[Vfw-times] Story: Critter man (1/?)

[Oren Otter]

Critter-Man
part one

	Professor Simon Gerfallen was never a truly ordinary fellow.  One look at
his appearance would tell you that.  He had the type of face which you just
couldn't place into any racial category, with bony cheeks, skin as dark as
unsweetened chocolate, and hair as straight as a beam of light.  His
clothes included an eastern style sports coat, a bolo tie, and a
Texas-style belt buckle.  It wasn't the sort of thing one normally wore
around Pennsylvania, and it seemed an even worse choice for slogging around
the farmland of  Lancaster county in search of a downed UFO.
	His Partner, Dr. Rennymede Townsend, was his polar opposite.  Although his
apparel was equally inappropriate for this late night hunt, it was the suit
of an east coast businessman, and when combined with the dour expression on
his face, left little doubt as to the reason he was here.  Renny wasn't a
saucer-chaser.  Whatever there was to be found, he was in it for personal
gain.
	Simon thought to himself as he trudged along that it would be much more
convenient if the UFO had landed closer to home.  "Of course it had to be
out here." he said aloud.  "These things never happen in downtown Pittsburgh."
	"Quiet, Gerfallen!" Renny chided.  "And hold the flashlight steady!"
	The night was full of shadows.  Something moved among them.  Moving with
lightning speed, Renny chased after it.  The thing dodged and wove, trying
to lose its pursuers among a number of large rocks.  The tactic proved
futile, however, as it soon found itself cornered.
	The creature was small indeed.  No larger than a human fist.  It was
covered in matted brown fur, and balanced on two curved, almost
tendril-like legs, clutching the rocks with two more.  The most notable
feature, however, were the eyes.  Dominating the entire body, two bulging
bloodshot eyes stared intensely at Townsend and Gerfallen as though they
could peer right through human flesh.
	Renny carefully took the jar which Simon handed him.  As if it understood
what was about to happen, the creatures enormous eyes went impossibly wider
a split second before it launched itself outward.  No doubt by pure luck,
Renny was just a split second faster than the alien and slammed the jar
down over the top of it.
	Simon's heart was racing as he looked at the alien in the jar.  "What do
you suppose this thing is?" he asked.
	The creature violently clawed at the glass with the three hardened tips of
each arm-tendril.  
	"Whatever it is," said Renny.  "It's a feisty little critter".
	From that moment on, Simon would call the little alien "Critter".  He
might not have had he known just what part this miniature monster was to
play in his future.


-Oren the Otter
8=-3
tlhaQ biQ Ha'DIbaH
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