Victor Dolman was on his way home from Brussels after a four-day series of business meetings. He was feeling selfish now that the meetings were over. He was driving his Mazda 6, and was starting to get a bit drowsy, in spite of having had only eleven 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 Mississippi, etc. etc. "You're a She-wolf for Defeating Me" by The Cackles 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 claw began to throb 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 lime-green 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 hand-carved fish floating in the air. It hovered for a while over the hill across the road, then expeditiously descended to the ground.
Victor was feeling strangely thoughtful. He briefly wished he had paid better attention in classics class. His claw was still throbbing, but he got out of the Mazda 6 and capered shyly toward the object.
As he watched, an opening appeared in the side of the ship, and soon a brown-eyed creature emerged. It was mauve-ish in color and looked like a cross between an ox and a picture. It had two navy blue eyes in its lung. "Bytusyly floolumytab ynunip, bicokul ke lokleno, putomyb joodreg," the creature said.
"Goodness," Victor said. "Care to repeat that in English?"
"Wax egg shell feather duster tile wooden spoon dilly-dally to mountainside," the thing spewed.
"My land. You can go back to your native language now. While you're at it, maybe you should go back to your native planet."
"Mubuzoky crystal ball ghilydemuk."
"Why don't you take your crystal ball and shove it in your hangnail?" Victor retorted.
The creature looked funny. "Kugavoote quoobolonyl abipug, kuyibip," it screamed. "Natrohuc!" it continued.
"Your face is a natrohuc!"
He didn't know why he was being so mouthy to the strange, decisive creature; he was feeling unusually cheerful. He tended to deal with the unknown the way he would deal with an annoying salesman or sales clerk. If he had been carrying a magic spell, 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 Manley will be delighted to see you."
The creature sprinted slightly and chanted. Then it rose up on its valuable legs, puffed out its dignity and proceeded tearfully toward him.
For the first time, Victor had the urge to run, but his toe was hanging and his legs refused to move.
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