The Butter Rum Cartoon: THE WHOLE STORY OF AUBREY'S ABDUCTION

Disclaimer: Please see A.I. is Depleting Our Water and read the dark yellow paragraph.

The Whole Story of Aubrey's Abduction

text by Dale Lund

It was after the abduction and transformation of Kate and Alan Clark was headline news worldwide, and three months after the couple disappeared completely, that Aubrey Jane Keller, commercial model for Butter Rum Cartoon Industries, saw the light. She had made herself a cup of chamomile tea and had sat down to watch the nightly news when a strange turquoise light from outside lit up the curtain on her window. She drew the curtain open and saw the light coming from the woods beyond her backyard. She had never seen such a light, and it confused her. Everything became confusing. She no longer understood what was said on the TV. Her tea was left to get cold. All she knew was that she had to find out where the light was coming from.

It was a warm West Virginian summer night. Aubrey left her back door wide open as she began walking toward the woods. Usually crickets made a racket, but that night was totally silent, except for the snapping of twigs and branches as she slowly made her way through the woods. The light became brighter and brighter as she neared it, making her mind fuzzier and fuzzier. When she reached the little clearing, she couldn’t think at all.

She never realized the large flying saucer, as she mindlessly walked toward it, as its door opened and its ramp came down, and as she ascended up and into the spacecraft. Four creatures approached her with their thin bodies and large heads and eyes, but Aubrey was not afraid. She didn’t even think of them as they guided her into a chair and reclined her. As they strapped her down and began prodding her, she fell asleep.

Aubrey was a successful model and was beautiful in a girl-next-door way that made her approachable and liked. She had helped advertise many products for BRC Industries in creative photo shoots. She lay back now, eyes closed, not knowing that the lovely face that had provided a good living for her would never be recognized again. The strange, heavy machine, riddled with tubes, that was being laid over her nose and mouth, would leave only her eyes the same.

The aliens worked ceaselessly through the night. The first machine shaped her lips and enlarged her mouth, raising the palate and lowering the lingual frenulum, and pulling and replacing the teeth with indestructible material, making them longer as needed to be able to chew despite the enlargement of her tongue which will fill much of her mouth, leaving enough air flow and the passing of food to suffice.

Finally that machine was replaced by a larger one with two large tubes, that created from human flesh a hardened tubular structure that in appearance took the place of her nose and mouth, extending about five inches from her previous face, with the opening’s diameter about three-and-a-half inches. Finally the machine was lifted, exposing her new face. She looked bizarre, at first view grotesque, but her old flesh fused with the new with no line showing. She looked like an alien creature that had been born that way.

The aliens turned off the anesthetic and soon Aubrey opened her eyes. She felt no pain; the aliens had remedied that problem long ago with their procedure. Her mind was still very fuzzy, too much to be afraid of her situation. She moved the strange parts inside her mouth, feeling her huge tongue retracted and curled up, and with it feeling her new teeth and her mouth’s enlargement. She saw the tubular structure extending out from her face but had no idea what it was. Then it happened. Her tongue seemed to fill her mouth, but she manipulated it and found she could stick it out. It slid along inside the tubular part and came out the end, and further! She stuck it out all the way, and far as she could, and could see it out there, and it struck her funny. And she laughed, with a loud, hollow sounding laugh that made her laugh all the more. She thought she was dreaming.

The next thing she knew, she was waking up, lying on her back in the dew covered lawn of her backyard. Her mind was coming back to her, but was still foggy. She slowly got up. The strange part sticking out from her face was really there. She saw it, and she felt it. She felt the big hole, and stuck her hand into it, and licked her hand. She didn’t understand. Was it still a dream? It all seemed so real. Her back was even wet from the dew.

