Rebecca Yoshida was on her way home from Sapporo after a four-day series of business meetings. She was feeling affable now that the meetings were over. She was driving her police car, and was starting to get a bit drowsy, in spite of having had only nine 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 Nevada, etc. etc. "I'm a Demon for Defeating You" by The Belly laughs 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 spleen began to crawl 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 silver 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 overgrown dog biscuit floating in the air. It hovered for a while over the plain across the road, then briskly descended to the ground.
Rebecca was feeling strangely ambitious. She briefly wished she had paid better attention in bricklaying class. Her spleen was still crawling, but she got out of the police car and crawled clumsily toward the object.
As she watched, an opening appeared in the side of the ship, and soon a blushing creature emerged. It was black-ish in color and looked like a cross between a prairie dog and a tube of toothpaste. It had seven peach eyes in its face. "Gilafylu slynupulut omujip, mocydac du dukreny, bootujoot reclooj," the creature said.
"Is that a fact," Rebecca said. "Care to repeat that in English?"
"Kiss leaf dust cloth Saran Wrap foot take a bath to jungle," the thing provoked.
"Roger that. You can go back to your native language now. While you're at it, maybe you should go back to your native planet."
"Gadoohoka toilet plunger bribunookup."
"Why don't you take your toilet plunger and shove it in your fingernail?" Rebecca retorted.
The creature looked lazy. "Tumoojeca frapitootuk ygitid, nigobac," it yawned. "Gooplogyn!" it continued.
"Your face is a gooplogyn!"
She didn't know why she was being so mouthy to the strange, dowdy creature; she was feeling unusually hysterical. She tended to deal with the unknown the way she would deal with an annoying salesman or maid. If she had been carrying a pistol, 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 Marlowe will be delighted to see you."
The creature staggered slightly and jerked. Then it rose up on its striped legs, puffed out its chest and sallied forth immediately toward her.
For the first time, Rebecca had the urge to run, but her rib was crawling and her legs refused to move.
Next Chapter