Life on other planets

Thought you might be interested in this trascript from my on board computer.

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Deliah “I’m sorry.”

Kritchlen (hands her a tissue)"No need to be sorry. Alien abduction can be traumatic.”

“So you don’t think I’m crazy.”

“Our Gazette prints facts. We leave editorializing to our readers…now if it is not too painful could you tell us a little more about the ship.”

“The Draconian Enrique? It was massive. A labyrinth of passageways and rooms filled with computerized equipment far advanced from anything I’ve ever dreamed of. As for the bridge…forget about it!”

“I see.”

Kritchlen stops writing in mid sentenced and pretends to curse under his breath.

“Everything okay?”

“Damn pen’s run dry…just hang on a sec.”

He reaches into the left hip pocket of his dark green jacket and feels the metallic device within. Keeping a poker face he friskes his other pockets and eventually retrieves his spare.

“Got to be prepared in this game…please carry on.”

“Speed seemed to be of the essence to them and the journey was remarkably short. Anyway after we landed I was taken down a set of stairs and got my first glimpse of this strange New World.”

“First impression?”

“I wanted out as soon as possible.”

“I mean of the surroundings?”

“Dismal and uninviting. The soil was scorched and shrubbery almost non-existent. My welcoming party seemed suspicious of my every move and spoke to me in a strange tongue.”

“Were you taken to their lead…I mean did you meet the head alien?”

“I don’t know. A few pompous types seemed to ingratiate me with stinky weeds. I thought it prudent to accept their offer.”

“How many aliens would you say inhabit this New World?”

“It’s kind of hard to tell. I spent most of my time in captivity being subjected to ghastly experiments.”

“Most of the time? So there were times that you weren’t in captivity?”

“Well one of the aliens assisted my escape one night but my freedom was short lived.”

“You were recaptured?”

“Yes.”

“And the alien who helped you escape?”

Delilah’s eyes mist again.

Kritchlen hands her another tissue.

“Gas…He told me to call him Gas. I never him again.”

“Did you get to see much more of this world during your escape?”

“Yes. When we were a safe distance he stopped and hid our escape vehicle in dense bush and another alien accomplice took us to the city.”

“A city in the desert?”

“No this was a densely populated metropolis. Giant skyscrapers, traffic jams, the whole nine yards. There were packs of tiny urchins roaming the pavements. Older neglected aliens slept alone in the shadows. Degenerate clans of warlords frayed…not too far removed from our own city.”

“I guess some things are universal…what about animals?”

“What about them?”

“Did you come across other types of creatures…you know pets and the like?”

“Quadrupeds that growled and made tranquil purring noises, feathery things that flew and prickly nocturnal rodents Gas warned me never to touch.”

“How were you caught?”

“I don’t know, they somehow found us.”

“Were they peeved about you going AWOL?”

“Not at me but they sure had it in for Gas. They put him in some sort of army vehicle and that was the last I ever saw of him.

She pauses for some time then continues...

“I underwent a few more tests then drugged me. Next thing I knew I was back here, alone in a dark alleyway. My head was throbbing and I there was a broken bottle of tequila lying nearby. My clothes reeked of alcohol. I guess it was there way of insuring my silence.”

“Insuring your silence?”

“Yeah, who’s going to believe a drunken woman’s rants about being abducted by an alien?”

“Don’t take this amiss but, just for the sake of the article, had you been drinking the night you were abducted?”

“No, Kritchlen. I know what you’re trying to say but you can ask any of my friends and they’ll all vouch for the fact I never touch a drop. Hate the taste of it you know.”

“Okay I’m almost finished. Would you mind if I took a quick photo of you… most of our articles include glossy images. Our readers like to see the people they are reading about.”

“Do you want me sitting or standing?”

“Just where you were sitting. That’s it…right, now look closely at the red light on top of this pen and…”

Flash!

***

Delilah slowly comes too.

Kritchlen “You okay, there honey?”

“Sorry I think I must have just drifted off or something…I really appreciate your kind gesture.”

“Well I could not just leave you there in that alley.”

“Now what were we talking about?”

“Aliens. I asked if you believed in UFOs and the like.”

Kritchlen grinds his teeth nervously as he awaits her reply.

“Nada, I tend to side with W.H. Gells: “the changes of anything coming from Earth are a million to one.”

Success!

“You don’t think there’s any intelligent life on Earth then?”

“Don’t ask me I’ve never been there.”

Kritchlen quietly to himself “And don’t you forget it”