#ares 3

The sound from the boy’s mouth made the crew flinch. It was musical and felt like it vibrated through their bones and souls. The sounds and syllables felt like they would be impossible for any humanoid to pronounce.

Worse yet was the uncanny feeling of just barely being able to understand what he was saying. The meaning seemed to be at the edge of their minds, slipping through their fingers before they could comprehend what was said.

They all stared in wide-eyed shock.

Immediately, Dr. Beck held up his hands in a calming gesture.

"It's alright," he said gently. "We're not going to hurt you."

The alien child flinched away, obviously terrified. Beck's heart ached for the traumatized boy.

Y̵̠̠͓͎̮͓͈̤͈͖̌̎͑̑̀̕o̶̻̺̞͉̠͇̼͙̎͛͐̏͑̕̚͝͝u̴̢̖̟̥̜̘̗̯͈͍͎̦̮͇͎͋̿͋̾̅͜ ̶̳̎̊̀͋̂̐͘l̵̡̢̡̰̠̣͖̗̤͕͚̰̩̖̋͊̂ͅḯ̶͓̯̻̥̺̜̈́͊̄̎̀͠ę̶̛̖̞̟̩̥̺̫̭̱͇͈̼͚̑̾̉́͆͑̏̇̀́͘!̷̨̢̗̬̪̲̥̭͚̮͈̦̙̟͋̈́̎̋̂͗̔̍͊̿̽̀̅̒̕͜ ̷̢̢͓̮̻̗̻̪͖̤͇͕̤̯̝̓̇͗̀̈́̆̏̎̚͜͝Ģ̷̲͉͎̣̤̭̺̮̭̼̱̗̟̮̓̃̀̈́ơ̸͇̪̩̜̓̽̇̒̓̾̒͒̕̚͠͠ ̸̛̪̭̹͛̊̈͆̀͑̋͒̈̇̽͗͗͂̀ä̷̯́͛̇͂͆̀͐̈́̿̌w̷̨̯͎̣̹͚̩̹̙̩̻̞̮̜̥̞̘͗̒̿̏̑̓̈̓͝á̶̯̪̘̗͒͂̉̈́̆͗͋̂̈́y̷͇̹̫͉̜̳͙̝̩̪̟͕̎̽̀͋̄̈́̏͌̈̅̄̆̀͐̑̕!̵̡̛̭̳͉̗̮̣͖͕̤͂̄́́̽̀̄̈͂̍͂͠ ̷̫̹̗͍͉̱̹̻̙͇̣̋̾̐̆̈́̊̌̉͆̓̚L̵̬͇̠̐̓ḝ̸̧̛̛̠͍̠̯͔̲͈͉͚̱̭̯̖̓̂͌̄͆̏͌̃̓̌̓̑͜͝t̵͚̜͍̆̎̐͑̋̿̒̋͂̉́̚͜͝ ̵̤̮̬͉̗̗̾͒̐̒̄̂͝m̸̢̧͇̲̲͎͉̺̩̣͓̯̃͗͌̊̾̅́͘͝ȩ̷̢̰͔̯̹̬̭̥̬͔͈̲͆̀ ̴̨̡͉͕̫͓͖̟̭̇̽ĝ̷̨̘̝̠̰̝͚̖̗͍̠̭͈̪͉͆͜ö̴͈̗̹͚̥̜̰̩̖́̆̐͐͊̕ͅ!̸̡̢̯̼͎̣̯̠̰̫͚̳̦̏̌̍̾ͅ ̵̛̩̦̠͖͇̟̃̉̓̓͌̉̎̂̓͛͂̈́͠͝͝ͅ The boy looked more panicked and like he was about to bolt for it. DISTRUST! HURT! FEAR!

Alex Vogel spoke up to everyone’s surprise, including the alien child.

