User:Eirik/Once Upon a Country Road - Revision history

Bryan: minor copyedits and typo fixes

2007-09-03T05:41:48Z

minor copyedits and typo fixes

Bryan: fix line wrapping that was breaking italics

2007-09-01T17:55:07Z

fix line wrapping that was breaking italics

← Older revision		Revision as of 12:55, 1 September 2007
Line 314:		Line 314:
	''Unless they ''ate'' hair.''		''Unless they ''ate'' hair.''

	''Why the mind control stick, then? Why control the animal so		''Why the mind control stick, then? Why control the animal so utterly before you devour it?''
	utterly before you devour it?''

	''Maybe you don't want it damaged before it's ready.''		''Maybe you don't want it damaged before it's ready.''
Line 350:		Line 349:
	Realization dawned finally on him. Even as the next human was		Realization dawned finally on him. Even as the next human was
	transformed, Kyle knew now what was happening. These aliens		transformed, Kyle knew now what was happening. These aliens
	hadn't come to Earth ~~too~~ feed. They had come looking for		hadn't come to Earth to feed. They had come looking for
	companionship. They had come looking for creatures to grovel at		companionship. They had come looking for creatures to grovel at
	them and beg for attention. Not finding what they wanted, they		them and beg for attention. Not finding what they wanted, they

Eirik: New page: Category:Story Category:Eirik Category:Alien {{DEFAULTSORT:Once Upon a Country Road}} {{title|name=Once Upon a Country Road|user=Eirik|author=Eirik}} When the ancient Chevy Ci...

2007-09-01T07:49:35Z

New page: Category:Story Category:Eirik Category:Alien {{DEFAULTSORT:Once Upon a Country Road}} {{title|name=Once Upon a Country Road|user=Eirik|author=Eirik}} When the ancient Chevy Ci...

New page

[[Category:Story]] [[Category:Eirik]] [[Category:Alien]] {{DEFAULTSORT:Once Upon a Country Road}}
{{title|name=Once Upon a Country Road|user=Eirik|author=Eirik}}
When the ancient Chevy Citation sputtered to a stop in the
backwoods of Washington, Kyle simply sat behind the wheel a few
moments and fumed. It was certainly no surprise, the car had been
old when he bought it.

Looking down the length of the two lane road, he didn't see any
approaching headlights in either direction. That meant either a
five mile walk to his house or three miles back to the plant.
"This is what I get for switching to the night shift" he
grumbled.

With a anguished grunt, he popped the latch for the hood and
pushed open the door. It wouldn't hurt to take a look and see if
he could fix it. Stripping off his security guards jacket and
shirt, he walked to the front, pulled the hood up and peered in.

He had only barely started to look when he heard an approaching
sound, the sound of an engine with a slight whistle to it.
Looking up quickly, he scanned the road in both directions.
Frowning, he started trying to figure out where the sound was
coming from. It seemed to be close by, but it seemed like a car,
and a high performance one at that. Certainly not the kind that
you would find driving off road in the trees. Somehow, he
suddenly realized where the sound was coming from.

The shape hovering above him was as dark as the night sky, only
showing itself by the stars that it blotted out. It looked huge,
bigger than any airplane he'd ever seen or heard of. It hung in
the sky making only that same, high pitched rumble.

The darkness was shattered by the craft without warning.
Startled, Kyle stumbled backwards away from his car, holding one
arm in front of his eyes to shield them from a light so bright
that he could feel it's warmth. It blinded him through his closed
eyelids.

The light changed color subtly, and suddenly didn't feel so warm
anymore even if it was just as bright. Kyle started to feel
different now, though. It started as an itching in his joints and
an aching in his muscles, but quickly became a white hot feeling
of pain as his body was lifted off the ground to the object
hovering above the quiet pine forest. As he got closer and closer
to the source of the light, the pain began to increase beyond all
measure. Finally, mercifully, he passed out.

{{Separator|stars}}

Kyle came around slowly, unsure of where he was. The few seconds
of memory, of being pulled into the light, seemed like a horrid
dream more than reality. But as his vision cleared, he realized
that he indeed was no longer on earth. Surrounding him were
creatures that were simply too real to have sprung from the mind
of a Hollywood special effects man.

