Horse trading

James

I turned quickly in my chair, and froze. I looked at the silvery skinned 'man' standing in the doorway. I snapped out of my hesitation, and grabbed the knife I was using to cut my dinner, and stood up. Reaching over I pulled Charlene out of her chair and pushed her behind me.

"What are you?" I said as I watched him to see if he moved.

'Good eeevenning, James Anderson. I have a proposition for you!' it said in what I could swear was Alfred Hitchcock's deep dark voice.

I shook my head as I realized it hadn't open its mouth to speak, that I'd heard it I my head.

"Get out of here!" I snarled out trying to be brave for the two women behind me, but I could feel my balls trying to act like an ostrich, and retreat up into my body.

'Put the weapon down. You cannot harm me. As I said, I have a proposition for you. One that has you either dead or alive, you can decide. Now please sit down.'

"James, I think you better do as he says. If you haven't noticed, his mouth hasn't moved while he has been speaking to us. Also, the dogs cannot move from the entryway where they are standing. It's like they are frozen there," Jane said.

I felt my body being forced down into the chair. My hand opened, and the knife hit the floor. The obviously alien person then walked around the table, pulled a chair out and sat down. It was sitting there looking at me as if waiting so.

"What do you want?" I asked as I looked at the creature after a glance at the entryway and I saw the dogs frozen there. A single drop of drool from Sampson's mouth was hanging there. It was about three inches long. As I looked, it never moved.

'As I said, I have a proposition for you. When you fly home next week, the plane you are on will crash. You will be killed when the plane explodes in midair.'

"Why are you saying that?" I asked as I picked up my coke and drained it. The whole time, I was wishing it had been whiskey, to settle my nerves.

'Because it's true, I wish to offer you a compromise. We will prevent the explosion, if you volunteer for an experiment for us.'

"What type of an experiment?" I asked.

'We want to send you to an alternate world that is similar to yours, but its development is at what would be the equivalent of twenty-five thousand years in your past.'

"WHAT? What the hell would I do there? How would I survive?" I snapped out as I looked in shock at the alien.

'We want to see how far you can advance that world. If you don't wish to go, then we will blank your mind of this conversation, and we will find someone else. I should say you are our best candidate of all the people on the plane. We do have another man on a ship that's going to blow up ten days from now, though. We could ask him.'

"You would let all those people die on the plane? You wouldn't even try to save them?" I asked.

I got up, went to the cabinet, and pulled out the fifth of J.D. that was in there. I splashed some into a glass. Looking at the man, I shook my head and downed the drink.

'Yes, we would. We don't care about them. However, we knew you would care that they would die. So if you agree to do what we want, we will save them.'

"I don't understand. How would I survive the plane crash? How would you make me survive and disappear?" I asked.

'We would just have you miss the plane. We would also make you younger, we would adjust your body to what you were, when you were eighteen. We will also allow you to take a horse, a pack mule and what you can pack on them. Your body will be found here in the house as a murder scene. It would never be solved.'

"Unacceptable," Jane said interrupting the alien.

'You have no part in this discussion. It's meant for James, alone. He must decide if he wants to do this.'

"No, and I will tell you why. It's because he wouldn't stand a snowballs chance in hell of surviving. He would be dead before the first year was over, and your experiment would be over, also. Now if he goes, I will negotiate with you on what he gets to take with him, to survive," Jane snapped back.

'Negotiate? Negotiate what? There is no negotiation on this.'

Jane smiled as she said, "Oh ... but there is! So let's talk on what he is able to take with him when you transport him. Also, what can you give him to help him survive on this alien world? What types of foods are there?"

'I guess we could allow him to take his dogs with him. As to food, it is plentiful.'

"Unacceptable. I know you can do better. What else can you offer?"

'Hmm, I will need to talk with the captain to see if he will agree to anything major but let me think for a second, ' it said, and closed its eyes.

Jane watched it sit there thinking and a glass appeared in front of him. It picked it up and took a drink and she noticed the glass slowly refilled with the same liquid. That would come in handy for feeding the dogs Jane thought, and for making food in the big freezers in the garage.

'I wonder if they can do that. Hell, could they take the house, for him?' she thought.

'Yes we can, but what's in it for us?'

Jane was startled by the return questions and she snapped back, "A person who has a better chance to survive, is what it is in it for you. James, I want you to go check on the pups, while I do some old fashion horse-trading here. Stay there, until I call for you."

'Horse-trading? What does trading horses have to do with negotiations?'

"You'll see. I will say more, when James is out of the room," she said.

"Ok, I'm going, already," I said in shock as I walked out of the dining room.

I went back to the puppy room. Going inside the room, I turned the light on and checked the puppies that were nursing from their mother. Back in the kitchen, if I had been there, I would have been shocked at what Jane was doing for me. Checking the other litters, I filled all the water pails for the mothers and the puppies. I cleaned up the puppy poop inside the rottie pen, and sat at the desk, waiting to be called back into the other room.

Jane

"Okay, here's the deal Mister Alien. You send him to this world, but you give him a week to get the items he will need here to the house. The house, his vehicles, his horses and his dogs go with him. Anything within say a radius of the barn goes. This radius is centered on the house. So that means the windmill that runs the stock pump goes as well. I want replicators inside each of the trashcans that hold the dog's food. A small replicator on the tool bench will make small items ... say nails and stuff, up to eight inches square.

"The trick with the cup, I like that. I want that in all the gas, propane and water tanks of the cars and the house. The microwave ... I want him to be able to type in a meal if he needs it and it will form it. Steel shutters over the windows and the doors, as well as the out buildings to protect them. I want his freezer and fridge to be able to replicate food, say like milk and stuff, until he can get some cows producing milk. Then he can make cheese and butter and other dairy products. Another thing ... he will need companions, what about them? Have you thought about them? He will need someone to talk to and love," I said as I glared at him, and he flinched.

'There will be women, he will just have to capture them and make them his own. If he is able to.'

"No, I know James he would never do that to a woman. So I guess I'm going to have to go with him. He will need a vet for the animals..."

"If you're going. Then I am going to, Mother!" Charlene snapped out interrupting me.

"No, you're staying here and going to college," I said.

"I don't think so, Mom. I would die if you were not here, besides he is so cute. I wouldn't mind sharing him with you. Just think, no laws saying he couldn't have more than one wife," Charlene said with a grin.

I looked at my daughter in shock, and blurted out, "You hussy!"

"Takes one to know one, Mother," Charlene said with a snicker.

Shaking my head at my daughter's comments, I looked back at the alien and said, "Well?"

'I don't know. It's highly unusual. We would have to talk about it, because it's not up to me. I will definitely have to ask the Commander.'

"Do that. When you have a decision, get back to us, but be warned, 'it's my way, or the highway.'" I said and then thought to him, 'When you do decide to do this, and you make his modifications. Make his dick bigger.'

'As you wish. Now I must go, I have to talk with the Commander.'

"Okay, but remember this. I won't let him agree to anything, unless we get everything I demanded. I can make him say no very easily," I said as I looked at the creature.