“̵̻̥̩̃̽̐̃̇̾̈́Ḩ̶͈̝͍̞̦̘̲͙̳̮͎͊̈͐͋͛͊̽̋̈́͋́́̾̕̕̕͝ë̷͍͙͕́͐̃̓̋̀͑̓͗͘̚y̸͚̖̝̲̖͚̱̣̹̬̫̟̩̣̤̆́̑̀͑̅͝͝!̷̲̖̖̠̤͂͆̀̀̂̓͐͝͝͠ ̵̡̫͈̺̥͓͎̮͚̘͓̘̱͌̉̀͜͝E̷͈̊̈̽͐́̑̇̆̀͊̅̆̈́͘͝͝ă̴̡̨̧̟̟͙̄̎̈́̎͜s̸̨̛͕̦̰͔͙͊͊͆͋̈́̅͑̀͂̐̚y̴̬͙̿̔̌͐͛ͅ!̸̜͕͙̗͚̘̼̫͓͔̰͓͇͙́̋̀́̏͒͆̾̆͂̂͘͠͠͝ ̴̢̰̼̠̭̙̍̆͂͒̉́͝W̴̧̧͚̱̫̲̭̲̌͋̒̌͒̂̔͘͠͠ͅé̶̟̘͓͇͕̟̪̼͎̰͉͚͍̲͐̓͒̃́̽́̃͆̍͑͘̚͝͝͠ ̴̛̦̙̽̏̏̂̇͗̄̇͛̒͝͝w̶̯͈͙͒̌͌̅̓̓̏̈́͝à̴̳͖̲̺̪̗̘̼̘̩̞̎̌͌́͊̈́̓̀̈́͐̿͛͘͝ņ̸̮̝͕͍͙̠̤͓̪͐̔̋ṫ̷̛̥̲̖̞̖̟̮͆̊͝ ̴̧͍̱͚͓̘̰͎̖̈́̂̔̿̃̀̉̽͗̓̄̇̀̊̚͠t̷̡̡̫̗̳̭̲̞͖͔͇͊ớ̷̢̢̢̻̖͍͍͓̪͙̮͔͍̟̥̌̄̉̀̉̒̉͌̓̚͝ ̵̛̬̗̙̺̼̉̑̓́̾̋̀̎̍̆̈́͗̚͠͝ḥ̸̡̩̱͖̺͇̠̳̖͖̈́̾̏͗͑͒̿̾͜ͅe̷̡̨̼̬̠͖͇̲̙͙͇͐̓̍̓́́̐͜͜͝͝l̵̛̰̦̈́͛͛̋̂̍͗͝p̵̳̭̟͎͉̤͔͙͙̞͑̽͗̈́̒̈́͘ ̷̧̛̛̛̩̯̤̱͉̞̭̻̪̘͉̩̳̙̳̐̇͐̿͌̂̉͌̉͑̆̽͜y̷̧͖͓͉͚̝̳̰̜͛͑̎̕ǫ̴̼̳̹̼̦̥͉̤͊̽̽̽͘͝u̶͎̥̤̙̎̎́̾̎́̚̕͠͝͠,̶̱̮͇̑́̇̕ ̶͍̙͈̼̫͕̋̊̉̂͋̀̇̐͛̍͠Ĭ̶̥͉͚͚͔͎͌͊̅̓͑̆̀̏͝ ̴̨̣̙̼̟̘̺͙̳̞̇͛̽͊̑͛͠p̶̧̜̹͉̺͙̹̜̳̳̘͇̉͜ŗ̴̡̛͔̮̗̻̳̱͔͈̦̼̜̭͓̳̀́̏̈́̐̑̈́͒̿͌̅̚͝͝͠ͅo̶̫͚̻͎̜̫̥̙̠̫͕͙͍̞̰͒̀̇̀͌̐̂͌̈̌͜͝͠͠͝m̶͍̠̦̬̻̠͒̓̊̉̐̀̈́̓̅̑͒̎́̎͜͝ͅī̵̡̨̛̛̬̯̗͙̻̦̯͚̠͖̞̩̦̮͗̈̎̊̈́̏͆̒͛̂̚͜͝s̷̢̯̺̬͉̬̠̪̯̀̈́̄̇̕ͅe̷̘̜̯̯̦͙̟̘͍̰̝͉͋̃̒̈́͗͛̊̑́̊͝͠ ̸̭̈́̎͊̐͋́̚ẇ̶̧͉̝̞͎̟̙͉̙̪̗͚̳̦͇̿͑̄̉̆́͆̈́̈́͐͝e̷̳͙̠͋́̋̐̅̾͂͗͌̄̀̇̋͊ ̷̧̡̥̱̹̥̦̦͖̫̮̺̱̫͓̖̏̅̀̏͑̾̋͗̎̿́̉͆͗͑̈́͝w̶̢̜͈̲̣̳͕̳̻̪͕̺͙͍͖̜̠̔̓̈́o̵͍͎͈̯͔̻͈͔͓̫͈̹͌̍̆̃̈́̊͊̓̈́̌̄̓͛͝͝ͅn̶̡̨̧̗͈̩̤̲͔͔͖͕̯̭̠̑́̉̋̎̑͑̑̈́̈́͊͑͠’̵̧̦̝̼͎̝̩͕̍̅͗͑̍̔̄̌̆̓̎͘͠͝ͅt̷̫́͝ ̴̢̨̡̢͓̤͍͉̩̣̠̦̬͍̫͉̈̓͛̉̚h̵̼͎̥̭͉̭̞͎̄̽̂̚͝ų̶̡͎̣̗̩̰̜̺̹͙̳̔͛̈͗̆̃̔̈́͛̀̎̆̐́͜͜ͅͅr̷̰͖̮͚̙͍͈̒̋͝ť̷̢̨̨̛͕̰̯̗̲͍̙̦̜͖̭͗̈́̾̾̉͑̄͋͋͆̓̓͐͘ ̵̥͍͗͋̒̉̚͝y̵̡̡͇͙̰͎̣̙̣͖͖͍̺̐̏̐͆̌͋̏͆͝ǭ̶̨̺̺͙̘̥̻̙̣̻̘͑̕̚ų̴̨͉͈͓̙̫̟͚̰͕͖̜̖̄̑̋͝!̷̧̛̫̥̩̬̜̼͙͔̔̈́̾̍̅̄̏͐̍͐̃͜ͅ”̴̺́̿̏̓̋̎̍͝