They didn't look like anything he had ever seen, or would have
expected to see. They had a soft, orange skin that looked
slightly moist or shiny. Their heads were not that much larger
than a humans, but they had slight snouts that protruded
downward. They didn't seem to have a nose that he could see.
Their eyes were large and dark, but seemed to glow softly in the
dim light like a cat. He'd never seen anything like these
creatures, even from the drawings of people who had claimed to
have been abducted and released.

Kyle started to scream in terror. At first his cries were
incoherent, but eventually he started yelling, "Let me go!
Help!"

The aliens ignored him utterly, talking conversationally among
themselves in a language that sounded of soft whistles. They
poked and prodded him, occasionally turning to look at things on
computer screens hung around the room at the edge of the
darkness. Kyle tried to follow them with his eyes, but only could
see two of the screens at all. On one he could tell that it was
showing what looked like his x-rays, the other was a jumble of
symbols that he assumed was the alien language.

Kyle came to realize what was happening. He'd been abducted by
aliens! There could be no question about that, this was all too
real to be even the most elaborate prank. He'd seen enough late
night television to know that these creatures just wanted to
study him, to examine him, and then let him go. If he was allowed
to remember this, he might even be able to sell the story to the
tabloids!

Slowly calming now, he watched his captors with more interest,
taking mental notes. A few of them were talking more quickly than
the others, making wild gesticulations as they poked him with
their stubby fingers. There seemed to be a debate of some type
going on, but there was no way for Kyle to tell what they were
talking about. His hope was that it meant that it was something
to do with letting him go. His still present fear was that it was
deciding which cut would make the best sandwich meat.

Kyle shook his head of that last thought. It was common knowledge
that aliens wouldn't want to come all this way to Earth just to
eat people. Any race that could master faster than light travel
could surely feed itself. Besides, he'd seen that speaker the
other night on cable who had assured the viewing audience that
aliens wouldn't even be able to eat human flesh, that it would
surely lack what they needed to gain nourishment and might even
be toxic.

Finally, the debate seemed settled. The small cluster of aliens
turned and stepped away from the table just before the same
bright light as before turned on. Kyle screamed this time,
knowing what to expect. Mercifully, he passed out from the fear
first.

{{Separator|stars}}

The room that he found himself in next almost didn't seem like
the same ship. It was brightly lit, the walls lined with
equipment of all shapes and sizes. There was an odor here,
something that only now Kyle realized the other room lacked. It
wasn't a bad or unpleasant smell, but it was present. When he
came too, he was laying on his back, naked, on a dull silver slab
in the center of the room raised only a foot off the floor.

Cautiously, he tried to slide off the slab and explore the room,
but he found that it was surrounded with a completely clear
barrier. Only when he touched it, leaving a smudge of human body
oils behind, did he realize that it was even there.

Two of the aliens walked though a doorway on the far side of the
room. They looked very much the same as the other ones, but there
was a different air about these two. While the other aliens had
been meticulous and professional, Kyle was struck by how casual
these two looked in comparison. The others had looked like
bosses, these looked like workers.

The pair only glanced at him long enough to confirm that he was
present and then went to a terminal on the side of the room.
While one tapped at an entry panel, the other was removing some
bulky gloves from a shelf. The pair talked back and forth in what
sounded like a casual tone, looking up from the screen now and
then to Kyle and back down.

Kyle watched the pair, unsure what to do or say. There didn't
seem to be much hope that they would understand English, but
maybe these two were different than the ones before. "Hey!" He
called out. "What's going on? What are you doing to me?" He felt
a burst of hope as the two aliens fixed their unblinking gaze on
him. "Yes!" he said, excited. "You can understand me!" The one
with the bulky gloves started to walk over, talking over his
shoulder with the other. "Please, tell me that your going to let
me go! Please help me. I want to go back to my wife and...Gah!"

The alien creature had reached the edge of the clear barrier and
simply reached through it, the gloved hands gripping him around
the throat. The creature didn't squeeze, like Kyle expected, but
simply held him as he slowly moving his fingers around his neck.
At first, it was almost a comfortable, warm feeling. Soon it was
hot, then burning. For a few seconds, it seemed that every nerve
in his body was on fire. Kyle tried to scream, but only could
manage a hoarse croak.

Just as suddenly, it stopped. Kyle fell to the floor in a heap,
panting more from terror than anything else. The pain that had
seemed so horrible only a few moments before was utterly gone. He
opened his mouth to ask him what they were doing, but all that
came out was a deep grunt. By the time that he looked up at the
alien, hoping for some explanation, the one with the gloves was
looking at the terminal over the shoulder of the other.

