What Night Brings

Our planet is a small speck in the Milky Way. When you look at the size of our world, it's dust. There's millions or maybe billions of stars in this Galaxy. Life has to exist elsewhere.

That's what I said as a kid. I would sometimes imagine the day when we'd find advanced life out there and they'd visit us. I pictured little green men, friendly and small, with a beacon of peace. On my 12th birthday, when I made my wish, it was to someday meet an alien.

My wish came true in a disturbing, real way. I never met men from space, because they weren't men. They didn't come for peace. They didn't come to do business...they came for us. These weren't humans. These were monsters. They were basically vampires. I would come to dread the night, for with the rising of the moon came the light. The light took from us. It took people's health, it took their blood, and for two unfortunate victims, it took their lives. The light was not a friend, it was an enemy. This is the story of the horror I encountered, of the inhuman predator that will always haunt Corales in spirit, even if no longer in flesh.

I was running. The woods were dark and the moon was full and bright. The scene was colorless, black and white, as if I were in a horror film. I had to escape. I frantically dashed down the trail and through the river. Had to get away. It'll get me! I kept running, fleeing from the unknown predator when something let out a war cry and lunged from the brush in front of me. I screamed. I suddenly became aware of people staring at me. The woods were gone and the only thing around me was the colored environment of a Boeing 747's inside. Next to me sat Sabrina. She was staring at me frozen in a concerned look. "Uh, oh. Sorry," I said. Eventually, everyone sat back down. "Mike, what the hell was that?" She asked. "I had a really frightening nightmare," I said. "I just haven't slept I guess. Or maybe I'm worried about Brazil. This is a third world nation made of a jungle we're talking about." She looked away. I smiled at her and to annoy her said, "aw you love me." She sent a look my way that could've cut me apart. I looked out the window to see a coastline below us and a city in the distance. "Belem," I said. "I'm soon gonna be in Colares."

"May I ask why you chose to go to Colares again?" Maria said. "I have a grandfather who lives in the town. He's got a guest house next door for us to stay in. Hey, where's the Starbucks in this airport? You know Italian, maybe you can ask these kind people." "I'm Italian, not Portuguese," she replied. "Oh look," I said. "There's a records store. Maybe I'll buy something here." I found a Motörhead album on one shelf and the older Black Sabbath stuff on another. Back in those days, heavy metal was still in its development and hadn't really replaced more traditional hard rock yet. Man, I miss the late 1970s and 1980s.

Back to the damn story! So anyways, we left the airport in a rental car and after a 45 minute drive, we arrived in Colares. The dirt roads were bumpy and wet. We pulled up near my grandfather's home and I hopped out. As Sabrina got out, I came up behind and hugged her tightly and she yelped. "HA haa!" I cried. "I got to you again!" "Stop, just stop," she said in a serious tone. We approached his door and I clanked the metal knocker. The door opened a crack and my grandfather poked his head out a bit. "Quem está aí?" He asked. That means who's there in Portugese. "Oh Papi, É só eu, e este é Sabrina Orlando, minha namorada." I replied. Sabrina gave me an odd look and I said, "I told him you were my girlfriend." She looked so embarrassed. I'll never get over it.

We sat around the table for dinner at 6:30. At that time, the sun had set and the stars were out. "I know little bit English," my grandpa said. "I should speak it so you know what I saying." He told Sabrina. "So, where you from Sabrina?" He asked. " I grew up in Sicily, and moved to America at 12 years old," she said. "Me and Mike met in seventh grade and he used to pull all sorts of stunts, like tacks on my seat in a heart shape. Mike, it hurt." My grandfather struggled to not break down laughing. "Maria's father works for a car company," I said. "Her mom's an accountant." He looked rather impressed. "Aah, if only life still that simple here in Colares," he said. His smile slowly faded. "Papi?" I asked. "They come tonight," he said. "I know they come again for sure." "They?" I asked. "Who's they?" "The demons. The space monstros." He replied. "Whatever they may be." "What?" I asked. He got up and gazed out the window. "Michael, it began a month ago. I on the beach one night reading a book by a bonfire. My friend's they with me at time. They joking when suddenly Daniel pointed at group of people on shore. They watched the sea. I looked out toward the ocean and saw it. Dozens of strange lights circling on the horizon. They moving our way. I became nervous and headed home. As I walk up beach, the lights come toward us. Then, one flashes on beam. It hits the mob and they fall to the ground. I yell and run home. As I do, the light engulf me, and I fall. I could not move. Even when light left I still was paralyzed for minutes. Finally I get up and go home. I threw up and felt so tired. Fell asleep. Woke up and felt burning sensation on my arm. I looked and there this." He rolled up his sleeve and revealed what looked like needle marks. "It sucked my blood," he said. "The light is vampiro." "W-w-what?" I said, in disbelief. "Kids, I get you key to guest house. When you get in, lock door. Close shutters. Close curtains. Don't leave building."