Her door was wide open, and she went into her house and shut it. She had wet her pants, so went to the bathroom. In the mirror she saw herself. It was too real to be a dream, but it couldn’t be real. She no longer looked human! Her eyes and hair were the same, but her nose and mouth were gone. In their place was a big round hole surrounded by hard flesh that stuck out from her face! She thought she had lost her mind, and was depressed. She took a shower and put on clean, dry clothes, and was still unbelieving when she saw herself in the mirror. She had lost her mind.

The clock said 6:15 a.m. She was supposed to be at work at 8:00 but knew of course that she couldn’t work in her state of mind. She got her phone, but couldn’t put it to her ear and “mouth” at the same time, so put it on speaker phone and called work.

“Butter Rum Cartoon,” said the cheerful voice of the secretary. But instead of words, Aubrey made some garbling noise. “Excuse me?” said the secretary, and Aubrey hung up. Instead she texted work and told them she didn’t feel well and wasn’t coming in today.

She hung up and stared at the phone. ‘I made this text,’ thought Aubrey, ‘as if my mind were working fine.’ And she realized that it was. ‘Something weird happened last night, and now I look very different.’ She went back into the bathroom and studied herself in the mirror. She shined a light into the big, deep hole in front of her face, and saw lips and teeth and tongue, but none looked like hers. She moved her tongue, and it came out through the open lips, and untangled inside the tubular part. She could control it. She kept extending it until it protruded out of the opening and beyond by several inches! And she could control retracting it back into her mouth. She tried to talk, but made garbled sounds instead. But by trying again and again, and maneuvering her tongue, she could make some words.

Throughout the day she tried to speak. Her speech was slurred and breathy and strained, and coming through a tube didn’t help. She finally managed to speak more words, but it was obvious that she had a lot of tongue in her mouth, which she thought made her voice sound stupid.

Finally her hunger made her wonder how she was to eat. She didn’t have any food long enough to reach her mouth with her hand. But she found a variety of foods to mix together on a plate. Then she sat down, put her tubular part close to the meal, and licked it up and pulled it to her mouth with her tongue. Trying to chew it, she accidentally bit her tongue several times, but learned to avoid it. Then she poured milk into a bowl and lapped it up with her tongue.

For three days she texted work that she felt awful and couldn’t come in, meanwhile lapping up what food she had in the house. After going to sleep and waking up several times with the tubular part, she realized it was very real. She knew she had mentally blacked-out for a night and woke up lying in the yard, looking like this. All she could imagine is that she was taken and changed, and humans couldn’t have done this. She guessed the truth.

Meanwhile she tried speaking and reading aloud. Initially she had trouble with certain sounds, because of her huge tongue being in the way of itself, but became better with practice. But for now talking on the phone was out. When it rang, she didn’t answer.

As her food was running out, she was desperate. Finally on Saturday she texted her fiance, Erik, saying, “Please come. Bring food. Vegetable beef soup. Be prepared. I look very different. I love you.”

When the doorbell rang some time later, she held a magazine in front of her face below her eyes, and opened the door. Erik stood holding a bag of food, looking very concerned. “Are you okay?” he asked.

“Come in,” said Aubrey. As Erik came in and set the bag on the table, Aubrey knew she couldn’t converse with him that understandably, so motioned to a chair and said, “Sit down.”

Erik sat, looking terribly worried. Her speech sounded like her mouth had been injured.

Aubrey sat down beside him, and boldly tossed the magazine aside.

Erik jumped, then laughed, and said, “What a dirty trick. You creeped me out! Where’d you get that?”

Aubrey just shook her head, as tears came to her eyes. She took Erik’s hand and placed it on her tubular part, realizing then that she had active nerves in that strange, hard skin. His hand felt warm and good.

Erik’s smiling face fell, and his eyes widened. He felt the warmth of this facial part. He gently rubbed along it and onto her cheek, wiping a tear, and feeling no line between the tubular part and her cheek. For a time, he was quiet and very serious. He looked into the wide tube, and saw Aubrey’s strange lips and large teeth, now gray instead of white. Suddenly she thrust her long tongue out, clear to the end of the tube and almost touching Erik’s face, and he jumped back. Aubrey expected him to run, but he embraced her and, he too, began to cry.

