The Guardian Host-Resurrection-Book one of The Guardian Host Series
The Mysterious Gift

I’m twenty-five years old, and my entire life is planned, including when and where I will retire. I’ve always been the type to plan every detail of any project I’ve taken on.

Today’s no different.

Sitting in my car, I looked at my calendar and marked an ‘x’ on today’s date, July 6th, 1947. One task completed for the day, now on to the next.

I looked at myself in the rearview mirror to give a well-needed pep talk. I could only see my blue eyes reflecting on me; it was all I needed.

“Vincent, you’re going to be the best archaeologist the world’s ever seen. The women love you, the men want to be like you, and... I’ve got something in my teeth.”

I moved my face enough while talking in the mirror to notice I had a black spot on my front tooth. I used my fingernail to scrape it off and wiped it on my brown slacks.

I peeked out my car window to ensure nobody saw what I’d just done. Thank god, nobody was there. Talking in the mirror is bad enough, but someone seeing something on my tooth could ruin my confidence.

After stepping out of the car into the scalding Arizona heat, I realized I’d forgotten my briefcase and quickly retrieved it from the passenger’s seat.

After straightening my tie and making sure I tucked my shirt into my slacks, I headed for the door to my first archaeologist conference.

I couldn’t wait to hear what advice the best archaeologists would give me.

I’d waited my whole life for this.

All the schooling and planning that I’d done was finally paying off. After greeting a bunch of people I’d never met, I located a seat in the back so I didn’t have to sit next to a stranger.

I’m not fond of crowds and have always considered myself a loner. I glanced at my watch and saw that it was 8:03 a.m.

‘When’s this thing gonna start? My schedule said 8:00, and it’s already three minutes after.’

I’d always prided myself on being either early or on time for everything because of my meticulous planning and dedicated attitude.

Three minutes late? Are you kidding me?

Who’s running this conference, a bunch of grade schoolers? I already had a bad taste in my mouth about it, and I had a feeling it was about to get worse.

I couldn’t have been more correct. After four hours of listening to some guys talk about their significance and how we needed to be more like them, I was bored with the whole thing.

The bad part is, I’d signed up for three days of this misery.

The only thing that kept me awake was counting how many times I’d yawned throughout the four hours I’d been there. I counted 28.

As soon as it concluded, I brushed past a few people standing around and lazily said goodbye to the few who acknowledged me.

I returned to my motel room around 12:20 and ate the sandwich I’d made the day before for lunch. It was only a break for lunch, but I decided there was no way I’d go back to fight off sleep for the next four hours.

Besides, I knew what I was doing concerning archaeology anyway. I scheduled my whole career, and everything I do always goes as planned.

After fighting off sleep for four hours, I knew I needed a nap.

Before I drifted off to sleep on the motel bed, my mind drifted off to finally returning to Pine Beach City, South Carolina, to begin my career. I’d purchase a building and construct my museum according to my plans.

I always say, “Everything I do always goes as planned.”

I woke up feeling that I was falling and grabbed the sides of the bed. The room was dark, and I'd forgotten where I was.

“What time is it,” I asked, finding the lamp and turning it on.

11:30? How could it be that late already? I just fell asleep a few minutes ago.

The conference depleted all of my energy and put me to sleep. My clothes were wrinkled from sleeping in them, which would typically be an issue, but not today.

I decided to jump in my car and get out of Arizona. I needed to head home so I could stay on my new schedule.

Thanks to my effective planning, I packed lightly, and everything fit into a tiny suitcase. I tossed it in the trunk, turned in my key at the front desk, and sped off into the night.

Goodbye, Arizona! Good luck to all the guys attending your boring conference. I bet they sell out of coffee by tomorrow.

I was driving for a few hours with the radio tuned into a doo-wop station, attempting to sing along with the few songs I knew to stay awake.

Thank goodness nobody could hear me because I sounded dreadful. Occasionally, I’d roll down the window and let the cool night air wake me up as I stuck my face outside.

I was enjoying the ride so far, mainly because I was the only one on the road and didn’t have to deal with people who didn’t drive as well.

I was getting into one of my favorite songs when I spotted a luminous yellow light emerge from behind a small hill on my left and head towards me.

