“What’s that?” Carlene whispered.

She grabbed Trent’s arm, and stood shivering beside him. Trees swayed in the wind, and the tall grass rippled before them. The faint smell of carrots ebbed and flowed with the breeze.

“What? There’s nothing here. Not even bugs as far as I can tell.” Trent pried her fingers from his arm and stared around him, daring any creatures to show themselves to this earth man and, his, woman. Puh. His woman indeed.

Why is it that a few drinks and a morning after suddenly made two people a couple? Ridiculous really. It certainly hadn’t meant anything to him, and how was he to know that she was the clingy type? He shook off another of Carlene’s attempts to grasp him.

“I’m going over there. Maybe I can find something to fix this hunk of junk.” Trent gave the small ship a swift kick and set off grumbling towards the hill.

“No! Wait! I’m going with you. There is no-way-in-heck-that-you’re-leaving-me-here-alone.” When he shrugged, she pulled her already tight sweater even tighter around herself, and step jogged to catch up to him.

The night was cold and windy, and yet there didn’t seem to be any sound except the rustle of the branches and grass. Eerie. As though they were the only living beings on this planet.

Carlene shivered again just thinking about it.

“Wait, Trent, you’re going to fast.”

“Heh. If only you’d said that yesterday.”

“I’m not the one who kept ordering shots all night.”

“I wasn’t the one drinking them either.” Trent pushed a branch out of his way and let it swing back, hitting Carlene square in the mouth.

“Well at least I… What was that?”

“What was what?” Trent didn’t stop moving.

“That noise. Like, like a chittering. And the grass sounds different.”

“The grass sounds different?” Trent scoffed, but paused to look around anyway.

“There, I heard it again. Look!”

Carlene’s trembling finger was pointing straight at a white spot in the distance. As they stood, trying to see what it was, the spot began to move closer. Soon, several more white spots joined the first, and they all began creeping towards the couple.

“What is it?” Carlene was holding Trent’s arm again, but this time he didn’t push her off.

“I have no idea.” Trent began to move forward again as well. “It’s obviously alive, whatever it is. The question is whether we should run, or try to meet it.”

“I vote for run.”

“Then I say forward.” Trent began to climb the hill. The white spots were nearly on them now, but still impossible to make out. Either the creatures were very small, or they were hunched over too far to be easily seen in the tall grass.