Secrets of The Swamplands: Aliens VS Predators: Secrets of the Swamplands, #3

By Rich Cole

Just when things couldn't get any more dire for the aliens, all hell breaks loose when Planko and Lola mistakenly release a band of alien criminals/monsters, popularly known as the Doongs, who seek to end them. Meanwhile, Tron has been captured by the CIA team led by Diane, Agent Bellucci, leaving Tim to envelope himself the search for a worried and sadly unkempt Yena, who on the other hand fights against the Doongs and against bounty hunters who try to claim the bounty subtly placed on her head by the CIA and the Police.

Mortifyingly, Trixie has found out a terrible news about Jack but grief is not granted her by the Doongs, she fights to escape them and ends up meeting a very strange creature sent by Planko to protect her, venturing to meet with her parents. In the end, all their lives are threatened by the kingpin of the menacing group of criminal monsters known as Krog. Will they be able to survive Krog and his team of Doongs or will this spell an impending doom for the aliens?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Seagull Editions
• Release date: May 18, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223435846

Book preview

SECRETS OF THE

SWAMPLANDS:

3. ALIENS VS PREDATORS

© 2022 Seagull Editions s.r.l.

www.seagulleditions.com

CHAPTER 1

Tim wondered what had happened the minute he rushed over to where he had seen Diane and Yena. The whole place was empty with tyre tracks on the ground. He deduced that the CIA must have already taken them captive. So he just stood there clueless about why Diane would do what she had done.

While he was yet on his knees, still hopeless, Tim heard a growling kind of noise. He was not sure what it was, so he thought to find out where the sound came from. He got up quietly and tried to locate the sound, as he approached the sound, which began to intensify the closer he got there. To his horrid surprise, he found what looked like a man with the face of a horse and had long tendrils sprouting out of his face. There was blood all over the mouth area of this creature and just directly below it was the disfigured body of some anonymous man he knew nothing about. Suddenly, there was a sharp metallic sound that resulted from Tim shifting his leg backwards to steady his balance and hitting a metal with the back of his foot while he observed the creature.

The creature quickly sent its head up. It had its eyes maintained at Tim's direction, like it had heard him or smelt him or maybe even felt the vibration that his body sent off. All Tim knew was that he didn't know if it saw him or not, he hid himself carefully behind the large old tractor that stood there on the farm. He could feel the motionlessness of the thing. His heart began to race for fear of behind found by such a strange and deadly creature. He began to hear them; footsteps which sounded more like stomping. Tim sat there scared, thinking of the possibility of that being Yena and the likelihood of her calming down when she realized it was him.

He could feel it even stronger now, the vibration that came with the amount of dust and breeze that flew past him as the creature drew nearer. He dragged himself carefully to the opposite direction to where he felt the breeze of the creature. He was able to successfully turn to the other of the machine just enough to evade it. He looked down at his hand on the grass because he thought he had felt something weird. His eyes went wide with surprise at what laid beside him. It looked like a big serpent, or some kind of reptile which he had forgotten its name because of fear.

It wasn't until he could sense the resumed movement of the creature that he realized that the thing, which at that moment was moving beside him, was not a reptile but it was an extension of the creature; it served as its tail. He couldn't move from where he was because then it released sharp spiky needles from all over its skin. Tim was too afraid to move so as not to trouble it in anyway. So he sat there, trembling with the fear of the unknown. He could hear the slow scattering movements of the creature coming closer to him. He closed his eyes and waited for what would come next, but just then, as he was about to be found out, Tim felt another strange occurrence and as he slowly opened his eyes, he could see this elderly woman extend her hand towards him and pulled him.

Let's go, The woman said, as she grabbed Tim by the shirt and she dragged him into what looked like a window that came out of nowhere.

Tim was spinning rapidly in what seemed like a dark area, tiny flashes of light, not too bright and at the same time not too dim, surrounded him and when he landed on his side, crashing to the flat surface, he felt a sharp pang of pain that came with the sudden drop. He pushed himself up, which was not without its own struggle, and then was finally on his feet.

He wasn't sure about where he was, and to worsen the whole situation, his brain had begun to think up possibilities of what he had just witnessed before whatever it was that swept him away from the farm. He found himself still breathing heavily and all he could think about was Yena and Diane and the Central Intelligence Agency.

When he had begun to calm down, he discovered that he could actually see nothing. The whole place was as empty as his belly after a diarrhea situation. He couldn't see anything, it was just emptiness, unless of course the figure that stood before him, it was that of a woman, that he could tell. She stood still, not moving for a while. Tim could feel the quietness about her, which was somehow separated from the quietness that was brought by the emptiness.

Then she turned, her face slightly wrinkled but still holding a radiance about her. Tim could tell the familiarity of her face but he was not sure where he had seen her.

What were you doing there? The woman spoke, her voice sharp and at the same time holding that familiar tone of kindness in it.