As my singing trailed off, the radio started going haywire before becoming static. I quickly turned it off as the low-flying light honed in on my car.

I couldn’t tell what it was, but it flew low enough to make me anxious. It was bright enough for me to use my hand to shield my eyes.

I slowed down and tried to examine it through my fingers while squinting.

It’s heading straight for me. I think it’s going to crash into my car!

When it got about thirty feet away, I slammed on the brakes, and my vehicle skated off the road into the sand on the shoulder.

A cloud of dust kicked up and enveloped my car as I observed the object turn to the right and hover over a small hill about a hundred yards away.

I had to lean over the passenger’s seat to get a good look because the car’s roof obstructed my view.

What in the world just happened? What is that thing?

I needed to get a better look at it.

Is it an airplane or something?

I opened my door and attempted to exit the car, but my seatbelt was still latched.

“You moron,” I said as I fumbled with the release latch.

I unbuckled myself and got out of the car.

I heard the crunching of the sand under my feet as I took a step. I crouched down a little as I made my way to the front of the car.

Oh crap, I left the lights on.

I quickly went back and turned them off. I didn’t want whatever it was to notice me.

As the dust finally settled, I watched the yellow light descend and appear to land on the small hill. The intense glow faded slightly as it finally came to a rest.

I squatted lower as I got to the front of the car and removed my pencil and notepad from my shirt pocket to document what I was looking at.

What can I say? I’m meticulous and want to document everything, especially if it’s abnormal.

I drew the object’s shape and observed that it looked like two saucer plates on top of each other. Not stacked, but the larger ends were touching, like a disk.

No noise.

I wrote that down as adrenaline began to make my hands tremble. Maybe it didn’t detect me on the road.

I can get a closer look at it. It’s probably a Navy plane.

I crammed my pad and pencil into my shirt pocket and headed to the hill.

I’ve got to be as quiet as possible so it doesn’t hear me sneaking up on it.

I took another step, and my foot landed squarely on a rock, nearly twisting my ankle.

"Damnit! Stupid rocks."

I cursed as quietly as I could. At first, I thought my voice was loud enough to echo off the sides of the hill, but I knew I wasn’t that loud.

I quickly crouched down in case it heard me and tried to find out where the voice came from. After a few moments, nothing happened.

“Good. Now try to keep it down, you klutz,” I whispered.

I clumsily made it to the base of the hill, periodically tripping over rocks and plants due to the dimly lit terrain I was trekking across.

Just as I was about to start ascending, the thought occurred to me that I didn’t have a weapon to protect myself with. I patted myself down and only had a few coins in my pocket.

Great. What am I gonna do, throw a pocket full of change at whatever was up there?

It would only do me a little good, but whoever it was could buy a cup of coffee with it. See, this is what happens when something unpredictable happens to me. I didn’t have time to plan this, and now I’m unprepared.

There has to be something around here I can use for a weapon.

I surveyed the ground the best I could in the dim light.

Yes, a rock!

I found a rock about the size of a baseball and picked it up. I’ve got a good arm because I used to play baseball when I was a kid.

Now I’ve got a weapon, let’s keep moving. Good job, Vincent. It just takes a bit of planning.

The hill wasn’t steep, so climbing was easy except for the rocks under my feet. I gripped the rock tighter as I reached the top of it.

My legs were burning a bit due to the small climbing workout, but I probably needed it anyway. My legs are relatively slender, and could use the exercise.

I crouched as low as I could and peeked over the top of the hill to glimpse whatever it was. The light wasn’t as intense, and it was a remarkable piece of machinery.

I saw three metallic legs protruding from the underside of it like a tripod.

Still, no sound is coming from it.

I dipped back down so I wouldn’t be discovered. I was, by my calculations, only thirty feet from it. It hadn’t seen me yet, so I decided to get a closer look. I didn’t see any windows, so I figured getting closer would be safe.

I cautiously crested the hill in a slight crouching walk towards the saucer-shaped machine.

Once I got within twenty feet of it, I deduced there wasn’t any harm in standing up since it didn’t know I was there.

My heart was thumping so hard in my ears that I was sure the machine could hear it. I studied it as I took a few steps closer.

No rivets or seams. No paint. What’s that?

I saw some writing on it. It resembled hieroglyphic writing.

