Leroy Marshall was on his way home from Manila after a five-day series of business meetings. He was feeling excitable 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 nine 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 New Jersey, etc. etc. "I'm a Floozy for Considering You" by The Flutters 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 funny bone began to hurt 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 purple 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 bulky cage floating in the air. It hovered for a while over the crime scene across the road, then quickly descended to the ground.
Leroy was feeling strangely desperate. He briefly wished he had paid better attention in genetics class. His funny bone was still hurting, but he got out of the limousine and padded woefully toward the object.
As he watched, an opening appeared in the side of the ship, and soon an unkempt creature emerged. It was blue-ish in color and looked like a cross between a beetle and a toilet seat. It had two fuchsia eyes in its artery. "Bebywyly shyconubok ugubyg, cosecat cu gaslikoo, letenol zygrik," the creature said.
"Alright," Leroy said. "Care to repeat that in English?"
"Comprehend deer track tape measure foam rubber garlic press scribble to landfill," the thing exploded.
"Crikey. You can go back to your native language now. While you're at it, maybe you should go back to your native planet."
"Cotoovomi pearl wrepapookoon."
"Why don't you take your pearl and shove it in your esophagus?" Leroy retorted.
The creature looked bouncy. "Dykagagu ghypymyjog odoogam, gyfenet," it whined. "Cowriwood!" it continued.
"Your face is a cowriwood!"
He didn't know why he was being so mouthy to the strange, tense creature; he was feeling unusually irate. He tended to deal with the unknown the way he would deal with an annoying salesman or hit man. If he had been carrying a wooden stake, 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 Zhu will be delighted to see you."
The creature dove slightly and chattered. Then it rose up on its sophisticated legs, puffed out its pancreas and trotted humbly toward him.
For the first time, Leroy had the urge to run, but his bladder was acting up and his legs refused to move.
Next Chapter