Major Mau listened to the terrifying sounds of night as he crouched in the very center of the of the chicken coop as far from the edge of the wire mesh as possible. Mau’s imagination was running wild at the unspeakable horrors that might reach in to snatch him away at any moment.

A bat swooped low through the shadowy moonlight, looping crazily around his prison before flying away over the trees. He’d heard that these leathery birds drank the blood of young cats, condemning their souls to a twilight existence between life and death. Mau hoped he was too old to interest them.

He flinched at the sound of rustling leaves just outside the coop, breathing a sigh of relief when he heard a kitten’s soprano voice.

“Oh boy!” the kitten whistled. “Wha’d’ya know, a real flying saucer! That one looked like the same saucer those creepy blue cats were flying around in.”

Mau shouted back, “What do you mean, creepy?”

With a yell, the kitten dashed around the corner of the barn.

It occurred to Mau too late that the kitten might be useful and maybe he shouldn’t have scared the little guy away.

“Come here, my young friend.” Mau called softly, but there was no reply.

Mau pondered what he would do in the other cat’s place. But he wasn’t good at putting himself in anyone’s place and could only reflect that he would run away as fast as possible from someone who yelled at him in the dark.

Suddenly the kitten called up, “I remember you!” and Mau practically jumped out of his fur pajamas.

“You’re one of those scary blue cats that took me away!” the kitten said.

Mau remembered him, too. “Jeffery! Jeffery. So good to see you, son. I’ve been worried about you.”

“You’ve been worried about me?” Jeffery stood on his hind legs and looked through the mesh suspiciously. “Well, I’ve been worried about you!”

“How’s that Jeffery? Worried about me?”

“In my nightmares! That’s how!”

Mau gave him his best insincere smile but it faded as soon as Jeffery lost interest and walked away. But the kitten suddenly had another thought and jumped on top of the cage.

“Say! What are you doing inside the Matthews’ chicken coop?”

“Jeffery, son.” Mau looked up through the mesh trying to sound paternal. “Jump down from there and I’ll tell you about the training mission you flew.”

“I flew a mission?” Jeffery drew closer with narrowed eyes.

“It didn’t seem like much of a mission. You did a lot of yelling.”

“Sure, sure. It was a test, uhm... To see how you’d hold up.”

Jeffery didn’t like tests. “Did I pass?”

“Oh you did, Jeffery. With flying colors. Why, Jeffery, don’t you remember?”

“I remember, you said you’d come back and hurt me if I told.” Jeffery spoke in a confidential voice. “Maybe I should have but I didn’t.”

Relieved that no one had found out, Mau said brightly, “That’s exactly why I’m here, to tell you the great news! You’re going to be captain of your own ship! What do you think of that?”

“Captain of a ship? Like that one in the barn?” Jeffery drew back a few steps and looked curiously up at Mau. “So, why were you looking for me in the chicken coop?”

Mau’s glue was starting to come loose again. “I wasn’t looking for you in any chicken coop you dumb . . .arghh!” . . . he chased his tail in frustration.

“I remember you now.” Jeffery screwed up his face. “You were the —”

Mau cut him off before he could say more and pointed toward the barn.

“It’s waiting for you right over there, son.”

Jeffery’s eyes flew wide. “A ship like that one inside the barn.”

“Yes, No, actually, that’s your ship and we’re going to fly together on a mission to...ah...to...”

Mau’s mind went blank.

Jeffery was excited. “Area 51? Are we going to look for space ships and stuff? Area 51 is way cool! It’s where the government keeps all the old UFOs and things.”

He ran off toward the house yelling, “Oh, wait ‘till I tell Java!”

“Wait! Wait!” Mau shouted, panic stricken. “It’s a top secret mission.”

Mau heard some rustling in the bushes, and Jeffery came back again.

“Wait for what?”

“What’s all this about Area 51?” Mau asked, trying not to sound too interested.

Jeffery spoke eagerly, “You’ve got to meet Mister Detlow, Ann’s dad. She’s what they call my pet parent and she’s so kind to me. They give me great food and once they gave me a bath, and —”

“For pity’s sake—get on with it, boy!” Mau didn’t know about pet parents or baths or being nice. “What in the name of Jupiter is Area 51?”

“Well, Ann’s father talks to people all over the world about flying saucers on his radio. Where they’ve landed, who’s seen ‘em, and everything about this secret government place on some mountain where they keep all the space ships that crashed on Earth and stuff. They even have the creepy mashed-up bodies of space aliens that didn’t make it, and the pieces of other awful things. It’s way cool and I want to go there someday.”

Mau’s eyes lit up. “Did you say the government keeps old space ships?”

“Yeah, like I said, there’s this secret place up in the mountains—”

“Let me out!” Mau demanded.

“So, where’s your ship? I only saw one.”

“I’ll show you when you let me out.” Mau was trying to be calm.

“So exactly why are you inside Java’s chicken coop, again?”

“Do we have to go over that now?” Mau was exasperated, but managed to calm himself enough to say, “Please just open the door and let me out.”

Jeffery tilted his head to the side wondering how it worked.

“I don’t know how.”

“Lift the thing out. It’s not so hard to do. Any idiot could...”

“It’s not nice to call names. You did it before. I don’t think I want to go anywhere with you if you’re going to be that way.”

Jeffery turned away in a huff and started for the Mathews’ house. It was time to let Java know what was going on inside his chicken coop.

“Please, please. Just come back and do that little thing for me. I promise I won’t call names again, ever,” Mau pleaded.

“I’ll even let you go first.”

Jeffery turned back brightly because there was no doubt he to go.

Reaching up, he pulled the nail out with his teeth. Mau disappeared into the shadows and Jeffery never saw him again.