Sparrow's Release by Shiloh Darke Page A

told her had
to be his language. However, her logical side was not the voice she
was listening to. She shook her head in crazed denial at what her
eyes were seeing . . . little gray men? Her mind couldn’t
make sense of what she was witnessing.
    She had come down here expecting some stupid
member of the adolescent male species from the state of Texas,
rummaging through her belongings in search of something he could
pawn. Finding a skinny gray being with black eyes and no
discernible mouth was not what she had bargained on. Not in a long
shot!
    Suddenly, her whole world changed when she
watched a second being join the first. He had no mouth either, but
he was bigger and more menacing. His face seemed to resemble
something she had once seen on Star Wars, with flaps of flesh that
pulled back from his head to fall loosely around the edges of his
head; almost like a lion’s mane. It reminded her of someone who had
Dreadlocks, but not with hair . . . Not! That was a continuation of
his skin. As she watched, a series of clicks and pings began
between the two. The bigger one looked from the gray one to her and
lifted his left three-digit, stubby-fingered hand. Her mind issued
the warning to run, but she could not make her body obey as she
stared in silent fascination.
    As the orb neared her, it seemed to grow,
eliciting a squeak of shock from her as tentacles much like spider
webs snaked out and wrapped around her. Her arms were immediately
pinned to her sides and she fell, powerless to the floor.
    Stunned and bewildered, she opened her eyes
to see the gun, which had been in her hand, floating above her. She
tried to move, but was rewarded when the web-like ropes holding her
tightened and sent small electric shocks through her entire nervous
system. It was not enough to hurt, but definitely enough to cause a
healthy amount of discomfort.
    Lying there, staring at the gun, she cursed
herself for not trying to use the weapon. It was there in your
hand, and you didn’t even try! You could have killed at least one
of them. But no! So now what are you going to do? She berated
herself silently, answering herself out loud. “I’m going to lie
here like an oaf and wonder what they’re going to do with me,” she
reasoned. “It’s probably just experimentation, right? I’ll be back
in my bed by morning, with no memory of what happened; except as if
it was a dream.” She started to shrug, but caught herself,
remembering the almost pain. “At least that’s what the accounts of
abductees always say.”
    Later, she would regret her calm demeanor.
She would wish she had fought harder. When the gray alien stood
over her, she looked up at him and smirked, asking, “Do you think
we can hurry this up? I want to be back in my bed come morning, so
I can make it to work in time.”
    The gray being stood, looking down at her
with a strange tilt to his head and she could almost hear the
laughter in his expression. Then a strange buzzing started in her
head and the next she knew, everything went black.
    When she woke, she was hanging suspended in
the center of the room with her arms and legs spread wide. She
blinked and looked down to find she was now completely naked. Her
tank top and her thong were both gone. Nothing covered her.
Alarmed, she tried to move, but found she was no longer in control
of her limbs.
    Looking around the room, she opened her mouth
to yell, but stopped when she saw an odd blob in the far corner.
She looked at it with an expression of distaste. It reminded her of
a glowing green glob of goo; something akin to stringy snot, but
brighter. Just as she started to look away from it, the disgusting
mass did the unthinkable. It began to move.
    Slowly, without the aid of any limbs, it
rolled toward her. She watched it come until it was no longer
viewable, as it was underneath her. Sparrow tensed, with a fear
that made her tremble, waiting in silent trepidation of what was
coming next. Was she going to be put through something