I’m an archaeologist, so I can figure out what it says.

I was wrong.

I’d never seen writing like that before. The writing looked as though it was under the surface of it. I was alarmed when the machine stopped glowing, and a humming noise emanated from it.

I immediately started shaking, and my breathing grew labored as if I’d just run a marathon. I let out a small yelp as I prepared to throw my rock at it.

Oh god! Is this thing about to shoot me or something? I wish I had planned this better.

The humming noise got louder, and then something happened. A door began to open on the machine.

Great! Now I’m in trouble.

The door didn’t swing open but materialized out of nowhere on the machine. I stumbled back a few steps, almost tripping on a small bush.

Once the door opened, I could see inside the machine.

It looked like an empty shell except for a blue column of light in the center of it. I wasn’t close enough to get a full view of the interior.

I could only make out some of the details. That’s when I saw it. A silhouette of a creature emerged from the left side of the door. It was smaller, like a child with an oversized head.

I observed that its arms were so lengthy that its hands reached to the knees.

The fingers on his hands appeared to be unusually long. The light hit the creature just right; its skin was bluish-gray.

It was looking at me! I could see enormous black eyes looking directly at me!

“Oh, God,” I said under my breath as my eyes widened in fear.

Suddenly, it floated out of the craft using a thin platform with a light on the underside. The device looked like a floating ironing board.

I took a few steps back and almost tumbled over as I hit a large rock with the back of my foot. It descended about an inch off the ground, and the platform stopped.

The creature stepped off the platform and took a step towards me. I was terrified.

I stumbled backward, which caused me to fall on my butt. I dropped the rock I’d been holding onto when I struck the ground.

The creature was slowly walking towards me! I could feel the sweat forming on my forehead as I clumsily attempted to get back up.

As I stammered, I thought about sprinting back to my car and driving off, chalking the encounter up as a figment of my imagination.

Imagination? It isn’t your imagination, Vincent. It’s real. See what poor planning gets you? Killed by some space creature, that’s what it gets you.

I raised my right hand to throw my rock.

Where’s my rock? Great. I dropped it.

The creature was within arms reach of me now, and I glanced into its eyes, noticing for the first time that it had no pupils, just darkness.

It had enormous eyes, very slender arms and legs, two vertical slits for a nose, and a mouth that wasn’t well-defined. It stood at about chest level.

I attempted to swallow, but my mouth was parched. I cleared my throat as I stood up straight.

My mind was fuzzy as I tried to think about what to do. I froze in fear, and it was all my fault. I should’ve planned this whole thing better.

Then I heard a voice inside my head.

“Don’t be frightened. I am not here to harm you.”

It was a deep, calming voice of a man. Hearing it in my head was a lot for me to process. I didn’t know how to respond to it.

Do I talk to it or try to convey my thoughts? The good news is that it’s not here to hurt me. Talking to it the old-fashioned way is going to have to do.

“My name is Vincent Vandraken. You’re on planet Earth. Are you lost?”

That had to be it. Perhaps it was lost and needed directions. He should have gone looking for an astrologist instead of an archaeologist. I can’t believe I’m talking to someone that’s not from this planet.

My level of anxiety rose even more, knowing that I was speaking to a creature from another world.

“That is how I communicate. Don’t be afraid. I will not hurt you. I require your help. Let me assist you with your anxiety. It will enable us to communicate more efficiently.”

Immediately after he said that I felt a blanket of calm sweep over me. A peaceful and warm feeling engulfed my entire body. My erratic thinking became immediately clear.

My breathing and heart rate returned to normal. I felt incredibly calm about the whole situation. Communicating with the creature felt natural.

He has a vocabulary like mine. Finally! Someone who’s on the same intellectual level.

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, regaining my composure. Even the darkness faded a little, allowing me to glimpse more of the creature’s details.

I could now see the smooth, bluish-grey color of the alien’s skin. I presumed it was skin because I couldn’t see any clothing. There were no seams or designs.

There was no facial expression on its face, just an expressionless stare. Now that I was calm, I felt that I could communicate without my mind going a million miles per second.

I needed to gather more information about this creature to try to give him the help he required.

“What’s your name, and where are you from?”

There was a slight pause before I heard the voice again.