“It’s like that couple,” he said.

“Huh?” said Aubrey.

“A few months ago,” said Erik, “that couple that was abducted by a flying saucer, and they looked like, like you.”

Aubrey remembered some headline news about flying saucers being real, but just poo-pooed it and ignored it.

Erik took Aubrey to her desktop computer, and searched “couple taken by flying saucer,” and right away the fantastic story of Kate and Alan Clark came up. Aubrey was shocked to see other people who looked the same as her! As Erik rubbed her head, neck and shoulders, Aubrey read about how this couple had been abducted and transformed for some unknown reason in some unknown way by aliens they couldn’t remember enough to describe. There was no way this phenomenon could be done except by some unearthly means, and so it was proof that flying saucers from somewhere other than Earth were true. Kate and Alan even went publicly with it. Kate was even on the Tonight Show. But because of the publicity they finally withdrew into seclusion at home, and later disappeared completely. People assumed they had been abducted a second time and not returned.

Erik bent down and touched his head to Aubrey’s, and asked, “You don’t remember anything?”

“No,” said Aubrey.

“I brought food,” said Eric, “Are you hungry?”

Aubrey nodded. She studied Kate and Alan’s face’s on the screen, bookmarked the page, then stood up and went to the kitchen. Erik helped her make vegetable beef soup, constantly glancing at her bizarre face. “You’ve let work know?” he asked.

Aubrey nodded.

“I bet Dale would keep you on,” said Erik. “He might even be excited about the whole thing.”

Aubrey looked at Erik and rolled her eyes.

“Do you want me to stay with you, to help you?” Erik asked.

Aubrey nodded. After letting the soup cool a bit in a bowl, she sat down, put the opening of her tubular part close to it, and began lapping it up. Erik watched with both sympathy and interest. After eating, they got Aubrey’s phone, sat down beside each other on the couch, and had a long conversation, with Erik speaking and Aubrey struggling to speak. Erik examined her tubular part and mouth and told her what he saw. As he was looking, Aubrey mischievously thrust out her tongue and licked Erik’s face. He jumped back, and Aubrey let out a little laugh. Erik then smiled and shook his head. “No matter what, you’ll find some fun in it,” he said. “I love you, Aubrey.” And they embraced.

Kate and Alan had disappeared weeks after their abduction and transformation. Erik was determined to be with Aubrey to prevent her being taken again. He was a mechanic at Butter Rum Cartoon Industries, but after talking with Dale over the phone, an emergency leave was set up so he could stay with Aubrey. He came right out and told Dale what happened, and that Aubrey would probably not be returning to work. Dale believed everything. After the temporary results of brushing with BRC’s LOBO Radioactive Toothpaste, anything was believable, and he trusted Erik’s honesty. “I would like to come see her,” said Dale. Eric asked Aubrey if that would be okay, and she nodded.

After work, Dale arrived and knocked. Aubrey herself went and opened the door, and Dale’s mouth dropped open. After a hesitation and breathy “Wow,” Dale said, “it’s just like Kate and Alan Clark. Are you okay...I mean, other than being transformed by aliens?” as he cracked a little smile.

Aubrey nodded and had him come in. “She’s a strong girl,” said Erik. “Earlier she licked my face for fun and scared me to death.”

Dale laughed, and said, “Let me look in there.” Aubrey got close to let him look, and thrust her tongue at him, just short of touching him. “Whoa!” said Dale and laughed. “This is amazing! You know, you don’t have to quit. You can go on modeling for us like this. After the LOBO wolf teeth, everyone would accept this, too. And we could use this somehow to sell products, especially after the whole world watched Kate and Alan. We could use some line like, ‘Even alien abduction won’t stop you from enjoying this!” Aubrey shook her head, but hugged him in appreciation.

