text: Pale and milky was the moon that night. The night had an eerie glow to it that cast cold light and dark shadows about the countryside. Yet even so it was a type of night that Mikey Joe looked forward to. The type of night he could walk outside his house and stare with great wonder at the marvellous moon. Always he had loved the moon even as a young boy. He would walk slowly about the yard toking gently on his joint. He often felt anxious out there in the dark a the dead of night and this was no different yet his fear was quelled by his old companion the moon. Mikey Joe had done his moonlight ritual for many years puffing as he sauntered aimlessly about the yard and down the path to the farm below. Sometimes he listened to music sometimes to the silence of the night. It was only on the clear nights of the palest purest moonlight he would dare to have his little dalliance with his lunar lover, for the nights that were dark cloudy and black as nothing filled him with a terrible dread. Even on this night with the light beaming from the moon and the brightest stars he had flashes of dread which he soothed by looking at the moon and saying “It's alright now” or some other stoner’s mantra. That dread came to him most nights and tonight was no different he did as he always did and toked on his joint. “It's almost finished” he thought as he looked at glowing red dot that was very near his finger now.”Soon back inside to comfort and a nice round of toasted cheese sandwich.” He he began walking back up the path to the backyard and his house, stepping slowly and carefully as to not trip on the brambles and briers growing all over the ill kept path. He meandered across slowly and gently till he could see the yard light through the trees. He continued on and the light became bigger and bigger until he was almost blinded by it. He froze dead it was surely not his yard light it was far to strong he became rigid with fear. He racked his brain frantically to figure out what he was seeing but after a few seconds the fear truly had him he didn’t care the fear had him. He turned on his heel and ran down the deep dark path straight into blackness. He ran until he heard or thought he hear something up ahead. “ A figure? A man?” he wasn’t sure what he saw but something moved past him up that dark path. He stopped in his tracks panting, hes wild eyes darting everywhere. Forward to the blackness of the path back to the growing light towards his yard. “Get to my house and the phone” he thought in a second of clarity. He ran back at full sprint towards the every growing light. But after no more than 5 steps he tripped on a bramble and fell head first into a bush. He looked up from the bush scraping his head on thorns as he did so. He saw the black figure still away down the path and then suddenly blackness. He awoke to a dim light flickering above his head. He arose to find himself in a small empty room with a candle hang on the wall. There was no door but an open entrance led to a narrow cramped passage. The walls of the passage and and room where made of a red soft substance not unlike play-dough he observed. When he pulled at it seemed to stretch for a moment then go back to its original shape. After a minute of exploring his new environment he was struck with by his new dreadful predicament. Questions raced around his head a thousand a once going 90 miles an hour. He had no idea how to begin to understand what was going on and he felt overwhelmed and fell to his knees and began sobbing pitifully. “I’m some kind of prisoner or I’ve lost my mind or worse” he whispered as he sobbed. He felt a hand on his shoulder he stopped crying. He was dead still. He knew he had to turn around to face what was touching him but he couldn’t bring himself to. “Are you sick?” asked the voice of the man that put his hand on his shoulder.” You seem very weak and you are crying out in pain are you OK?” He knew now he must look, he must turn and see he captor. He turned to the left side slowly to see the mans had on his shoulder, but it was red! He turned in horror to see his captor and there he was an ordinary looking man dressed in a white robe but with bright red skin! This was too much for him and he fainted on the floor in a heap. After some time he awoke again, his eyes staring directly at the cavernous red ceiling above he was lying flat red table which was oddly soft and comforting. He felt it move slowly as if it were breathing or pulsating. He jumped to his feet and looked about the huge cavernous room. The ceiling was visible only barley in the dim light that radiated from the floor. The walls or entrance couldn’t be seen as it disappeared into the eternal blackness encircling him. A figure came from out of the darkness slowly walking towards him, it seemed to him to be quite far away. He noticed he wasn’t gripped with fear this time but with a dopey fascination with the figure. As it approached it seem to change shape and suddenly grow taller and longer until before him again was the red man he had seen before. But this time he was different, he wore a old style suit and spectacles. “How are you feeling now?” he asked “ You were quite distressed. I had to give you some medication to calm you. I hope it makes you feel better.” Mikey Joe nodded in answer. The red man smiled. “ You will have many questions, and I have many answers to give now that you are more calm and sociable” “Are you gonna kill