It was late and we were snuggled together in bed. On a usual night, us sleeping together usually meant a deep, refreshing sleep. That night, neither of us slept. We lay there gazing at each other in silence. Finally I spoke. "No aliens here, right?" "Mike, I'm scared. What if they come?" "Relax Sabrina," I said. "He's pulling your leg. That's what he's good at. Knowing him, he'll dress in an alien mask and try to scare us shitless." I laughed, but I wasn't fooling even myself. He played jokes like this, but never looked so serious or nervous. He looked like he held a feeling of dread not known to man. "Look, try to sleep," I said. "I'll guard you."

Around midnight, it began. I heard a low, hollow humming sound, which sounded like a far off air conditioning system. "Wow," I said. "They have air conditioning here?! I sure could use it." As the minutes progressed though, it grew louder. I soon began feeling worried, and Sabrina had woken up too. "What is that?!" she asked. "Uh, air conditioning?" I replied. I slipped out of bed, totally devoid of clothes and made for the window. I pulled the curtains aside and peaked out. I froze when I saw what the noise was. Out at sea, three large lights were hovering in the black sky. One was blue, one was yellow and one was white. They slowly floated toward the shore and as they drew near, red lights flashed on their undersides. These red searchlights began sweeping over the town, as if looking for something. "Mike, what is it?! What's wrong!?" Sabrina shouted. She came to the window and gasped. "No. NO!" I cried. "This can't be!" "It is," she stated in a quiet fear. I stayed at the window and as I watched, the lights congregated on a house. Suddenly, a bright beam flipped on and engulfed the home. I saw someone dart out of the house running, but they were caught in the light. The lights then floated across town toward the docks and illuminated the shipyard, before they turned off the searchlights and beams, dimmed, and floated back out to sea. I could see from the street lamps glow a man lying near the one house, a several men lying on the dock at the shipyard. People began coming out of homes and entering the streets. I pulled on shorts and threw on a stripped shirt, not bothering to button it. "Stay here!" I told Sabrina. I darted down the steps and out onto the road. There were people everywhere and I saw my grandfather. "What happened?" I asked. "The lights got several victims tonight," he responded. "My friend Alando was the first one. His house was targeted. Everyone except his young son fell prey to them." "Will they be okay?" I asked. He shrugged. "All I know is they have his blood." He said. Suddenly, the humming returned. Everyone shoved and pushed and reentered homes. Some even entered another person's home to hide. "Run!" Granddad told me. I turned and darted back and he vanished. The lights were returning from the sea now, looking for more prey. I ducked back inside and grabbed Sabrina. "Get under the bed," I said. "They've returned." She did and as we hid, a bright light illuminated the room. We were silent and after a minute, it was gone. We waited for half an hour before coming out of hiding and I gazed outside to see the night empty again. The UFOs were nowhere to be found, and the town was silent.

The townspeople the next day were hysterical with fear. The men who had been attacked at the docks were still in poor health, with one in a coma. The unconscious victim was taken to a hospital in Belem while the others were crammed into the clinic in town. Me and Sabrina made for my grandfather's house. I knocked on the screen door and he appeared at it, opening it. "Come in," he said. We followed him into his living room where he sat down. "Do you know what's going on?" I asked. He shook his head. "I no idea what this be. It scaring me now. These lights from space hunting us all." "Hunting?" I asked. He gazed at Sabrina and then at me. "Movies be wrong," he told me. "No little green men, no peace. Only predators. We food, not people to them." "Have you tried calling for help?" I asked him. "The mayor say he working on it," granddad told me. "As for us, we feel doomed. What if they come to take us? What if we kidnapped? What if they destroy Colares?" I nodded. I was now frightened. I looked at Sabrina, looking over her long, somewhat poofy brown hair, her masscura lined almond eyes, and her red lips. "They better not touch you or it'll be Roswell all over again," I said. She grinned.

