Encounter

It was a warm summer evening and James and Milly were sat in their back garden. James was flicking slowly through his magazine whilst Milly was carefully weeding her vegetable patch that her mum had let her look after. Suddenly, a glowing blue orb appeared above their heads. It spun slowly on the spot for a few seconds before gently moving away towards the forest at the end of their garden.

“What was that?” James gasped nervously.

“I don’t know but let’s find out,” Milly replied excitedly.

Milly led her brother to the bottom of the garden and climbed over the fence into the forest behind their house. James followed Milly cautiously. As they walked through the forest, their feet rustled noisily in the lush summer undergrowth and their shoulders brushed low hanging branches filled with ripe summer fruit. Ahead of them, the glowing blue orb bobbed calmly through the long shadows of the trees cast by the setting sun. Suddenly, the orb stopped.

Milly turned eagerly to look at James but his face had turned white with fear. She firmly gripped his hand and dragged him towards the clearing where the orb had stopped. As they watched, the blue orb gently descended to the forest floor. The orb finally landed in the clearing next to a large fallen tree. The children stared at the metallic silver orb. The blue lights flickered off and a small hatch slowly lowered to the ground. A small, shadowy grey figure appeared in the doorway. Its large black oval eyes scanned the forest floor. Milly stood up despite James trying to hold her back. The alien turned its head towards her. Its black eyes fixed on her and Milly felt her blood run cold.