“In your language, my name is Avlandrix. I come from a planet very distant from here named Volistan. By your time, I began my journey to your planet more than 70 years ago. I am here because your world is very young, and they will not think to look for what I have to leave behind on this planet.”

Now we’re getting somewhere.

I started making mental notes regarding Avlandrix’s information. He’s a planner, just like me. That’s when it hit me. Whatever he wanted to leave behind must’ve been significant if he traveled 70 years to get it here.

“What do you need to leave behind, and do you need to bury or hide it somewhere?”

Excellent question, Vincent.

I gave myself an imaginary pat on the back.

“That will not be necessary, Vincent Vandraken. I wish to leave the item with you.”

Red flags started going off inside my head.

That sounds like a lot of responsibility, and I wasn’t sure if I’d be up for the task. On the other hand, maybe he knew how organized I was and concluded that I’d be the perfect man for the job.

Regardless of his reasoning, my curiosity was piqued.

I’ve always been the type of person to agree to something after obtaining some details first. We all know what happens when you do something without planning.

If he thinks I’ll take something from him and hide it without some information, he’ll have to find another stooge to take it.

“What do you want to leave behind?”

“I have been alive for a very long time, Vincent Vandraken. By your timetable, I have been alive for 2,387,496 years. I have witnessed many things in this universe and thousands of others like this one. My time has run its course.”

I respected the information, but he still didn’t answer my question.

If there’s one thing I despise, it’s a question dodger, and this creature had it written all over him. I wasn’t falling for his little trap. I’m a ‘get to the point’ kind of guy, and I needed him to get to it already.

“Okay, but I still don’t understand what that has to do with me.”

Now, that’s how you get straight to the point.

It goes to show you that age doesn’t make you wiser. Good planning and getting directly to the point is what does it.

“To move on, I need to give you an item my body has been a host to for my entire life. It has kept me alive for millions of years.”

Now we’re getting somewhere.

I took a moment to process what Avlandrix just told me, and I was stunned at the conclusion that my brain had come to.

He wants to give me something that’s kept him alive for over two million years?

Even a greaser could comprehend what that meant. It might do the same for me if it kept him alive for so long.

It sounded good, almost too good.

It could be a test. There’s no way this could be happening. I know what’s about to happen here. There has to be some catch.

“What’s your angle?”

“I do not understand your question?”

“What do I have to do to acquire this item...this thing from you?”

“You have to accept it.”

Accept it? What does this thing take me for, a stooge? Okay, let’s say he’s being honest; I need to find out what he’s got.

“Is it a youth ray or something?”

“It is not, as you say, a youth ray. However, it will provide you with an everlasting youth. Once you agree to take this item, it will be yours, and you will also belong to it. Vincent Vandraken, I have limited time remaining before this opportunity will pass from you. Will you accept this item and take upon you the responsibility and the power that comes with it?”

I glanced down and noticed he was extending his right hand towards me. There was a glossy object gripped within his very long, skinny fingers.

Although it was dark outside, I could see it gleaming with hieroglyphic writing, just like his spaceship.

It was oval-shaped and about the size of an egg. It looked like an egg, except it had a point at one end. Avlandrix held it to about chest level and looked at me with the same expressionless face.

“Vincent Vandraken, I have only moments to offer you this opportunity. If you decline this offer, there will be none like it offered to you in your lifetime or lifetimes after that. You must decide now, or I will find another being to offer this opportunity to.”

The tone was more demanding and had an overtone of urgency to it. I looked at the shiny object, and my mouth opened slightly.

I glanced at Avlandrix’s face. Even though his face was expressionless, I could’ve sworn I saw a glimmer of concern in his eyes.

My hand instinctively reached out for the object.

He appeared very sincere about letting me have the object, and I felt connected to him for some unknown reason. It was like I was meant to take it from him to allow him to give it away.

For the first time, I felt like I had a real purpose. I didn’t want to let him or myself down. For once, I would do something I didn’t plan and see where it would take me.

Avlandrix held it in his palm and extended his fingers as if he had offered it to me. It was clear that he wouldn’t place it in my hand; I had to take it from him willingly.

I took a deep breath and grasped it with my fingers.

