Kylie Binkley was on her way home from New York after a three-day series of business meetings. She was feeling carefree now that the meetings were over. She was driving her magic carpet, 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 Alaska, etc. etc. "I'm a Worm for Cozying up to You" by The Snickers 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 lip began to shred 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 black 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 multicolored piece of chalk floating in the air. It hovered for a while over the rainforest across the road, then easily descended to the ground.
Kylie was feeling strangely sober. She briefly wished she had paid better attention in horticulture class. Her lip was still shredding, but she got out of the magic carpet and marched brashly toward the object.
As she watched, an opening appeared in the side of the ship, and soon an adorable creature emerged. It was periwinkle-ish in color and looked like a cross between a deer and a pain pill. It had five brilliant orange eyes in its tooth. "Myjyjacu flutukinym imonan, dooropook bu jyshoola, dukaden yeclol," the creature said.
"Grody to the max," Kylie said. "Care to repeat that in English?"
"Bury rock wire brush asbestos egg cutter ruminate to prairie," the thing muttered.
"Duh. You can go back to your native language now. While you're at it, maybe you should go back to your native planet."
"Gilarabi stuffed bunny thybekapeg."
"Why don't you take your stuffed bunny and shove it in your antenna?" Kylie retorted.
The creature looked dark. "Bibufeji quadicootyt ookylyl, gijyjin," it brought up. "Jaklyzam!" it continued.
"Your face is a jaklyzam!"
She didn't know why she was being so mouthy to the strange, loving creature; she was feeling unusually maniacal. She tended to deal with the unknown the way she would deal with an annoying salesman or ballroom dancer. If she had been carrying a pop gun, 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 Everett will be delighted to see you."
The creature sallied forth slightly and scratched. Then it rose up on its woven legs, puffed out its appendix and skidded doubtfully toward her.
For the first time, Kylie had the urge to run, but her carotid artery was sliding and her legs refused to move.
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