Over the next week, more and more people were leaving town. Almost all women and children left and the men stayed behind. One night, I took a walk down to the beach, since no lights had been seen that evening. As I did, I saw glowing light coming from the shore. I began shivering. What if they had landed? Were they coming into town to take us? What would they do to us? I snuck over to a grassy bluff to get a view. If they had come, I'd run silently back to the house, get my girlfriend and grandfather, and we'd escape the city, either by car or by foot if necessary. I didn't see aliens, but saw an ominous sign of how desperate these people were. Men had gathered on the beach and were burning chairs, couches, books, cooking oil, candles and branches in an attempt to keep the lights away. They were also banging on pans and shouting. Then I saw it. Out at sea, a blue light was drawing near. It flashed on red searchlights and the men scattered, fleeing the beach. I turned and ran. The light was getting closer. I had to escape. I darted through the woods toward town almost tripping several times. The light was getting closer still and my heart was pounding. I saw the house ahead and burst forward, not stopping. I could hear the sound of the UFO almost on top of me now and as I reached the door, a beam flashed on a block from me. I got in, slammed the door, grabbed Sabrina and dragged her under the bed as the room was flooded with white light. It blinded me for a few seconds before it left, and we crept out to see it headed back out to sea, having caught no prey that night.

Around 4 or 5 in the morning, I heard a low humming. I looked outside to see two lights coming in from the sea and I heard sounds all around the town. " they're swarming us," I whispered. Sabrina, grab your stuff, we're leaving. You got sixty seconds!" The lights came in fast and I heard a whipping sound. Looking up, I suddenly realized these weren't the UFOs. The two lights that flew over town were helicopters, and a low rumble came down the street. That low rumbling wasn't the sound of aliens but of jeeps and all-terrain vehicles. A large convoy of them rolled past and the helicopters landed on the outskirts of town. From the look of them, the vehicles appeared to be military equipment. Townspeople began flooding the streets. I left the house and headed toward the convoy. "Michael," someone said. My grandfather approached. "Who is it?" I asked. "They the army," he told me. "The mayor must've called for them." I approached on foot until I was among those right in front of the convoy. "Hey. HEY!" I cried. "Can someone tell me what's going on?!" Most of the soldiers didn't understand English and just shrugged, but the commander was fluent in it. "I'm Commander Aaron De Paulo Orzi of the Brazilian Regional Air Command, that's Comar. We came here upon hearing of 'saucers.' You are in good hands, don't worry. I can guarantee these saucers won't stick around once we're done here."

The commander and four other men showed up at my place around 9 that morning. I let them in and they asked if they could ask me some questions. I shrugged and said fine, and they sat down. "What is your name?" The commander asked. "Michael Rivera Carro," I replied. "So Michael, how long have you been in Colares for?" "A few weeks," I said. "Have you seen anything odd or bizarre?" The commander asked. I nodded and he handed me a pencil and paper. "Draw it. Words can't describe what defies comprehension." I sketched a detailed picture of the UFOs and he looked at it. "Have you been attacked or injured by the objects?" He asked me. "Attacked but not injured," I replied. "Oh?" The commander responded. "That involved ducking under the bed and hiding for long periods of time," I added. "So, do you feel threatened or afraid of these lights?" The commander asked. "Yeah, very scared," I replied. "Okay," De Orzi replied. "That'll be all. We'll soon know what we're dealing with tonight." As he headed for the door with his soldiers, I coughed out, "commander." He turned. "Be careful." "Aye, we'll fight if we must and run if necessary," he joked. "Really," I replied. "Brace yourselves. It's going to be a scary, sleepless night for you."

