Four tales of alien abduction, strange appearances, and travels in LINT devices. A selected passage from each story:
Ache
It was cloudy still, and the air smelled old and wet, like it might start raining again at any second. A bitter wind welled up out of the North as I tramped across the pavement, trying but not succeeding at the chore of staying out of the puddles. Water slowly seeped through the cheap cloth of my runners, chilling my toes. I brought my arms close to my body as a shiver traveled in a wave up to the top of my head and back down again. I stuck my hands in the pockets of my jeans and instinctively wrapped my left hand around my cash. I tried to wrap my right hand around my house keys, but they were gone.
Susan and the Terbians
Despite the screams and panic of the other passengers, and despite the constant tumult, she was able to get her drop-down oxygen mask connected. As the gas began to flow, she looked at the chaos around her. Many of the others had panicked too much, had not connected their masks, and were slowly suffocating. Their limp, oxygen-starved bodies, still strapped to their seats, gracefully swayed in unison with the airplane's movements, like a well choreographed undersea ballet.
Oscar
The second prediction arrived while Oscar was in the shower. As he pushed the curtain aside and stepped out of the tub, he heard rustling noises in his living room. When he ran out to investigate, an envelope lay on his dining table. He ran out into the hall and saw no one. As he turned to reenter his apartment, Jeanine came out of hers on her way to work.
Iggy's Folly
Four more beers and half an hour later we were strapped into that thing waiting for it to start up. We were on opposite sides of the drum, facing each other. Iggy had rigged up some sort of timer to the machine and had set it to give us five minutes to get ready. It had taken almost four and a half, and the last 30 seconds seemed to take another five minutes. The beer was making my head spin, and I was beginning to feel a strong need for a toilet. I was just about to tell Iggy to get me out when the drum started to turn. Ten minutes later we were covered in each other's vomit and I no longer needed a toilet.