They visited through the evening. Aubrey herself made a meal, and vegetable beef soup for herself. Dale was fascinated watching her lap up her food with her large tongue. “We could put together a recipe book,” suggested Dale, “and you could model, eating our creations.” Aubrey rolled her eyes.

By the time Dale was leaving, she was much less depressed. At the door, Aubrey slowly asked, “Were you serious about the work?”

He nodded, and said, “You’d be great, Aubrey, as always.”

She hugged him and then nodded with enthusiasm.

“You will?” he asked. And she nodded again.

“Wonderful!” he said. “Back tomorrow?”

She glanced at Erik’s hopeful eyes, and nodded again.

Aubrey slept peacefully that night in her bedroom, but Erik slept fitfully on the sofa-bed in the living room, feeling he should be on guard for whatever caused the disappearance of Kate and Alan Clark.

The next morning, after breakfast, Erik and Aubrey left for work. Aubrey was worried, stepping outside, but didn’t hide her face. No one noticed her sitting in Erik’s car on the way. But when she arrived at work, everyone noticed and stared. Dale had told everyone in the office building what to expect and not to make Aubrey feel uncomfortable. So everyone was cordial, but couldn’t help staring. Erik had gone over to the factory, so wasn’t there for support, but Dale came out of his office and greeted her warmly and encouraged her to “keep a stiff upper lip.” Aubrey’s eyes smiled.

People had already started work on the recipe book, and had one recipe that would be included. It was being prepared in the kitchen, and a nice table was being set up for Aubrey, with an attractive background. She went to the dressing room and changed her top, and returned to the dining room. The two photographers were prepared, Aubrey sat down, and the food was served. As Aubrey put her tubular part near the mixture of meat and vegetables, and began lapping it up with her big tongue, the cameras took it all in. Aubrey felt at home.

Two weeks went by. The recipe book was completed and ready for publication. Hundreds of photos had been taken of Aubrey at the table, as well as fitness photos. Co-workers were becoming more accustomed to her face. Dale was thrilled at the prospect of the good publicity. But because of leaks, annoying publicity began. Erik was constantly hanging up on people. Knocks at the door were unanswered. Aubrey had become a freak, like Kate and Alan had to go through. The ads she modeled for were sure to catch attention in a positive way for Butter Rum Cartoon Industries, but her private life had become chaotic, for both her and Erik. Meanwhile Aubrey had diligently been attempting to make speech sounds, since her tongue was becoming more and more controllable, and she could make herself understood most of the time.

Then late one night came a quiet knock on the door. Aubrey and Erik were angry because of the time, and didn’t answer. But the knock continued, and quietly, until Erik turned on the porch light and peeked around the edge of the curtain. He looked at Aubrey with a shocked expression and said, “It’s a man with that part on his face.”

More quiet knocking, and both Erik and Aubrey opened the door. The man’s eyes widened when he saw Erik. But he said to Aubrey, “It’s time. You are ready.”

“Ready for what?” Erik asked, upset.

“May I come in?” asked the man in a deep, echoey but understandable voice.

Aubrey opened the door wider and motioned for him to enter. The man came in, wearing a robe, and sat down on the couch, and motioned for Aubrey to sit next to him, while Erik stood.

“There is a place, a beautiful and wonderful place, populated by people like yourself,” he said to Aubrey. “It’s your home, and waiting for you.”

“This is her home!” shouted Erik.
The man looked at him, not saying anything. Aubrey said to Erik, “Let him speak.”

The man went on. “You know of Kate and Alan. They live there now and are very happy. They are normal there. All of us have been taken up by the Servers, we call them, who are busy building a population for another planet that is completely suitable and comfortable for us. They have built the homes, planted the gardens and crops, and generally care for us. We’re not idle, by any means, but they oversee and fill our basic needs.”

“Sounds like you’re all pets of these...servers,” said Erik.

The man looked at Erik again without talking. Erik stepped toward him and said, “I think you better leave now.” The man pulled a sort of flashlight out of his robe pocket and aimed the light at Erik, and Erik froze.