In all his reading on aliens, he'd never heard of any of them
doing ''that'' before. They usually seemed to understand human
language, even if they didn't care. These two had decided that
they didn't want to hear him talk anymore so they paralyzed his
vocal cords! Try as he might, Kyle couldn't manage to speak aloud
as he lay there on the floor. The only sounds that came forth
were deep, rumbling grunts.

It wasn't until Kyle tried again to stand that he realized that
there was something more than simply stunning his voice. He
couldn't bring his head down as far anymore. Try as he might, the
lowest he could bring his gaze was into a position looking at the
upper corner of the room. Any attempt to move further down was
met by resistance in the muscles of his neck.

He was still mulling over what that meant when the alien was
again at his side. He tried to run away this time, but only
slammed into the barrier. The moment that the gloved hands
touched him, though, there was no longer any hope for a struggle.
His strength left him and he fell to the floor. This time, the
alien had apparently decided to start with the other end,
grabbing his feet with the gloves and kneading them with his
fingers. Despite the blistering pain, Kyle couldn't pass out.
Despite the horror of what he watched, he couldn't stop watching.
His voice stolen, the only cries he could manage were those of an
animal in pain.

His feet were gone as the alien moved up his shin. What was left
in their place lacked toes, looking more like a ducks foot
crossed with a dogs paw. His once light pink skin had turned a
dull gray. He watched the alien move up his leg further and
further, until he was forced out of his fetal posture and could
only tell what was being altered by the slowly creeping feeling
of the gloves. As the gloves passed his hips, there was an
additional feeling of horrible queasiness. Kyle's gags started as
a gloved hand passed through his skin as the alien worker added,
removed and altered internal organs to fit a new plan and then
moved the skin and bone and muscle to hold it all.

It wasn't long before the hands reached his head. They seemed to
slow a bit there, perhaps because he had already altered Kyle's
neck, perhaps because he wanted to preserve the brain. The hands
passed over his eyes, which for a moment felt like they were
being pulled from their sockets. His vision was filled with wild
flashes of light and color even as one hand reached into his
mouth and started molding his teeth like clay.

As before, when it was over, there was not even the hint of pain.
The alien simply removed his hands and stepped back a few feet as
if admiring his work. Kyle lay still, out of breath and still
smarting from the memory of the torment. He knew that something
was different almost instantly. The aliens skin, which had looked
orange before, seemed now more red. It took a moment to realize
that there was a gray snout in the bottom of his field of view.

Experimentally, he tried to stand, only to find that there was
little hope of that. He managed to barely get to all fours and
twist his head back to look at his new form. The first thing that
struck him was how ''gray'' he looked. Not even a single hair
seemed left on his body. Somehow, it looked like they had made
his body larger, wider. His hips were splayed out far more than
before, and a hairless tail stuck up in the air like a flag.
Looking down at what had once been his hands, he found that they
had become the same useless paws that his feet had become. He
tried to reach one up to rub his face, to try and see better how
different it was, but he couldn't manage to stand on three legs.
He fell over in a defeated heap.

A realization started to dawn on Kyle. The aliens couldn't eat
him before because he wasn't of their world. Now, as far as he
knew, he ''was.''

Panting now, he gazed up in fear as the alien returned, though
now he didn't have the gloves. Producing a probe out of no where,
before Kyle could react in any way, he jammed it into his hip.

A warm feeling flooded his body, this one actually pleasant. Kyle
let out a slight grunt and rested his head on his paws as he fell
asleep.

{{Separator|stars}}

The room didn't change this time, but something had. Kyle woke to
find that he had grown fur while he slept. A coating of thick,
white hair covered him. The tail that had looked so naked before
was now more like a fir tree. His legs appeared to be three times
larger than they had before. The coating was thick and warm.

There were more aliens there this time, too. Two new ones were
talking with the ones who had so radically altered Kyle. He hoped
to lay there, pretending to still be asleep for a while, but they
seemed to know the moment that he was awake. The four approached
the clear sided cage and started gesturing at him while they
spoke. Kyle stared at them dumbly, not sure if they were talking
to him or each other, and certainly not sure what they wanted.

