In Alien Hands: Meeting Merle

The BBQ, Holli

Merle and Grene had finally finished what they were doing. I was pleasantly surprised that Merle let me taste some of the food he was cooking. He even went as far as to hand me something that looked exactly like a hotdog, wrapped in a bun. It was huge, maybe nine or ten inches long. The thing tasted nothing like a hotdog, however. It was juicier, far more flavorful, and tasted nothing like a hotdog. I loved it. I

I ate my hotdog on a paper plate for several minutes, wondering why Merle had made so much food. Dog-men ate much more than I did, but this was excessive. Maybe half a calf a cow was cooked, sitting in piles on a table Green had set up. It was far more than two dog-men could eat. I didn't have much time to ponder this before my food was gone and Merle took my plate. I was done eating, no biggie.

My dog-man teased me with the candy again, four pieces this time. Merle was upping the anti, which was fine with me! I followed him across the yard, getting my first good look at what Green was making earlier. It was huge, maybe twenty feet (about 6 meters) wide. It was made up of vertical metal bars, and was maybe six feet tall. I immediately recognized it as a cage and bolted to the side.

I wouldn't say Merle caught me immediately... Okay, yeah. I made it one step before he caught me. The dog-man lifted me up, holding me still while I kicked and struggled. He didn't hurt me, as usual, but I didn't enjoy being manhandled like that. I also wasn't terribly find of where he was taking me.

Merle comforted me throughout the walk to the cage, I let up after a few seconds. He stroked my head, which wasn't too bad. Green chuckled about something, making Merle do the same. Finally, my dog-man set me down on the grass. We were on the far side of the pen. Merle handed Green the promised candy. I watched, cornered by my dog-man. He put them on a napkin, placing it on the grass and slipping out the open door to the cage.

"Stay." Ugh. Merle and his commands. He'd taught me this one too, and I usually obeyed. However, I really didn't want to do that just now. So, when he turned to go out the door, I bolted. Again, Merle was very fast. He was out the door and the thing was closed by Green by the time I got half way across the space. Merle just pointed at my candy, which I begrudgingly took for myself.

The cage had a few pieces of furniture, something to climb in the center (no where near close enough to reach the top of the cage and climb over. There was a blanket, nice and soft. Merle gave me another water cup, but I wasn't thirsty yet.

My annoyance was short lived when Merle went inside. Green stayed with me, calling me to come over. I was still peeved, but came over to the dog-man. He spoke to me, offering a couple more candies, when Merle came back, with a stranger.

Naturally, I bolted. Ducking away and behind the climbing structure, I peeked out to look at the intruder. It was another dog-man, a male. He was much shorter than Merle or Green, but still had a good foot on me. He was all smiles, approaching my cage slowly and eventually kneeling down. Merle handed him a couple candies, which he palmed and stuck his hand through the bars. Sat in silence for a few seconds, watching. The stranger started gently saying my name, Merle handing him another treat. I decided that, since this stranger couldn't come inside, it'd be safe to quickly come out and take the candies. I was happy to find he made no attempt at grabbing me.

I moved just out of his reach to eat the candies, eyeing him suspiciously and enjoying my treats. He talked to me in their language for a minute or two before heading off and grabbing food. Merle left again, bringing more strangers in his wake. There were three this time, two adults and what must have been a child. The latter was small, shorter than I was. It seemed to be a female. Remembering how children acted around pets on my planet, I took a big step back.

Merle knelt in front of her, handing her a candy and saying something. All three of the strangers then came over, each offering me a candy. I took one from each of the parents, then considered the child. Her tail sagged exuberantly, her hand flat and reached as far in as possible. I just have hesitated too long, because Merle gave her two more candies. I decided it was worth the risk, reaching over and taking the treats.

I was getting a bit tired of this, so I went to my blanket once they were done. I threw it over my head and curled up on the soft grass, hoping everyone would be gone once I woke up from the nap.

*~~~*

When I woke up, the dog-men had multiplied. There had to have been ten more dog-men. As soon as I popped my head out, Merle noticed. He came over, calling me over. I obliged, straightening my hair before heading over. Merle pet me through the bars of the cage, calling a couple dog-men over. I immediately backed off, not wanting them to reach through and touch me. They also offered candy, which I begrudgingly took. They seemed satisfied, and Merle praised me. I scooted over to him, letting him pet me a couple more times before he called three over.

This sort of this thing went on until most of the dog-men had fed me at least one candy. At that point, they all started to leave. One by one, they waved to my dog-man and left. Once the last ones were gone, Merle finally opened the door to my cage. It was late and I was exhausted, so I quietly followed and didn't put up a protest when he took me to bed.

He changed me as he usually did the last few days (this morning was an exception, putting me in some warm pajamas and helping me under the covers. He stroked my head one more time before turning off the lights in my room and closing my door.

Published 1/30/19
I promise the 10,000 views surprise is coming, although it'll be 11,000 at this point! The biggest part of the surprise is out of my control.