When Sheldon opened his eyes, everything was dark and quiet. There was no way it was time to wake up. But he didn't go back to sleep, because he felt there was something wrong. Maybe it was that instinct those magazines he read in the dentist's waiting room talked about, but, it didn't really matter how, he was sure he wasn't alone in the room. He didn't hear any breathing or step, but he knew.

He listened, and he thought he had heard the sheets moving at his feet, as if something was walking around them. Oh, yes, it was not a paranoid idea of his: he could also feel the extra weight on the mattress, so subtle. His heart raced and he didn't dare to move. Not yet, at least.

Was it a cat? Whatever it was, it was approaching his head, moving carefully. Sheldon, as slowly as possible not to show he was awake, stretched an arm and grabbed the clock on the night table.

The thing had reached the pillow, it became still. Sheldon took the chance and hit it with the clock as fast as hard as possible. He luckily did it well. There was a metallic sound and then an "Ouch!". The man then turned on the light and contemplated the intruder. He gasped but didn't lose too much time being surprised, because whatever he had hit was moving. He then grabbed his sheets and pounced on it.

Ben's lovely dream had been ended abruptly by a savage noise. He jumped out of bed and rushed towards the door. There was Sheldon, knocking as if he wanted to break it with his fists.

"Wh—?" Ben didn't even have time to speak.

"Come! Quick! You gotta see this! You won't believe it!"

Kath was by his side, as sleepy and confused as Ben was. Sheldon's initial plan was to ask her for help but then he thought that maybe he would need someone else. If he had known the rest of the neighborhood that well, he would have woken all of them up. Ben wanted to protest, but Sheldon looked pale, terrified, so he followed him to his own house, whose door he had left open when he rushed out.

"This is…I don't know what this is, really, but…" Sheldon babbled. "Guys, you gotta see this!"

"He watched a horror movie." Kath whispered to Ben.

"I heard you! It wasn't a nightmare! Really! Come in and tell me if this is a nightmare!"

Sheldon opened the door and took his neighbors to his bedroom.

"Does this look like a nightmare to you guys?"

Kath's jaw dropped and Ben was speechless for a long while.

"Release me! I demand you to release me right now!"

It looked like a little person, but it's round head was black as coal and had no mouth. It carried a helmet which looked like a broom and sneakers. Sheldon had tied him up with everything he had found: his sheets, the wire of the mouse from his computer…It wouldn't stop tossing and turning and looking menacingly at Sheldon.

"Wha…What's that?" Kath asked in low voice.

"I don't know, I found it in my bed with this!" Sheldon showed the other two what looked like a colorful toy pistol, holding it with his thumb and index fingers.

Ben took it and examined it. He wasn't going to try and fire it, of course, but he took a close look at it.

"I think it's an alien." Sheldon muttered.

"How do you know?" Kath asked.

"Oh, come on: it's small, black, and it has no mouth. What else could it be? It looks like nothing I've ever seen."

"I don't know," Ben finally said. "but I'm calling Animal Control."

"I demand you that you release me at this very instant!" the creature cried, glaring all of them. "Or you will suffer a fate way worse than the curse cast upon you!"

"Yeah, call them. I can't stand it any longer." Sheldon frowned.

"Wait, what?"

Kath looked at the creature and then at her partners.

"A curse? Did it say a curse?" she whispered.

Ben turned around when he was at the door and approached the supposed alien—but not too much, just in case.

"Okay, uhm…Curse, you said?"

"I said curse, yes." The little creature answered. "Please, I do not like having to repeat what I say."

"Careful, it might be just a trick." Sheldon muttered to himself but loud enough for Marvin to hear it.

"What about you tell us about this curse thing?" Ben asked, sitting with his legs crossed in front of the alien.

"Let me go and I will tell you all I know."

"Yeah, no. If I do that, something tells me you're going to blow our heads with that pistol of yours or something. Am I right?"

"Of course not."

"Sorry, E.T, but I don't believe you. You're going to stay like that for a little while."

"I'm with you: we gotta call someone to take it away." Sheldon muttered.

"I will end you, duck!" the creature exclaimed, and resumed his fighting.

"What? Listen here, pal, I don't know what that means but I'm not letting you insult—!"

Silence. Ben turned towards Sheldon when he noticed he had gone completely quiet.

"…You okay?"

Sheldon blinked and sat on the bed, looking dizzy.

"Sheldon?" Kath asked.

"Yeah, I…I don't know, I felt kind of...dizzy. I'm okay, I'm okay..."

Kath turned to glance at the little alien, who ignored them and kept struggling against his ties, and then looked at Ben.

"I don't think it's a good idea to call Animal Control. I don't know if we should call someone at all. No one is going to believe us and, if it's really an alien…"

"What about the F.B.I?" Ben asked.

"So what do we do? I'm not keeping that thing in my house." Sheldon said.

"Hm. I'll make some coffee. We'll think about it later." Kath sighed.

Truth be told, Kath didn't need coffee at all: all she had seen had awoken her completely. But she needed to walk away from the room and have some time to think, clear her mind. She couldn't get rid of the sudden, horrible feeling that there was something very, very wrong.

He awoke and had to look around to remember where he was. A small house, surrounded by large trees, he could see their shadows in the dark. Ah, yes, he remembered. That dream had left him very confused and even more tired than when he closed his eyes. Grunting, the twisted his body until he lied on one side, looking through the window while playing with the tip of his long moustache. One could see nothing but the moon and the silhouettes of the trees. And there was nother thing in side, standing out: the water tower.

He watched that familiar silhouette in silence until a grin appeared in his face and let out an amused grunt. Oh, how stupid he had been.