Mr. and Mrs. Harrison's Curious Hiking Day (Short Story) | LMAC Collage FreeStyle No. 30

For my Freestyle Collage No. 30 and short story, my theme is "curiosity". I wanted to share a story of a couple who loved hiking and discovering new things. They were jovial senior citizens who enjoyed adventure and were not afraid of unusual sightings. They were curious about life and all that it held.

I hope you enjoy my freestyle collage and short story.

The Harrison's woke up that Saturday morning, ate breakfast, then dressed in their favorite hiking outfits. They shot each a knowing glance, then laughed out loud. They hoped their matching outfits would confuse any would-be predators.

The new spot they'd read about sounded promising. They were hoping to get a sighting of a two-headed lime green alien rumored in the gossip column of their local newspaper to have landed in the rugged terrain near Area 52.

On the way to the site, they laughed at the different scenarios involved in locating any alien species they might encounter.

They arrived and assembled their gear. No restriction signs, they entered Area 52 and walked up the visible trail to a patch of rocky terrain.

Nothing unusual, so they continued on behind the rocks. The sky darkened. Shadows descended. It was daylight, but the background was glowing as if night had descended. Not shocked, but a bit curious, they turned to witness the event.

But nothing happened. That is, until the backdrop opened up to a large eye that resembled a portal. They were hard core adventures and not easily frightened.

Did the aliens come through that hole? Frowning, they looked sideways at each other then again shrugged their shoulders.

"Best keep looking. We need hard evidence," Guy Harrison muttered in a matter-of-fact tone.

They stopped quickly. Ahead was a strange patch of bright lights flashing. Guy held out his hand so as to motion to Alice to get behind him.

Sitting between two rocks was a double-headed green alien. Each side looked different.

Excited, they started documenting the evidence. "This looks like a cheap hoax," Guy sneered as he captured a photo with the camera on his mobile phone. He wasn't as fanciful as his wife.

He scrolled through to make sure the image was in his gallery. For several minutes, he continued scrolling. Nothing. He scratched his head.

Frustrated, he inched closer to the green figure, then kicked it with his sneaker. A safe bet, he thought.

Suddenly, the alien's eyes opened. It's hand flew up and grabbed Guy. Pulling Guy toward her, she consumed his body until nothing remained except the hat that had fallen to the ground.

All this action happened in an instant. The alien inhaled deeply. The hat flew into its mouth. Then, it turned toward the green eye and spit Guy and his hat into the center of the iris looking gateway. Catching them, the eye swirled several times until Guy Harrison disappeared.

The alien turned back into position.

Meanwhile, Alice Harrison was so consumed with curiosity that she didn't even notice her husband in distress and had now disappeared.

The alien's head facing her was turned upside down. Curious, Alice stuck her finger close to its mouth and pushed it open.

The alien opened its eyes. Mesmerized, Alice placed her finger inside the alien's mouth. Immediately, the alien grabbed Alice's finger and wouldn't let go. It tried to jerk her entire body inside its mouth.

But Alice was not going quietly into that alien's good belly. She already had supper planned. And she wasn't on the menu as the main course.

She yelled for her husband, but no answer. Realizing something was terribly wrong, she decided to fight back. No alien was going to get the best of her, she reasoned.

Desperately searching for anything she could work with, she picked up a sizeable rock with her other hand and tossed it inside her purse. She knew the odds weren't in her favor, but she was going to give it her best.

With the force of her sixty-five years, she swung her purse back and forth, hitting the alien on each side of its head. The head bounced both ways as if in a tennis match, spewing green, red, and God knows what else colored slimy muck.

For leverage, she planted one foot, then drew back the other. With her spiked sneakers, she kicked the alien in the face several times, attempting to free her hand.

Successful, she fell backward. Looking around for her husband, she screamed, "oh my, God! The other alien's got Guy!"

She was furious. Composing herself, her nostrils flared as her eyes bulged wider.

Reaching into her purse, she retrieved the spray bottle of Alien Repellent purchased from the tourist center.

She finished off her side of the alien, then Guy's side, alternating spraying the solvent and bashing in its head.

"Whew." she exclaimed. Finished, she wiped the dirt off her hands and sweat from her forehead.

Her thoughts turned back to her husband. Jumping off the pile of rocks, she headed toward the iridescent crystals floating in the background of the eye.

No eye was going to snatch her husband of thirty years away and take him God knows where. Her hiking friends would laugh her out of their club. Not going to happen. She'd spent those years lovingly and faithfully making sure he was well fed and got plenty of exercise. They had more adventures ahead.

Gathering up her backpack, she looked directly into the center of the eye. Eyes bloodshot and mind swimming with hundreds of anticipated situations, she heaved her shoulders several times.

Glancing around for available weapons, she picked up another huge rock, then secured it in her pocket. Tightening the laces on her sneakers, she grabbed Guy's mobile phone and jumped headlong into the eye of the alien storm.

She was going to get her Guy.

In preparing my theme, I first decided to utilize a previous LMAC Contest image that was used for Round 168. Also, the star of my project was a recent pure fractal I created in Apophysis 7X. I used the contest image as the landscape. My fractal, I used at the background to create a mysterious skyline.

Below are the additional images I included to complete my theme of a curious couple out on a hiking trip. For the couple I used two images contributed to the LIL by @agmoore. The images are of a woman. However, one is bent over looking at a mobile phone, so I used this one as the woman's husband.

I located a unique image from a free source for the alien.

• Woman standing up looking at phone Contributed to the #LIL by @agmoore

• Woman bending down Contributed to the #LIL by @agmoore

• Alien girl with head upside down at PxFuel

• Eye Contributed to the #LIL by @edgarafernandezp

• Red Balloon Contributed to the #LIL by @alex2alex

• Fractal titled "Circle of Multi-color" created by me in Apophysis 2.09

• Fractal titled "Blue Horn of Turbulence" created by me in Apophysis 7X

I utilize Canva to create my collages. It is a free program. I uploaded all images I intended to include in my scene. In order to take advantage of the premium features, I upgraded my account to Annual Pro Membership Subscription. This upgrade allows me to use the background removal feature.

I was able to blend my fractal and the contest photo to complete the background. Since my fractal was a small image, to complete the illusion of a background alien portal, I duplicated the fractal and flipped it for a fuller size.

What resulted was unexpected. A hole in the center appears. No panic. This presented the perfect opportunity to add a portal. Instead of a object, I chose an eye that would be a protector for the alien on the ground.

I added the eye contributed by @edgarafernandezp. This served as an excellent portal due to its dual colors.

Finally, I added the green alien, the woman image, and remaining images, removing their backgrounds if required. Positioning them on the canvas to fit was the last hurdle. They all came together to fit my short story perfectly.

Here is my completed freestyle collage: