Ralph awoke alone in the familiar holding area. He wondered at the time in his life when he thought traipsing off to a distant galaxy would be the ride of a lifetime. Now he could only think about his family and worry about Bill's fate as well.
Reluctantly he got off the table and moved to the door, which whooshed open for him and then shut immediately after he walked through it. He took the translator hearing aid from the small creature in a blasé manner. Oh, how the awe and wonder had worn off for him.
"Come with me, Mr. Hinkley." said a green man.
"What's going on? Where's Bill? Are we going to…"
"All will be made clear."
"I'm sure." he thought sarcastically to himself. The aliens had never been particularly forthcoming with 'clear'. Ralph followed the alien to a part of the ship he had not seen before. He gasped a giant gulp of air when he saw the scene before him.
Bill was suspended in a giant contraption in the middle of the chamber. Tubes and wires draped and gripped his unconscious form like snakes. Balls of white light flickered around him as he slightly writhed from their energy. Several creatures worked around him, adjusting instruments and adding more hookups and further binding his helpless figure.
Was it true? Was this the horror that Bill had tried to escape all these years? Bill's gut feelings were often dead on accurate.
Ralph reeled toward the creature. "What are you doing to him?" he demanded as anger and fear welled in his chest.
"Please, Mr. Hinkley, this is not like your planet's science fiction movies. We have no intention of harming you or Mr. Maxwell."
"What then, huh? Are you just going to experiment with us? Is that what we get in the end? You know, this is exactly the kind of thing that Bill was afraid of!"
One of the other aliens approached them. The creature held a crystalline object in his hand and referred to it as he spoke.
"His condition is precisely what we had suspected, sir. Mr. Maxwell had heart disease and a cancerous condition. If left untreated, he would have died within half an earth year."
"Thank you. Please complete the treatment." said the first alien.
Ralph felt like a heel. "Look, I'm…"
"Mr. Hinkley, we know that our contact with you has been unsettling to you both, especially for Mr. Maxwell. We also respected Mr. Maxwell's wishes to be left alone on his world. We waited as long as we could before intervening."
Ralph looked at his be-wired friend and then to the green man. He still assumed that this was the big 'IT', their one way ticket to the stars, as Bill might say. "Will I be able to say goodbye to my wife?" Ralph asked plaintively, feeling he deserved no favors from the aliens but longing for the closure.
"That will not be necessary." the alien said compassionately. "It is not your time to come to us."