The old saying is "be careful what you wish for" is almost always true; so is the adage "no good deed goes unpunished". The story of my relatively recent supernatural events has more twists than an O. Henry classic, like Gift of the Magi, combined with an M. Night Shyamalan thriller, and may prove these old proverbs in spades.
A few years ago I bought a small house on a lake in a remote area of British Columbia to use as a summer residence to get away from the hubbub of the city I live in – Chicago. I am semi-retired, and the idea of a few months in relative seclusion was very appealing after working 60-70 hour weeks most of my life. I am a medical illustrator – I have both medical and engineering degrees, and have invented a few small pieces of medical equipment that have made there way into a fair number of operating rooms in North America.
A few summers ago I arrived at my house in B. C. in early July; because of her job as an elected representative in Illinois my wife wouldn't be joining me until August. The air was cool, crisp, clear, and invigorating. After a few days I was into a routine of kayaking, fishing, hiking, and fixing up the house, all low stress activities that I loved. I was close to getting serene.
About the 5th night I was there, I was treated to a meteor shower, which I could see clearly because there was no air or light pollution. I got out my small refractor telescope, and was much enjoying the "fireworks" display, when I noticed one of the meteors wasn't burning up – it continued long after the others had disappeared. I followed it as best I could, all the way to the earth. To my great surprise a small fireball singed the night air in what appeared to be a short distance from my house.
Using my high powered binoculars rather than the telescope, by viewing a dust cloud that had been kicked up by the meteor, I was able to pinpoint the location of the fireball; a clearing about 2 kilometers from my house, in a wilderness area. What an unexpected treat. I vowed to go there early the next morning, excited about the possibility of finding real meteor fragments.
At sunrise I wolfed down a breakfast, grabbed a GPS, compass, and other gear I had packed the night before, and hurriedly took off to see my prize. I had no trouble finding the location since I had hiked nearby there many times before, but I had trouble believing what I saw when I got there. A shiny disc-shaped object which tapered evenly from the perimeter to a central thicker portion, uniform about an axis bisecting the disc perimeter. It was probably about 20 feet in diameter.
I will admit to trepidation when I saw it – but my curiosity grossly overwhelmed any apprehension I had and I went right up to the object. After walking around it several times I noticed an opening. As either the bravest or stupidest thing that I ever did, I went up to the opening, which seemed to be defined by a partially open hatch. Inside was a humanoid form, not really moving but making sounds similar to a child's whine.
I pried the hatch completely open and inspected the condition of the humanoid. While I hadn't actually practiced medicine in about 20 years, I was in doctors' offices and operating rooms all of the time, and was up to date with many areas of medicine since I had to illustrate new medical procedures and equipment on a weekly basis.
The humanoid was clearly an alien; he looked to be about 5 feet tall, maybe 95 pounds, with no discernible hair but with a skin-like exterior that was slightly scaly and a brownish-yellow in color, a head only slightly larger than a human head of the same size person, and clothed in what actually fairly closely resembled a fighter pilot's flight suit. I released a restraint on the humanoid and lifted "it" out of the disc-shaped vessel. It was lighter than it looked, maybe only 75 pounds. After I removed it from the craft I went back in and looked around for what might be an alien first aid kit. Finding four containers that could qualify, I picked them all up.
Not knowing if I would hurt or kill the humanoid – who was clearly still alive based upon its sounds and slight movements of its head and appendages – if I tried to carry it, I made a primitive sled using tree branches, and a tarp and rope I had with me, and placed the humanoid and the kits on the sled and dragged him to my house.
Along the way I was conflicted in what approach I should take. Should I notify the authorities? If I did, would anyone believe me? Would I be taken into custody under Canadian law? How would I know if the humanoid would be treated as a hostile? How could I know that he wasn't in fact hostile? Hundreds of scenarios danced through my brain. I finally decided I would try to bring the humanoid back to health and go from there.
When I got back to my house I carried the humanoid to my spare bedroom and placed it on the bed. I opened all of the kits I brought back, and believed I was able to identify one as a medical kit, another as containing food, another likely a communication device, and the fourth a mystery – maybe an environment sampling device.
Obviously not understanding the details of the physiology of the humanoid, I was reluctant to try and treat it, but didn't think I had any choice. Its sounds and movements were less frequent and weaker than at the craft, and I certainly didn't want it dying on me. One of the devices in the medical kit looked the most promising – it looked like a needle-less syringe, of the type the fictional Dr. McCoy employed on Star Trek. Determining I had to do something, I placed one end of the device on an exposed area of the alien's skin. Nothing happened. I turned it around and placed the other end on its skin. There was a small pulse of light and a soft noise, and the alien visibly jerked. Within minutes it started to move its limbs, and engage in what I could only believe was regular breathing, no more whines.