It was like some incredible nightmare! The two young men looked at each other in dismay – it was as if they were living in some kind of science fiction movie. They had been tricked by someone they considered a close friend. Never did they ever imagine such an encounter could happen!
-
Vic Brendan and Tony Sherwood walked out of their new Manhattan apartment. They had first met at a fast food restaurant on Madison Avenue during a lunch break from their jobs. After becoming attracted to each other, a relationship eventually developed. While never overly flamboyant in appearance, they were not ashamed to hold hands and show affection in public.
“We have a right to be who we are and not have to be afraid to hide it,” they proudly told whomever they met.
Two of their next door “macho” neighbors, Charley Kenton and Larry Simon watched them pass in disgust.
“Eh, Fruits, go back to Greenwich Village where your kind belongs,” Larry called out.
“Those queers are too stuck up and need a good lesson.” Charley mumbled. “Let’s go follow those faggots to some secluded spot where we can beat the crap out of them.”
Larry eyes mischievously sparkled. “Sounds good to me.”
As Vic and Tony turned the corner toward Central Park, Charley and his buddy came from behind and dragged them into an alley and began beating them. Zel, who happened to be passing nearby, heard the loud commotion. Tall, powerful, and confident, he decided to check it out. Seeing what the roughnecks were doing, the man immediately interceded. With his superior strength, he stopped them from continuing their brutality and forced them to leave.
Slowly, the two who had been attacked got up. Vic was slightly dizzy and had a bad cut on his head. Tony let out a moan when he tried to walk.
“My ankle is swollen.”
” Put your weight on me,” Zel instructed. “Is there a place nearby we can go to?”
“We live around the block,” Tony gratefully replied. “Thanks for your help.”
When they got to the apartment, Zel knew exactly how to treat the cut and swollen ankle.
“You’ll both be fine,” he assured the injured men afterward.
Vic noted Zel’s professional manner. “Say, are you some kind of doctor?”
Zel nodded. “Well, yes, I do have a medical degree, but presently I’m working as a biological sociologist on a special project. That’s what brought me here to New York for the first time.”
To show appreciation for his kindness, the couple invited Zel to dinner.
“I hope you don’t have a bad impression of Manhattan after what you just saw,” Tony said as he served Zel the dessert. “Not everyone in New York behaves like that, thankfully. Those intolerant low-lives didn’t like our lifestyle, so they tried using brute force to intimidate us to move away. But that’s not going to happen. We’re staying put. There are laws to stop people like them.”
Zel smiled approvingly. “I respect your courage, but you still must be careful. Those creeps can be dangerous.”
-
When Zel left a few hours later, a new friendship had begun. The next time he came to visit Vic and Tony, Zel met Charley and Larry near the elevator in the main lobby.
“I highly recommend that you stay away from my friends,” he warned them.
“Or what? You may have lucked out the first time, but don’t expect that to happen again, ” Charley retorted.
With lightening speed, Zel grasped Charley with one hand, and Larry with the other. He forced both to go down on their knees.
“I repeat, keep away from my friends.”
There was something about his piercing dark eyes that frightened them. Never again would those aggressors bother Vic and Tony.
Eventually, Vic and Tony began taking Zel to the places where they enjoyed hanging out. He was always cordial to everyone he met and had a congenial way of getting people to like him.
“What a great guy your friend is,” everyone commented to Vic and Tony.
While Zel was outgoing and easy to communicate with, there was still something private about him. He never talked about his personal life or went into any specific details about his work. Still, it was obvious that the man was affluent, since his clothing was always expensive and he was staying at the elegant Plaza Hotel on Fifth Avenue.
-
When Zel found out Vic and Tony enjoyed skiing, he invited them to spend a February weekend with him at his company’s cottage in the Adirondack Mountains.
They left on a late Friday afternoon. It took more than four hours to get there. Behind the cottage stood a big, windowless barn that was probably used for storage. There were no other buildings in sight.
“Isn’t this spot kind of lonely for you?” Vic asked.
“Not at all,” Zel responded. “Actually this location is conducive for my work when I need total privacy. As for the place, it’s fully equipped and even has a lab in the basement.”
