His brown leathery skin cracked as he waddled down the aisle of the theatre, carefully selecting the young girl who would be the perfect unwitting accomplice. Webbed wings extended slowly as he approached her from behind and then silently wrapped them around her slight form, distorting her view.
Lynn sat comfortably reclined in the seat next to her friend, Teresa, enjoying the sci-fi flick about an alien invasion. His intrusion had been perfectly timed; she never knew what hit her. He smiled a grotesque smile that distorted the cracked brown skin even more as he contemplated his victory. He let out a low chuckle that sounded more like a cackle but built into a full-throated roar of delight. The girls heard nothing.
###
“So, what did you think?” Teresa asked skeptically as they emerged from the theatre.
“It was very convincing,” Lynn paused. “I guess I just never really considered it before, but I thought it was very believable.”
“Hm. I was always taught that God did all these miracles, but I never really thought about how he did them, or whether they really were miracles, or where God came from,” her friend responded thoughtfully.
“Yeah, I mean, logically it makes a whole lot of sense.” Lynn continued, oblivious to the fact that her mind was not utilizing logic at all. In fact, her mind was processing information not according to her own logical thoughts, but based on his influence. Delightful! “Think of all the so-called miracles described in the Bible that we can actually do now! We can heal people of all sorts of diseases, even bring someone back to life when they have died. Maybe not four days later, but it’s just a matter of time before we’re able to do that, too!
Her warming enthusiasm encouraged him to push a little further. “Just think, if aliens did come here to earth three thousand years ago, wouldn’t they seem like god to the people who lived then? The people wouldn’t understand that they were just creatures who evolved like we did, they would think they had magical powers.” The more she talked, the more convinced she was of the truth behind the movie’s premise. He smiled smugly. It was the very premise that he had suggested to a young screen writer not so long ago.
Teresa’s skepticism was fading as her friend’s enthusiasm squashed her doubts.
The teens strolled through the parking lot oblivious to the creature perched on Lynn’s shoulders; his wings cloaked her head and shoulders. He clung to her scalp with the claws of his right hand while the long, bony index finger of his left hand swirled slowly as if stirring a cocktail inside her head.
The girls reached Lynn’s car and said their good-byes.
“I’ll see you in church tomorrow, right?” asked Teresa, crossing the lot.
“Maybe - it’s kind of late. I may sleep in. Good night!” called her friend as climbed into her car and waved.
Yes, it had been a very good night.
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