It’s A Small Universe

by submission
May 17th, 2009

Author : Jeff McGaha

My head ached painfully.

I squeezed Matthew’s hand tight as he squirmed. Sweat seeped between us, lubricating and aiding his attempts at escape. I sighed and gave up on holding his hand. I grabbed his wrist instead. He continued to struggle, but it was a losing battle.

I looked over at Lilly. Her brown hair stuck to her flushed face.

“We shoulda bought him a leash,” I said smiling.

Lilly rolled her eyes at me, but grinned.

The line continued to move leisurely. An upbeat song rang from the speakers, looping without any noticeable breaks. Matthew hummed the tune, while maintaining his escape efforts.

I felt it before I heard it. It started with a low vibration in my feet, turning into a low bass that shook everything. Lilly asked, “What’s going on?”

I ignored her and scanned the crowd instead. Confused and worried looks played across the faces I saw. Heads everywhere swiveled, searching for the source of the sound. “Look,” a middle aged man shouted, pointing to the sky. As a group, everyone gazed upward. A collective gasp sounded from the crowd.

Lilly, Matthew and I stood in the stopped line under an overhang. Our view of the sky blocked.

The crowd parted, forming a large round empty space. I finally saw it when it was about forty feet above the ground.

It was unmistakably a spaceship. It could have been a flying saucer from a 1960′s science fiction film. A few people, believing this to be a stunt or show, applauded and began snapping pictures.

The ship stopped a few feet short of touching down and hovered in place.

“Oww, Datty, you hootin’ me,” Matthew cried. I looked down at him, realizing I’d been steadily squeezing him harder since the vibrations had begun.

I picked him up and held him in my arms. I glanced at Lilly’s panicked face and then turned back to the spaceship.

An opening appeared in the side of the ship and a ramp slid to the ground. The crowd stood frozen, waiting. The music from the rides still played.

Two aliens appeared at the top of the ramp. They were living cliches. Just like their spaceship, they too could have been designed for a classic science fiction film. They were green with large heads and eyes. Their mouths, ears and noses were small. Their bodies were tall and lean.

One stood motionless at the top of the ramp, holding something in its slender hand, while the other began moving forward gracefully.

Once it reached the edge of the crowd, it stopped. It motioned for a woman in the front. She muddled forward. I wanted to scream for her to run, but was unable to force out the words.

It placed its hands on her head, its fingers wrapping around her. They both stood unmoving for ten long seconds. It let go and the woman sprinted back into the crowd.

It turned to the other on the ramp and with an unmoving mouth, uttered, “No, not these.” It glided back up the ramp casually and spun to face the crowd, “Do it.” The other began tapping furiously on the device in his hand, his fingers blurring with the speed. It halted beating on the device abruptly.

My head ached painfully.

I squeezed Matthew’s hand tight as he squirmed. Sweat seeped between us, lubricating and aiding his attempts at escape. I sighed and gave up on holding his hand. I grabbed his wrist instead. He continued to struggle, but it was a losing battle.

I looked over at Lilly. Her brown hair stuck to her flushed face.

“Let’s get out of here. I feel like I’ve been standing in this line forever.”

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