The birds and a quest to save and protect Earth

A stormy night

Have you ever been to the sea front after dark?

Tonight, ominous dark clouds loomed over the open ocean.  The noise of the arcades thrived with the hustle and bustle of life.  Storm Fiona had been forecast, they had warned of a risk to life but who actually listens to all the warnings?  Certainly not the kids running around giggling and couples walking hand in hand.

As I sat on an old bench eating chips, I wondered what had happened to the ever present sea gulls.  All I can hear is people, the sea and wind are eerily silent. Should I have heeded the warnings? and be home tucked up in bed.  No, surely much more interesting to look into the eye of the oncoming storm.

Weather forecasters have been wrong before; something was coming but this was not normal natural weather.  As my pocket vibrated, I knew there was more to this.

“Ashley are you at the front?”  Jonah’s excited voice, shouting to me.

“Yes, it’s quiet here though”

“It soon won’t be” He then hung up.

Jonah was good at sharing half a story, I sensed my evening was about to get busier.

Jonah

As the black van pulled up, I watched as the tall handsome Jonah Wells approached. He was carrying a large case; this was not just a storm.  Pulling out a large device and a map, this was going to be an interesting night.

Many years ago, it had been proposed that on this night the skies would darken, and seaside towns should hide. We investigated these prophecies, few happened but if they did, they could be catastrophic.  This one was world ending bringing with it long-term famine.

Jonah’s research had shown him that Storm Fiona was not just wind but was bringing birds with it, much bigger than ravens.  Other towns had told of family, friends missing after the storm. Could birds take people?  Are these birds? What are they?

Sitting looking out to sea, Jonah told me his plan.

For all the research this man did, I can’t help but admire him. This was big and not something that a closed-minded human would ever have imagined.   The atmosphere was going to change over the next few hours bringing with it migrating birds blown of course and birds unknown to mankind.

Jonah had contacted airport control to warn them to change their flight paths. He hoped they had listened to him as anything flying across here tonight will not stay in the sky.

Hydroxyl radicals

Picking up the device I recognised it as the machine that had been sat in the corner of Jonah’s lab, doing nothing for years.  Tonight, we would see it in action. The Wells Atmospheric cleansing gun, used to pump hydroxyl radicals, a natural cleansing detergent.   Unknown gases were hitting us tonight we needed to fight back before they caused major harm.  Working off a huge battery we now placed it a few feet from us as the black clouds gathered.

Not knowing how long we would have to wait, the casinos were closing now.  A good thing as thankfully everyone was heading home, except us.  Jonah put his arm around me knowing that tonight earth would be at war and few people would realise.

As you go about your daily lives, you are unaware of the dangers or the forces protecting you.  Unaware that five years ago an alien race landed, and it was Jonah that saw them off.  Seven years ago, earth was nearly knocked off course in a storm that would have put us in forever darkness away from the sun.  Jonah fixed that too.  Ever watching what might happen next, I am pleased to know this man.

2 am

Feeling a nudge, I opened my eyes to a bright light and a cold breeze that I’ve never experienced before.

“They are here.”.

Hearing the caw caw of many confused migratory birds, I watched as Jonah started his machine.  The sea was now black and as the huge birds erupted from the clouds, Jonah increased the pressure.  Whirling around they were a shocking sight; they were the size of whales and not from this world.

I now realised that he had his tannoy with a language converter.   He had programmed it with animal. human and alien languages. Now talking  he hoped the birds would understand him. As the cawing ceased, Jonah asked them what they wanted, why are they here?

The Shadox

A deep voice was then heard.

‘We are the Shadox, We want your planet; you humans are not looking after it”

“You will have to get though me first, I’m the guardian and I don’t think you are compatible with our atmosphere”.

Joshua nodded at me to increase the pressure on the machine, allowing more hydroxyl radicals to fight them.

“You can’t take it back that easily, we have your people.”

So that’s where the missing are.

“You leave the earth alone and return our people and I will turn off this machine and yours will be safe.”

As large birds were now crashing into the ocean, they had no option but withdraw.

“What have you done?”

“It’s our atmosphere, it’s not compatible with your birds”.

Things now went quiet, the booming voice stopped, and the large birds vanished.   The normal migratory birds remained,  thousands of them, all pulled here tonight by the Shadox.

People return to earth

I could now hear voices, people returned. Many in the wrong place but they were back on earth and safe.  We learned that they had been pulled to a large muddy field with huts. There had been huge bird people that they could not understand, and they hadn’t known where they were.

Had Jonah not intervened the Shadox had been wanting to take control.  The humans were of no use to them and likely wouldn’t have survived their rule.  They could change the weather as they wanted and would have brought about famine as they are not keen on rain. On their planet they managed without it so earth could too.

Over the next few weeks, the police and news reporters got involved.  Things that looked like dead whales had come in with the morning tide and then the missing were talking about their experience.

This is the thing with humans, we always need to know why.  Many people put the reports down as delusional.  Jonah and I had retreated and were not telling the nights events to anyone.  We knew what really happened, Jonah was a silent hero and wanted to stay that way.

Airport control were talking to no one, but as Jonah worked for the government they had known something serious was about to happen. Lives had been saved tonight! I looked at Jonah and knew he would save many more.

 

Written for Write the story prompt on Writers Unite

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