The Landing

Andy hears a strange hum. He walks up the hill. At the bottom he sees a flying saucer spinning.

The saucer shows signs of corrosion, dents and dings dot the worn skin. Dirt and grime blemish its surface.

Andy thinks the damaged craft is landing. Too his surprise the vehicle starts spinning faster and gains altitude. In seconds the ship is above him, then gone.

Andy didn’t know they landed three years ago. Moments before Andy arrives the saucer had emerged from the ground. After spending all that time under the earths’ crust exploring and meeting the inhabitants they leave.

From Guest Contributor Denny E. Marshall

Corn

Toxic chemicals from a nearby factory contaminated Mr. Williams farm. Every year sixty-foot tall corn would grow. The farmhouse and barn are not affected and deemed safe.

A cornstalk opens sideways and reveals a mouth and eyes. Its husk legs can move up and down quickly but have a hard time moving forward. It extends its husk to reach for a wagon, but spots a unicycle and grabs that. The giant cornstalk rides towards the house.

Mr. Williams’s wife Ruth hears something and looks out the window, then screams.

“What is it?” her husband asks.

“It’s a unicorn,” says Ruth.

From Guest Contributor Denny E. Marshall

Venus Valve

Mars and beyond seem to be the focus of unmanned space exploration. Venus on the other hand has been largely ignored. Of course the conditions on Venus are much different. The surface pressure's an effective deterrent to probe the orb.

Prior unmanned vehicles that have landed on Venus: all crushed by the pressure.

As far as the aliens are concerned, this is a positive. The cold-blooded creatures did not want earthlings around and made prior adjustments.

Another alien spaceship treks the familiar voyage to Venus. Once near the surface they release the pressure valve, then go skiing on Maxwell Montes.

From Guest Contributor Denny E. Marshall

Old Criminal History

The site of the homicide is vicious and bloody. No evidence is found except fingerprints left on the victim.

Later Detective Lance Jones tells his partner Carl that AFIS found a match to the bloody fingerprints left at the crime scene. The homicide is so violently over the top that Carl is sure the perpetrator has to be a young healthy muscular male.

Carl is surprised when Lance tells him the suspect is an older male.

“Did you say the suspect is sixty-four years old?” asks Carl.

“Well, he was in 1942 the last time he was arrested,” Lance replies.

From Guest Contributor Denny E. Marshall

Gift

Matthew has a friend who works at NASA. His friend Kent is on the team that is launching a manned mission to Mars next week.

On the day of the launch with the help of Kent he is able to sneak his girlfriend Kim aboard the ship.

A few hours after the launch, Kim wakes up. She is wearing a spacesuit with a note posted on her chest.

She reads the note. "I know you really want to go to Mars. Love, Matthew."

Kim screams, “You idiot, I said I want to go to the bars, get your hearing checked!”

From Guest Contributor Denny E. Marshall

Rex

Marvin is out cold after his drink is spiked.

He wakes up to a group of men around him laughing. The men hate shapeshifters. Each of Marvin’s limbs is tied with rope, the ropes attached to bulldozers.

The signal is given and the bulldozers pull away at the same time.

Marvin is stretched to eight meters, then twenty. At forty meters Marvin snaps into pieces and dies.

Clark the shapeshifter gets there too late. Clark transforms into a T. Rex and says, “Hear you’re looking for me.”

Clark will avenge the death of his best friend, Marvin the Elastic Man.

From Guest Contributor Denny E. Marshall

Abort

Aliens set a stealth orbit around the planet. They plan to attack and destroy Earth.

First they orbit and scan all commutation signals. After doing this for four Earth days, they met to go over final plans. The meeting includes all officers. The meeting is short and all are in agreement. The minutes are read by a computer, “It is a unanimous decision the plan to destroy Earth will not go forward. The earthlings are doing a very good job on their own.”

The aliens depart. Their spacecraft speeds toward the next destination, the next planet with life to destroy.

From Guest Contributor Denny E. Marshall

Zip Bombs

Six nuclear bombs head for Russia. A short time later the world’s arsenal is launched. Life on the planet changed overnight.

Jon is hiding in a barn with other civilians. As soldiers break in Jon transforms into a pile of hay bales. Soldiers gather the civilians and escort them to camps. Julie, still in the barn, escapes detection because she‘s covered in hay bales. Jon saved her life. Jon changes back to human form.

Afterwards Jon and Julie become best friends. Months later, Jon tells her his secret. “Those six nuclear warheads, they weren’t bombs, that was me,” says Jon.

From Guest Contributor Denny E. Marshall

First Contact Downer

First contact occurred in the year twenty twenty-two.

The spaceship lands on a cold rainy day. December the seventh at eight fifteen in the evening.

Many high-ranking government officials from around the world are lined up by the tarmac waiting to greet the visitors.

Around the landing site crowds have gathered from all around the globe. Hoping to get a glimpse of aliens on this historic occasion.

A sliding hatch opens and a group of aliens depart the ship.

The two sides make small talk. There is great disappointment when earthlings learn the race of aliens is called Kill Humans.

From Guest Contributor Denny E. Marshall

Confession

Jimmy is nervous. His relationship with Susan has developed into something serious. Susan notices Jimmy is shaking.

“What the matter, Jimmy?” Susan asks. Jimmy knows he should tell her the truth sooner or later. It might as well be now. “There’s something about me you don’t know I have to tell you,” said Jimmy.

“What’s that?” Susan inquires.

“I’m a shapeshifter,” states Jimmy.

Susan, who’s in shock, asks Jimmy, “What do you really look like?” Jimmy changes into to his true form. Susan screams. After she calms down she ask him, “What are you awful creatures called?”

“Humans,” replies Jimmy.

From Guest Contributor Denny E. Marshall