Devil's Delta

A small plane flew over calm waters, rumbling slightly from time to time. There was only one pilot on the plane, Dave's name, a member of the National Space Agency's expert team and also a member of the National Institute of Aerial Phenomena (NICAP), a U.S. government organization.

　　The other day, Daves saw a British Navy archive containing various materials from more than 20 missing ships and numerous crashed planes since 1840. The last page records that a US-registered yacht "Albatross" with 39 passengers was sailing in the northeastern waters of the Bahamas, preparing to sail to Port Hamilton in Bermuda. However, it disappeared without a trace in this mysterious sea. Daves' fiancée Selena was also on the boat.

　　Selena is Uncle Homer's only niece. Uncle Homer loves sailing and takes Selena with him every time he travels. This trip to Bermuda is no exception. Unexpectedly, this time the "Albatross" is gone forever, and no one knows where Uncle Homer and his passengers are.

　　Suddenly, Dave found a milky white boat floating on the sea below him. Yes, this is a yacht - the "Albatross" yacht.

　　After receiving Dave's report, the Royal Coast Guard immediately searched the yacht. The boat was empty and there were no signs of passengers leaving the boat in a hurry. The boat suffered no damage, the radio, radar, engines were normal, and there was sufficient fuel, and there was no reason to force them to evacuate en masse.

　　Dave boarded the empty yacht with the consent of the guards, and he wanted to check it out for himself. As he stepped into the threshold of Selena's cabin, his throat choked with excitement. He saw her clothes, accessories, cosmetics, everything in an orderly manner. He felt a shudder: what a horrific, shocking sight of the 39 people on board missing at the same time, leaving no trace, and no sign of violence and chaos!

　　He had given up any hope and just checked the ground floor cabin mechanically. Suddenly, he vaguely heard the barking of dogs from the bottom of the yacht. It was Skippie - Selena's sweetheart!

　　Daves found Skippy who was locked up. The furry critter jumped affectionately onto his arms, licking his hands and face wet.

　　Skipper was injured, and Dave decided to take him to the doctor. The dog was strangely injured, with four diamond-shaped wounds on its back. It was a burn, the wounds were equally spaced, as if it had been drawn on the dog's back beforehand and then branded on the dog.

　　NICAP had an important meeting in the evening. Daves was too late to go home and brought the dog to the venue. Major General Cameron, the leader of NICAP, brought a cassette of videotapes. It was a set of TV coverage of sports competitions, with cameras turning to follow the changes in the movements of the athletes. Suddenly, a dazzling green glowing object rose from the island behind the palm trees not far away. One can clearly see its outline and even its structure.

　　It was a complete disc, like two porcelain discs joined together. Through the diamond-shaped green porthole, a figure could be vaguely seen. Just then, a dark shadow rushed towards the screen, and a roar resounded through the dark hall. It's Skipper! The dog continued to bark as if there were its sworn enemies on the screen. Considering that Skipper was the only witness to the Albatross incident, Major General Cameron made an exception to allow Skipper and Dave to watch the video again together. When the strange flying object appeared on the screen over the island. Skipper was nervous again, his glass-ball eyes fixed on the screen. As the image zooms in, it screams, leaps out of Davis' arms, and lunges furiously toward the curtain.

　　"Major General, I firmly believe that the Albatross was attacked by a flying saucer." Dave's attitude was calm, and he said word by word. "As soon as this dog sees the flying saucer on the screen, he can recall the past. You see, its wounds, diamond-shaped wounds, are so similar to the portholes of a flying saucer!" "Your statement is dangerous, Dave." The major general pointed out to him, "As a member of NICAP, you must remain silent to the outside world."

　　In the evening, Lori, a reporter for the Novelty Telegraph, found Daves.

　　"Mr. Davs, I would like to help you solve the mystery of the disappearance of the'Albatross' tourists. I just got back from Bermuda yesterday." Saying that, Lori handed him a raincloth pocket. The pocket had the familiar "Albatross" mark on it, and it was full of personal belongings of the people on board.

　　"Where did you get these things?" Davis found a gold ring, which was the engagement ring he gave Selena.

　　"An old fisherman found it on Devil's Hill, a mysterious island in the Bermuda Sea."

　　"We will go to Devil's Mountain tomorrow."

　　Dave and Lori sailed to Devil's Mountain in a jet ski. It could be seen from Dave's stern expression that the future of their trip was unpredictable.

　　Dave and Lori went ashore. Lori took Dave's hand and made a joke: "Let the demons welcome us!" As soon as her voice fell, the dark brown boulders on Devil's Mountain collapsed, and burst out from the ground. The earth-shaking sound, the whole island trembled violently. An incomparably large black shadow emerged from the tip of the volcano with a shrill sound and sulfurous steam. It was a huge flying saucer with diamond-shaped portholes and a strange green layer on the metal shell. The flying saucer hovered like a top and suddenly flew slowly and ruthlessly towards Dave and Lori. The flying saucer landed slowly on the beach, and Lori saw the flying saucer's diamond-shaped supports, each of which consisted of four small diamonds. Each of its supports burned red as it rubbed against the Earth's atmosphere with powerful thrust and astonishing speed.

　　In an instant, their bodies left the beach like magic and were sucked into the flying saucer by a magical force. The motorboat behind them was also destroyed by this strange force and disappeared without a trace. The flying saucer rose into the air again, and the waves wiped out its "footprints" on the sand.

　　Dave opened his eyes and found Lori still beside him. He looked around the room, it was a diamond-shaped room, even the walls were diamond-shaped. There was silence all around, and a figure, the image of a woman, slowly appeared on the glowing walls.

　　"Selena! You are still alive!"

　　"Dave, calm down, I'll tell you everything." Selena's words gave Dave an ominous feeling.

　　"The people on the flying saucer came from far away places, and their abilities were unimaginable to earthlings. They dismembered planes and ships without leaving any clues. They came to earth to carry out a long-term mission. They have to understand the kind of living conditions suitable for earthlings, imitate the way of life of earthlings, and then adapt to it."

　　"Adapt?" After Lori figured out the meaning of her words, she couldn't help but feel horrified, "In other words, they are already people on earth, at least they look like people on earth?"

　　"Yes. They've been reinvented, and except for their developed minds, everything looks like a realistic Earthling."

　　Dave suddenly understood something, he slowly lowered his head, his expression depressed: "So you are..."

　　"Forgive me, Dave," Selena murmured. "I have to tell you I can't be one of you. We have our own rules. We are like people, but we can't be like you. If you see us for who we really are, you'll faint."

　　"You, Uncle Homer, who else? How many more? Selena."

　　"I can't tell you, Dave. There are many of them, but we won't hurt you. We'll stay with you for a while and then leave you without leaving a trace."

　　"So, are all the missing people in Bermuda yours?"

　　"Ninety percent are our people," she said with a smile. "They came back, not kidnapped as you think. But some were brought with them, and they could choose between the two. Choose: stay, or be remodeled and sent back. But they all want to stay, they can live carefree on our planet, they are happy there. Now what do you do? Stay with me, or go back?"

　　Dave and Lori looked at each other for a while, then said firmly, "Let's go back together."

　　A moment later, Selena appeared at the door of the room. She looked at Dave affectionately: "Dave, you will be a precious memory of my life on another planet. Let's say goodbye at last."

　　"Goodbye, Selena," Davis murmured.

　　"Farewell, Dave," she replied.

　　Then he and Lori fell into a sweet lethargy. When they woke up, they were back on Earth. Selena, to Davis, was just a memory, a distant memory lost in space.