I got a random prompt the other day that gave to two ideas on how to write the story. This is the SciFi version of the story. I’m also writing a Halloween themed version which I may just put out in a Holloween themed anthology. Enjoy.

Call Back Number

Bectie’s phone buzzed. She pulled it from her tote bag and looked at the screen. She stared at the phone. The call back number was her own phone number. She put her number in the contact list. It saved her several times when the phone was new and the number unfamiliar. If my phone sends me my own number, should I call it? A chill ran down her back.

What would a SciFi hero do, she wondered. She read Science Fiction daily and lost herself in the adventures on other worlds she enjoyed. Don’t be silly Bectie, all you’ll get is a busy signal because the phone is in use. She smiled to herself and dialed the number with a delicious chill of anticipation. She heard the sound of atmospheric static, then…

She found herself standing on a platform in an atrium, phone still held to her ear. Her hand sank to her side. She’d never seen anything like it. Potted plants in sizes and colors and shapes she’d never seen, sat in front of clear glass walls. A handful of, she could only think of them as beings, stood at the foot of a short stair leading from the platform to the floor. One stepped toward the platform.

“Welcome, to Icaro. I’m Wiluna.”

It held out its bluish tinted hand and motioned Bectie to come off of the platform.

This can’t be real, she thought as she stared at the bald, big eyed creature. It occurred to her that it spoke English. “You speak my language,” she said.

“We can,” Wiluna said. “Come, we’ll explain everything.”

Bectie turned off her phone and dropped it in her pocket. Her heart was beating so hard she could feel the blood pulsing in her neck. The creature seemed earnest enough, so she edged down the three steps to the waiting group. They bowed. At a loss, she returned the bow. The group to smile so she realized she’d done the right thing.

Wiluna motioned her to proceed and fell in beside her as they left the Atrium. Bectie tried to look at everything they passed. The hallway they entered was spotlessly clean and passing creatures nodded to her. She nodded back. Multicolored art covered the walls. Several of the pieces looked like mosaics. The air smelled of a scent reminding her of jasmine. They left the building and crossed a park-like space. She saw more flowers and bushes and trees that were so exotic as to take her breath away. They entered a neighboring building and in a few moments, a room.

The soft white walls seemed to be the source of the room’s illumination. They showed her to a table, and colorful, soft chairs surrounded it.

“We thought light refreshment would be suitable,” Wiluna told her. A tray with glasses of a clear liquid and a bowl of small fruits were in the center of the table.

Bectie sat down and the others sat in the remaining chairs.

Wiluna passed Bectie a glass and a few small pieces of fruit in a cloth.

“Thank you.” Bectie touched the fruit. It was cool and the skin smooth and red and just the right size to pop in her mouth. She watched Wiluna eat one so Bectie tried one. It popped as she bit into it and a sweet flavor filled her mouth. “It’s good.”

The aliens all smiled and nodded.

“Why am I here?” Bectie asked. “And how did I get here?”

Wiluna tucked her hands into the large sleeves of her shimmery light blue robe. “We used to come to your planet,” the creature began. “We invited many of your kind to travel with us over the centuries.”

Bectie swallowed. Alien encounters? The stories are true? “Why would you do that?”

Many of your people are advanced enough in mind and spirit to understand and learn from us. We invite many species to visit us.

“I wasn’t invited, I was kidnapped,” Bectie snapped at them. “Taken right off the street.”

Even though it was alien, Bectie saw remorse visible on Wiluna’s face.

“We improved our technology. We can now teleport those we invite to visit.”

“And can you teleport me back? I had a life there. People I love.” Her anger at the aliens grew. She had a presentation that afternoon. People would wonder where she was.

“Why do you want to go back,” Wiluna asked. “It is peaceful and beautiful here. There is much to learn from us. And us from you. Your life there was uninspired, loneliness a constant companion.”

Her anger flared and she leapt out of the chair. It scraped along the floor with a screech. “You spied on me?”

The creatures around the table cringed back.

Bectie realized they were afraid. She glared at Wiluna.

“Please,” the alien said, hands gesturing Bectie to sit. “We can see through the books you read and the entertainments you watch.”

She sank back in the chair. How do they do that? She wondered. They tap the books and movies and television?

“We look for people like you. People who wonder about the universe. People who long for a better world.”

Bectie knew that she did wonder about those things. “That doesn’t give you the right to snatch people off of their own planet without permission.”

Wiluna bowed its head. “We do send people back, Bectie, who refuse to stay. But consider our invitation.”

Anger aside, Bectie’s curiosity was piqued. She never liked her job anyway, she only did it for the money and the retirement package. “I’ll stay for a little while. But really, you need a human on the welcoming committee. Someone who understands what they’re going through.”

The End

950 Words

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