U. T. L. (Undetected Terrestrial Lifeform)

Suzy came into the living room and saw her mother sitting on the couch tinkering with a wierd, box like machine covered in flashing lights that was plugged into the living room wall.
"What is that mommy?", she asked, "Is that the science project you've been working on? The one for finding aliens?".
"Not aliens, honey", said her mom, "U.T.L's. Undetected terrestrial lifeforms".
"Whats the difference?", asked Suzy, confused.
"Well aliens are extra-terrestrial, from outside the Earth on some other planet but U.T.L's are lifeforms that exist on the Earth but which we just haven't detected yet", said her mother.
"But why haven't we detected them?", asked Suzy.
"Well, as you know from school, for thousands of years, before the invention of the microscope, people didn't know that microscopic organisms existed because we couldn't see them. U.T.L's are like that. They may be here but until we have machinery that can detect them; that can observe them then we just don't know", said her mother.
But, just then, her mothers machine started to make a strange noise like a sort of rattling hum.
"Has it detected something, Mommy?", she asked.
Her mother picked up a kind of headset that was resting upon the machine and placed it over her head, looking through a pair of goggle like eye pieces on the front of the headset.
"I doubt it", she said to her daughter, "Its probably just picking up some interference but you never know. Perhaps I've got lucky".
She flicked a switch on the front of the machine but then Suzy saw the expression on her mothers face change to one of astonishment.
"Yes", she said, "Yes. I can see something; shapes right infront of us. Small creatures and they look like they have limbs of somekind and heads".
But then, suddenly, her daughter started to cry.
"Mommy", she said, "I can feel something touching me. I don't like it".
Her mother turned towards her, still looking through the eyepieces of the headset.
"Its one of those things", said her mom, "Don't worry, darling. Perhaps its just curious. I'm sure it won't hurt you".
"But it is hurting me mommy", said the little girl, "And I can hear it talking in my head. It says that what you're doing is wrong; that human beings musn't know about them".
"Tell them I'm a scientist", said her mother, "That science has to enquire into everything; has to push the boundaries of human knowledge".
But then the creature holding her daughter seemed to pull her to the floor and, through the headset, she could see the other creatures converge upon her, covering her and then her daughter started to scream.
"Break the machine mommy", she yelled, sobbing, "Please. They say they won't let me go till you break the machine".
"But why?", asked her mother, shocked and flabbergasted, "Its not dangerous to them. Tell them the machine isn't dangerous; that we mean them no harm".
"They say that they are the real rulers of the Earth", said her daughter, "That they use human beings to serve them. If human beings know about them they will no longer be masters".
Bending down, her mother tried to grab hold of her daughter; tried to pull her to her feet and away from the creatures but then she felt invisible arms gripping hold of her aswell and, suddenly, looking round about her she could see dozens of the creatures rushing towards her from all sides, swarming round her and then she felt them pulling upon her, dragging her down.
"No!", she screamed as, losing her balance, she fell to the floor and then felt more of the creatures climb on top of her and saw hands reaching around her headset, pulling it off of her head.
But then, one of the creatures grabbing hold of her head and forcing it sideways, she saw her machine rising up into the air as if it was being lifted by a team of strong, invisible hands and then they hurled it across the room, smashing it into a wall.
Part of her was saddened but another part relieved.
"Perhaps now the machine is broken", she thought, "They'll leave my daughter and me alone".
But the creatures were doing something else to her now. She could feel their hands, not just gripping her but moving inside of her like surgeons operating.
"What are they doing?", she asked her daughter.
"They say they're using their tools", said her daughter, "To change you so that you won't be a threat to them anymore".
Her mother started to scream, convulsing wildly and kicking the air, trying to struggle free.
"No", she said, "I don't want to change. I have a right to be who I am".
But the creatures wouldn't let her get up; she could feel them putting the whole weight of her bodies upon her and then, suddenly, she could hear them just like her daughter, inside her mind.
One of them was talking to her, angrilly.
"You
have
to
learn
that
you
are
not;
not
all-
owed;
not
all-
owed
to...", it said.

 

But then, Suzy saw her mother smile; a broad lazy smile as if she had just woken from a happy dream.

 

Then her mother got to her feet and, as she did, Suzy felt the hands that had been holding her down disappear.

 

"Are they gone now?", asked the little girl struggling to her feet aswell and then throwing her arms around her mothers waist, still trembling with fear.

 

"Don't worry", said her mother stroking her daughters hair, "They won't hurt us anymore. We're not a threat to them anymore".

 

But then, looking round, her mother saw the wreckage of her smashed machine lying scattered about.

 

"What a mess", she said, "Why don't we just clean all this rubbish up, hmm?".

 

Then they got a broom and a shovel from the kitchen and started putting the remains of the machine into a rubbish bag and, after that, neither Suzy or her mother ever talked about the invisible creatures again.