Vogel looks shocked at what just came out of his mouth.

His crewmates whip their heads around to look at him in disbelief.

 “I…...what…. I don’t know how…… I did not…. I…... What?” Vogel stuttered. He stared down at his chest in confused bewilderment. Only after speaking in the strange tongue did he even realize he did. It felt as natural as breathing and like it had come from deep within himself.

“What the actual fuck!” Mark spluttered.

“How the hell do you get those sounds out of your mouth?” Rick

“Um, when did you learn an alien language?” Beth

“Omg, Alex is an alien….” Mark said in a teasing tone but with a hint of accusation.

“I Don’t Know! I just did it; it felt like I was speaking in English; I could understand him!” Alex defended himself, just as confused.

“Wait, you understood? What did he say? What did you say?” Commander Lewis demanded, getting down to business.

“He was scared that we were going to hurt him, that we where lying, I told him we’re helping him.” Alex Vogel explained.

“Can you speak it again?” Beck asked.

“um…. I’ll try.” Alex looks self-conscious and confused.

“Hello, um…... I’m now speaking……oh god, no…..um…. ugh! How about now? No? NOW?” Alex kept trying to summon his new ability with no luck.

“Man, that’s embarrassing for you…. maybe you should stop,” Watney commented with a look of pity and amusement.

“I can’t just do it! God, it felt weird. I just knew it in the moment!” Alex said with frustration.

“Look, the kid looks confused, too. Are you sure you said the right thing and didn’t insult him? I mean it didn’t exactly sound like his, I didn’t feel any emotions or vibrations.” Martinez asked.

“I’m positive! I thought I was speaking English! And I heard it as English, or I guess it just translated to English in my mind?” Alex explained with a look of uncertainty.

“Maybe it’s some translating ability? Either way, NASA will want to know. And Beck will have to examine you.” Lewis stated.

Danny, meanwhile, was internally cursing his luck. His mind cleared up slightly from its fevered state after the shock of hearing ‘ghost speak’ from one of the humans in the room.

The thing about 'ghosts speak' is that all ghosts know it; it’s already written in their minds and souls. But the interesting thing about it is that you don’t need to be a ghost to learn or speak it.

In the simplest terms, ghosts speak the language of the soul. Anything living could understand it. Granted, most living things need to die first to connect with their souls in order to speak it.

For the living to understand it, they would either have had a death experience, some out-of-body experience, be liminal, or have a really good connection with their soul through meditation. The only difference between the living speaking it and ghosts was the vibrations and emotions sent with it. It just wasn’t physically possible for the human body to produce and send their emotions.