That night, the military set up in the forest to the west, on the bluffs near the beach and in the jungle outside of town to the south. The sun set and the night was full of cricket chirps, animal cries and waves splashing against the beach. Around midnight, the animals went silent. Across the sea, a bright light was approaching the shore. "They'll find out," I whispered to myself. The light drew near shore and suddenly veered toward the bluffs. As it did, a beam of light flashed on beneath it. Suddenly I heard yelling and cries of terror. The beam swung around and after remaining in place for a few seconds, flipped off. The object hovered for a few seconds before it started to glow brighter. It got brighter until it was as bright as day outside. A low buzzing began and grew louder until it was ear splitting and suddenly, the object fired several lasers toward the bluffs. There were explosions and screams and then machine gun fire. The light fired more rays and suddenly, a bright rocket flashed through the air, striking the object. A huge explosion shook the earth and the object spun away in loops, flying out to sea before it exploded, raining debris into the water. The night was dark again and the cricket chirps and animals returned. I waited a while before heading out toward the bluffs. I reached the area to find a scene of chaos. Five jeeps were now flaming wrecks, and craters filled the earth. A few men were laid out on stretchers, and one was totally unconscious. Men hurried in various directions, tending the injured. I saw the commander standing nearby, smoking a cigarette. "What happened?" I asked him. "The ship came for our men, and they fired on it. It shot back, leaving this wreckage. It managed to extract blood from one man, but it paid the ultimate price. One of them had an RPG and fired off a shell at it. Obviously they aren't invincible. The shell did some major damage and the craft exploded out at sea." "So I saw," I replied. "No men were killed among us, so we have the upper hand here. They lost at least one soldier tonight," he stated. "Hey, if we get some anti-aircraft turrets, tanks, helicopters and fighter jets, maybe we can blow them away back to the planet they came from." "Don't be overconfident," I said. "Just because humanity won tonight's battle doesn't mean the same will occur tomorrow. Don't start a war between worlds commander." He laughed. "They can't be very strong if they lost a ship to conventional artillery," he replied. I was serious, and worried too. What would these interstellar intruders do to us now that one of their ships had been shot down? Would they wipe Colares off the map? Would they stop at Colares or keep going? What if all of earth was invaded for this single shot?

"They got one?!" My granddad exclaimed in disbelief. "Yeah," I replied. "Well, we know they're solid obviously. They aren't supernatural. Based on what I saw, they're aircraft. The one they hit flew out to sea on fire and exploded over the ocean. Metal and burning debris were observed falling into the water. Today, some metal fragments washed up on the shore. The military's taking it as evidence." He looked concerned. "They punish us now," he said. "They come back for revenge tonight." "That's what I'm worried about," I replied. "Maybe we should head to Belem. We could stay there for a few days." He shook his head. "Nowhere safe. They hunt us down to the ends of the earth for this one."

The next night began like all others. The Commander had re-stationed his men away from the bluffs, on a forested hillside across the bay. They had spent all day digging trenches with special tunnels for safety. The men at the trenches were heavily armed and five had RPGs in case they were attacked. On schedule, the UFOs arrived, only...I gasped. I almost fainted in terror. The sky off at sea was full of lights. There wasn't three, or five or ten. It looked like hundreds were headed our way. I saw someone climb onto a roof and soon more men were climbing onto their homes. I wondered what they were doing until I saw them unfurling any guns they had. Everything from small handguns to shotguns. They were ready to fight the invaders to the death, deciding that the bloodsucking had to end. As the lights approached, all of them flashed on their searchlights. At that moment, the gunshots began. The crafts drew closer and I began hearing the pinging of bullets bouncing off them. Suddenly, a bright flash reduced the street corner near my house to a flaming heap. Another flash of light tore through the south end of town, leaving more destruction. A third flash sent a flaming tree crashing down onto a house, and another shot knocked a row of trees onto power lines, effectively knocking the power out. Gunshots began ringing out more to no avail and soon the men fled. At that point, a huge thud shook the ground. One of the orbs exploded and crashed down into the post office. A round of thudding destroyed several craft. A streak of fire tore across the sky and struck a bright blue craft, and blasted it into pieces that fell to earth. The ships began moving toward the hillside and more shots blasted them away. A flash of the death laser tore the trees off the hillside but the firing continued. I suddenly could hear a loud shrieking and looking to the south, I saw a row of jet fighters streaking in the direction of Colares. The jets unleashed a torrent of rockets, destroying several more craft. They then one by one unleashed guided missiles, which homed in on more ships. The UFOs finally retreated, but before they did, they unleashed another attack. A final blinding flash of light blew the shipyard apart. The remaining ships then flooded out to sea.

