DANIELLE’S ENERGY PODS

The night the enormous boom came, all the children at the playground scattered homeward. No one lingered. Everyone got up and left‌. Their moms ‌waited at the entrances to greet them. They got there before the rain intensified from a drizzle to a monsoon-like deluge of volume and duration. 

The air raid horn blew, and they headed to the basement shelters. A genuine threat materialized. The drills they practiced at school weren’t in vain. Fancy that! Even while sheltering underground, the sounds of explosions reassured the townspeople that they were safe. 

Before they retaliated, they thought only their European allies were attacking. They only considered the attack's timing. Yet, they overlooked that detail.

Of course, the aliens planned it that way. They intended to deceive humans, masking their return after a millennia-long absence and resource exploitation. The aliens concealed their resurgence after a prolonged absence and planetary plunder. With their ships assembled, the alien leader declared their intention: energy theft, not human engagement. They only interacted with humans who obstructed them. 

The aliens agreed and climbed inside their pods, which were supposed to take over basements in various homes across the USA and the globe. Their reason for seeking energy on Earth: what was it? Their Earth energy plan: what motivated it? Now? No other universal source existed for them, did it? 

Danielle caught herself thinking out loud. Her comic book was taking shape. The simultaneous development of the cover and plot hampered her creativity. The simultaneous demands of the cover art and the plot were a creative bottleneck, leaving her struggling to generate new ideas. Her cramped hand blurred the words before her eyes. It housed a human and an alien, powering the entire house. Overwhelmed by the need for fresh air and a clean washroom, faintness overcame her. Acknowledged.

Danielle hurried into the bathroom, peed, and then sprinted from the washroom to the balcony, which was a non-smoking area. A smoked odour of burnt wood and ash hit her ‌nose; she wrinkled her nose with displeasure. She spun on her heel, smelling pine and damp earth filling her nostrils as she hurried away. She gathered her books and walked to her house, seven blocks from work. 

With everyone cared for and the children asleep, Danielle heard a sound like FM static from her ceiling. She tilted her head, trying to hear more; then, a gigantic antenna dropped, and she grabbed it, pulling with every ounce of her strength. As she strained to hear better by cocking her head, a huge antenna lowered, which she seized and yanked with every ounce of might. 

A small pod and an even smaller alien came crashing down and landed on her bed. 

“Who are you?” Danielle asked.

“I’m Wazy. You?” the alien creature said. 

“I’m Danielle,” she said with her arms folded. “What do you want with me, and why were you inside the ceiling tiles above my bedroom?” 

“I am here to gather energy. Would that be alright with you?” He looked at Danielle‌. 

“Of course. Where do you derive your energy? Through wind, water, sun, or electricity?” “Perhaps, you know?” Danielle looked at him, puzzled.

“I’ll take your help, but you must take mine, too. He told Danielle,

"I'm sure I can assist you."

“I am sure there isn’t, but let’s keep your presence. Why are you here, our little secret, shall we? Danielle said.

“You bet.” 

“We can explain the pod provides energy for the house. "You'll be in the basement," Danielle said. “All you have to do is show how the pod gives the house energy.”

“Understood.”

“Successful then. Tomorrow we can meet in the cul-de-sac. Okay?”

Danielle seemed pleased with herself. The alien did, too. He felt a strange physical sensation, a first-time experience, leaving him puzzled and unsure how to react. Danielle described the house's energy savings from pods before work/school the next morning. 

Their sudden appearance—how did that happen?” one kid said.

“Yeah. Why do they give us energy and expect nothing in return?” Another one asked.

“I’ll ask. They didn't include me in discussions about reciprocity. I’ll be listening ‌tonight. Maybe you two could ask your questions then.” Danielle smiled at them and then looked at her watch. “It’s time to go, folks. "Shall we go?"

Everyone made a mad dash for the door and the bus stop. Within two minutes, the house went from noisy and alive to silent and dead. Then, aliens appeared. 

Humans are a vital source of alien juice for their pods. Energy-hungry aliens singled out alien populations across the universe. Danielle alone knew a bigger secret the aliens missed. That secret supported the weight of countless worlds. Danielle got home first.

She let out an enormous sigh—she was tired. Her alien sat on the countertop with its legs crossed across from her. 

“As you wish. Its voice a low hum vibrating in the air, the alien confessed, "But I must tell you, this state is unsettling."  

The presentation is about to begin. I don’t want to talk about that stuff anymore, okay? Danielle smiled. "Let's get ready for your presentation."

“Okay. Your help is unnecessary. I got this. Thanks,” the alien said. 

They observed the crowd collected in the cul-de-sac. Danielle's flat announcement of the arriving hors d'oeuvres pointed to the empty spaces at the table. With a skip of joy, she prepared the drinks, the merry clinking of glasses enhancing the festive spirit. Bring your seat and beverages to enrich the soda, bringing a touch of melancholy to your tone as you reminisce. 

Everyone took their seats, and Danielle introduced the alien. The sight of the alien mesmerized everyone. The pod captivated them. It accommodated a human and an alien and supplied power to the intact house. Speculation arose concerning superpowers linked to homes featuring multiple pods. 

The demand for extraterrestrial beings and their spacecraft will be in high demand. They stood in line to sign up for one. The alien smiled with delight. The house lit up like a Christmas tree, and everything ran. They made a radio call to another location, resulting in everyone's departure. 

They gave neighbourhood presentations and placed additional pods in basements. Danielle's housemates asked the important questions. People overlooked the initial chaos on her first day. That’s when the aliens became less friendly and more like dictators or masters. 

Danielle saw what the alien in her house was after, but she also watched to ensure that none of them went near the basement or the pod. The pod chased the kids around the house, and the alien led them through the house “to safety,” which ‌led them ‌into the pod. The pod door closed, sealing the two kids inside. 

Danielle should have gone in. The relentless beeping showed depleted power.

Danielle spent hours looking for the children. She didn’t find them in their regular hiding places; she knew the alien had taken them. She marched down to the basement. 

She demanded the immediate return of her children. 

“I will not; I got those kids fair and square,” it said.

“Step closer to the tiny alien,” Danielle said as she threatened the alien. "Give them back this instant, or I'll kick you and your pod out the door now." 

 “Fine. The alien said, "Spoilsport, have it your way." 

The pod opened to reveal the children drained of their fluids, leaving them helpless. She grabbed the kids up and felt a massive pain in her jaw. She thought the alien was attacking her. She threw the dried-out kids up the stairs into the kitchen. 

She looked again; the alien launched. He was done with Danielle and the house. 

“Hey, wait, fix the kids first,” Danielle screamed.

From inside the pod, a wicked smile on its face greeted me. He had enough fuel to escape the atmosphere and onto Meltzar 6. Maybe they were friendlier there and didn’t care as much about their offspring. 

Danielle heard the beeping again. The ache in her job intensified as the white light faded. She was moving, but her eyes were so heavy that she couldn’t open them. Shoot, she wanted to tell that tiny alien her secret. She desired to witness its expression when she...

Danielle woke up to a new day.

The doctor came in and said, "Good morning, sleepyhead! The surgery went well. We fixed your leaky valve, so you should feel rested now, and have more energy" the doctor assured her. "How does that sound?"

“Gee, Doc! ‌It’s hard to believe.”