Evaporation

Entry:February 11th for The Writer's Cramp
Prompt: You send your spouse to the store for some milk, but he/she never returns. What happened?





         I had just put the baby down for a nap and was going to try to do some laundry before she woke up. So I asked Mike, that's my husband, to run down to the market to get some more milk. Simple task, right? I threw my keys his direction and waved him off as I went to the basement.

         A half hour passed, no Mike. Then one hour passed, and still no Mike. So I called his cell phone and it went straight to voice mail. How hard is it to get milk and come home? After another hour passed, I really began to freak out. I began calling all of Mike's buddies, in the hopes that he dropped by to say hello. Nothing. Finally, dinnertime came and went and I really began to worry. So, I borrowed my neighbor's car and drove down to the corner market, baby in tow.

         As soon as we approached the red light near Hydro and Bonding I realized something was wrong. The corner had an eerie silence and no one was around. Friday night and not a single car was in sight, that was definitely odd. I parked near the hair salon and walked up the west side of the street towards Oxy's Market. Again the odd sensation passed over me as I noticed the distinct lack of anyone else around. If I didn't know better I would think everything was closed for the night.

         Two steps into the store and all my suspicions were confirmed; everything was on and yet not a soul was around. I stopped walking and called out into the abyss. Nothing. I was aware that something was wrong, but I still didn't have the foggiest idea what, so I slowly began winding my way toward the back of the store. 

         Just as I turned to face the dairy aisle, I saw it. Or should I say them? Two of the ugliest tendrils I have ever seen, and I've seen every Sci-Fi movie ever produced. Those throbbing green appendages were curled around what appeared to be a teenage boy, and as they pulsed he seemed to shrink. After what seemed like ten minutes, but was probably closer to one, it turned to look right at me.

         In that flash of time I saw that it had more tendrils and they were racing my way. I turned to run, but I barely made it into the frozen food aisle when a second set of tendrils raced toward me from the other direction. I tried to jump over the vine-like stumps, but to no avail. As the thing began it's constriction around my torso, I finally pieced together what the creatures wanted. Water. When they finished, they tossed all of us into a pile to take home as souvenirs for their kids.

         Now Mike, the baby, and I are spending the rest of eternity as shriveled up old dolls in the slimy clutches of gelatinous mutants. Apparently aliens send their spouses to the store as well. Aaaarrrrggghhh!

Word Count - 507 words