The Invasion
Gus opened up his eyes and immediately closed them again. Too bright! He slowly opened them again and looked around. He spotted Leslie patting himself down in astonishment.
“We made it Les!” Gus said grabbing Leslie in a hug.
“Well yeah, of course we did. We were always going to,” said Leslie.
“Uh, guys? We may have made it, but do you see this?” Imo pointed at the structure infront of them.
All three of them turned and looked.
Leslie’s pocket vibrated. Patting himself down, he found his phone and looked at the message.
“It’s called a ‘House’, it’s where Humans live.” He said.
“This is where we’re living?” Gus said in astonishment.
“Yes, Command says it’s been set up to accommodate all Humans needs, so we should be fine. I suppose we should check it out.” Leslie headed towards the door.
“How do we get in?” Imo asked looking in through a window and pressing on the glass.
“The door. Did you not read the Human studies provided?” Leslie asked inserting the key he found in his pocket. He turned the handle and pushed.
“Well, let’s check this up.” Gus said pushing past Leslie and entering.
“It’s check this ‘out'” Imo said following behind. Leslie entered and closed the door behind them all.
Faced with another door as soon as he entered the tiny room. Imo went through to find himself standing on grass, looking up he saw the sky. So bright. Looking back down he saw a myriad of doors. Choosing the one on the left he entered the next room and found himself in the kitchen.
Not bad, he thought. It had a lot of promise, but like most things done by Command, it was bare bones and just wouldn’t do. He couldn’t cook much in here as it was. It would need to be upgraded.
He noticed Leslie passing by the Kitchen door. He followed Leslie out the very next door.
Imo found Leslie outside.
“They have two doors to the same dwelling?” Imo asked puzzled.
“Yes, the House has two exits. It’s for safety. You two really need to read the documents from Command.” Leslie said, a disappointed look on his face.
“What’s wrong?” Imo asked.
“It’s just so…bare. They have barely any vegetation. I’m going to have to research more.” Leslie said starting to get lost in thought.
“Les! We should go check on Gus.” Imo said trying to bring Leslie back to Earth.
After watching Imo enter into a room, Gus went the opposite way and chose the farthest door he could.
It was very Command-ishly chosen. Gus sighed in exasperation. This wasn’t going to do at all. This is why he didn’t want to move up the ranks. You seem to lose all sense of taste and creativity as you ranked up.
He sat on what was obviously supposed to be the bed.
Rock Hard!
This wouldn’t do at all. Grabbing his travel bag, he searched for the small packet of tools he managed to smuggle down here.
Leslie and Imo eventually located Gus in one of the bedrooms. He had his tools out and was working on the bed.
“What are you doing?” Leslie exclaimed.
“Fixing this abomination.” Gus said distractedly.
“We’re supposed to be having an authentic Human experience, not making ourselves as comfortable as possible.” Leslie said as he and Imo sat on the bed.
“It’s like a rock!” Imo exclaimed. “I’m sure it couldn’t hurt. You need to be at optimal levels to study Humans.”
“I guess.” Leslie said a little glumly. He admitted he didn’t like the feel of the bed, but it just went against the spirit of the thing.
“I’m going to check out the other sleeping arrangements. Hopefully there are some. I’m not really a cuddler.” Imo said getting up. He left the other two bickering.
Imo had found another room with a bed in it. This would do. It too had a small box in it. If his Mission dossier. Sitting down he turned it on and started rooting through the menus.
He’d just finished sending a detailed report/complaint on the conditions of their first impressions of the house, when there was a ringing sound throughout the house. Ah! The doorbell.
Imo had made his way to the door they entered in and opened it, only to be staring at four humans.
“Hello! Welcome to the Neighbourhood. I’m Ekram Elderberry, this is my wife Eleanore. We live down the street. This is Angela and Lilith Pleasant. They live next door to us.”
Imo blinked blankly for a moment. It was a lot of information all at once. Then his training as Cultural Officer kicked in.
“Hello! I’m Imo. Thank you so much for coming over. We just got here, so we’re just settling in. Thank you for the lovely welcome.” Imo said smiling at them all. Then he held the door open for the Humans. Hopefully, Gus and Les would be prepared for the Invasion.
Imo led the group into the kitchen. Ekram placed a dish on the counter.
“It’s a family recipe. Let me know what you think.” He said.
Gus walked into the kitchen.
“What’s all the noise?” He asked. Then his eyes widened. Humans here? Already? He walked in and introduced himself.
“Hi, I’m Gus. Nice to meet you.” He said.
“It’s getting a little crowded in here.” Lilith said, as picked up a piece of fruit cake and went to leave the room.
“Nice to meet you too,” Ekram said. “But Lilith is right.” He took his leave shortly after that.
Eleanore slid the fruit cake towards Gus. He picked up a piece, thanked her and made his way out of the room.
Leslie had just finished putting his things away in his room. He saw Gus walking out the second door, and followed the noises to another room. Inside he found Imo and two humans.
After being introduced, he took a piece of the fruit cake and sat down. His first authentic human food. Leslie smiled at his good fortune.
“You should wait until you try it” Angela said. “It tastes better after you’ve actually had a bite.”
Leslie blushed, as Imo let out a guaff. Nodding he took a bite. The smile froze on his face and he slowed down in chewing. Maybe he could just swallow it without tasting anymore.
After swallowing he thanked Eleanore and Angela and excused himself. He needed to find Gus. Gus hadn’t done well on his Human Studies.
After leaving the kitchen, Gus had tried another room only to find two humans in there. Smiling, he’d introduced himself, said thank you for the food and wandered back out.
Finding another door he tried it. It led to the outside, a table and chairs, and more importantly privacy.
He’d never done well in Human Studies where it concerned food. Just something about the texture. He needed practice, and practicing in front of the humans and possibly giving himself away didn’t seem appealing.
He grabbed the fruit cake and immediately put it down. It was so sticky. Sighing he picked up the fruit cake and put it in his mouth. Slowly he bit down.
“Gus!” Leslie walked out the door. Too late!
Gus’s face screwed up and the look on his face told Leslie everything he needed to know. Sitting down beside Gus, he waited for him to swallow.
Finally after a few moments, Gus gasped for breath.
“Well thank you for swallowing this time, and not spitting it in my face.” Leslie said teasingly.
“That is…that is…so…” Gus started pointing at the fruit cake.
“The best thing you’ve ever eaten. At least in front of the humans” Leslie finished for him. Gus nodded, then glared at the food on his plate.
Finally! The guys settled down in the living room. It had been a long day. The Humans had finally left.
“At least we have contacts now.” Leslie said settling back in his chair.
“Yes, true.” Imo said grabbing the control beside the box. He settled down on the couch. Time to find out what this did.
“I’m going to starve!” Gus complained sitting beside Imo. “Although, human women are strangly attractive.”
“Please don’t.” Leslie said as Imo groaned. It was always the same story, no matter where they went.
Suddenly noise blared into the room. They all jumped and stared at the box. Imo was pressing buttons on the remote. Pictures and various noises were flying by in seconds. Finally with a Ha! The noises and pictures settled down.
On the screen was a puzzling picture.
“What’s this?” Gus asked.
“It’s a TV. Humans watch shows or movies on it for entertainment and bonding.” Imo said. “And this, is what they think aliens are.”
Gus and Leslie looked towards the screen Imo was pointing at. Then all three burst into laughter. They settled back and watched as the comedy of horrors unfolded before them.
It was the perfect way to end their day.