Chapter 1
The six-pointed star and the flying ship
The cheerful adventurer and IT specialist Denis was in a good mood from the very morning. Today he, together with Ray, the mutant-grandson of the legendary alien Golden Zandolie, were going to test a new model of the flying submarine! The first dive, the first flight, whatever!
Ray's interplanetary genius, together with the software support of Denis himself and with the experience of Scott, a former military pilot, sailor and Ray's adoptive father, – they all together had created a masterpiece!
Yes, the new submarine was designed to not only splendidly dive and maneuver under water, but also soar into the air! They managed to overcome the density difference between two types of the environment, water and air, brilliantly, with almost no loss!
Zina, Denis' wife and an IT specialist as well, had barely persuaded him to have a normal breakfast before leaving the house. He was too excited to eat.
“Den, of course, I am glad for all of you! You have a common cause! And you are not just killing time out of boredom, but learning new stuff from each other. But be careful. Ray has changed a lot. To be honest, he reminds me of Zandolie much more lately. He even started to squint and slouch like his grandfather. And those blue zigzags on Ray's body, almost like that blue alien! And Ray had started to wear a gold chain on his chest with the Star of David! It looks like we are living on the Island of Golden Zandolie again…”
“And you know what I think, Zin? You envy us! You do not take part in our projects and you are angry! Why don't you ever help us, or at least take look from aside?”
“Well, because deep in my soul I don't find all this amusing! Ray is turning into a monster, and you are helping him in this, teaching him everything, building his evil empire. Look around. Humans and mutants had never got along happily. Humans are still afraid of mutants. And mutants are not eager to communicate with earthlings. They mine gold and guard the Island – just like in the days of the alien Zandolie!”
“You're exaggerating… Oh, I have to go, they had come for me!”
A black jeep with a gold Star of David on the hood and a black mutant behind the wheel was already waiting for Denis.
Denis had noticed, Ray did not bother to pick him up himself, but simply sent his “soldier and slave”. Maybe Zina was right. All this was starting to resemble the times, when the Island was ruled by the “great and terrible” Golden Zandolie.
The island was well known for its vibrant tropical wildlife beauty. The emerald peaks of the mountains were going straight into the clouds! The sea, the rivers and the waterfalls were everywhere, sparkling with silver and turquoise!
Denis had a happy life on the Island – here pure ecology and natural splendor were perfectly combined with a wide variety of adventures. Aliens, mutants and people of all ethnic and cultural backgrounds were co-existing on this small patch of mountainous land, lost in the Atlantic. Not always local life was flowing smoothly and peacefully, so there was no possible way of getting bored!
…Finally, their black jeep had reached Scott's house. Here Denis was supposed to meet Ray and go to the place where the submarine was located.
On the Island this place was called the Secret Bay. This was the very place, where Marley himself, the son of Golden Zandolie, once loved to hide and store all his supplies.
By some miracle, Ray, Marley's son, has found this Secret Bay!
None of the people could remember the way there. And Ray just knew it – the memory of generations? Or was Ray still in touch with his late father?
…The high electronic gates of Scott’s fort house opened smoothly and without a sound. The black jeep was immediately spotted by CCTV.
Three cars were already parked in the yard: Scott's, his wife Julia's and one more – a huge, brand new black jeep with a six-pointed star on the hood.
Interesting! Maybe Zina was right? Denis really needed to talk to Ray. Where did such love for all the symbols of Zandolie's power come from? And why was the Star of David in particular!?
The jeep with the black mutant driver was gone.
And Ray appeared out of the house, tall, muscular, hunching forward predatory. He has really changed a lot. The face was longer now, the features had sharpened. The squinting look and smile were new, the sweet dimples on the cheeks disappeared, even his lips had narrowed. The blue stains on his arms and chest, which he had after that incident of attacking UFO, also did not add him any beauty, but only spoiled the once beautiful caramel-colored skin.
Now, Ray was looking less and less like a handsome and kind-hearted man – his late father Marley, and more and more like a blue alien – his late grandfather Zandolie.
After the conversation with Zina, Denis had started to perceive everything slightly differently. He trusted his wife.
Ray was wearing something black, paramilitary. At least, not those white clothes, like his late grandfather!
He had sunglasses on his orange eyes of a reptile with a vertical pupil. And he had a slight smile, haughty, mocking, as it seemed to Denis now.
Ray's powerful figure was moving with a feline plasticity, just like Marley.
“Hey, Den!” Ray greeted him hoarsely and then lightly touched the hood of his new black SUV with a star. A powerful motor roared loudly – the car has started itself!
“He can probably kill me like this, with one gesture,” thought Denis.
Zina ruined it all – now Denis was beginning to be scared of everything! And how glorious the morning was starting! It seemed to Denis, that he had long ceased to wonder about anything on this unique island.
He just recalled, that Julia, Ray's mother, wanted to talk to him. Something again was bothering her in her son …
Oh no, later, all later!
The most important thing now was the testing a flying submarine! This was not a real size submarine yet, only a trial model, but quite large and accurate!
They have already managed to dive into the water and take off. Today there was a new stage – maneuvering between two different media, multiple changes of density of environments, optimal angles of navigating…
And he, Denis, would be inside, manually controlling it! Denis had a slim build – the model would stand all. And Ray was too big and heavy…
Somehow Denis was getting more and more agitated. And Ray was calmly driving the black SUV into Secret Bay along the road by the sea. Denis decided to start a conversation on some abstract topic in order to somehow calm himself down.
“Ray! Why the Star of David? You know this is the late Zandolie’s favorite symbol. We can't ask him anymore, but what about you? What attracted you to the six-pointed star?”
“I think when Golden Zandolie landed on Earth, he simply fell in love with this island. He wanted to live freely with people, love, create, without following the strict code of conduct of his home planet. A six-pointed star is a symbol of union: for Hindus – of men and women, for others – of people and gods. As you know, presently even some scientists believe, that under the word “god” in many ancient sources one can read “alien”. So, probably, Zandolie wanted to live with the earthlings in unity, or maybe he really imagined himself like a god.”
Ray was smiling as he continued down the road winding around the mountains by the sea.
Denis was thinking, that Ray might be as well feeling more and more like a god himself. And unsurprisingly so – Ray was incredibly strong and intelligent, with a killer hypnotic