“Sit down,” said the man, and Erik sat. “Do you want to come with me?” the man asked Aubrey.

Aubrey looked at the now helpless Erik, and shook her head.

“I was hoping you would want to,” said the man. And he aimed the light at her, and said, “Come. They wait.” And Aubrey followed him to the door.

A grunt was heard from Erik, and they turned and looked. And Erik struggled to say, “Take...me...too.”

The man said, “I will ask them.” And he and Aubrey walked out into the night.
_____

Aubrey knew nothing until the craft they were in was landing. In the turquoise light she saw several others with her – humans with tubular facial parts like hers, who were regaining consciousness at the same time. The craft stopped moving, and the door opened, and a ramp extended and set down on a strange land. The man was still with her, and said, “Welcome to Arca, your new home.”

Aubrey and the seven other newcomers to Arca who were with them stared out at the strange land formations and beautiful foliage. The man walked out first, saying, “Follow me,” and Aubrey went out next. She found the air easy to breathe, and the temperature pleasant. “I’m sorry I had to bring you here against your will,” said the man, “but I’m sure you will forgive me.”

“Is Erik all right?” asked Aubrey.

“Oh yes, he’s fine,” said the man.

The other passengers caught up with them, and the man turned and said, “My name is Jeff. I work for the Servers, helping to bring people to this wonderful place. This is your new home, where no one will look at you funny. You can see the village of Fay from here, and Lake Harma. The water of the lake is warm and great to swim in. When we get to Fay, I’ll show each of you where you can live.”

Aubrey jumped, and saw an older woman poking her head through the open doorway. “I’m Gladys,” she said, “I saw you changing and thought I’d welcome you to your new home.”

“Oh,” Aubrey said, “you saw me changing?” Her speech was slow and clumsy, but she was happy she was beginning to pronounce more sounds.

“Yeah,” Gladys laughed, “There’s not much privacy here with all the open windows. But don’t worry about it. Everybody knows what bodies look like. These robes are all we wear, and we take them off to swim in the lake, and whatever. No big deal.”

“Well, please come in,” said Aubrey. “I’d offer you something, but don’t yet know what?”

“Yes, there’s no coffee here,” said Gladys, “but there’s something we call ‘num,’ and I’m sure you have some.” She went and opened the refrigerator. “Yep. This is it.” And she took out a clay container and opened it. “Have a seat,” she said to Aubrey, and Aubrey sat on the bench by the table. Gladys dished up two small helpings of num in two bowls, set them down and sat across from Aubrey. “Try it. It’s delicious.”

Aubrey picked up some of the pudding-like food with her tongue and pulled it into her mouth. “Mmm,” she said, “this IS good.”

“The Servers keep the storehouse stocked up,” said Gladys. “I’ll show you where it is, but for now I’d like to get to know you. Where are you from? What did you do on Earth?”

So Aubrey told Gladys about growing up in Sisters, Oregon, and about modeling for Butter Rum Cartoon Industries in Ripley, West Virginia, about her engagement to Erik and how she misses him and worries about him.

“I’m from Dayton, Ohio,” said Gladys. “I miss my husband, Don, and our children – two sons and a daughter. I’m sure they think I’m dead. I’ve been here many years so I am dead to them, I suppose. Don’s probably remarried. On Earth I worked for a florist, so am fascinated by the plants here. Here I do a lot of foraging, and know what’s edible and what to avoid.”

“Do you have a husband here?” asked Aubrey.

“No,” said Gladys.

“Do people get married here?” Aubrey asked.

“Oh yes, some,” said Gladys. “There is a minister here, who was taken up a long time ago. He marries couples who are in love and want to make the vow.”

“I don’t see many children here,” said Aubrey.

“There are children, quite a few,” said Gladys. “You’ll see them. There’s one now.” And they watched a young girl run by. “That’s Cindy. She was born here.”

“How are babies born, with these?” asked Aubrey, motioning toward her tubular part. “And they surely can’t breastfeed.”

