This is another writing class exercise. We’re given a scenario, then 10-15 minutes to write about it. I’m copying it here pretty much verbatim from my notebook, so it’s not 100% coherent.

The two people coming out of the house are aliens. This is like that Twilight Zone episode The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street. What am I looking for? My dog. He’s jumped out of the car in this strange neighborhood. There’s an eerie glow from behind the couple. They stop on the doorstep. Everything stops. Suspended animation. Heart pounding in my ears. Deer in the headlights? Can they see me? Can anyone else see me? Are they angry because I’m a stranger? Maybe the whole street has been watching from their living room windows, knowing they’d never seen my car before thinking in a collective unconscious what they will do to me if I show the slightest sign of aggression. Do they eat dogs? Do they eat people? How did I even get on this street? I was just going out for ice cream. My nose is cold. So is my dog’s, I imagine.

Those aliens are NOT MOVING. They won’t say anything. Or if they do I can’t hear them because of the pounding in my ears.

Flash of light. Everything’s gone. My dog is back in the car. It’s daylight. I’m in the parking lot of 7-11. My car keys are on the asphalt at my feet.