“Is… ah, it(?) real?” Jim asked looked down at the, well whatever you wanted to call it.
“Well, I mean, the timeline adds up, so I think so…” Bob replied, trailing off with a little shrug.
The two men were standing in Bob’s spare room where the… object they were discussing was sitting.
“How long ago did you find… her?” Jim asked.
“Back on the 23rd of last month, just a week after she went missing.” Bob replied.
“Yeah… but, I mean…” Jim stuttered, trying to find the next question he wanted to ask.
“I get it, what are the chances right? Some nobody slob like me finding her abandoned in the back alley of my shop?”
Jim nodded in agreement, it did seem… unlikely. However it was hard to argue with what was sitting in front of him.
“Want to see what really clinched it for me though?” Bob asked.
Jim managed to rip his gaze away from… drone? and nodded towards Bob.
Bob walked over to the table where his prized orchids sat under several small grown lamps, then he picked up the one closest to the end of the table and walked back over, making sure not to extend the cord too far.
“Take a look…” Bob said and then turned the grow light towards the drone.
Jim watched the “skin” of the drone ripple and shiver, then the “nipples” of it harden as it bounced ever so slightly in place.
“See… you know who those aliens like sunlight…” Bob said and then turned the light away from the drone and it returned to its placid state.
“You lucky son of a…” Jim said, shaking his head from side to side.
Then a concerned look came over Jim’s face, “What about…”
“Her friends? Yeah, I was worried about that too… until I saw her cousin fly right over my apartment building the other day and didn’t even slow down. He’s been scanning the city for weeks now, whatever happened to her must have made her undetectable to him as well.”
A smiled crossed Jim’s face, “So, ah, can I give her a go then?”
Bob chuckled and nodded, “Of course… why else do you think I invited you over?”
Both men chuckled and then Bob turned and left, just as he closed the door he heard Jim’s pants hit the ground. It wasn’t long before he heard the gurgling of the drone even threw the door and into his living room.
He had no idea how she’d come to be this way, she seemed to be mute now, and really only responded to something being stuck between her lips… well that and the growlamp of course. She didn’t seem to need to eat or defecate or sleep or anything else he’d expect a living being to do, but that at least made things easier for him.
Bob didn’t know what he was going to do with her long term, but he certainly knew what was going to happen for the next few weeks at least.
