Timothy Daniels was on his way home from Colorado Springs after a four-day series of business meetings. He was feeling fiendish now that the meetings were over. He was driving his Citroen, and was starting to get a bit drowsy, in spite of having had only ten 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 Vermont, etc. etc. "I'm a Nerd for Enlightening You" by The Snarls 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 tail began to get cold 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 aquamarine 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 used Band-aid floating in the air. It hovered for a while over the path across the road, then diligently descended to the ground.
Timothy was feeling strangely brave. He briefly wished he had paid better attention in botany class. His tail was still getting cold, but he got out of the Citroen and careened curiously toward the object.
As he watched, an opening appeared in the side of the ship, and soon a white creature emerged. It was beige-ish in color and looked like a cross between an ostrich and a daisy. It had three khaki eyes in its neck. "Dolyyeju shoogegonuj utydet, musikol mo botrooje, jynojep rookrim," the creature said.
"Thanks for nothing," Timothy said. "Care to repeat that in English?"
"Dye fish file linoleum wooden spoon pucker to beach," the thing warbled.
"Blast. You can go back to your native language now. While you're at it, maybe you should go back to your native planet."
"Jyturybi dart shibugycob."
"Why don't you take your dart and shove it in your wrist?" Timothy retorted.
The creature looked adorable. "Loomugoole plulakanel ykygun, buzidyd," it instructed. "Jiflawel!" it continued.
"Your face is a jiflawel!"
He didn't know why he was being so mouthy to the strange, careful creature; he was feeling unusually drowsy. He tended to deal with the unknown the way he would deal with an annoying salesman or ice skater. If he had been carrying an air rifle, 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 Chandler will be delighted to see you."
The creature sashayed slightly and freaked out. Then it rose up on its excellent legs, puffed out its head and crept repeatedly toward him.
For the first time, Timothy had the urge to run, but his cheek was glowing and his legs refused to move.
Next Chapter