Finally, the four seemed to grow frustrated and one stepped to
another equipment bay. Not wanting to know what was about to
happen, Kyle try fruitlessly to run from the cage only to slam
repeatedly into the wall. He clawed hard at it, praying that it
would give way. But his movements were uncoordinated at best.
Even if he had been able to run, he couldn't have gotten away.
This body was simply too different, and he didn't know how to use
it.

The alien returned with a small golden rod about the size and
shape of a pencil. He stepped through the barrier and grabbed
Kyle by his now rabbit-like ears. Once again, he felt his body go
slack and slump to the floor. Then, holding his head still on the
floor, he felt a tremendous pressure on the back of his head. He
saw stars first, then started to feel dizzy. Then hungry. Then
tired. Then giddy. When the alien stepped away the strange
feelings passed, and he was no longer holding the pencil shaped
rod.

One of them spoke loudly, right at Kyle again. Even while his
mind was still trying to make sense of what was being said, his
body leapt into action. He found himself on all fours again,
waiting. The alien spoke again, and his body again betrayed him,
spinning around and chasing it's tail. Kyle with all his might to
stop it, but something compelled him to move.

The alien spoke one last time and Kyle stopped. Feeling some
control over himself again, he slumped to the floor, confused.
What the hell was happening? Did they want to eat him? Or was
this some sort of alien practical joke?

The four aliens walked to another doorway and paused as it slid
open. One turned, seemingly as an afterthought, and barked out an
order to Kyle. Even though the former human couldn't comprehend
their language, whatever they had placed into his brain ''could''.
He bounded right through the barrier that had been so solid a
moment before and to the side of the aliens. Even through they
repulsed him, he found himself licking and groveling at their
feet. Even as he tried to retch in disgust, he found that even
that reaction had been stolen from him.

They led him to a low box and placed him in it. Like the last
cage, this one was walled with the same clear barrier, though
this time he couldn't get through it. As the four worked, a new
light came on over Kyle. This one caused no pain, but he could
almost feel it probing his body. He tried to make sense of what
they were doing, but couldn't. What was he now? It seemed clear
that he ''wasn't'' a food animal. They didn't need to grow hair on
him if they intended to eat him.

''Unless they ''ate'' hair.''

''Why the mind control stick, then? Why control the animal so
utterly before you devour it?''

''Maybe you don't want it damaged before it's ready.''

Kyle had no idea how long he lay there in that state, thoughts
flying back and forth in his mind. At this point, he just wanted
''some'' answer.

The answer came in a form that he didn't expect, and for the rest
of his days the images and sounds were burned into his mind. The
doors opened again admitting a steady stream of alien creatures,
each pushing in front of them a clear cage. Each cage held a
human. Each human was wide with terror. Some were screaming, some
were crying, some were praying. One young woman, it seemed, was
trying to cut open her wrists with her teeth. There seemed to be
no consistency to the humans that he saw enter. There were
children and elderly, about the same number of men and women, and
had come from all parts of the globe.

But when they left the room, they all looked the same.

The first was a teenage boy, perhaps sixteen. Stripped naked and
wide eyed with terror, he seemed younger. One of the creatures
placed him under an emitter and stepped away. The screams when
the light turned on were blood curdling, both from the boy and
the dozen or so humans who were forced to watch as he transformed
into the same kind of creature that Kyle had become. The
finishing touch was the insertion of the golden rod into the back
of the brain. Briefly released from the his confinement, the once
terrified boy bounded over at the call of one of the alien
creatures. Like Kyle had before him, the boy licked the feet of
the alien.

Realization dawned finally on him. Even as the next human was
transformed, Kyle knew now what was happening. These aliens
hadn't come to Earth too feed. They had come looking for
companionship. They had come looking for creatures to grovel at
them and beg for attention. Not finding what they wanted, they
had simply created them.

They had come looking for pets.

← Older revision		Revision as of 00:41, 3 September 2007
Line 34:		Line 34:
	Startled, Kyle stumbled backwards away from his car, holding one		Startled, Kyle stumbled backwards away from his car, holding one
	arm in front of his eyes to shield them from a light so bright		arm in front of his eyes to shield them from a light so bright
	that he could feel ~~it's~~ warmth. It blinded him through his closed		that he could feel its warmth. It blinded him through his closed
	eyelids.		eyelids.