Gladys nodded and said, “The Servers who gave us these also engineered our genes, so our children do have them, but the extensions are undeveloped when they’re born. There’s a ring of the beginnings around the baby’s lower face, but it can nurse at the breast, until the growth is too long after about two years. It’s fully developed by age five. I’m talking years here, but that’s all guesswork from Earth time. Here, Arca’s rotation has us always facing the sun, so we don’t know years or even days here. Nights are just sleep times, but it’s always light out, except when a dark storm comes. The storms bring rain, which we like. Arca has a large moon orbiting. We just call it ‘the Moon.’ It affect tides in the sea, and we use it to count time, but really we don’t care about time here.”

After Gladys left, Aubrey felt better. She had a friend here already. She put on a pair of sandals and went outside. There were people all over, and no one stared at her. She was one of them. She left the village and followed a path to and through some dense foliage, all the while practicing her speech sounds. A group of children ran by, and she wondered how it might be for those who were born here and knew of no place else. Maybe, in time, she could think of Arca as her real home, but now she missed Erik, and Earth, and worried about her loved ones who would think she’s dead.

A couple approached her, coming from the foliage, and Aubrey said, “Hi.”

“Hello!” they said cheerfully. “Are you new here?”

“Yes, I’m Aubrey, from West Virginia.”

“I’m Kate,” said the woman, “and this is my husband Alan.”

Aubrey was surprised. “You’re the ones who made worldwide headlines!” she said.

“Yep,” said Alan. “It turns out we sure weren’t the first to be taken up. But we were the first to go public and prove to the world that flying saucers are real. Look, there’s one now.” And he pointed to a large one high up over the lake.

“This is going to take some getting used to,” said Aubrey.

“It grows on you,” said Kate, and Alan nodded. “After the fiasco we went through as news freaks, we don’t miss Earth all that much. And we’re used to our faces.”

Aubrey noticed the couple’s tongues were both sticking out a bit, and dared to ask them why.

Kate’s tongue shot out several inches, then retracted, and she said, “That’s how we smile, and laugh. Out a little is a smile, out a lot is a laugh. Of course we laugh out loud, too. The eyes and tongue, and posture I guess, are the only way we can make expressions.”

So Aubrey stuck out her tongue.

“I’m so glad to meet you two,” she said. “And you taught me to smile.”

“Would you like to come eat with us later?” asked Kate.

“Yeah,” said Aubrey, “very much. Thank you.”

“Just ask anybody where Kate and Alan live. They’ll tell you,” said Alan. “This is a nice path here. We walk it often. The lake path is really nice, too. It goes all around the lake. And there are sandy beaches for swimming, too.”

And so Aubrey continued on, enjoying the walk, meeting a strange creature on the way that was much like a dog, and just as friendly. She petted it and it showed affection like a dog. She was anxious to learn what other creatures exist on Arca.

She did see an insect of sorts along the way, apparently pollinating a flower. She watched it for some time, but didn’t dare get too close, not knowing what it might do. Later she would learn that they’re harmless, and that many insects lived on Arca, but very few went into the villages.

She saw a toad-like creature on a rock, but it quickly hopped away from her. She would have to ask Gladys about the Arcan wildlife.
______

Later she was shown where Kate and Alan live, and they welcomed her and made a special meal of Arcan favorites. It was delicious, a new taste experience for Aubrey. Alan left to go to the storehouse, while Kate and Aubrey shared adventures about their transformations and coping with them. Kate was amazed that Aubrey even modeled for ads after her change. “You must have had an unusual employer,” said Gladys.

“For sure,” said Aubrey, then stuck out her tongue and laughed, and told Kate all about Butter Rum Cartoon Industries and it’s strange products.

After leaving and some time passing, Gladys came to Aubrey’s dwelling and said, “The Servers have come. They’re loading the storehouse with stuff. You want to see them?”