It was cold, almost like it’d been in a refrigerator for days. The surface of the object felt perfectly smooth in my hand. I couldn’t feel any imperfections on it whatsoever.

As I lifted it, it was surprisingly weightless. I had to look at my hand to ensure I’d picked it up because I couldn’t feel the weight of it.

I brought it up closer to my face to examine it. It was perfect. This shiny, silver object’s shape, weight, and beauty were flawless.

“Thank you, Vincent Vandraken. I can now move on to a higher existence with peace. You must go now, or this will have all been for nothing.”

That was it? Is he just going to give me this thing without any instructions on using it?

Talk about inadequate planning.

There’s no way I'll let Avlandrix walk away and not show me how this works. If he thinks he’s getting off that easy, he’s got another thought coming.

“Avlandrix, what do I do with this thing? How does it work?”

He turned around and took a step away from me. I heard his voice again.

“You will know what to do with it in a short time. Be well, Vincent Vandraken. In time, you will know the significance of taking that object from my hand.”

I couldn’t believe what was happening.

Is Avlandrix just going to get in his little ship and fly off into outer space and not give me more than that to go on?

I almost went off on him and gave him a piece of my mind but stopped myself. Not because I’m a gentleman, but because if he owns a spaceship, he also owns alien weapons.

I didn’t feel like being vaporized today.

I took my eyes off him and glanced at the object once more. Through the reflection of it, I saw Avlandrix get on his floating board.

I looked up to see him hover into the craft. I watched the door close again. The landing legs raised off the ground and absorbed into the spacecraft, and it drifted independently.

That’s when I remembered an important question that I forgot to ask. I shouted my question at the ship, hoping he could still hear me.

“Who are you hiding this from?”

There was no reply.

Instead, the craft lit up like the sun, and I covered my eyes to avoid the blinding light. Dust blew into my face as air rushed out from under the craft.

So much for getting that question answered.

I felt like I only had seconds to return to the car before vaporizing.

I turned and ran towards the car, stumbling over a few rocks.

When I reached the car, I put the object in my front pocket before entering the driver’s seat. I looked towards the ship as it was still hovering in place.

I started the car and pulled off slowly while watching the craft.

As I drove off, I looked in my rearview mirror just in time to see the craft shoot up into the air. I was in shock as I watched it crash into another craft coming down from the sky at a very high rate of speed.

I cringed and slammed on the brakes, screeching to a sudden stop. I turned around to watch from the rear window.

Both crafts erupted in a bright blue flame. It was like nothing I’d ever seen before. They fell to the ground like a comet smashing into the earth, leaving a trail of shiny metal in a grooved-out path.

After taking a few moments to process the events that had transpired, I sped off into the night, leaving the remnants of the crash in someone else’s hands.

As I drove away, I reached down and placed my hand over the cold, shiny object in my pocket.

I felt terrible for Avlandrix as I thought about what he’d just gone through. He traveled seventy years to my planet, dropped off a tiny object that was small enough to fit in my pocket, and then got pulverized.

I felt attached to him on an emotional level and swallowed the lump in my throat as I silently wished him farewell.

I watched the blue glow of the crash site fade into the distance as I looked in the rearview mirror.

I was so high on adrenaline that I didn’t doze off as I drove for several hours. Between attempting to sing along to some songs on the radio and thinking about the object in my pocket, I went until the sun came up.

So I was a nerdy archeologist with an alien object in his pocket. I still didn’t know what to do with it, so I knew I’d have to use my investigative skills to figure that out.

I drove from Arizona to South Carolina, stopping at various locations to sleep for the night and get gas for my car.

I kept my eyes on the sky every time I stepped outside, especially while driving at night.

I had planned all my life to travel to the beaches of South Carolina, settle down, and start a career in Archeology. That’s where I eventually found a home to rent as I planned to travel the world looking for objects hidden by the unforgiving natural forces of this planet.

Planning makes perfect.

On July 8th, people were going crazy talking about the flying saucer that crashed in Roswell, New Mexico. It was on the radio and all over the newspapers.

I knew I was harboring the biggest secret in the world. Even if I did tell somebody, they’d look at me like I had three heads.

When I finally reached South Carolina, I stopped at a small diner in the middle of nowhere to get something to eat.

After getting out of my car and feeling for the object in my pocket, I entered the diner and sat on a stool at the counter.

