A child pants into a phone receiver, scared out of her young mind. "Hello?! Is anyone there?!"746Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWTiimGHWrg
To her relief there's an adult on the other end of the line. "911, what's your emergency, sweetheart?"
"Th-they're g-gonna get me. The monsters, like on the TV."
"What monsters? What's your name, sweetheart?"
"I-I'm Cindy. I-I-I'm 5, I just started school. Please, please help me!" she sobbed.
"Ssh. It's okay, sweetheart, tell me what's wrong. Who are the monsters?"
"The...the Mad-ri-ols. The ones on the news my daddy says bad words about. I saw them outside my house! They're gonna get me! Please help!"
"Cindy, I'm sending someone over now. Can you stay with me until the police come to the door?"
"Uh-huh," Cindy says, nodding. "I'm scared."
"Don't worry, sweetheart. The Madriolis will only hurt you if they think you hurt them. They're just harmless people whose planet was destroyed by bad men, and they came here to build a new home. Where's your daddy?"
Cindy shivered. The adult seemed so nice, she almost believed everything was gonna be okay. "My daddy went outside, said he was gonna make 'em all leave. There was a lot of yelling, and I saw a bunch of red on the window all of a sudden. I'm scared, there's a lots of banging on the doors, I think they wanna eat me!"
"No, sweetheart, it's all right, okay? The police are right around the corner, and they should be there any minute, all right?...Cindy?"
"I nodded, Mr. Phone Man," Cindy whispered. "I thought I heard the door open."
"Did anyone say 'Police'?" the adult asked.
"Nuh-uh. I think it's the Mad-ri-ols. Wha-what do I do?!" she whispered, tears streaming down her face. "I don't want to die!"
"Cindy, you're not gonna die, all right? The police should be there in less than a minute. Just be quiet for me, all right? Quiet as a mouse."
Cindy didn't reply. There were noises coming from in the hallway, and she dropped the phone still hanging from the wall by its cord and scrambled under the kitchen sink. She was going to be eaten!
There was a loud noise, followed by several more loud noises, and Cindy opened her eyes slowly. There, in front of her, was a Madriolis. She screamed. "Don't eat me!" she cried.
"Oh my gosh. He kept the little one," it said. "I'm so sorry, honey."746Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQwml8ZknO7
Cindy looked up at it, still crying. "Wh-where's my daddy! I want my daddy!" she cried.746Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL330QO1zMm
"Your father..." the Madriolis covered its face with a gooey appendage. "Your daddy is dead. I'm so sorry, little one."746Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg62l0XCgl7
Cindy sat back, not understanding. "No, Daddy was right outside. He was just scared! He wanted our p'ivacy! I saw him go outside!" she cried, harder than her little body could stand, and she started to throw up from the sheer force of her sobs.746Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlr7jfu2rMi
The Madriolis patted her back. "I'm so sorry, little one. But I can take care of you now, if you want."746Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdJ8IFQePaz
Cindy wiped the puke from her mouth on her pajama sleeve. "You can be my daddy now?"746Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡla1TYRW1Jo
The Madriolis did something next that Cindy never thought she would see...it smiled. "Of course, little one. What's your name."746Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKprbOjsr31
"Cindy. Cindy Holmes."746Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6RV4WtCh1z
"Well, then, Cindy Holmes," the Madriolis said, "Let me show you where you'll live with me from now on. Sound good?"746Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtX9oYI2pXO
Cindy nodded. The Madriolis took her away into the woods behind her house, and she could faintly hear people talking in the side of the yard, shining flashlights on her daddy, who she thought was probably sleeping, though his head looked funny. "...Looks like those beasts killed another one."746Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh00YQ8pgoY
"Didn't he have a daughter?"746Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcdp2QPBNMF
Cindy poked the Madriolis. "The po'ice prob'ly want to know that I'm going with you," she said.746Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvIjfcwvtTx
"The police don't like me," the Madriolis said. "It's better if we just go home now, love."746Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUb1n7LALK5
"Okay," Cindy said, looking at the Madriolis. "You have eyes like mine!" she said in surprise.746Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsonEEdP7qI
"Of course, we're family, aren't we?" the Madriolis said.746Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7oDcFNRL62
Cindy frowned. "Mommy?"746Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx5BTVFop1y
The Madriolis smiled. "I knew you'd recognize me," she said happily. "Come now, Cindy. I need to show you the rest of your new family."746Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiBkCuWGuFy
As Cindy fell asleep, her mother chuckled. "Stupid human couldn't even care for a half-breed properly. But don't worry. Now, you'll be with your people once more."746Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFdXMKPPb0s
Cindy nuzzled into her mother's touch, and her mother chuckled. "Pity he had to die, but it's the only way. Only he knew how dangerous we could actually be."746Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSydycVFgUO
