Hello All:
As mentioned on Monday, I have many short stories that were once published to the blog, but have removed due to some undesirable content that was mixed with them. The Dana Gets Abducted by Aliens series is one example. The actual stories in the series are good (in my opinion). So why not remove the undesirable content. And that's what I did in today's featured writing.
My plan was to use AI to help me with this. I simply described my problem and shared the story. The chat bot didn't do such a bad job in removing the bad content. But the weird stuff associated with alien abductions were removed along with it. So for now, I need to do this re-editing on my own.
And so, I bring you the re-release... the triumphant return of the second story in the Dana Gets Abducted by Aliens series. I think we have a few more of these. I'll definitely get to them and re-release as well. If not familiar with the first story, please give a read: https://talkaboutafterhours.blogspot.com/2025/07/danas-first-alien-abduction.html
For the several weeks after her initial alien abduction, Dana was considerably spooked; not to mention concerned that she may have been impregnated by the aliens. But despite how traumatizing the incident had been, Dana didn't tell a soul. Who would have believed her? She simply endured bad dreams throughout the nights while masking anxiety at day. It wasn't Dana's favorite summer break.
The start of high school helped Dana bounce back to normal. By Christmas of her freshman year she had mostly forgotten the abduction that occurred in north Michigan earlier that summer. In fact, life was fairly normal for Dana through high school. She never looked back; never thought of the bizarre terror of that fateful night. Oh she did briefly relay the incident to close friends while in the backyard around a camp fire late one night. This was in May of her senior year. On that night, everyone gazed up at the sky and took notice of the stars. Someone mentioned UFOs and aliens. That's when Dana finally had the courage to speak up about the night she had been abducted.
"You know..." she began. "I think I was abducted by aliens back in eighth grade."
"No way!" exclaimed one of the kids.
"Get out of here!" exclaimed another.
"No, seriously!" insisted Dana. "My parents took us up to a cottage in Michigan. I was with my brother and sister one night and we were looking up at the sky. That's when we saw a flashing green light. I remember waving to it, and it came closer. We all freaked out and ran back in the house. My dad said it was just a satellite. But later that night I woke up. There was a green light outside, and they came through my window—just floated in. They somehow levitated me back out and took me on their spaceship. But I wasn't ready for something. There was something they needed from me, but I wasn't ready. So they let me go—put me back in my bed and left."
"Whoa!" exclaimed one of the kids.
"Are you serious?" asked another.
"No way!" exclaimed a third kid. "You're the first person I ever met who admitted to something like that. And you never told anyone?"
"No one!" answered Dana. "I've kept it a secret all along.”
Then someone posed a more logical explanation as to what might have happened to Dana. "You might have only been dreaming. I've read about that. People think they get abducted by aliens, but it's really only bad dreams accompanied by sleep paralysis."
Dana shrugged her shoulder. "I suppose..." And as time went on, she began to accept this explanation more and more. She needed closure. She needed to convince herself that the terror of that fateful night never happened. Dana needed to forget.
***
It wasn't until after college when the disturbing incidents of alien abductions resumed for Dana. It was the summer of 1986. Working in her new career as a dental hygienist; Dana was also engaged to her boyfriend that she had through college, Mike. The wedding was only a few months away.
It was the Fourth of July weekend that year. Mike promised to take his fiancée to his parent's summer house in Tomahawk, Wisconsin, which was off Lake Nokomis. Being that the holiday fell on a Friday; Dana left work shortly after lunch on Wednesday of that week so that she and Mike could drive up to Tomahawk and settle in.
If there were ever a signpost, marker or some indicator of events to turn strange on that weekend; it would have been the brief exchange of words that she and the receptionist, Maryann, had before Dana left for the day.
"So you're off to Wisconsin for your extended holiday weekend?" asked Maryann.
"Yup!" answered Dana. "It's supposed to be really nice."
"Just you and Mike, huh?" continued Maryann.
Dana nodded with a beaming smile.
"Well I hope you two have a good time" wished Maryann. For a split second, Dana received an eerie vibe as she looked upon Maryann who returned a beaming smile. In that moment, she almost didn't look like Maryann. Rather, she took on the subtle appearances of a mysterious, ghostly entity that intermeshed with her face and body. Where-as Maryann was somewhat chunky, she now appeared thin and boney like a skeleton. But don't confuse this to mean that Maryann was dead in that split-second hallucination. Whatever entity she manifested, it was very much alive and served as an announcement of something strange to happen that weekend.
"Well it's what you want, isn't it?" asked Maryann.
Dana must have had a micro-second expression of terror when the entity briefly revealed itself. But Maryann had apparently returned. "Well of course!" agreed Dana while resuming a delighted smile. Maybe she was just tired and overworked. The mind, after all, plays tricks on people when working too hard for too long.
"Well, have fun." encouraged Maryann as Dana left the office.
Some hours later, Dana sat in the passenger seat of Mike's Monte Carlo while driving up Route 51 in Wisconsin. It was about 4:00 pm as Mike had passed up a pickup truck with two young men. Both had taken notice of Dana and were delighted to see her. It was apparent that they liked her.
Fortunately, Mike did not notice. His eyes were on the road. "We'll have to stop at some place in town for dinner." he announced. "There's nothing in the refrigerator or cabinets. Tomorrow we'll go to the grocery store."
"We have a few things in the back that I packed—some snacks and stuff to hold us over until then." reminded Dana.
"Good!" exclaimed Mike.
The pickup truck that Mike had passed some moments ago was now gaining on them. Dana noticed this through the passenger side mirror. Under normal circumstances, she would have been uncomfortable. But Dana knew why the pickup truck was speeding up. The young men wished to catch another glimpse of Dana. She was, after all, attractive.
The pickup truck finally reached Mike's speeding Monte Carlo. Sure enough, the young men used the opportunity to further check out Dana.
Dana turned and smiled at them.
It was then that Mike glanced over to take notice of the excited driver and passenger of the pickup truck in the right lane. They were definitely checking out his fiancée! Mike gave them the middle finger and open throttled the engine of his Monty Carlo. It was the last Dana and Mike saw of them.
***
It wasn't until just after seven o'clock when Mike and Dana finally arrived at the summer house off Lake Nokomis. They managed to have dinner at a local supper club. That night's meal was broasted chicken with potatoes and green beans. Afterwards, they found a convenient store where they purchased some groceries; milk, bread, cereal, juice—mainly items for breakfast in the morning. Mike was also certain to purchase a case of Stroh’s Light beer as he enjoyed drinking around the bonfire at night.
Once reaching the summer house, Mike and Dana settled in and put their groceries away. Then Mike announced, "We've got some dry firewood out in the shed. I'll put some in the pit and start up a fire for us.
By dark, both Mike and Dana sat together at the bonfire and discussed plans for the extended weekend. The speakers for the stereo inside the house were pushed towards the windows so they could listen to music.
"We can do some water skiing this weekend." suggested Mike.
"That sounds like a great idea." agreed Dana.
Mike cracked open his seventh can of Stroh’s Light for the evening and took a hearty guzzle.
"Jeez! Are you trying to get drunk?" asked Dana.
"Hey, it's a holiday weekend." argued Mike. Then he asked, "Do you need anything from inside? I'm going to get a snack."
"No, I'm fine." answered Dana. "Hurry back."
With her fiancé gone, Dana gazed up at the sky. Suddenly, she saw something out of the corner of her eye which triggered a wave of panic. It was a tiny green light. When Dana looked directly at it, she could see it was flashing. Immediately her mind went back to that fateful night as a girl when she was abducted by aliens.
Dana stood up from the chair while struggling to control her breathing, "No!" she cried out. As far as Dana was concerned; the aliens were there in Tomahawk, Wisconsin, and planning another abduction.
Dana turned to run back towards the summer house, and collided with Mike. She screamed in terror, thinking it was one of the aliens.
"Jeez!" exclaimed Mike. "What the heck’s wrong with you???"
"Something scared me!" explained Dana.
"Like what?" asked Mike.
"I don't know; I saw something." Dana wouldn't dare confess to the alien abduction from years ago.
"It was probably just an animal—raccoon or something. Have a beer." Mike was juggling a plate with sandwich and chips; a couple cans of beer and a small glass—assumedly hard liquor.
Dana accepted the beer and cracked it open. "What's in the glass?" she asked.
"Some Kessler Whiskey I found in one of the cabinets with ice." answered Mike.
Dana sat down, took a sip from the can of Stroh’s Light, and then looked up at the sky. The flashing, green light was gone. She drew upon the words of wisdom from her father and decided that it was only a satellite. Dana was tired, and in a strange frame of mind. And the mind plays tricks on people when in that sort of state.
Towards the end of the evening with only the embers remaining of the bonfire, Mike was half-lit from all the beer he had drunk along with the Kessler Whiskey. The song,'i just want to make love to you' from Fog Hat started to play from the stereo inside the house.
"Oh, yeah!" exclaimed Mike. "I love this song!" He staggered out of his seat and played air guitar while singing the words.
"I don't want you to be no slave!
I don't want you to work all day!
But I want you to be true!
And I just wanna make love to you!
... Love to you, ooohooo
... Love to you"
He reached over for Dana and pulled her out of the chair. The two began to dance as the second verse began.
"All I want to do is wash your clothes!
I don't want to keep you indoors!
There is nothing for you to do!
But keep me making love to you!
... Love to you, ooohooo
... Love to you"
Within less than a minute they were in the bedroom. In the background, the untamed guitar solo at the end of the song encouraged things to get hotter and hotter.
But what was this?
Mike suddenly slammed his fist on the mattress. "MAN!!! What’s wrong with me???"
"Oh, come on!" complained Dana. "Not again! This always happens!"
"It doesn't always happen!" argued Mike. "I'm just tired, that's all."
"That's what you always say!" answered Dana. "I'm getting sick of this! You drank all that beer and whiskey. I mean who the heck is Kessler, anyway? The guy looks like this sort of thing happens to him all the time.”
Dana pushed Mike off and rolled over on her side.
"I'm sorry..." apologized Mike.
"No, forget it…” answered Dana.
"Oh, that's right." complained Mike. "Once again, you have to blame me for everything."
"Mike, I'm not blaming you! I'm just saying that I wish you would cut back on your drinking. I mean what was the point of all that beer and whiskey on a Wednesday night?"
***
The bedside clock read 1:43 am as Dana turned over in bed. She had been awoken from a disturbing dream in which she was alone in one of the offices at work. With her back turned away from the plate glass window, she heard the noisy sound of a helicopter. Upon turning around, she could see a helicopter just several feet away. Whoever maneuvered it was watching Dana. Something was thrown through the glass to break it. Then an unidentifiable person climbed out from the helicopter to jump through and get Dana. Fortunately, she was now awake.
Dana now lay in the dark while doing her best to forget the dream. But what did it mean? Why the fear of some flying machine outside a window with people inside watching her? And why would they have a need to break through the glass to come get her?
Perhaps it had something to do with the flashing, green light that Dana had seen in the sky that night. Although convincing herself that it was only a satellite, its appearance brought Dana back to when she was a young girl; back to the night when she had been abducted by the aliens. They landed their spaceship right outside the bedroom window and then floated through.
Dana sighed upon this speculation. It wasn't the sort of thoughts she wished to have in the woods of North Wisconsin late at night. She glanced over to the clock on the bedside table which still read 1:43am.
The house was dead silent. Even the breathing sounds of Mike, who lay beside her, could not be heard. For comfort, Dana raised her hand to her ear and then rubbed the tips of her thumb and finger together to make sounds. She glanced over to the clock a third time.
It still read 1:43am!
Apparently, Dana was experiencing late night time dilation. It was probably best to just roll over and go back to sleep. She was about to do this, but something caught Dana's attention through the cracks of the wooden venetian blinds that covered the bedroom window. It was a faint, green light that appeared some distance away. If Dana had her directions correct, the light would have been coming from across the lake.
Quietly, Dana got out of bed and walked over to the window. She cautiously pulled the blinds over, just enough to see what was outside.
Just as suspected, the bedroom faced the lake. And across the lake, a triangular green light seemed to be traveling in the direction towards the house. Then it flashed as-if whoever maneuvered it was aware that Dana was watching.
"Oh my gosh!" Dana exclaimed. She released the blinds and backed away. Then she called out to her fiancé. "Mike? Mike? Wake up!"
Mike only lay there while sleeping soundly.
Dana turned around to glance at the window behind her. The flashing green light grew closer and closer. "Mike!" she screamed. "Mike, wake up!" She ran over to the side of the bed and shook it. "Wake up! Please wake up!"
But Mike didn't move a muscle. He was probably drunk and unconscious from all the alcohol he had consumed.
The clock on the bedside table continued to display 1:43am.
"Oh my gosh! This is not happening!" cried Dana.
The entire bedroom was now flooded with bright, green light. They had returned. After eight years, the aliens had returned to fulfill whatever purpose they had with Dana. But what was it? What was it that they wished do to with her? As Dana recalled, it involved her lower abdomen. That was the region of her body that they seemed most interested in.
Now in fear for her life, Dana ran out of the bedroom and into the front room to where the landline phone sat on a small table. Back in those days there were no cell phones, except for the bulky ones installed in cars. Much to her dismay, the line was dead. Did the aliens do this?
The ship must have floated over to the outside area that faced the front room, for the green light suddenly blasted through the window. Then Dana saw a most horrific sight. A silver gloved hand penetrated through the window.
"No! No! No!" screamed Dana. She backed against the wall, crouched down and tucked her face into her knees. "Somebody help me! Please, somebody help me!"
Suddenly, Dana's eyes snapped open as she raised her head out of her knees. She was met with an eerie, pulsing light that seemed to be everywhere and nowhere at the same time. She tried to sit up, but a strange, heavy feeling held her down, as if she was pinned to the ground.
As she looked around, she saw that her room was filled with an otherworldly glow, and she could feel a presence in the room with her. The air seemed to vibrate with an electric tension, and she could feel a cold, clammy breeze caressing her skin.
Suddenly, a figure emerged from the shadows. It was tall and imposing, with long, spindly limbs and a bulbous, pulsing head. Dana tried to scream, but her voice was frozen in her throat.
The creature began to move closer, its eyes fixed on Dana with an unblinking stare. She could feel its gaze like a cold, wet slap on her skin, and she shuddered with fear.
As the creature drew nearer, Dana could see that it had no discernible features, no nose, no mouth, no eyes. It was just a blank, featureless expanse of flesh that seemed to be sucking all the light out of the room.
The creature reached out a long, spindly arm and touched Dana's face. She felt a jolt of electricity run through her body, and suddenly she was flooded with visions and images.
She saw herself as a child, playing in a field of tall grass. She saw her parents, smiling and happy. She saw her own face, distorted and twisted in a scream of terror.
The visions were disjointed and confusing, but they seemed to be trying to tell her something. Dana's mind reeled as she tried to make sense of them.
And then, just as suddenly as it had begun, everything stopped. The creature withdrew its hand, and the visions ceased.
But they weren't done with her just yet.
It was some sort of manipulation of consciousness apparently brought on by the aliens. Suddenly, Dana had returned to the disturbing dream that she had before waking up in which the helicopter hovered outside the office window at work. After breaking through the glass with some heavy instrument, a faceless man climbed out from the helicopter and jumped into the office. Dana tried to run, but felt the sensation of a mysterious force pulling her back.
"Is this what you wanted, honey?” In another manipulation of consciousness, Dana was now in the backseat of Mike's Monty Carlo with the young man who drove the pickup truck earlier that afternoon. Dana attempted to wrestle him off.
Dana was able to remember that she was lost in some vortex consciousness manipulation. Where was she, really? Was she actually in bed, dreaming? Was she still crouching on the floor and hiding from the aliens in the front room? Or did the aliens succeed in bringing her onboard the ship?
Upon struggling to gauge the true reality, Dana was soon aware that she was standing against the examination wall on the spaceship.
While this occurred, Dana sensed that aliens were surrounding her and placing their hands near her lower abdomen. They were receiving the energy that Dana was capable of generating.
"No! Stop it!" cried Dana. "This is not fair! You cannot rob me of my energy! I never invited you to do this!"
How long would it all last?
***
Dana quickly sat up in bed and looked at the clock on the side table. It was now 6:30 in the morning. Was it all just a series of bizarre dreams? Dana almost believed this. But there were strange scratches and marks around Dana's lower abdomen.
It didn't take long for Dana to realize that she had experienced her second alien abduction.
To be continued…
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