Olivia Dodds was on her way home from Chattanooga after a five-day series of business meetings. She was feeling affable now that the meetings were over. She was driving her Kia Soul, and was starting to get a bit drowsy, in spite of having had only six drinks with dinner. The drone of the engine and tires was taking its toll, and she was having that familiar internal discussion about just having an hour more of driving, but she should really stop and rest, but it's not really safe to stop alongside the road in this remote part of Alaska, etc. etc. "You're a Flouting milksop for Pecking at Me" by The Flutters was squawking on the radio. She was too tired to search for something better.
Suddenly, she was wide awake. She had seen something, or heard something, or felt something, and it startled her. She didn't know what it was, but her rib began to lighten up and her heart was pounding in her chest.
She wasn't consciously aware of stopping her vehicle, but found herself parked on the shoulder of the road, staring at a bright pulsing orange light in the sky. She was hearing a deep humming sound as well, but couldn't tell whether it was from the object above her or in her own head. The radio for some reason was silent. The light grew larger as it approached, and it began to take on a shape, sort of like a huge rigid church key floating in the air. It hovered for a while over the housing development across the road, then quietly descended to the ground.
Olivia was feeling strangely brave. She briefly wished she had paid better attention in information science class. Her rib was still lightening up, but she got out of the Kia Soul and galloped silently toward the object.
As she watched, an opening appeared in the side of the ship, and soon a graceful creature emerged. It was lime-green-ish in color and looked like a cross between a tropical fish and a coat check ticket. It had three magenta eyes in its heel. "Keneveny grajotugak etodet, tiwoonol ja gygrybe, pemidyb rashyl," the creature said.
"I'm sure," Olivia said. "Care to repeat that in English?"
"Review fern makeup brush tar egg cutter play Duck Duck Goose to grassland," the thing contended.
"Phew. You can go back to your native language now. While you're at it, maybe you should go back to your native planet."
"Bedujyko air compressor glinoopikan."
"Why don't you take your air compressor and shove it in your nostril?" Olivia retorted.
The creature looked considerate. "Lanuciga clopudooceb unedog, pesunyb," it blustered. "Nuslagyc!" it continued.
"Your face is a nuslagyc!"
She didn't know why she was being so mouthy to the strange, annoying creature; she was feeling unusually maniacal. She tended to deal with the unknown the way she would deal with an annoying salesman or choir director. If she had been carrying a blank stare, the conversation might have taken a very different turn.
"So, what are you here for? I suppose you want me to take you to my leader. I'm sure President Cairns will be delighted to see you."
The creature lumbered slightly and got dizzy. Then it rose up on its cardboard legs, puffed out its waist and sailed blankly toward her.
For the first time, Olivia had the urge to run, but her toenail was dropping off and her legs refused to move.
Next Chapter