The next day, the men of Colares went out to observe the damage. The corner store was a pile of complete wreckage and a whole family had been killed. The commander showed up around noon. He looked disappointed and afraid. He gathered the towns men together and exhibited frustration and fear. He was upset the men had shot at the craft. The original plan of the military was to try and keep the ships away from Colares by engaging them at sea. However, by standing on the roofs and firing at the UFOs, the ships had gone toward Colares and a major portion of the battle had occurred over the beach. The shore was littered with wreckage and wires, but strangely, there were no bodies. An almost intact ship had crashed in the woods and when examined, the blood flowing from its inside turned out to be coming from a tube. It was human blood, collected from victims over the past few weeks. The inside was not hollow, but was instead filled with tubing and wires, and the general realized these were not manned. Today, we'd compare them to space probes or drones. Someone or something was remote-controlling the ships from far away. They hadn't lost lives, but only lost some technology. Meanwhile, we had lost four lives the night before. The commander was getting ready for more fighting tonight, and told the men to stay in their homes or leave town before sunset. Meanwhile, the government in the capital of Brasilia had isolated Colares off. Traffic into the town was blocked about 10 miles away and the only traffic being let through was traffic leaving town.

I decided to stay with Sabrina as the fighting began yet again, and sure enough, around midnight, the lights returned. This time though, they hovered out at sea. They spent half an hour over the Atlantic, not moving much. Then, it began. There were many flashes of light on the undersides of the craft and suddenly, huge explosions began tearing away trees on the hillside. A ball of light struck the gas station right at the edge of town and a bright fireball shot skyward. The jungle began burning, and soldiers darted toward the trenches on the already cleared hillside across the bay. Balls of light were flying through the sky and striking the earth, leaving circular patches devoid of grass. The soldiers reached the trenches and began firing again, though the RPGs couldn't go that far out to sea and hit an object. A squadron of helicopters began flying toward the sea but they all were shot down before getting within firing range. Two fighter jets streaked past and fired a torrent of missiles, but only three orbs were damaged and only two crashed. The orbs let out a volley of fire and the fighter jets exploded. They then continued firing on the trenches, before slowly advancing toward the land. By then, civilians had gathered in the street and were darting south out of town in a final exodus. The craft reached the trench and shot out canisters that filled the air in that direction with a green-black cloud. The dark smoke floated across the bay and soon floated through town. As it advanced, I noticed stray dogs and chickens keeling over within it and realized it was poison gas. I grabbed Sabrina and we darted to my grandfather's house. It was empty except for the stove, which was still on. It had been left on so long, a fire had started. We didn't take time to put it out. The cloud was drawing near and we darted away. As we darted down the road, I saw two helicopters flying overhead and a ball of plasma destroyed both of them. They came spiraling down in our direction and we ducked as they exploded in front of us. We kept running as the cloud drew closer and upon reaching the outside of town, it stopped drawing closer and had thinned out. The UFOs then departed, flying back out to sea, leaving a ruined city full of noxious fumes.

The town remained blocked off by military personnel for three days, since the atmosphere in the area was still deadly. Nothing could clear up these strange chemicals. Finally, around November 1st, the air was safe to breath again. The bodies of the commander and his men were found in the trenches, eyes wide open. Their faces were twisted into a terrified expression, and their equipment was severely damaged. However, that night, the UFOs didn't return. Uyrangê Bolivar Soares Nogueira de Hollanda Lima, an Air Force Captain, had been the commander's superior and had pulled all remaining troops out of the area. The lights didn't return that night or the next. In fact, peace had been strangely reestablished. I decided by week's end to return to America with Sabrina, and leave this strange place behind. We soon got married in 1980 and our first child, my son Alex, was born August 5th of 1982. Our second child, my daughter Olivia, was born September 6th of 1985. Time went by and the events of that night are forgotten, until a hot night in July of 1995.