me? Or do crazy experiments on me?” blurted Mikey Joe, his body was calm but inside there was still a little fear, despite his dopey drowse state. “No, No of course not I am not cruel I’m here to help you and your planet its so primitive even the forms you take are so unusual.... But we can solve all that, teach you to do great things navigate the stars as we have. Here let take this it will relive the drowsiness.” From nowhere as far as Mikey could tell a cup appeared in the red man hand and he reached out and gave it to Mikey. “Yes, drink deeply yours is most interesting species bipedal, hi level intellect and highly adept at communicating but so developmental lacking... why? Much lower intellect lifeforms have achieved higher levels of civilization in this.....” as he talked Mikey drank and became more alert and fearful his situation seemed hopeless he needed a way out of this nightmare. “Ah more alert I see, but anxious too perhaps one of your own medical treatments might help” a syringe appeared in his hand. It was full of a clear liquid he moved closer to Mikey Joe gentle grabbed his arm and smiled. “Is this it” Though Mikey “I am I really going to let this red bastard kill me and eat me or something, no I have to make a move!” Mikey punched him hard in the face he dropped the syringe. ‘Why?’ he groaned “ I bring you only love” Mikey hit him again and again crying manically as he did so. The man made no attempt to defend himself or fight back. Mikey's hands where covered in blood, tears were rolling from his eyes he went to dry the tears from his eyes but a drop of the blood landed in his mouth. The taste was pure pleasure to Mikey he had tasted nothing like it it was the most savoury sweet orgasmic taste he ever had. A madness took him he began to lick his hands clean his tongue orgasm-ed with each lick. When his hands were clean he looked down at the body his eyes ravenous with hunger for that taste. He picked up one red and began to chew on the fingers. “No stop I bring you love, I am your friend” the red man said feebly. Mikey took both hands and strangled him till he stopped his polite protests. After eating half of the red mans hand Mikey remembered his situation and the danger. H e got up and ran into the darkness but it only stretched on and on with no end so he ran back to the man near the table searched him for a key or remote, but nothing. “How will I get out of here, what kind of monster have I become I’ve killed and eaten this poor man” he cried aloud in a desperate howl. Then the craving came over him maybe if I eat more ill feel better” He thought “he's not human, It was him or me! I had to do it!” He grabbed the other hand and pulled at the index finger when suddenly a large wall and monitor came darting out of the blackness. It was beeping and whirring flashing in with and black the deepest black he had ever seen then suddenly there was enormous roar and then blackness. Mikey Joe, woke up strapped to a bed unable to move any part of his body he head fixed at white ceiling and a fluorescent light. “Mikey” a voice asked through a speaker” are you able to answer our questions?” “ What happened?” Mikey eyes watered at the memory he was so sad and ashamed, to his horror hes tongue watered as well. “ I ate him” he sobbed “ I ate him” The doctor behind the screen wrote his diagnosis and handed it to the team of men in suits. “From what I can observe from here that's my conclusion gentleman” he said in thick Austrian accent. “ What do you mean, in plain English bud?” asked one man in the far corner of the room with hes eyes squinting at the paper that was passed to to him. “Vell..... the patient is completely insane” “Well I could have told you that and I’m no doctor” laughed the man “ saying he ate one of those aliens I’ve never heard of something so ridiculous” It had been week since the ship had crashed into the desert in Wyoming and special agent Jack Turg was heading the background investigation. It was a sensational case the U.S. Government had of course found alien tech and parts of spaceships before but never a maned vessel with such a large living crew! Jack remembered when he first saw the remains it was the size of a stadium and inside the investigation team had found 50 live “alien creatures” he had seen the classified videos they were strange stupid horrible things no limbs or features just black and grey blobs pulsating formlessly. “How in the hell could that freak even consider eating one of those disgusting things” he though “They are repulsive!” He decided his team would have to get a firsthand look at these things to decide next course of action. It made really no logical sense why would you eat something you're terrified of? The next morning Jack was briefing his C.O. in his progress so far. At the end of the report he paused. “Was there anything else Jack?” he C.O. probed “Well sir it's just... we ... my team and I...” “Come on Jack speak your mind!” “We like to get a look at the live specimens to help make sense of the actions of the detainee” The C.O. exhaled loud and slow”Quite frankly you and everyone in anyway involved with this whole operation would. But that's impossible it's not even being handled by this agency.You should count yourself privileged to know what you know.” click\* the call ended. But Jack a veteran agent 20 years with the agency never question orders, who turned a blind eye to the darker side of the C.I.A.