The next day, they spent a few hours at a ski resort located about an hour away. Later, after dinner, the men relaxed near the fireplace, each sipping a glass of vintage wine.
Zel moved to the window and looked out at the clear night sky filled with sparkling stars, “Well guys, my work here is about over. I’ll be leaving soon and returning to my . . . er . . . home.”
“You never did tell us where you come from,” Tony remarked.
Zel smiled. “It’s extremely far from here.”
Tony and Vic suddenly began feeling dizzy. Perhaps it was from the wine. It did have a slightly peculiar, bitter taste. They tried rising, but couldn’t move or speak.
Zel watched them go into a catatonic state, then went to the basement and returned with two grotesque figures with large heads and grayish skin.
“Take them down to the lab,” he commanded. “I’ll give them the proper injections so they can survive the long trip.”
Later on, Vic and Tony awoke in their Manhattan apartment.
Vic sat up in bed. “This might sound weird, Tony, but the last thing I remember is being carried off by some scary-looking aliens into a metallic space ship that was located in that big barn behind the cottage. Just how did we get back to our New York apartment?”
Tony yawned. “Beats me.”
As they got off the bed, a panel opened up on the opposite wall revealing a large plexiglass-like window. Behind it were the scary aliens they remembered carrying them into the space ship. They now observed the two men with expressionless faces.
“Oh my gosh, Tony, I’ll bet this really isn’t our bedroom but only a replica of it,” Vic exclaimed.
A bright beam of light focused on the center of the floor and Zel emerged from it, holding a tray of food.
“It’s time to eat. You both must maintain your health. This food has all the essential ingredients to keep you fit.”
Angrily, Tony took the tray from Zel and threw it across the room. Vic then walked over to their ex-friend and grabbed him.
“Tell us what’s going on.”
Zel waved his right hand and an invisible force threw the two against the opposite side of the room. His appearance rapidly began changing until he looked like the other aliens behind the window.
“I came to earth disguised as a human being to observe your species. Coming across your unusual sexual behavior greatly interested me. I felt both of you would make excellent additions to my planet’s exhibit of living anomalies from across the universe. So after gaining your complete trust, it became a simple matter to make arrangements to have you abducted here.”
Tony frowned. “While you must consider yourself highly superior to us, you’re really no different from the smug and cruel people we know that consider themselves so righteous. You’ve proven compassion and morality don’t always go hand in hand with intellectual growth. Ruthlessly kidnapping us and then placing us in this kind of zoo is utterly barbaric.”
Zel shrugged indifferently. “Believe whatever you like. In time, you’ll calm down and resign yourself to being here. After all, what other options do you have? There’s absolutely no way for you to escape and return back to earth.”
He turned and disappeared, leaving the unfortunate gay couple from earth to their dismal fate.
© 2010 Elliot Richard Dorfman
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Elliot Richard Dorfman taught acting, broadcasting, music, and history in the New York City School System for more than three decades, as well as giving private vocal and piano lessons. He founded Suma Play Productions, Inc., and was artistic director of the American Youth Repertory Company, Off Broadway. Among his successful former students are American tenor Daniel Rodriguez, character actress Kelly Wolf, and Broadway stage manager Ira Mont. Mr. Dorfman, a former member of the NY Dramatist Guild and Associated Music teachers League, has appeared on and written for radio and television. His plays (dramas and musicals) have been presented on the professional stage, schools and centers. Since the Fall of 2007, over sixty-seven of his short stories have been published in Delivered, Twisted Dreams, Bewildering Stories, Golden Visions, Static Movement, NVH ,The Tiny Globule, Black Petals, Blood Moon Rising, Perpetual, Paradigm Shift , Demonic Tome, Short Story Library, StoriesThatLift.com, M-Brane SF, Coffee Cramp eZine, Infinite Windows, House of Horror and Einstein’s Pocket Watch. Five of his poems have appeared in Falling Star, Orange Room Review, Debris, and Golden Visions. He is Golden Visions Magazine’s Online vote winner for favorite author 2008. The author is a Full member of THE FICTIONEERS.
For further details go to: elrite.web.com
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