Free Larry Goes To Space by Alan Black Page A

measure.”
    “What would you desire, Larry?”
    “Can you get me a short brunette with freckles? No? Not without abduction by force. And I assume that if you were into abducting humans we would already be halfway back to your place.”
    Scooter laughed. “True. We want you to help us, but not by force. Do you need much time to gather—what did you say you needed? Undies, yes?”
    “It’s underwear. I just need to grab a change of clothes or two and make a telephone call. It shouldn’t take long.”
    Scooter waved his hands in his alien no motion. “We must close up the ship now. Your sun is setting and nightfall approaches. We are not night creatures. Tomorrow at sunrise is good, yes?”
    Larry shrugged. “If I have to wait, then I have to wait. I’ve been waiting to go to space since I was about seven, so one more night won’t kill me.”
    Scooter slid back on the deck and the hatch un-melted.
    Larry stood there for a moment and decided he didn’t have another word for what the hatch did. The hatch melted open and un-melted when it closed.
    He checked the sun. It wasn’t close to dropping completely out of sight, but it was closing in on the horizon. Still, even on Earth, dusk and early dawn are as dangerous a time in unknown territory as full-on dark. He understood Scooter’s concern for dusk and night on an unknown planet. If all he knew about Earth came from television broadcasts picked up from space, he’d be concerned about landing here in broad daylight.
    Larry started to turn to the tractor, but stopped. That was probably all they knew about Earth. That’s probably why the Tetra had passed Earth over for contact. Larry was from Earth and most parts of it were so scary and inhospitable that he wouldn’t go visit them. And that was just New York, Chicago, and London. It would give him the shivers to think about going to Tehran, Mogadishu, or Lagos, especially after dark.
    Finally, in the tractor seat, Larry steered the tractor, bouncing across the familiar pasture on the way back to the barn. Larry wasn’t overly aware of the bumpy ride. He realized Scooter hadn’t really told him why the Tetra passed by Earth. Larry added a whole lot more questions to his list of things to ask.
    Why was Earth even considered for contact?
    Did the Tetra follow the Star Trek Prime Directive or did they make up their own rules?
    Who else was out there?
    How far was “out there”?
    How long would it take to get to the Teumessian home planet?
    Larry parked the tractor under the lean-to awning attached to the barn. He went to the only occupied stall.
    “Dollar, I gotta pasture you for a bit. I doubt if you mind much. I’ll tell Dad to look in on you.” He led the horse through the gate to one of the front steer pastures, stripped off the horse’s halter, and closed the gate behind him.
    Dollar looked at Larry for a bit, dropped and rolled in the dirt, shaking off the stink of the barn. He grabbed a mouthful of fresh green grass and trotted off away from the house. He was young and free on the open prairie. All thought of Larry was gone from Dollar’s mind before Larry reached the house.
    Larry stopped in the kitchen on his way through the house. He probably ought to make himself a steak or something. He could pull something out of the freezer. It might be a while before he got meat again, if ever. He had all night long, so he might as well make a feast of it. He pulled the biggest porterhouse steak out of the freezer he could find. He tossed it into the microwave, setting it to thaw.
    Larry wanted to get right to packing, but that wouldn’t take too long. He also wanted to phone his Dad, but there was daylight left. Dad would still be in his fields. Mom would be there, but she would be right in the middle of fixing supper for Dad and his grandparents.
    He sighed and set about washing the dishes. It didn’t take long to get through the breakfast dishes. He sighed again and started on last night’s supper dishes.