If Danny were to guess, he would bet this guy had some near-death experience, which would have unlocked the ability. However, the guy wouldn’t have known until it was triggered by another speaking it, which is what just happened.

Now Danny had a problem. He could continue to use ghost speak and pretend to be the alien they believed him to be or keep silent. If he continued to use ghost speak, Mr. Vogel would be able to understand it more and speak it at will. And then they would have a way to question him.

Danny chooses to stay silent.

 “Maybe you’ll speak it again if the kid talks?” Beth suggested.

They all turn to look at the boy expectantly, but the boy stares back with a look of fear and weariness.

Commander Lewis hummed in thought. “I think we try to introduce ourselves. That might get a response.” She stood before the scared boy and placed a hand on her chest. “Lewis.”

Martinez stepped forward next. “Rick. I’m Rick.”

Watney tapped his chest next. “Mark.”

The rest each tapped their chests, introducing themselves, hoping to get a response.

“Beth.”

“Chris.”

“Alex.”

Danny observed this; he frowned in thought. It would make sense to respond. Plus, he didn’t want to seem too dumb; it might make it harder to stick with the act. Besides, it shouldn't do any harm to speak it again; what were the odds that Alex would be able to connect with it so soon?

“̴̨̥̖̹͖̝̹̱͔̩̘̉̋̈́̇̀̕͜͝M̵̨̛͓̞͕̩̯̥͔͉̮̹̐͆y̴̛̠͔̱̯̖͇͕̱̭̌̿̓̀̈́͛̊̀̎͜͠ ̴̡͕̱̲̦̦͍̹̰̠̳̣͚͚̻̙̋̈́́̽̈́͐̉̈̅͘͝͝ͅn̴̨̡̫͓̬͍̣͔͇͍̬̾́͂̓̕a̵͕̟͖̭̪̤͋m̵̨͇͇̭̥̪̓̀͆͑́͊͋̀̇̌̈́̓̇̎̒͘͝ḛ̷̓̀̽͗͒̔̔͂͝͠͝ ̷̥̪̜̫̎i̸̡̨̪̦̺̳̬͒̔̔͒͒̐̈́̉̊͂̑̈́̑̏̉́͠s̸̪̲̥̜̙̯͖̱̗̖͈̤͓͒͜ ̶̭̥͉̤̊͌͜Ḑ̸̲̙̙͔̼̬͚̥̜͒̋̇͑͊͑̚͜͜à̶̡̫͍̰̳̩̺̘̯̝̤̤͚͎͇̩̐͠ǹ̴̬̹̀̑͐̈́̐͛̓̾̄͜͝͠.̴͔̃̈̔.̵̡̬͉̦̝̪͍͕̹͚̗̪͌̌.̴̧͈̟̗̰̤̻̤͖̞̫̼͈̰̀̐̔͋́̈͌̕.̴̭̮͓͚̼̺̱͙̳͇̈́̇̒̆̿̈́̀͂̕͝.̸̛̝̜̅̚̚͠.̶̢̠̭͉͆̍̃̄̑̂̚͠D̸̨̮̱̰͎̮̳̰̻̬̙̲̗͚̀̓̀́͛̈́̇̐͂̍̾̓̅́̕͝͠ͅä̷̧̛̗̦͉͚̼̳͕́̌̓̃̆͒͊̒͑͌̾̉̒́̽n̷̡̝͈̻̤͇̼͋̽̐̅̔̀͆͌͘t̸̢̯̻̻̰̻̣͕̃͂̅̽̓̂͋̌̎͘͜͠ő̶̧̮͕̦͎̟̣̫̫̰̼̾̽̂̄m̷̛̻͎̫̳̭̓̉̅͛͊͒͐͛̈́̈́͌̄͠.̷̢̣̲͉̥̥͈͔̙̞̝͇̥̘̖̈́̕.̸̢̢͚̱̠̻̮̮̺̪̪̠͐̀͒ͅͅ.̷̢̧͕̹͇͚̙͉̝̗̠͇͇͚̱̆͑̓̏̄̆̐̎͘͝͠.̷̨̢̛̱̫̳̬̬̰͍̮̫̫̫͍̺̫̀̑̾̉́̌͆̋͆̑.̶̩̭̻́̓͆̾͘”̶̢̛̰̲͎̹̱̻̣̆̐́̈́́̀̄͑̓̑͗͝ͅ     

Danny stumbled on saying his name. Like an idiot, he almost said his real name ‘Danny.’ But that would be a weird name for an alien to have. So, he ended up naming himself ‘Dantom’ a combination of his ghost and human name. Cause he couldn’t change paths once he started to say the words. Cause at least one of them could understand him and might question the stumble.