While I was looking at the menu, a large, muscular man who pulled up in a pickup truck sat beside me. sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ FindNʘᴠᴇl.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Great. There’s how many seats in this place, and this guy has to sit next to me?

I tried to find things about him that I didn’t like to justify my feelings for not wanting to sit next to him.

He smells funny, and his breathing is too loud.

We didn’t talk as we ate our lunch at the counter.

His elbow hit mine a few times as we ate, driving me crazy. No matter how far I pulled my arm away from him, he had to invade my space.

I tried to ignore him as I continued to eat and occasionally made sure that the object was still in my pocket.

He had his nose buried in the local paper almost the entire time. I glanced at the newspaper and saw that he was reading the story of the Roswell flying saucer.

It’s evident that whoever he was, he’d never learned about manners and, most importantly, personal space. After he ate, he leaned his face closer to mine and held up the newspaper. He pointed to the headline regarding the flying saucer.

I leaned away from him while drinking to let him know his presence wasn’t welcome. He smiled at me, and I saw a tiny piece of bacon stuck to his lip.

How disgusting.

I acted like I didn’t see him as I continued to drink my water. I could hear his raspiness and deep Southern accent when he finally spoke to me.

“Can you believe all this mumbo jumbo? I don’t know about you, but I know for a dog-gone fact that there ain’t no such thing as stupid, little, green alien men flying around outer space in giant metal saucers!”

I almost choked on my drink when he said that to me.

I just looked at him and gave him an agreeing smile after I sat my glass on the table. He was wrong, and his breath was enough to make me want to lose my breakfast.

My hand rested on the object in my pocket while he invaded my space.

I couldn’t help thinking I was just like that guy several days ago. Not all the bad stuff, but how his thoughts were towards UFOs and aliens.

My nod was enough of a response to satisfy him because he moved out of my face and reached into his front pocket for money to pay his tab.

He threw his money and the newspaper on the counter without looking at his ticket. He shook his head and chuckled as he headed towards the diner’s front door.

I was relieved he wasn’t sitting next to me anymore, and I could finally eat the rest of my meal peacefully. As he opened the door to leave the diner, he yelled to everyone without even turning around.

“I had aliens at my house once! Yeah, they’re all related to my wife! I hope it was their ship that went down!”

A few patrons laughed as the door closed behind him. I watched him hop in his truck and drive away.

Okay, maybe he wasn’t such a bad guy after all.

Despite his many faults, at least he had a sense of humor. Even though I knew the truth, I laughed at his joke while resting my hand on the object in my pocket.

Everyone was talking about the story at each place I stopped at. It was the biggest thing to happen in the world at the time.

They should hear my side if they think the newspaper stories are good. I knew I had to take my secret to the grave. I didn’t want anyone to know what I had and didn’t want them to steal it.

The next day, the military announced that it was a Navy weather balloon that crashed, not a flying saucer. At that moment, I knew the government was hiding all information from the public.

Why would they cover it up like that? Do they know about me, or are they just trying to prevent the public from panicking?

I stopped at a gas station a few miles from my rented home, and a teenage boy told me there was a rumor about the Roswell crash.

He said one of the aliens survived the crash, and they took it to a Naval base. If he’d seen what I’d seen the night of the crash, I’m sure he’d know that any alien surviving that crash would be almost impossible.

But if it was true, I hope it was Avlandrix that survived.

After driving for what felt like an eternity, I pulled into the driveway of my fully furnished home in South Carolina that I was renting from a sweet, old lady.

It was relatively secluded and far from the beach, just as I liked. Nobody living near me to annoy me and try to mess up my plans.

Renting a home wasn’t my original plan, but it would have to do for now.

Don’t get me wrong, I could afford it because of the money my father left me in his will, but I needed the money for the museum I wanted to start. He left me quite a bit since he was a steel distributor.

If only he could see me now.

I selected a house in a secluded area with the nearest neighbors around 1 mile in each direction. That way, I didn’t have to deal with nosy neighbors or the typical ‘Good Morning’ greeting from people I didn’t care for.

The first thing I did when I got home was place the object on the desk in the study.

I couldn’t wait to study the item I called “The Egg” to figure out how it worked.

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