Line 51:		Line 51:
	of memory, of being pulled into the light, seemed like a horrid		of memory, of being pulled into the light, seemed like a horrid
	dream more than reality. But as his vision cleared, he realized		dream more than reality. But as his vision cleared, he realized
	that he indeed was no longer on ~~earth~~. Surrounding him were		that he indeed was no longer on Earth. Surrounding him were
	creatures that were simply too real to have sprung from the mind		creatures that were simply too real to have sprung from the mind
	of a Hollywood special effects man.		of a Hollywood special effects man.
Line 58:		Line 58:
	expected to see. They had a soft, orange skin that looked		expected to see. They had a soft, orange skin that looked
	slightly moist or shiny. Their heads were not that much larger		slightly moist or shiny. Their heads were not that much larger
	than a ~~humans~~, but they had slight snouts that protruded		than a human's, but they had slight snouts that protruded
	downward. They didn't seem to have a nose that he could see.		downward. They didn't seem to have a nose that he could see.
	Their eyes were large and dark, but seemed to glow softly in the		Their eyes were large and dark, but seemed to glow softly in the
	dim light like a cat. He'd never seen anything like these		dim light like a cat's. He'd never seen anything like these
	creatures, even from the drawings of people who had claimed to		creatures, even from the drawings of people who had claimed to
	have been abducted and released.		have been abducted and released.
Line 117:		Line 117:
	something that only now Kyle realized the other room lacked. It		something that only now Kyle realized the other room lacked. It
	wasn't a bad or unpleasant smell, but it was present. When he		wasn't a bad or unpleasant smell, but it was present. When he
	came ~~too~~, he was laying on his back, naked, on a dull silver slab		came to, he was laying on his back, naked, on a dull silver slab
	in the center of the room raised only a foot off the floor.		in the center of the room raised only a foot off the floor.

Line 147:		Line 147:
	with the bulky gloves started to walk over, talking over his		with the bulky gloves started to walk over, talking over his
	shoulder with the other. "Please, tell me that your going to let		shoulder with the other. "Please, tell me that your going to let
	me go! Please help me. I want to go back to my wife and...Gah!"		me go! Please help me. I want to go back to my wife and... Gah!"

	The alien creature had reached the edge of the clear barrier and		The alien creature had reached the edge of the clear barrier and
	simply reached through it, the gloved hands gripping him around		simply reached through it, the gloved hands gripping him around
	the throat. The creature didn't squeeze, like Kyle expected, but		the throat. The creature didn't squeeze, like Kyle expected, but
	simply held him as he slowly ~~moving~~ his fingers around his neck.		simply held him as he slowly moved his fingers around his neck.
	At first, it was almost a comfortable, warm feeling. Soon it was		At first, it was almost a comfortable, warm feeling. Soon it was
	hot, then burning. For a few seconds, it seemed that every nerve		hot, then burning. For a few seconds, it seemed that every nerve
Line 217:		Line 217:
	if admiring his work. Kyle lay still, out of breath and still		if admiring his work. Kyle lay still, out of breath and still
	smarting from the memory of the torment. He knew that something		smarting from the memory of the torment. He knew that something
	was different almost instantly. The ~~aliens~~ skin, which had looked		was different almost instantly. The alien's skin, which had looked
	orange before, seemed now more red. It took a moment to realize		orange before, seemed now more red. It took a moment to realize
	that there was a gray snout in the bottom of his field of view.		that there was a gray snout in the bottom of his field of view.
Line 258:		Line 258:
	to lay there, pretending to still be asleep for a while, but they		to lay there, pretending to still be asleep for a while, but they
	seemed to know the moment that he was awake. The four approached		seemed to know the moment that he was awake. The four approached
	the clear sided cage and started gesturing at him while they		the clear-sided cage and started gesturing at him while they
	spoke. Kyle stared at them dumbly, not sure if they were talking		spoke. Kyle stared at them dumbly, not sure if they were talking
	to him or each other, and certainly not sure what they wanted.		to him or each other, and certainly not sure what they wanted.
Line 285:		Line 285:
	body leapt into action. He found himself on all fours again,		body leapt into action. He found himself on all fours again,
	waiting. The alien spoke again, and his body again betrayed him,		waiting. The alien spoke again, and his body again betrayed him,
	spinning around and chasing ~~it's~~ tail. Kyle with all his might to		spinning around and chasing its tail. Kyle with all his might to
	stop it, but something compelled him to move.		stop it, but something compelled him to move.