Alex Vogel perked up. “Ḭ̵̡̨̱̳̱̲͎̦̙̠̣͕͓̺̲̄͆̂̋̿̑͒̉̃͊̕͝͠͠ͅ ̴̦͍̀̓̈́̾̄̀̋̏͂̌͛͑̀́͠͠û̴͉̹̳͖̲̖̘͑̾̀̉̂̎̾́n̵̨̡̛̛͓͙̳̳̞̞͋̀́͑́̋̉͗̍̎̐̕͜d̸̠̼̜̈́͛̓́̓ě̴̛̛̺͎̮͔̣̫̟̩̥̙̟͕̟̮́̃͒̄͐̌̀́̐͌̈́̈́̚͜͠ͅŗ̷̼̬̜̗̐͜s̵̢͕̱̥̩͕̖͙̪̣̺̗̤͙͚̽̇̍̆̄̀̀̊̑ͅt̵̞̗̪̤̓̊͛̔̔̈́͌̌̍̆̚̚ͅǫ̴̛̭͍̮̰̤̪̝̫̣̗̜̹̻̙̳̂͒̎̇͌́͆͌͗͆̚̚͠͝ǫ̴̟͕̯̮͙̘̭̑̈͘d̷̢̛̞̪̝̈́͑̐͂͐̌̀̔͜͠ ̷̡͔̦̟̱͈͇̝̻̪͓̣͖̱͔͔͐͋͝ͅt̵̥̖̟̘̤͉̃̋̎̐͗̀̽ẖ̸̢̲̙̩͔̺̭̝͎̞̹̼̗̃̌̂͗͆̈́̈̐̈́͋̀͂̇̓͠ͅa̴̻͚͔͔̺͎̺͈̭͖̝͖͈̣̐͗̈́͊͐̈́͒t̸̡͍̳͙̥̝͍̙̭̺̆͂͋̈́̀̅̋̅͌͌̌͆̅͠͝!̴̨̦̤̳̬͇͈̹̪͕̩̿̄̌̈̒̐͆́͆́͘͘͜͜͠"̶̨̩͎͖͓̮̣̗̭̪̩͖̬̔̽͗̈́̕͝ͅ

“Well, what did he say?” Lewis asked.

“Yeah, I didn’t get any of that; it sounded like a musical garbage disposal,” Watney commented.

“He said his name is Dantom,” Vogel answered.

Dr. Back looked at his young alien patient in deep thought. Something about the interaction stood out as odd to him. Something that Vogel said…. about the lying…..how would the boy know to accuse him of lying if he didn’t understand…unless?

“Alight, that’s enough excitement. My patient needs rest; shoo the rest of you.” Dr. Beck declared, making a hand motion to wave the others off. “Go do something else, give us some space…... Except for you Vogel, you stay, I’ll need give you a look over anyway.”

“Alight, send me the report, and I’ll pass it along to NASA.” Commander Lewis replied.

The others looked reluctant to leave, but they complied. They couldn’t go far, though, with it being such a small space. But having the rest of the crew do other tasks would hopefully take the pressure off their young friend.

“OK, Dan, I need to change your bandages, ok?” Dr. Back said while moving to kneel in front of the kid to make eye contact.

Danny flinched back at the nickname. *OH GOD NO! Not that name…...Not…. HIM…. * Danny thought in disgust and panic. He didn’t mean to make a name so easily shortened to THAT. Danny couldn’t help but glare at Dr. Beck. It took everything in him to tell him off in English. It would help if his head weren’t so fuzzy and hurting. He kept messing up. Why was it so hard pretending to be an alien?

Dr. Back was surprised by the harsh glare. He tilted his head to the side in thought. “Oh? Don’t like Dan, do we?”

Danny looked away, trying not to engage.

Dr. Beck let out a sigh.

