Chapter 41

"Before we head off to Palo Alto to get to the ship, we need to get those collars off of the Gelflings." Dr. Milldred informed. "As I said, I have a friend that can help us."

"But can we trust your friend?" Seladon asked. The Gelflings oddly haven't been shocked again after that first time when they escaped. Nobody was sure if it was because the people with the buttons knew it was pointless, or if they didn't want to severely hurt them too much.

"Don't worry, you can trust him." Penelope nodded with a giggle. "He's pretty much a big fanatic when it comes to aliens. He'll definitely want to help you guys get home."

"That's right." Dr. Milldred nodded. "I've known him my whole life, and he hasn't let me down yet. He's trustworthy."

"What's his name?" Brea asked.

Dr. Milldred blushed and smiled a bit. "Daniel."

The Gelflings saw the blush and the girls all smiled.

"Is that a blush I see?" Brea giggled.

"You like this boy, don't you?" Seladon guessed with a smirk.

"Oh yeah, she's had a crush on him for years." Penelope giggled.

"Oh shut up, Penny, it's nothing." Dr. Milldred laughed. "He's just a friend."

"A friend that you wish could be something more." Deet nodded, glancing at Rian for just a moment."

"How far is he?" Rian asked, not noticing Deet's glance.

"Not far, just a few more blocks." Dr. Milldred answered.

The rest of the ride was silent, and after a few more blocks, like she said, Dr. Milldred pulled into a driveway of a little house. The garage door was open, and on his knees, a human man was working on a motorbike with a blowtorch, a welding mask over his face so they couldn't see it. He was wearing a simple red t-shirt, blue jeans, and brown boots. He had gloves over his hands to protect them from the sparks coming from the torch connecting with the motorbike. As soon as the Subaru drove up, he looked up from his work and stopped, turning the tool off and standing up. He pushed the mask up and smiled.

He had short, shaggy brown hair, soft blue eyes, a chiseled chin, and some stubble around his face. His smile was wide, with dimples on the sides, and perfect white teeth. He waved as Dr. Milldred parked the car and stepped out, smiling at him.

"Milldred, it's great to see you again." He said to her.

"Daniel," She said, stepping up to him and hugging him, the man hugging her back. "It's great to see you too."

"What brings you here?" He asked her.

"I need your help." She said to him. "A couple of new friends of mine have something that needs to be cut off them."

"Oh. Ok then." Daniel nodded. "Well then, bring them in."

Dr. Milldred nodded and looked at the garage door. "Can you close the door first? We can't risk them being seen."

"Um, ok then." Daniel nodded hesitantly, grabbing a button and sealing the door. "What's up? Are they some kind of criminal or something?"

"No… it's worse than that." She looked at the car. "It's ok guys. You can come out now."

Daniel watched in astonishment as Penelope and the four Gelflings climbed out of the vehicle. Penelope ran up to him and hugged him tightly, but the Gelflings approached hesitantly, not sure if they could trust him yet or not.

"Daniel, I'd like you to meet the Gelflings of Thra." Dr. Milldred said, introducing them each, one by one. "This is Rian, Brea, Seladon, and Deet. And that creature in Seladon's arms is her Fizzgig, Baffi. It's like a dog."

"… Hey." Daniel said nervously. The Gelflings all nervously waved back. "What… are they?"

"They're aliens that the last NASA expedition discovered." Dr. Milldred answered. "Deet was taken because she has a disease that was thought to be treatable. The purple veins on her are a part of that disease. They used to be much more prominent, but as you can see, they've faded out a bit. The medicine Dr. Sarah created back at the Ames Research Center is working splendidly to cure her."

"And what about the others?"

"They snuck on the ship as a rescue team to get Deet back, but it didn't work out so well. They've been here for three to four months now. All they want to do is get back home, so Penelope and I are trying to help them do so."

"Won't you lose your job?"

"I very likely will." Dr. Milldred nodded with a sigh. "And dad may be disappointed in me too, but it's a price I'm willing to pay if it means getting them home. Their planet needs them. It's in danger, and they can't do anything to help if they're stuck here."

"There's only one problem." Penelope said.

"And what's that?" Daniel asked curiously.

At that moment, the Gelflings all screamed in pain and fell to the ground again, their collars shocking them once more.

"They have shock collars." Dr. Milldred quickly explained. "They're connected to each other. If one gets shocked, they all get shocked."

"Damn." Daniel frowned as he watched the Gelflings writhe in pain on the floor. "Obviously, those are the things you need me to cut from them."

"Yes." Dr. Milldred nodded. "I trust you can do it."

"I can, but I'll have to wait until the shocking stops. I can't work on them if they're moving around like that. I might end up accidentally hurting them."

"Then let's hope it ends soon." Dr. Milldred nodded as all three as the humans watched the Gelflings in sympathy, completely helpless to do anything about their pain for the moment.

It was a full five minutes until the shocking went down, leaving the Gelflings panting on the ground. Daniel walked over to them and knelt down to them. He rubbed Rian's back a little, trying to soothe him. He looked back at Penelope. "Penelope, run into the house and get me four ice packs. They'll be in the freezer."

"Got it." Penelope nodded and ran into the house.

Daniel gently lifted Rian off the floor and carried him over to his work table, setting him down gently. He examined the collar carefully, trying to decide what the best way was to get it off. "Milldred, grab my drill and my power saw. This is going to be a very delicate process."

Dr. Milldred nodded and grabbed both of the tools and brought them over to him. Daniel grabbed them both and placed them on the table next to the Gelfling. He looked at the collar again, grabbing the drill. "Now hold still, Rian. We can't afford this to go wrong."

"Please be careful." Rian gulped, staring fearfully at the tool that was held dangerously close to his neck.

"I will, just don't move."

Daniel then turned on the drill and gently pressed it into the bottom of the collar, drilling right through it from bottom to top. Once the drill was through, he turned it off and put it down, picking up the little power saw now. "Stay still." He warned again before he placed the blade against the collar, right in the same area where he drilled the hole. He turned it on to its lowest setting and began to cut through the collar, being very steady and gently. Rian stayed as still as he possibly could, his heart beating a mile a minute. At last, the blade reached the hole that Daniel had drilled through and the collar snapped. He turned the saw off and put it down, using his hands to pull the rest of the collar apart, throwing it to the floor once it was off. Rian sighed in relief and rubbed at his sore neck, thankful that the collar was off and that he was still alive after that procedure.

"There, that wasn't so bad." Daniel nodded.

"I got the ice packs!" Penelope cried excitedly as she came running out of the house, four freezing ice packs in her arms.

"Good job, Penelope." Daniel nodded, taking one of the packs and placing it against Rian's sore neck. "Leave that on there for a bit."

Rian nodded and held the cold pack against his neck, sighing in soothing relief. Daniel smiled and looked over at the other Gelflings. "Alright. Who's next?"