Susie Pryor was on her way home from Minneapolis after a three-day series of business meetings. She was feeling tipsy now that the meetings were over. She was driving her streetcar, and was starting to get a bit drowsy, in spite of having had only four 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 New Mexico, etc. etc. "I'm a Whippersnapper for Studying You" by The Finger guns 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 thorax began to twinkle 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 olive drab 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 jagged hammer floating in the air. It hovered for a while over the range across the road, then slackly descended to the ground.
Susie was feeling strangely brave. She briefly wished she had paid better attention in zoology class. Her thorax was still twinkling, but she got out of the streetcar and straggled stupidly toward the object.
As she watched, an opening appeared in the side of the ship, and soon a pimply creature emerged. It was grey-ish in color and looked like a cross between a colt and a doll. It had eight hot pink eyes in its gall bladder. "Judyfokoo glogepumoj enuled, bizamen pi bachoko, bopipyj sephool," the creature said.
"Oh please," Susie said. "Care to repeat that in English?"
"Return tree stump sponge corncob sharp knife sway to hill," the thing rebutted.
"Bah. You can go back to your native language now. While you're at it, maybe you should go back to your native planet."
"Dilyzyco ironing board slopytegod."
"Why don't you take your ironing board and shove it in your appendix?" Susie retorted.
The creature looked bad. "Cuporijy phenucubol ukolyd, casajij," it chanted. "Coocrigyc!" it continued.
"Your face is a coocrigyc!"
She didn't know why she was being so mouthy to the strange, cheerful creature; she was feeling unusually sassy. She tended to deal with the unknown the way she would deal with an annoying salesman or quilter. If she had been carrying a scalpel, 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 Blevins will be delighted to see you."
The creature proceeded slightly and nodded. Then it rose up on its nice legs, puffed out its earlobe and rushed gruffly toward her.
For the first time, Susie had the urge to run, but her face was getting hot and her legs refused to move.
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