That’s something Aubrey didn’t want to miss, so off they went to the edge of Fay, first seeing the flying saucer having landed, and then the Servers. They were the same creatures who piloted the spacecraft that brought her here – short, thin, naked aliens with large heads and eyes. They were carrying goods from the flying saucer into the storehouse. They were busy and ignored Gladys and Aubrey, not seeming to mind being watched by them.

“Who are they?” asked Aubrey. “Where are they from?”

“No one knows,” said Gladys. “These are the ones who abducted us and changed our faces and genetics, and accompanied a human from Arca back to escort us here in a different craft. Others have told me that the first craft was set up as a clinic, and the second for a transporter. That’s why we were left on Earth for the time between, waiting for the bus, so to speak. They’re busy populating this new planet, and taking care of our basic needs. I’m sure they can understand us, but never speak with us. I’ve never heard them speak.”

“So . . . they kidnapped us, mutilated us, and are nice to us,” said Aubrey, “a whole new set of morals.”

Gladys laughed with her tongue and said, “You got that right.”

Aubrey was fascinated with these creatures and didn’t want to leave. The two women then sat and watched them until their work was done and they flew off.

“You feel energetic?” Gladys then asked her.

“Sure,” said Aubrey.

“You want to see the sea? It’s a long hike, but worth it.”

“You bet!”

So they set off, in a different direction than the village, the thick foliage, and the lake. Along the way, Gladys showed her a variety of strange creatures and plants, including edible plants, which Aubrey enjoyed.

Finally, after several rests, they came to the vast blue sea, an awesome sight. The water extended beyond their view. “And it’s not salt water either. You can drink it,” said Gladys.

“Do people get sick here?” asked Aubrey.

“Occasionally,” said Gladys, “but it’s never that serious. There are no contagious diseases like on Earth. We get old and our bodies finally give out.”

“Are the bodies buried?”

“Some,” said Gladys. “Some are cremated. And some the Servers take up and let them go into space.”

“You mean like eject the body out of the spacecraft into outer space?” asked Aubrey.

“Yep,” said Gladys, “I think I’ll have them do that with me.”

Aubrey shuddered at the thought, but kept quiet.

Going over a rise, they saw that the tide was out, and several huge creatures were there.
To Aubrey they looked at first like dinosaurs.

“Those are tidewalkers,” said Gladys. “Standing straight you could walk right under them, if they’d let you. They’re harmless. They’re very curious, and will walk right up to you if you have something that interests them, but if you make a sudden move they’ll run from you. I don’t know what they eat, but whatever it is they find it in tide flats.”

Aubrey was fascinated and wanted to get closer. So they went down the hill to the wet ground, close to two tidewalkers. The huge creatures turned and watched them. But when Aubrey raised her arms and said, “Boo!” the monsters took off, kicking mud up behind them. “Poor things, now I feel bad,” said Aubrey, and Gladys laughed.

“I always thought it’d be fun to ride one,” said Gladys. “It looks like their hard backs would be easy to hang onto. But so far no one’s been able to.”

The hike back along a different route was beautiful. Aubrey was learning to love this strange world.

The lake trail was her favorite walk. She enjoyed watching the naked families swimming, and occasionally would toss her robe onto a rock and splash into the warm water herself. She found it very easy to swim on her back, with her tubular lower face sticking up out of the water breathing the fresh air.

Once when she was resting along the way a flying saucer flew slowly by. She was used to that, but heard from a passerby that it was bringing more people to Arca. So she ran back toward the village, toward the saucer, but arrived too late to see the people disembark.

She went home and lay on her bed and fell asleep. When she awoke, she ate some num for breakfast, then went outside. People said that about a dozen people came from Earth and were shown to their new homes. Aubrey had yet to meet but a few of the village people so far, so would never know who just came. She decided just to walk the foliage path again.

But on the way, she heard a loud voice behind her struggling to speak, as if calling her. She turned and saw a man, a villager in a robe, running toward her, and she wondered why.