ALIEN FOR SALE "I'll give you five hundred dollars for her," offered Josh Pintac, gesturing to the silver-barred cage. Inside, a cat-like woman prowled the perimeter. Her hair was dark and long, and her eyes were vibrant and bright green, almost neon. Her ears were pointed, and she had a delicate black tail. She was not tall, maybe five feet three inches at most, and she glared at the two men as they talked about, but never to, her. A long, sturdy chain attached her wrist to the bars, as if the cage wasn't quite enough. "Nah, she's worth a good deal more. You government agents aren't gettin' your hands on her unless I get properly paid," refused Matt Delsa. "After all, her ship landed on my farm." "Understand, Mr. Delsa, that we will not take no for an answer," warned Pintac, tossing a subtle glance at his coat pocket, where a gun bulged. "And I won't be selling an alien for any less than five million. Farmers need to get along, you know!" replied Delsa, not thrown by the other man's threats. "I have her spaceship, don't forget. The engineering is incredible!" He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Of course, if I'm not alive, you might never find it...... But of course your superiors will understand." Pintac was trapped. "Fine," he relented. "You'll get your money. But how do I know this isn't some girl you've dressed up?" "Would I risk the wrath of the FBI?" reasoned the farmer. "I call her Andora. I like the sound of it." "Sweena," hissed the woman in the cage. "She speaks English?" asked Josh in disbelief. "Nah, she just keeps repeating that. I'm sure it's probably a curse on us," laughed the farmer, and Josh joined in. "Well, I'd better be going," said Josh when the round of polite laughter was over. He surveyed the gray skies. "Looks like a storm. I'll be back tomorrow with a few others to examine the alien and her spacecraft. And of course, I'll bring the money. Two million, and not a penny more." "Well, it's more than I'd make in a lifetime of farming, so I'll take it," decided Delsa. He also looked at the sky, at the clouds rumbling in. "But the storm will be here before you get out of town, and it'll be a big one. The roads will all turn to mud. You'd best stay the night." Josh Pintac had no choice but to agree. The night was spent at a small house on the farm. Andora was given a dinner, which she did not eat, and Josh and Matt found themselves on the patio talking long into the night. The winds howled, and it was cold, but Matt brought out a couple of heavy coats and they were fine. Andora hissed "Sweena" a few more times, but they laughed, and soon ignored her. They went inside when the rain came, and left her in the cold. Pintac woke up in the middle of the night, as did Delsa. Both heard the eerie howls and moans, just outside the window. It had to be Andora. They tried their best to ignore her and go back to sleep. At dawn the next morning, the two men went outside to examine their treasure. She was still there, and she looked up at the sound of the intruding men. The cage was a shambles, lying in eight twisted pieces. The chain was still around her wrist, and attached to what was left of the cage. She glared up at the men accusingly. If they had slept in, she would have been long gone. "Wow." That was all Delsa could say. "Wow." "Can you get the end of the chain?" asked Pintac. "You're the agent, you do it!" said the farmer. Josh dove for the chain, and Andora spun around. He grabbed the end and shielded himself behind the piece of metal that held the chain. He carefully unwound it, keeping his eye on the enraged alien. "Alright," he said, handing the chain to Matt. "Let's find her ship." Matt Delsa hadn't known the exact location of the small spaceship, but with Andora leading him, he found it in no time. Josh Pintac looked over the white bullet-shaped ship in appreciation. "How do you open it?" Andora seemed to understand. She pressed a palm against the side of a blue panel, and a circular door swirled open. She suddenly pulled away and raced inside. "Hey!" The two men quickly followed before the door could shut. The inside of the ship was a maze, with intersecting corridors and color-coded doors, flashing panels and harsh red lights. Neither Pintac nor Delsa could see Andora anywhere near, and yet she'd only been a split-second ahead of them. "I think she went this way." Delsa nodded down a curving corridor, and headed into it. Pintac pulled out a gun and followed. They went quite a distance, until the farmer burst out, "We've been going in a circle!" Indeed, they were back where they'd started. And that's when Pintac noticed something else. "We're moving!" Indeed, the floor was trembling ever so slightly, and both got the feeling that they were in a futuristic elevator. "What is she trying to do?" asked Delsa. Pintac looked over his gun, as if it would help. "She can't do much. She's still ours!" But somehow, neither man believed it. A panel across from them flickered to life, and Andora's face filled the screen. She began speaking in a strange language, which neither man could understand. When she stopped, the computer whirred and translated what she'd said into English. "Foolish humans," read Pintac from the screen. "You wished to buy and sell me, when I am not yours. That cannot go unpunished. We are headed for Kaklito VII, my home planet. Because of my world's highly advanced technology, we shall be there in two hours. Enjoy the ride." The two men dicussed their fate for the two hours, coming up with more and more terrifying situations. Finally, Andora came and pointed what looked like a highly-modified dustbuster at them. But instead of sucking dirt, it fired a red beam, which disintegrated Pintac's gun without harming him. Then she pushed a button on the weapon's surface, and out shot a yellow beam, which split into two beams. Each beam twisted around the neck of one of the humans. Then she turned and began to walk, and with a jerk on the weapon, they were forced to follow. The door opened once more, and she led them down onto the surface of a red planet. It was dusty and hot, and they found the air too thin and the gravity too high. Pintac found his feet getting heavier and heavier, and Delsa could hardly breath. The two men lagged behind, already exhausted, but Sweena gave the weapon a quick yank, and the beams tightened. They instantly hurried up, both regretting that they had ever seen Andora, let alone tried to sell her. She ignored their discomfort and led them past a signpost, which bore a symbol the men couldn't understand. "Sweena," she translated, and led them into a vast area. " 'Sweena' must mean intergalactic zoo," commented Pintac. There were huge transparent cubes, each housing a few aliens. Other aliens like Andora laughed and pointed at the specimens. Andora smiled and dragged Josh and Matt to an empty cube. The symbol under it was complicated, but she said, "Hu-man." She put her hand on the cube's smooth surface, and an opening appeared. Her prisoners were thrown inside, and the door melted back into the rest of the cube. Andora posted herself outside, stopping others who walked by and gesturing at the humans. Josh noticed other aliens in front of other cubes doing the same. Delsa looked at the cube next to him, and motioned for Pintac to do the same. There were two imprisoned aliens who looked like turtles with wings. They were small, about the size of cats, and there was an alien man in front of their cage, talking to an alien woman. She looked at the two turtle-aliens, and then handed their keeper a handful of red chips. He counted them, nodded, and opened the door. She focused a weapon on one of them, and pressed a button. A yellow beam shot out and encircled itself around the neck of one of the creatures. She pulled it out and towards her. The door closed and she walked off, leading the reluctant turtle-creature behind her. "Oh no. OH NO!" Matt Delsa had figured it out. In horror, he turned to his companion, who looked equally unnerved. "This isn't a galactic zoo. It's a galactic pet shop! And we're for sale!" THE END SAUCE00Alien for SaleEoanyaMiSTiGRiS20941015