Matthew Curie was on his way home from Huntington Beach after a five-day series of business meetings. He was feeling amiable now that the meetings were over. He was driving his limousine, and was starting to get a bit drowsy, in spite of having had only two drinks with dinner. The drone of the engine and tires was taking its toll, and he was having that familiar internal discussion about just having an hour more of driving, but he should really stop and rest, but it's not really safe to stop alongside the road in this remote part of Delaware, etc. etc. "I'm a Maniac for Kicking You" by The Curtsies was squawking on the radio. He was too tired to search for something better.
Suddenly, he was wide awake. He had seen something, or heard something, or felt something, and it startled him. He didn't know what it was, but his back began to pulsate and his heart was pounding in his chest.
He wasn't consciously aware of stopping his vehicle, but found himself parked on the shoulder of the road, staring at a bright pulsing aqua light in the sky. He was hearing a deep humming sound as well, but couldn't tell whether it was from the object above him or in his 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 woven can of beer floating in the air. It hovered for a while over the prairie across the road, then indolently descended to the ground.
Matthew was feeling strangely impish. He briefly wished he had paid better attention in botany class. His back was still pulsating, but he got out of the limousine and swung blindly toward the object.
As he watched, an opening appeared in the side of the ship, and soon a massive creature emerged. It was magenta-ish in color and looked like a cross between a salamander and a floppy disk. It had six ivory eyes in its beard. "Kidooviky ghelubobooj ijeloon, nyhykood ku diquope, copedek rochoj," the creature said.
"Hang it," Matthew said. "Care to repeat that in English?"
"Decorate sea shell hex key chicken wire pair of tongs frown to gully," the thing squawked.
"Par bleu. You can go back to your native language now. While you're at it, maybe you should go back to your native planet."
"Nugiyytoo vacuum cleaner glecymunin."
"Why don't you take your vacuum cleaner and shove it in your gut?" Matthew retorted.
The creature looked weird. "Lagyzyne broodicoomun yjukud, cayocej," it chattered. "Gukrawak!" it continued.
"Your face is a gukrawak!"
He didn't know why he was being so mouthy to the strange, cute creature; he was feeling unusually ambitious. He tended to deal with the unknown the way he would deal with an annoying salesman or composer. If he had been carrying a bomb, 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 Galloza will be delighted to see you."
The creature clambered slightly and growled. Then it rose up on its hollow legs, puffed out its eyebrow and ambled temperamentally toward him.
For the first time, Matthew had the urge to run, but his antenna was bouncing and his legs refused to move.
Next Chapter