting quietly. 

"What time is it?" yawned Dan, who had closed his laptop and was stretching like a cat.

"Half past midnight" replied Phil, rubbing his eyes.

"Maaaaaybe...." Dan yawned again "Its time for bed" Phil looked up, nodding. 

"Yes. I agree." he closed the laptop "Time for sleep". He got up, folded his blanket, and turned round, taking one last look out the curtains. Looking out, it was strange to see how quiet a beach without humans was. What was even more strange, though he hadn't seen it yet, was the not-slowly-but-not-quite-quickly expanding distant light. He looked out up to the sand dunes, imagining how cold it must be outside and how many layers someone out here must be wearing and oh how he was glad he didn't have to be outside right now. He still hadn't noticed.

"Who the hell is driving around at this time?" asked Dan, having sensed an intensity of light from outside. Unlike his friend, who was looking through the curtains, thus more well placed to notice the beam, Dan had noticed the increasing intensity. Phil hadn't heard him. 

"Phil"

"Hmm?"

"I said who's driving around at this time?"

"No one, there's no cars around" he had retreated from the curtains now.

"Yes there is. What's the light outside?" He got up, going to the window. Opening the curtains, he realised that the light wasn't from a car, but from the sky. From the other window, Phil had finally noticed. 

"I...I don't know...." now, both were intrigued "Is it getting...brighter?"

"Yeah I think so...doesn't look like a plane...what the hell is it?" Dan was confused.

Now it started to make a sound. Not just any sound, but a strangely quiet one at that. As the distance between sky and ground decreased, the glow bathed the vicinity. The pair had to look away for a moment for fear of being blinded. In the moment between looking away and looking to each other, a loud splash, followed by several thuds, rung in the atmosphere. The sound was not deafening, and was most certainly not loud enough to wake dreaming children, but it was far from inaudible. Dan and Phil, faces lined with confusion, stared at each other for a moment.

"What...the fruck...was that?" Dan whispered, as though the noise had withdrawn any other permission to talk loudly. 

"I have no idea, but it definitely wasn't a car" replied Phil, edging towards the window. The distant view had reset to the calm, soundless atmosphere. Pausing for a moment, Phil turned round, looked to Dan, grinned and said;

"But I think we should go and check it out" Dan sighed, it was past midnight, he was prepared to sleep, he wanted sleep, but somewhere in his mind he craved the adventure, just as long as it didn't require wearing too many layers. For a few moments, he glared at Phil, who had the look of an eagerly curious explorer, searching for a reason to find out what had happened. This look was relentless, Dan thought, so I'd better give in soon.

"Ugh. Well, OK then, as long as I don't need 30 coats to avoid freezing to death." He picked up his shoes, Phil doing the same, and pushed his discomfort at having to leave the warmth of the caravan behind to the back of his mind, and reached for a coat. Phil was already ready by the time he had fastened his jacket.

"I think it landed at the beach" Phil said, locking the door.

"Ssshhh, there are children asleep round here, you know"

"Sorry" Phil whispered. Their excitement would have been visible if not for the dark.

The shore had recovered from the intrusion of the light, the waves singing the same rushing melody, calming the sand. Pieces of metal lay strewn about the beach, and, in the midst of the chaos, lay a girl. Short in height, her dark blonde hair soaked in blood, waves lapping at her unconscious body. The two figures approached in the distance.

"What's that, over there?" whispered Dan, pointing at the heap. "It looks like...oh my...is that a...person?" They broke their walk into a sprint, kneeling beside the figure as they arrived.

"Oh my god" Phil clasped his had to his face. "Is she dead?" he had seen the dark blood which was seeping into the water.

"I don't know..."

"Should we call an ambulance?" Phil was worried.

"I'm not sure we should. How do we explain the bright light and the crash. They'll think we're..." He paused

"Crazy?" Phil suggested "I mean if they recognise us they'll already know th-"

Dan interrupted.

"What are these markings?" covering the face of the woman were Green and pastel Blue blotches. Dan didn't have time to speculate, as the figure jolted awake, gulping in air as her lungs remembered how to breathe. She looked at Dan, then at Phil, fear stricken, shuffling away.

Phil moved towards her, putting his hand on her shoulder. "Its OK, we won't hurt you, you can trust us. Do you remember what happened?" She stared at him for a few moments, confused, but visibly calmer. She looked to Dan, who gave her a friendly smile.

"Berakanh tela?" She spoke in a tongue neither had heard before. Dan and Phil looked at each other, then back to the woman. Seeing that neither understood, she signalled, pointing at Phil "Tela. Berakanh tela?" 

"W-who...are we?" Phil tried. He pointed to Dan. "Dan" and then to himself "Phil". Dazed, she nodded. Dan, having figured out what she was trying to say, asked "Tela?" pointing to the woman. 

"Ir?" she responded, pointing to herself. "Ir nemen..." confused, she seemed to question this for along time. "Mele handra iki?" She signalled about her. For a moment, neither knew how to respond.

"Um...Devon...the south...Britain....Earth?" Phil suggested, most of these having no effect, until he got to the last. Memory of that word returned to her, a glimmer of hope in her star-lit eyes

"E-earth?" she pronounced slowly. 

"Yeah, that's right, Earth," Dan said, clutching at the opportunity to build understanding. "This here is the south coast of England." The woman's eyes again lit up; another place she recognised.

"Ingrisia?" she repeated, excitement building. She repeated it four more times, as if trying to recall information about the place. Finally, a look of calm spread across her face.

"This... is... Earth, yes?" she enunciated slowly. Surprised, Dan and Phil looked to each other.

"Yes... yes it is...do you know how you got here? What happened?" asked Phil excitedly. 

"Phil calm down, she can hardly remember who she is, give her a minute." They looked at her face, awaiting response. Her expression fell, eyes rolled, and she wobbled.

"Woah!" said Dan, just managing to catch her before her head reached impact with a rock.

"Oh my god is she OK?" asked Phil

"Yeah... I think.... she just fainted." 

They resolved, as it was cold and wet out here, to carry her back to their van.