The night was dark and warm, and the windows in my house were open. I woke to a low humming noise coming from outside. I began shivering and quaking with fear. That noise was familiar. It was so disturbing. I knew that noise. Suddenly, my son Alex ran into the room. "Dad, there's-there's..." "There's a what?" I asked. "Why are you so serious?" "There's a man at the door," he replied. "Only, it's not a man." "What?" I asked. "It's...there's a monster at our door!" He yelled at me. Suddenly, I heard the sound of claws on the front door downstairs. I then heard a fumbling noise and a click. "Oh God no," I thought. "They picked the lock." "Michael?" Sabrina asked. "What's wrong?" " they've come back," I said. She heard the humming and shivered. Then I heard it. Footstep, slow footsteps, coming up the stairs. I also heard strange speech, in a language I didn't understand. The footsteps stopped for a brief second and I heard more talking. "I want you and Alex to hide in the closet," I told my wife. "Alex, where's Olivia?" "She's hiding in the attic," he told me. "I hope they don't find her," I replied. "Now go." They hid in the closet and I slowly drew my Glock 19, loading it and cocking the weapon. I wouldn't shoot first, but if they didn't come in peace, they'd go in pieces. I shivered nervously as the footsteps resumed. What were they going to do to me? What horrific beast was about to come through the doorway, here for me? Would they tear me apart immediately, or would they find some disgusting, painful way to end me? Worse yet, what if they took me away? What if they kept me as a human lab rat? I didn't have long to think about it, because the footsteps reached the top of the stairs and came down the hall. A long, slender claw grasped the side of the doorway, and two point ears appeared first. I gasped as two huge, yellow eyes appeared, staring at me. It slowly crept into the moonlight and my heart almost stopped. The creature was about 5 feet tall and humanoid in features. It had to arms, two legs, two eyes, two ears, one head, and a mouth. That's where all human similarities stopped. Its ears were very huge and pointy, bat like in appearance. Its eyes as I said were huge and catlike. It had no nose and its mouth was a thin slit. It had four toes and four fingers and it walked in a hunched over, ape-like gate. It had a grin the size of Texas and stared back at me, not looking at anything else. There were more footsteps and another two of the beings appeared right outside the door. It turned and spoke to them and they left. The being then did the unimaginable and started speaking to me in Portuguese. "You were in the small town we visited on the coast of the southern continent 18 years ago. We tracked you through various means including hacking. Finally, we have found you." "Why are you here?" I asked. He went on. "We have met with all of the people who were present at the town including you. I ask that you give us your blood." "Blood?" I asked. "Do I have to be struck by the light?" "No," he replied. "The light was to paralyze them while we took blood from them. That way they couldn't escape. If you voluntarily give us your blood, we will draw it with a needle instead of using the beam." "Okay," I said.

Some blood was drawn and he continued talking. "We are from this star system near you." He handed me a map. I recognized the star as Alpha Centauri. "We have been observing your kind for centuries and interested in preserving it so future generations could watch them. Recently, a ship containing a deadly virus crashed on your world. It fell in the Amazon rainforest and some native tribes have been killed off by it. If a person from the civilized world runs into it, a pandemic could wipe out your race. We have been collecting blood from humans of all races in an effort to create a vaccine. When we visited Colares, the military attacked us, so we responded by wiping out resistance. All we want to do is create this ante dote so humanity doesn't go extinct." "How will you vaccinate everyone?" I asked. "Seeder ships would fly over towns and drop canisters in the middle of the night, effectively making all people immune. We need human blood to effectively do this," he replied. "We must leave now, but know that you are in good hands." With that, he left the room and I heard many footsteps heading through the door. The door closed and the humming receded into the distance. My family reappeared. "He was speaking Portuguese," Sabrina said. "What did he say?" "Don't worry," I replied. "They're on our side."

In 1997, two decades after the operation, Captain Uyrangê gave an interview to researchers Ademar José Gevaerd (editor of UFO Magazine, founder and president of the CBPDV (Centro Brasileiro de Pesquisas de Discos Voadores, or Brazilian Center of Flying Saucer Research), national director of the Mutual UFO Network) and Marco Antônio Petit. In this interview, he recounted his experiences living alongside his men. Some three months after the interview, he was found dead hanging by his own belt. No one knows what happened in Colares, except me. I know the truth. The truth is very simple actually, yet somewhat unnerving. We are not alone.