The three sprang apart with unbelievable swiftness, and flung themselves behind the nearest obstructions.
“Hold your fire,” the captain commanded. “Maybe we can reason with it.”
The policeman was debating with himself whether to go back for help, or to get the creatures by himself. He was no hero, but he shuddered to think of those things running loose in the city. Suddenly one of the creatures rose up from behind a rock and began to chatter unintelligibly at him. A .38 slug barely missed taking the captain’s head off.
“Take him with your paralyzer!” the captain shouted at the first officer. “It’s just our luck to run into an insane one.”
The policeman barely saw the blue beam that penciled out of the officer’s gun. With a choked gasp he fell hard to the beach and lay there, unmoving.
Mike Honosura breathed slowly. He could feel his heart hammering in his chest. He wanted to run, but the chill that radiated from his stomach seemed to freeze him where he sat. His eyes stayed riveted on the three beings as they waddled towards him. At first they looked like green, fuzz-covered beach balls, about two feet in diameter. As they drew closer he saw that they walked on short, purple stumps. Two fingered tentacles extended from under a small, saucer-eyed head that surmounted the ball shape. The creatures wore belts about the equators of their bodies. Fastened to the belts were several instruments; none of which Honosura was familiar with. Not that he was particularly interested in what they were wearing at the time.
When Alma, Amika, and Babla first caught sight of Honosura sitting there they recoiled with almost as much horror as Honosura had when he first saw them.
“In all my experience,” Babla said in a hushed voice, “I have never seen anything quite so terrifying. Can this be an example of the intelligent life native to this planet?”
“I doubt it.” The radio operator nervously fingered his blast pistol. “Besides, even if it were, my bet is that it’s barbarian. Look at those houses; they barely reach fourth-level, let alone fifth. I say shoot first and make apologies later.”
“You’re an idiot!” Babla barked. “I tell you we saw seventh-level structures on this planet. Use your reason, man, this place must represent some antiquated transitional phase from the lower levels. These creatures probably preserve it as some sort of museum. I personally assure you that seventh-level and fourth-level buildings simply do not coexist in the same culture. Now put up your blaster!”