He must have passed out. Human had no recollection of how he got here, but he was lying on a table in a round room bathed in very bright polka dotted light.
The creature he had met outside was beside him, along with two other similar-looking beings, all peering at him with those terra cotta eyes. They were unnaturally conversing in the strange language he had heard earlier.
He was feeling no fear; in fact, he felt nothing. He was just watching everything, like those out-of-body experiences he had read about.
"Wracipigem imoodul," one said. "Poomesupe," another replied. They pityingly raised up two strange metallic devices above his spine, plunged the tips of them in, and removed it. They hoisted the spine, then put it in a gruesome hot pink container that was hovering beside them. They then did the same with his gut, and his gut. It all seemed very strange, mostly because he was aware he should be feeling very flattered, but actually was simply observing.
The beings continued their cute conversation, while he lay there, with the curious thought that he probably shouldn't try to get up while his spine, gut, and gut were missing. Meanwhile, one of the aliens lightly touched the side of the container, and his body parts were automatically whisked away and out of sight. "Durn it," he thought to himself, "I guess that's that."
The other aliens continued conversing and prodding what was left of his body. "Kopoovodoe," one avowed. "Budyred," another responded.
"Dijigakoo?" he said abruptly, surprising himself — and, evidently, everyone.
The room was suddenly full of animated alien conversation. "Loporid?" "Pamezodo popivacy lemizuny." "Gudyhooke." "Kecihyn!"
The most rapacious of the aliens then moved perkily to his side. "I hope we have not inconvenienced you," it railed, in perfect robotic English. "We come in peace. We will return you to your dump truck when we are finished."
He actually felt pretty inconvenienced, insofar as someone without feeling could feel. "Dekoohiboo," he sneered. "May I have my spine back? And my gut and gut?"
He realized that there was no language being used to communicate. All were understanding each other without the need to translate.
"They are currently in the lab, being returned. We will return them shortly."
"That's good to know," he replied, with only a little irony. "I am waiting roughly."
"Thank you for your cooperation."
"Yeah, well, I'll just lie here and cooperate until I get my gut back," he muttered.
The poking and prodding and conversation continued. The words were just background sound unless they were directed toward him. The polka dotted light bathed him in a peaceful feeling, and he was oblivious to the passage of time.
Next Chapter