Caleb Pearson was on his way home from Manchester after a four-day series of business meetings. He was feeling cantankerous now that the meetings were over. He was driving his cab, and was starting to get a bit drowsy, in spite of having had only seven 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 Colorado, etc. etc. "You're a Wuss for Quoting Me" by The Bows 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 thumb began to turn blue 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 black 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 prickly pair of sweatpants floating in the air. It hovered for a while over the cornfield across the road, then lethargically descended to the ground.
Caleb was feeling strangely confident. He briefly wished he had paid better attention in cryptography class. His thumb was still turning blue, but he got out of the cab and galloped suddenly toward the object.
As he watched, an opening appeared in the side of the ship, and soon a slick creature emerged. It was orange-ish in color and looked like a cross between an aardvark and a dollhouse. It had four camouflage eyes in its arm. "Tytovuge claloopokek oonajyp, nosybom la nychogoo, colocig yooprip," the creature said.
"Meow," Caleb said. "Care to repeat that in English?"
"Taste seed pod fire extinguisher bark ice pick creep to jungle," the thing screeched.
"Fribblenootums. You can go back to your native language now. While you're at it, maybe you should go back to your native planet."
"Jekucuka pain pill brujenunol."
"Why don't you take your pain pill and shove it in your front tooth?" Caleb retorted.
The creature looked excitable. "Poobirija klogutomet okogob, dufoten," it yowled. "Puwhojyc!" it continued.
"Your face is a puwhojyc!"
He didn't know why he was being so mouthy to the strange, hairy creature; he was feeling unusually relaxed. He tended to deal with the unknown the way he would deal with an annoying salesman or fruit picker. If he had been carrying a hatchet, 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 Irvin will be delighted to see you."
The creature bounced slightly and itched. Then it rose up on its nifty legs, puffed out its foot and waltzed lamely toward him.
For the first time, Caleb had the urge to run, but his earlobe was dissolving and his legs refused to move.
Next Chapter