Shh!

We’ve been friends for a long time. A very long time. Ever since Billy Blockhead tried to initiate me on the first day of freshman year in high school. Remember? You beat him up—him and the other three boys that were with him. I can guarantee that was something they’ll never forget. I heard Billy still has nightmares about that day.

But I’m not here to recall things that happened decades ago. My point is: we’ve known each other so long that we can tell when something’s bothering the other. We can sense it when the other person is hiding something. I know you can sense it in me right now. And you’re right—as you often are. I’ve been hiding it since a few months ago, when my family took that European vacation.

What I’m about to tell you stays between us. The only reason I’m telling you is that—well, unbeknownst to you—you were involved. You are to never repeat this to anyone. I mean it. Don’t tell a soul. Don’t even whisper it in prayer to whatever god you believe in. This is top secret. If I even think you’ve told someone, our friendship is over—and what you did to Billy will look like a hug and a pat on the back compared to what I’ll do to you. Do you understand? Tell. No. One.

Two weeks touring Europe was wonderful. But in this world, all good things must come to an end. No vacation lasts forever. Mr. McNiel came highly recommended as a pilot. When I heard that you were his co-pilot, it was a done deal.

The sunset that night was the most beautiful I’ve ever seen. Even my five-year-old daughter, Nola, couldn’t stop talking about it. She fell asleep going on and on about how pretty the sky was. I know it affected her dreams. I took several pictures—of course you know I love taking pictures of the sky. I’ve been doing it since grade school. Nolan, her twin brother, couldn’t stop talking about the medieval castles we saw. I’m so grateful they never knew what happened. I now have a whole new appreciation for the phrase “sleeping like babies.” They slept the entire way—from London to Chicago, on a six-passenger private jet. Ronnie, who’s thirteen, remembers everything. And he knows how important it is to keep his mouth shut.

You were the last one on the plane. The kids were asleep when you came in, so you didn’t really get a chance to meet them until it was all over. When the plane took off, you were focused on the route—not the beauty of the sky. I thought the full moon was just as stunning as the sunset. And the eclipse? It made everything even more surreal. Even when we stopped at Lajes Field on the Azores Islands to refuel, I was mesmerized. I don’t know if you heard the attendant say how much more beautiful it would’ve been in daylight. The kids slept through that too.

It was after we left the fuel station that everything went wrong.

Halfway through our ascent, three glowing balls of light appeared on the horizon. The pilot ignored them at first, thinking they were just lights from a cruise ship or something. But they seemed to be scanning the sky. When a beam of light hit the plane, the lights began to rise, slowly following us. I was amazed that you didn’t even seem to notice.

The pilot changed course and picked up speed—multiple times. But no matter what he did, they stayed behind us. Just when we thought we’d shaken them and resumed course to Chicago… there they were. In front of us.

The two side lights veered off, one left, one right—leaving only the center one. It began to grow, revealing a structure. A silver sphere with a flat ring around it. Something opened, and everything went black.

I woke up strapped to a table in an all-white room. Even the floor and ceiling were white—not your ordinary white, but a kind so bright and clean that you couldn’t see where the walls met. It looked like an infinite open space.

Stop laughing. I’m not joking. Remember—you cannot tell this to anyone. Our lives are in danger if this gets out. I’m telling you because you’re my friend. And I believe I can trust you.

I can trust you, right?

Anyway, I lifted my head and saw Molly on a table next to me. Ronnie was beside her, and Mr. McNiel beside him. The creature standing over Molly was only about four feet tall, standing on a stool. His skin was dark gray, and his eyes were huge—almost like that fish-looking dude from that sci-fi movie. He was sticking some kind of probe in her—

What? What’s with that look? You think I’m making this up, don’t you? Forget it. I’m not telling you anymore.

No! It wasn’t an anal probe. They stuck it up her nose. Why does your mind always go there?

Now, can I continue?

He was sticking the probe up her nose. I tried to scream to wake her up, but I couldn’t. My throat was sore and hurting. I couldn’t make a sound. Whatever was going on, I can only assume they’d already probed me. The creature went on to probe all of us, then left the room.

After what felt like an hour or two, a door opened near me. Another alien came out—different from the first. I believe this one was female. She spoke. I could not understand her. It took a moment, but eventually she switched to English. I think she was speaking German at first.

She wanted to help us escape.

If we didn’t, we’d spend the rest of our lives in an alien zoo. Mr. McNiel would’ve been dissected in some alien college science lab.

She released us and removed the probes from our noses. It was more painful than I could’ve ever imagined. Not that I’d ever imagined what removing a nasal alien probe would feel like. She said she couldn’t safely remove the other probes—any attempt could kill us. I decided not to ask questions. Some things are better left unknown.

Her escape instructions were… complicated. Like navigating a maze.

Head out the door and make a left.

Pass the first two corridors, then take a right at the third.

Once through, take an immediate right. Do not keep straight. Not even a little.

Or… did she say left?

By the time she reached the fifth step, I’d already forgotten the first four. And everyone was counting on me—especially my son. He now had an alien female looking at him like he was a potential mate. She tried to put one of her tentacles on him, but I slapped it.

Go ahead. Laugh. I know you want to. Just remember—you can never repeat this. That was the one instruction I do remember.

The female alien opened the door, and the other three humans followed me through. Why I was leading, I’ll never know.

It didn’t take long before we set off every alarm on the ship. Thousands of little gray fish-men came out of nowhere. We ran—like rats in a maze. No, like humans in a maze. No matter how far or fast we ran, they were always just behind us.

Eventually, they had us cornered. Surrounded.

But then, a trap door opened beneath our feet. We fell, all of us screaming.

At first, we thought this was their way of imprisoning us. But we found ourselves in a small room. No doors. No windows. Dim light. Enough to see each other. Then the female alien reappeared. She touched the wall, opening a portal. She said that it would take us to the teleportation room. She’d be waiting there, ready to return us to our plane.

I tried to shake her hand. But it was just a hologram. She was not really there.

I was hesitant, but anything was better than staying. I stepped through. It felt like I was being yanked by an invisible force—and it hurt. A lot. I pretended I was fine. When the rest came through, they looked at me like I was nuts. Molly asked if I felt what they felt. I tried to lie. But she’s a human lie detector. She knew before I opened my mouth that I was lying.

The alien—her name was Pninathakosmus—told us to step on a pad. She warned us again: Never tell anyone. If we did, it could spell doom for us—and for the person we told.

We promised to keep it within our group.

In the blink of an eye, we were back on the plane. Not just back—but back in time—to the exact moment we first saw the lights. If you recall, Mr. McNiel briefly lost control of the plane. And you said you thought you saw something. What was it? Three lights.

We landed in Chicago shortly before sunrise. The two little kids—and you—had no idea anything had happened. They woke up still talking about medieval castles and beautiful skies. This time, it was a sunrise.

I know you don’t believe me.

That’s the only reason I told you—because I knew you wouldn’t believe me.

But when they come for you… don’t say I didn’t warn you.

P.S. In the end, Ronnie had a new 4-foot girlfriend.