Young

16 - My Performance

I firmly planted hands to hips and took a wide, commanding stance. Then I threw my head back and started to laugh like Santa Claus but substituted "HA!" for "HO!"

"HA! HA! HA!"

Steve looked puzzled.

I pointed my finger at him and laughed even harder, this time throwing in a couple "HO!"s for good measure.

"HA! HA! HA! HO! HO! HO!"

"Shut up space vermin! What's so funny? Stop it!"

I put on an expressionless face and spoke in a robotic tone.

"How can you earthlings be so perceptive yet such fools at the same time?" I said as I opened my eyes ridiculously wide.

"We don't look anything like you humans. If we had taken the skin of this female and pulled it over our form, how would it fit so perfectly?"

Steve looked so confused that he almost lowered his revolver.

"We have simply overtaken her mind with our advanced telepathic methods from our base, miles from here," I said arrogantly.

"So, why her? Why not me you lily livered cowards?"

"Her mind is weak and easy to infiltrate."

"Oh, I know what your plan is now. You want her to go to a city so you can find other weak minded folks to...'infiltrate', huh?"

I furrowed my brow as if I was impressed and said, "We have underestimated your intelligence. We cannot hope to win a war against such intelligent beings. We will leave your planet and search for a new one where the population is easier to control. "

I shuddered, rolled my eyes, and with a blood curdling scream collapsed to the ground, motionless.

Steve immediately dropped his gun and knelt beside me. He checked for my pulse and shook my shoulder gently.

I twitched my eyes and then opened them, moaning.

"Mmmmm...what happened? Where am I? Who are you?"

"My name's Steve, Miss. Is your name Veronica?"

"Yes, that's my name," I said, appearing dazed and confused.

"What was the last thing you done remembered?"

"I...I was driving and looking at the beautiful landscape. It was almost twilight so I stopped for a moment to admire the sunset. I heard something to my right, something I'd never heard before. Then I opened my eyes and here you are."

Steve looked more excited than ever.

"Your mind was being controlled by space creatures!" he said.

I feigned an expression of complete surprise and gasped.

"Now, don't you worry, I got rid of 'em. Think hard Veronica. Do you remember what they looked like?"

I shook my head and said,"I never did see anything, just heard something. It sounded like the pitch of a guitar string going up and down, over and over again."

Steve nodded and said, "Well, let's get you into town and find a doctor. It doesn't look like them aliens treated your body with any kind of respect." Then he reached for my hand and helped me up.

I couldn't believe that my plan worked. I breathed a sigh of relief.

I walked at a normal pace so Steve wouldn't get suspicious again. The urge to run ahead and scream wildly for help was maddening but who knows what he would do.

I saw people milling around the streets of the town now, close...so close.

We looked like quite the pair; Steve with his out of control beard, wild eyes, and backpack walking next to a girl with oversized shorts and hair snarled into dirty knots.