Uhhhh... Tim stammered. The woman walked up to him until she was just a few feet away from him.

I'll ask you just once and you better have a good answer for me, said the woman.  Her voice was now threatening.

I was there because of Yena, Tim said, afraid of what this strange woman could do at a place like that.

You're a friend of Yena's? asked the woman with eyes wide open.

You know her? Tim asked, lowering his adjusting his defensive stance.

Know her? The woman scoffed just a little but to Tim's hearing, She's my granddaughter. said the woman who already had shifted her stance from an attacking slash accusatory one to a more comfortable one.

Oh, Tim said, not knowing how to react to the information. He then realized that he had seen her face before, back when he had rescued her family some two years ago.

I get it now, your face wasn't familiar at first, I am Tim. We've met not too long ago. Tim said, stretching his right hand towards the woman.

I am Lola, she took his hand and shook it. So, where did you say we've met Mr. Tim?

Uhh... How do I put this, Tim looked into Lola's eyes to find some kind of answer as to how he was going to tell her that he was a police officer who retired and was now a member of a CIA group that specialized in abducting suspected aliens and taking them to a secret hideout, where some sort of test would be undergone.

We met about a year and some months ago when there was that incident with the doctor, Gigi, who abducted members of your family and I was the officer in charge of the case.

Wait, did you just say officer? Lola said it like a warning alarm that had set off.

Ex-officer anyway. Tim replied, trying to control the situation the best he could.

How can I know that? Lola drew backwards from Tim. She had the look as to ward him off but she was still willing to listen to whatever he had told say.

After the case was closed, I had to submit my badge in along with my gun.

Why'd they do that to you? Lola asked, still keeping her distance.

Well, the case had been reassigned to some other group but I was adamant to listen to the chief's orders, so I went ahead with the case without his knowledge.

So, even though you solved the case...

It didn't still absolve me of my wrongdoings.

Lola watched Tim's facial expression as it went all gloomy. He looked like he was angry at himself. She walked up to him, so what do is your relationship to my granddaughter? Lola gave Tim a questioning stare.

Uhh, we were dating before...

Wait, did you break her heart?

No...no...no... Tim answered immediately, scratching his head, thinking about how to answer the question without getting himself in trouble.

So... Before what? Lola pressured.

Uhh... We had a little misunderstanding, that was why I was over at the farm to clear things up and so I came over to find out that she was not there... Tim explained, wanting to add the fact that the CIA could have ambushed them but didn't want to cause more tension as was having enough at the moment.

Oh, well Yennie's like that sometimes, and I am quite positive that the acclaimed misunderstanding was your fault. Why would you let her deduce what she likes and then wait for so long to make things clear? asked Lola.

I didn't take too long. She was just unreachable when I was looking for her. So, I guess it is technically not entirely my fault.

Anyway, you could be somehow not in the wrong. We've been having a family situation and so I told her to take care of her mom and dad in the hospital.

Oh... Ok.

Do not give me that response, I know you know that her parents are in the hospital.

Uh... Yes, I do know. Sorry, I do not why I responded that way. He let out a chuckle.

Hmmm, Tim, you do not look straight as an arrow to me. Lola squinted her eyes at him.

People say that about me sometimes. Tim tried to throw the conversation to another direction.

And you wonder why huh?

So, Lola, what is place and why did you bring me here? Tim asked, looking around and seeing as the whole place looked like it was made up of clouds and bad painting.

That's a good question. Well, as you know it, were in the Astra.

What's the Astra? asked Tim.

The Astra is a dimension in time and space a few people know about and know how to access. it is like space but there's gravity and no gravity at the same time.

You're not making any sense. Tim looked around trying to touch what he thought was a wall.

That's not a wall, Lola said to him, sure, it doesn't make sense. it is not supposed to unless a lot of people would have access to it.

So, how did we get here? asked Tim, he kept trying to touch the wall.

Through a tear, Lola replied.

A tear? asked Tim, who had stopped trying to touch a wall that was not there.

In time and space.

I am not following.

How much of science do you know? Lola asked Tim.

Very little.

Ok. Well, think of the entire universe as one massive fabric and every other thing in it is made up of its own fabric and then in these fabrics are located different tears scattered around many places. You could say it is the imperfections of the universe and it is still these tears that make room for what you know as natural disasters.

Oh, that sounds interesting.

Oh, it surely is.

So how come you're able to see these tears and normal people can't. Is it because you're different?

What do you mean we're different?... Oh, I see. You've figured out that part already. That we're aliens. Lola smiled wanly at Tim, who was looking quite uncomfortable.

I wouldn't use that word per se.

So, what word would you use to describe us Tim?

Different. I'd say you are different.

But do not they mean the same thing?

Not exactly.

"Ok. If you say so. Anyway, back to your question. I am not the only one who could see it because I am alien or different, it just takes a keen sense of understanding of the universe to