George and Muffy cried out in terror, certain that their doom had arrived. Augusta grasped baby Petula to her shoulder, while Angela, for once, was eager for the police to arrive.
To their collective surprise, the two aliens remained still and didn't reach for their energy weapons.
"Your lives are in danger," stated one of the Thrags.
"Uh, yeah," said George. "From you."
"We mean you no harm," said the other Thrag. "You must come with us. It's for your own safety."
"We're not going without a fight!" growled Muffy, clenching her fists. "Angela, Augusta, kick their butts."
Before the two women had a chance to assume fighting positions, the Thrags put out their long arms and grabbed Muffy and George by the armpits. The kids protested loudly as the cold, gloved hands lifted them off the floor. They wriggled in an attempt to break free, but the unnatural strength of the Thrags pinned them solidly in place.
The aliens turned, Muffy and George helplessly turning with them. Two columns of light formed, and the Thrags marched through with their captives, disappearing to parts unknown.
"Shouldn't we do something?" said Angela nervously.
"I did do something," was Augusta's response. "I protected my baby."
Three seconds and thousands of light-years later, George and Muffy were dropped on their knees in a chamber about the size of a classroom, where about a dozen Thrags labored over electronic consoles. The two children jumped to their feet and tried to run from the aliens, but promptly collided with a transparent barrier that made their noses appear grotesquely flat.
"I know my rights!" Muffy ranted. "I want my lawyer!"
"Your cellular phone is still operational," one of the Thrags told her. "You may call whom you please—but I must warn you, the roaming charges are murder."
George and Muffy continued to shout, but the aliens went about their tasks, oblivious to the kids' complaints. Before long they gave up and seated themselves on the hard, but pleasantly warm, floor.
"How do we know they can even hear us?" sighed Muffy. "They don't have ears."
"I think they have ears under their helmets," said George.
"If they even have heads," said Muffy, sinking her chin into her palms.
"Dr. Portinari was a lot nicer than these aliens," George reflected.
"I wonder what would've happened if Dr. Portinari had married Augusta," Muffy fantasized. "What would their children have looked like?"
"A child usually looks like a cross between the mother and the father," George told her.
"Really?" said Muffy, astonished. "Well, that explains Beat."
Minutes that felt like hours passed by.
"I spy with my little eye something that starts with A," said Muffy lazily.
"Alien," George responded.
"You're cheating," Muffy accused him.
They waited impatiently for their fate to be decided. The Thrags stood like statues at their control stations, occasionally communicating with each other using scraping noises.
"If I were Augusta," said Muffy, "I wouldn't give up my baby in a million years."
"If I were Augusta," said George, "I'd be totally freaked out."
A moment later the monotony was broken by the arrival of a group of people—four Thrags escorting six humans. George and Muffy gasped.
"There you are, Muffin!" exclaimed Mr. Crosswire. "Did the aliens hurt you? Did they humiliate you in any way?"
"I, uh, think one of them peeked under my skirt," said Muffy, smiling with delight at seeing her parents and baby brother, Tyson.
George was also gratified by the sight of his family. "Mom, Dad, Sal, you're not gonna believe what happened to us."
"Abducted by aliens," said Mrs. Nordgren flatly. "We know."
One of the Thrags pushed a button, allowing Muffy and George to penetrate their cell's invisible walls. They embraced their parents with tears of relief.
Mr. Nordgren turned to the alien nearest him. "You have no right to take us away from our homes like this," he said angrily.
"Perhaps not," the Thrag replied emotionlessly, "but you'll be grateful that we did."
"This has something to do with the man who was killed, doesn't it?" Mrs. Crosswire demanded to know. Tyson wiggled in her arms, whining for nourishment.
"If you mean Heath Holcombe, it has everything to do with him," said the Thrag. "Your children, the ones known as Muffy and George, are witnesses to his murder at the hands of a rogue element in our ranks. We did not authorize his killing, nor do we condone it."
"Is that true, Georgie?" Sal inquired of her older brother. "Did you see somebody get murdered?"
George nodded.
"That's so cool," said the little moose girl.
"No, it's not cool," George insisted. Having to shoot a person to save your own life is far from cool, he thought.
"Aliens killed him?" said Mrs. Crosswire in wonderment. "Why?"
"Hopefully our investigation will provide an answer to that question," replied the Thrag. "As for the question of why you're all here, it should be obvious that the parties responsible for Holcombe's murder will attempt to eliminate any eyewitnesses, or threaten their loved ones to prevent them from testifying."
"Put us back on Earth," Mr. Crosswire insisted. "We'll take our chances."
"But we will not take ours," said the Thrag with finality. "As of this moment, you are all subject to Provision Theta. Participation is mandatory."
"What's Provision Theta?" asked Mr. Nordgren.
"You have a similar institution on Earth," answered the alien. "I believe it's called the Witness Protection Program."
to be continued