John felt like a long drive would help to clear his head. He had a particularly stressful week and now found himself alone for the first time in many years. His family had decided to take an extended weekend trip to visit the in-laws. He stayed behind to work.
"Work" he thought, "it was always his work that ruled his life and kept him from having fun". He tried to relax as he drove into the mountains hopeful the beautiful scenery would help boost his spirits. He knew this train of thought was heading towards a big bout of self-pity and he really did not need that. Instead, he just wanted to relax and enjoy his time by himself.
Soon he found himself thinking less and less about work while concentrating on his driving. The winding and empty roads allowed him to really push his driving ability.
Each turn was close to the edge of his car's and his abilities. He was grinning ear to ear as he pushed the accelerator through the turns. The setting sun made his drive all the more challenging as shadows filled the road. As darkness fell he found that he had to back off of the speed.
Looking around he realized he did not really have a good idea of where he was. He knew in general, of course, but he did not recognize the road. He had been so intent on racing up one mountain pass and down the next he was unsure where to go now. He eased his car into the next pull off and turned on the GPS. Soon he had mapped out a quick route to the interstate and back to his home. He would be there in about two hours, tired but content.
Pulling back onto the road he drove to the turn indicated by the GPS and took the shortcut to the interstate. While the road was solid it was obviously net used often. There were no cars and no houses. Clearly he was in the middle of nowhere now.
Up ahead in the distance he saw flashing lights. It looked like an 18-wheeler stopped in the middle of the road. As he got closer and tried to figure out how to get around it he saw the lights in the rear view approaching. He stopped the car and watched the lights barreling down on him, hoping it will stop in time. He watched it slow and fill his car with its headlights temporarily blinding him. As he looked to the side trying to clear his eyes, a person in what appeared to be a hazardous materials suit was at his window. The person motioned for him to roll down his window and without thinking he complied.
He saw a fine mist coming through his window as he lost consciousness.
John woke up very confused. The air had an antiseptic smell to it. He could hear strange noises like a hundred whispers in an amphitheater. He was laying on something so soft he could not feel it. He tried to move but his arms and legs would not respond.
As he opened his eyes and saw that he was four or five feet off of the ground he began to panic. He could not move his arms, legs or head. He could feel everything but he could not move. Then he realized he was naked and suspended in the air somehow, unable to move. Worst of all a person, or thing, was approaching him.
"Try to remain calm," he heard it say; "We will not hurt you. We only want to learn more." The voice was enough to make panic inevitable. It seemed that each syllable was a different accent. One syllable was Eastern US, the next Chinese, the next from India. All of which made him scream. He felt the warmth flow in his veins and knew he was being drugged as soon as the feeling hit. In spite of himself he relaxed. He thought it felt like Valium he had had pre-surgery and the good feeling made him smile in spite of the fear he felt.
Soon he was calmly studying the creature. It was gray and roughly human sized but did not seem to have legs. Instead it rested on a single mound. It seemed to glide when it moved. Its head was more of a raised lump. It had two large black eyes and a mouth. Instead of arms it seemed to have tentacles that it could use for gestures and to manipulate objects.