“OK, Dantom. I need to check on your injuries. I’m just going to unzip the jumpsuit, okay?” Beck carefully unzipped the suit, helping the kid move his arms out of the sleeves so he could assess the injuries on his back and abdomen. Beck went slow, stopping whenever the kid jerked away and looked at him with big, fearful eyes.

“It’s okay,” Beck said gently. “I’ll be quick.”

Danny couldn’t help being tense as Dr. Beck changed and looked over his injuries. He knew the procedure was necessary, but he hated being poked and prodded.  And he still hurt, and his head was pounding like a herd of elephants were having a party up there.

Danny squeezed his eyes shut and whimpered as Beck unwound the bandages from his torso. The injuries from the GIW were taking abnormally long to heal, even with his advanced half-ghost physiology.

Beck cleaned the wounds as gently as possible, but Danny still flinched at the sting.

“All done,” Beck said finally. “You’re being very brave.”

Danny couldn’t help but sag with relief after this was said.

Dr. Beck re-did the bandages and then pressed a cup of cold water into Danny’s hands. Danny greedily gulped the water down, not realizing how thirsty he was.

“Easy, easy….” Dr. Beck cautioned. “I can get you more, don’t make yourself sick.”

Dr. Beck refilled his cup and handed it to him again. “Slower this time.” He said with a stern gaze.

Danny reframed from nodding but sipped the water much slower this time.

“You sit tight; I’ll be right back.” Dr. Beck said as he left to the other side of the Hab.

Danny sipped at his water, trying to avoid eye contact with Alex Vogel. Danny knew most things about the crew. He was an avid fan. He just never dreamed he would meet them like this.

“So…..” Alex awkwardly tried to figure out how to engage the alien kid in conversation. He was dying to ask what that language was and why he could understand and speak it. “What was that back there?” Alex asked

Danny hunched his shoulders, not wanting to talk. If he talked too much in ‘ghost speak’ around Alex, the man would eventually be able to do it at will. Then he would be really screwed. *I just need time…... I need to figure out my alien story. * Danny thought. Some questions would be too hard to answer, especially now with how much pain he was in.

Danny curled up on the small cot they had given him, turning his back to Alex. He just wanted to go home.

He had to leave here, but he felt weak as a newborn kitten. For now, it seemed smarter to keep playing possum. Let them think he was just a strange alien. The less they knew about his human and ghost half, the better.

Danny buried his face against the thin pillow, feeling utterly alone. He missed his family and his friends.....were they searching for him?

A gentle hand on his shoulder made Danny flinch. He glanced up to see the doctor looking down at him kindly.

“I know you’re scared,” Beck said. “This is all strange for you. But we’ll take good care of you, I promise.”

Danny huffed and turned away again. *Take care of him? More like take him apart and study him like a lab rat. *

Beck tilts Danny’s chin up to look at him. “I promise we won’t hurt you; I don’t know who hurt you, but we aren’t them. No harm will befall you here.” Beck reassured him. His thumb moved to catch a few stray tears. Wiping them away from Danny’s eyes.

Danny pulled his head away from the Doctors hand and reached up to scrub his eyes, he felt himself blush a vibrant green. He couldn’t believe he was crying in front of them, he had to be strong not a crybaby!

“Alright….” Beck spoke. "Now, let's get you something to eat." He helped Danny sit up. 

He set down a tray of chicken broth soup and a slice of bread on Danny’s lap.

“I know it’s not much to look at since it’s all came out of a can or package, but this should be easy on you…. I hope,” Beck said.

"Go on, try some,” Beck urged. "See what you like."

Danny felt a pang of hunger, his ghost side working double time to keep him going. This food would help so much. Danny dug in, trying not to eat too fast. He tried to ignore the crew's eyes on him.

After eating, Danny felt a wave of exhaustion.

Dr. Beck removed the tray and gently patted him on the shoulder, mindful of his injuries.  “Try to get some rest. We’ll check on you in a bit.”

Danny allowed a few tears to slip free as he laid back down. He had to be strong, he reminded himself. He’d find a way out of this. He just needed time…time to recover and figure out his next move.

END NOTES (translations)

Leave me alone! ~Danny You lie! Go away! Let me go! ~Danny

"Hey! Easy! We want to help you; I promise we won't hurt you!"~ Alex

“My name is Dan…..Dantom….”~Danny

I understood that!"~Alex