A Crash Course in Cosmic Hitchhiking For the first time in recorded history, Earth hosted many stationary extraterrestrial spacecrafts dotting its landscapes. They had not been there very long. Known as the Octopauz (OC – TOW - PAWS), their name was derived from the very intelligent octopus. They appeared to be octopi that stood on two legs. They also had eight tentacles or arms. The extraterrestrials were six feet tall. Their tentacles waving in the wind made Humanity feel a bit uneasy. The Octopauz had no weapons, so we did not look over our backs every 30 seconds. Perhaps we should have... Now that their fleet of spacecraft made a pit stop on Earth, they approached Humanity very tactfully. They made Humanity feel comfortable, and we did the same for them. They exited all the spacecraft and were very peaceful, needing to refuel their spacecra ft, and they would be on their way. They never told us what the fuel was composed of, so maybe we could help them. Anyone who wanted a tour of Octopauz' spacecraft could see the incredible technologies that built such highly technological machines, including the spacecraft itself. Visitors on the numerous spacecraft marveled at the state - of - the - art engineering that wen t into building the 11111 spacecraft. It made our technologies look prehistoric in comparison. An example of advanced technology that the Octopauz utilized was its use of "Chemelioflage." It was a type of ultra - advanced camouflage where the spacecraft coul d be rendered completely invisible by mimicking the surrounding environment. This technology was not singular to concealing their spacecraft. It was even harder to believe that each Octopauz wore a skinsuit with their spacecraft's same Chemelioflage technology. It had to be stressed how excellent their Chemelioflage was at keeping them invisible. The Chemelioflage could not be seen from two feet away when activated. What no one cared to notice initially was that everyone who went aboard the spacecraft vanished. Humanity became suspicious and would not board the Octopauz spacecraft anymore. It was discovered that towns within a three - mile radius o f each of the 11111 ships were now ghost towns with no traces of foul play. These towns’ residents disappeared with no trace. Before we knew it, the Octopauz rendered themselves completely invisible. They had snatched Humans out of their beds at night, dragging them onto their ships never to be seen or heard from again. Estimates showed that worldwide, over 555,000 people had gon e missing without a trace. We knew that the Octopauz were the culprits, although it never made sense where all these people had disappeared . Humans’ potential disappearances' terrified Humanity and made every person think something to the effect of "Will I wake up tomorrow morning?" or "Will I ever wake up again?" The uneasiness was planet - wide and caused dangerous amounts of anxiety and countless panic attacks all across Humanity. Quite frankly, Humanity had never dealt with this before. The uneasiness never subsided, knowing that anybody could be ripped fr om their bed and taken aboard a spaceship never to return. One fellow Human, a 22 - year - old quantum physics student named Ebin Pal ā yan (meaning "Escape" in the ancient Sanskrit language), took it upon himself to see where the scores of Humans went, as he was obsessed with the extraterrestrials and had a huge fondness for the Octopauz. Being an American from St. Louis, where the large st of the Octopauz spacecraft landed, Ebin hatched a dangerous plan. He was fascinated by the technologies of the Octopauz. He wanted to see their homeworld and experience what it was l ike to be an extraterrestrial. As he approached the large spaceship, he could see a circular window in the front where the ship was piloted. The spacecraft must have been a football field in length and half as wide. A loud yellow color adorned the spacecraft and had depictions of war scenes and also adorned with ancient runes that were drawn upon the massive exterior of the ship. Ebin searched around the spacecraft and found a way aboard. He was now on the massive shi p and alone. After walking the ship's corridors, Ebin was shocked to see blood all over the floor in an area furthest back in the massive ship where a chute existed with many bloody saws and odd cutting devices near it. He didn't want to think about it, but that must have been blood from HIS fellow Humans who "took a trip through the spacecraft." He could only surmise that they kidnapped Humans and used them for fuel which would get them back to their homeworld. The chute down to the fuel tank was not very large, hence the bloody floor. Suddenly, the spacecraft started to shake. It was taking off! Ebin knew he was in for the ride of his life and braced himself for the journey ahead. He reminisced about positive things he did while on Earth to control his overwhelming fear because he feare d that he would never step foot on Earth ever again. Ebin ran and hid in a control room where he could hopefully go unseen. He had no idea where he was headed. He passed out for who knew how long and woke up sometime later. He didn't hear the engines roar anymore and noted that he must be at the destination, most likely on the Octopauz homeworld. Ebin built up confidence and opened the door to see where he was. As the door creaked open, he noted he was now alone on the spacecraft where he hoped not to be spotted. Ebin covertly exited the spaceship as he knew he had an adventure ahead of him. Ebin descended the ramp and walked out onto the Octopauz planet. Upon setting foot on the fertile soil, Ebin gathered his wits and moved ahead with his observations of this alien world. Even in his terrified state, Ebin noted that the Octopauz' homeworld was breathtaking. Lush red grass and orange ponds galore and the blight green sky were just some beautiful sights on this foreign planet. Luckily for Ebin, he was still able to breathe. Ebin had no idea what to do. It's not like he could pilot the spacecraft b ack to Mother Earth... it was probably out of fuel anyway, and he was unwilling to sacrifice himself to get back home. He noticed a large expanse where he could see large statues in the distance. They looked out over the deep purple ocean. Strange creatures were swimming in the ocean and were completely unexplained compared to what Ebin was used to seeing. While being lost in an alien world's scenery, Ebin continued into a wooded area where he noted the existence of hundreds of cages containing alien humanoid lifeforms clawing at their cages for hopeful release. As Ebin grappled with the reality that the Octopauz' were in f act far more dangerous than Ebin could ever have imagined. A group of Octopauz spotted Ebin. As soon as Ebin spotted them, he ran as fast as he possibly could. Naturally, the Octopauz' gave chase. Ebin gained a lot of distance between him and the menacing evil doers. His only recourse was to enter some sort of bui lding that looked like it was part of a college campus. Ebin busted through the door and immediately ran into some chamber where a glass tube lowered around him. The Octopauz' ran into the room and watched Ebin's every move. Ebin used one of the catchphrases he was known for and said, "I must have lost my mind!" As Ebin looked around, he noticed that this was in a teleportation apparatus that could hopefully send him back home to Earth. So, he tested things out. "Earth!" he sh outed just to see what would happen. "Destination Earth," said the machine as Ebin disappeared, thwarting his would - be captors. Before he knew it, Ebin appeared somewhere in a picturesque meadow in the countryside near Sussex, England. It's a pity he did not know his surroundings, not because he had not been there before but because his mind was removed when the teleportation machi ne took it upon itself to simply follow orders and erase his mind. Ebin cried, knowing that the Octopauz had, in fact, defeated him by stripping hi m of his mind. He instinctively knew to seek help, and this will be what Ebin does when his sobbing ceases, if it ceases at all. THE END