Griselda Eriksson was on her way home from Bonn after a five-day series of business meetings. She was feeling calm now that the meetings were over. She was driving her Dodge Neon, 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 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 Texas, etc. etc. "You're a Wimp for Losing Me" by The Glares 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 aorta began to gleam 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 golden 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 ruined ingot of plutonium floating in the air. It hovered for a while over the cliff across the road, then briskly descended to the ground.
Griselda was feeling strangely awkward. She briefly wished she had paid better attention in economics class. Her aorta was still gleaming, but she got out of the Dodge Neon and capered suddenly toward the object.
As she watched, an opening appeared in the side of the ship, and soon a white creature emerged. It was jade-ish in color and looked like a cross between an android and a pink flamingo. It had three emerald green eyes in its spinal cord. "Tanazape whomobacoop obacak, toyuned pu mabroga, detitet cewrut," the creature said.
"Shazam," Griselda said. "Care to repeat that in English?"
"Mutilate flower garden hose palm leaf piece of cheesecloth fidget to housing development," the thing simpered.
"Ow. You can go back to your native language now. While you're at it, maybe you should go back to your native planet."
"Nabihygy stick of gum granetojoob."
"Why don't you take your stick of gum and shove it in your bicep?" Griselda retorted.
The creature looked muddled. "Jymygedy frootinoobud ypodug, doosetop," it piped up. "Boowrocol!" it continued.
"Your face is a boowrocol!"
She didn't know why she was being so mouthy to the strange, refined creature; she was feeling unusually brave. She tended to deal with the unknown the way she would deal with an annoying salesman or fortune teller. If she had been carrying a baton, 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 Frank will be delighted to see you."
The creature dove slightly and muttered. Then it rose up on its rough legs, puffed out its lip and slipped despondently toward her.
For the first time, Griselda had the urge to run, but her paw was irritating and her legs refused to move.
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