a short story by Jerry Zinn

“What is it?”

“I don’t know. It’s like something from a sci-fi movie… some kind of prehistoric creature. Just look at it!”

“Who do we report it to? The police? Or do we go straight to the government? Who do you even ask for? Do you just call… the government, or is there a hotline for this kind of thing?”

“I don’t know, Lewis… I don’t know.”

The two stood in the wet sand at the edge of the ebbing and flowing tide and looked down at the strange organism lying lifelessly before them. Off in the horizon the daylight was giving way to the orange and purple hues of dusk, and the sea oats in the dunes waved back and forth like anemone in a gentle current.

“What about Dizzy? You think he’d know something?”

Laura thought for a moment about Dizzy. She’d be hard pressed to come across anyone who had a broader knowledge base, even in the police or the government. Dizzy had a sponge for a cortex, and it never seeped. He was a treasure trove of facts and figures, an animated reference book. Dizzy would have something to offer.

“That’s a great idea! I’ll call him. He might even know what this… creature is, or at least what we need to do with it.”

“Here, mine gets better reception around here,” Lewis said tossing his handheld.

Laura plugged in the code, and the line was connected immediately.

“Dizzy. Who’s it?”

“Dizzy, it’s Laura. I’m at the beach with Lewis. We… found something. I was hoping you could help us figure out what it is or what to do.”

“What kind of something are we talking about? That’s pretty vague. You find a funny looking shell?”

“It’s an animal. I think. It must have washed ashore with the tide, but it doesn’t look like anything either of us has ever seen. It’s exotic.”

“You’ve reigned in my curiosity. Describe.”

“Well it’s massive. Looks to be just less than, what would you say? Two meters? Ninety percent of it is covered in some kind of blue skin. But it isn’t tight like normal skin; it has all these folds and creases, like something thousands of years old. There are a couple black and silver lines and one thick black stripe that runs the down most of its back. It also has three large tentacles? But Lewis thinks there might be a fourth pinned underneath.”

“Wild!” Dizzy exclaimed with youthful exuberance. “And what about the ten percent that isn’t covered in blue?”

“It’s difficult to say because we can only see half, but I think it’s the head. It’s almost like it’s incased in a kind of clear membrane, a pouch.”

“Have you touched it yet?”

“No, we’ve been afraid to. Lewis thought it might be poisonous.”

“That’s certainly possible. Well it doesn’t sound like anything I’ve ever come across. Is there a stick or something near you? Try and turn it over. A lot of organisms have some defining features on the ventral side.”

“We’ll take a look around. Also, I noticed there’s a black tube hanging off the side. It’s hard to see in low light though.”

As Laura and Lewis scavenged for something that could flip the mysterious form from the sea, Dizzy thought about the description. It was true he’d never come across anything like it, but maybe that was because it was a new species, undiscovered, undocumented, entirely unknown. What if it had come from another planet, or even another galaxy? Dizzy wondered. The prospect of an alien life form excited him to near hyperventilation. He wished he were on the other end of the line, staring at the clear pouch and the blue skin.

“We found a metal rod. Lewis is going to poke it to make sure it really is dead before we try and turn it over.”

“I’m right here. Let me know what happens, and tell Lewis not to hit the tube; it might contain something hazardous, deadly even. You definitely don’t want to run that risk, especially since we have no idea what we’re dealing with.”

“He hit it a few times. It’s definitely dead, or comatose. Now he’s trying to flip it over.”

The suspense was getting to Dizzy as he waited anxiously on the other line. “What do you see?”

“Hold on he’s almost got it.”

With a splash, Lewis overturned the organism revealing its front. Laura had been correct. The head was enclosed in a clear membrane. It was unlike anything Laura or Lewis could have drummed up in the most hallucinatory dream, completely dissimilar from even the oddity of the animal’s backside. Laura was breathless as she gazed upon the peculiar beast.

“Did he get it?” Dizzy was whispering in anticipation.

“Yes… and Dizzy… it’s so… bizarre. Otherworldly.”

“Describe!” Dizzy bellowed, spilling the contents of his room-temperature mug.

“Well,” Laura began, “its face, it doesn’t make any sense. There are two eyes, a large bump with slits, and a bigger hole below that. Hold on, there’s something on the blue skin. There’s a circle on one side. It’s a darker blue with a red line across it and four letters…” she trailed off as she strained to read the small text.

Dizzy, for all his knowledge and imagination, was having difficulty rendering the creature from the outlandish description. He hung on the line without blinking as he waited for Laura to speak. When she continued, a pang of apprehension, an apocalyptic fervor, spread through his body.

“N…A…” she stuttered, but he didn’t need to hear the rest.

Shrilly he cried out, “Laura… get out of there, get as far away as you can! They’re coming for us!”

This thing, he knew what it was. He’d read about it, seen it in documentaries and comic books. It was from another galaxy; the creature came from the Milky Way.