Hello and welcome to days ten and eleven of life in the asylum! So many things happened in this segment that it only covers two days instead of the three I've been doing. Get ready for the good, the bad, and the ugly as we rejoin our wayward simselves as I head toward the carpool that will take me to work to begin my first day as a Sim Jazzercise Instructor. Tensions run high in the household as everyone begins to wonder if I will ever achieve my goal of becoming The Hand of Poseidon. How can that happen if I am never able to find the position listed in the paper. Does the job even exist? If so, will I ever acquire it and make it to the top so I can get these poor souls out of the nuthouse? Join me now on day ten of our adventure to learn the answers to these questions and more . . . .

More of the residents were beginning to wake and gather in the living room as I made my exit from the house and moved toward the car. While quite a few of them had become good friends, I had still not managed to befriend anyone besides Ashley. Was I that busy, or just lazy? I knew I needed to make time to get to know my fellow housemates better, and I planned to do it soon. I glanced back at the house once more before climbing into the car.

"What if the ghost of Perry really isn't gone and we get haunted by him?" Jilly said to Sawyer in a spooky, mysterious tone, making ghost-like sounds. "Wouldn't that be wild?"

"Really, Jill" Sawyer sighed, as if he were bored, "I think it would have already happened by now if it was going to!"

"But . . . what if it's just a delayed reaction?" Jilly continued, suddenly spooked herself. Suddenly she became worried that their lives would be interrupted by the angry dead. "What if the ghost returns for real?" she said, visibly shaken.

"Don't worry, Jill" Sawyer replied in what he hoped was a reassuring tone. "I really don't think that will happen!" Her words had disturbed him slightly, however, and he hoped he was correct in his assumption.

Amylu, tired of listening to all the ghost talk inside between Jilly and Sawyer, decided step outside to retrieve the bills from the mailbox. She was not concerned at all about the ghost of Perry Sanity appearing to haunt their household, but she did hope that no one in the current household ever reached 'ghost status'.

While Ashley and Holley slept soundly in the two beds next to hers, she quietly daydreamt of Paxton Sanity and hoped that he would pay another visit very soon. Amylu greatly enjoyed his company, as well as that of the other visitors to the household.

"Oh little magic ball" Jilly whispered. "Please do your stuff and fix the broken shower, as well as making it all shiny and clean!" She knew that someday, if she said the words just right, with the right amount of concentration, her magic spell would come to life.

"Well, that is another way of doing it!" Jilly laughed as Valpre entered to clean the filthy shower manually, which made Jilly decide to do the same for the crusty toilet.

Sawyer made himself useful by preparing a nice lunch of open-faced mozzarella and tomato sandwiches.

"Oh, what are we going to do if we never get out of here?" Valpre asked herself in a melancholy, quivering voice. To keep her mind off such matters, she busied herself with mopping the constant puddle on the bathroom floor.

Soon, Jo and Holley entered the bathroom, each with the same intentions. "Look guys" Jo argued, "I need this way more than you, so please get out and let me shower now!" The other two women obliged, but it was not long before Holley returned to demand her turn at the facilities.

"Damn it, Jo" Holley complained angrily. "You know I needed to use the bathroom and shower, but you hang out in here to mop the puddle instead of allowing me to do so? It's time for you to give me MY privacy now!"

Upon my return home from work, I happily paid the bills Amylu had retrieved from the box earlier as well as some that had become slightly overdue. Then I made it my mission to try to obtain more household friends.

First, I started with Jo, telling her about the nice clothes I saw in the shop windows on my way to work. Before I was done, I had acquired Jo's friendship. It was then time to work on Holley. "I'm sure the job I need will come along soon" I informed her with more confidence than I felt.

Although Jo had become my second household friend, I didn't quite get there with Holley just yet.

"Look out for the tickle monster!" Crissy giggled as she attacked Ashley with both hands. Suddenly the kitchen was alive with laughter from the two girls.

As Amylu served perfect plates of spaghetti, Holley and I fantasized about all the ice cream sundaes we would eat once we were free of this crazy house. When Holley went to grab a plate of spaghetti, I decided to try to get some work done around the house.

The broken shower needed fixing and I wanted to improve my mechanical skills, so even though I was interrupted by Amylu needing to use the bathroom before the shower was fixed, I got a nice mood boost from trying! I left the bathroom and headed to the kitchen for a plate of spaghetti instead.

Jo relaxed on the sofa while Ashley, the elf, and Jill, the bride of Frankenstein boogied to the music on the stereo.

Crissy decided to have a crack at stargazing without putting on her day clothes first. She was excited that she was able to get to it before Karima took it over again.

After having worked all day, and then repairing broken things after work, I was totally exhausted, so I grabbed a bed, while the grabbing was good, and fell promptly into a deep sleep.

While Valpre lounged on the sofa, Holley and Karima had a very uplifting conversation that benefitted them both.

"What do you want, Sawyer?" Jo sighed as Sawyer approached her bed. "I'm trying to read, so please find someone else to converse with."

Sawyer turned away and did just that.

Although I wished they would take their conversation somewhere besides my bedside, I was happy to see that Sawyer and Valpre had a discussion that lifted both their moods a bit.

While things were going as usual inside, no one noticed what was happening outside the house as Crissy continued to stargaze through the large telescope.

Suddenly a horribly loud whirring noise seemed to pierce straight through Crissy's brain and a bright, blue-tinted light shone brightly down upon her. Looking up, she was blinded by that light and couldn't see a thing. Then she felt her feet being lifted off the ground and she yelped in surprise as she grabbed a hold of the telescope.

"Yikes! Oh God, somebody help me!" Crissy screamed as an unseen force lifted her body from the ground.

"Did you hear that?" I asked in a sleep-groggy voice and met Sawyer's eyes, who happened to be standing above me. "What's going on?"

Sawyer gazed down at me with puzzled eyes, "I didn't hear anything. You should go back to sleep. You need your rest." Knowing that was true, I didn't argue and I was soon sleeping soundly again.

Meanwhile outside, the force was getting stronger as Crissy gripped the telescope tighter in an attempt to keep herself from being pulled upward into the night sky. "Help me!" she cried out again.

"Mommy" Crissy cried weakly as she began losing her grip on the telescope. "Oh, I want my mommy!" she cried out in a little-girl voice. Her fingers were beginning to ache from hanging on so tightly.

Suddenly Crissy's cries became more urgent as she screamed, "Oh . . . NO! Somebody, please . . . help me!" Crissy's fragile grip on the telescope broke and suddenly she was being lifted upward into the dark night sky.

Crissy released a blood-curdling scream as her body was propelled upward at a dizzying speed. As much as she had wanted to escape the asylum, this was not the way she had wanted to go about it at all! She feared for her life and now all she wanted was to be back inside the safety of the asylum's walls as she continued to scream in vain.

Life continued on as usual in the asylum as I continued to sleep peacefully, Sawyer danced to the music, Holley yawned and stretched as she awoke from a nap on the sofa, and Amylu discussed the beauty of daisies with Karima. Several hours passed while no one became aware that Crissy had gone missing.

Valpre had not heard a thing from outside while Crissy was being hauled away because she was completely immersed in the book she was reading, but her eyes had grown tired so she closed the book with a deep sigh. That is when she heard a commotion outside. She tossed the book aside and ran into the living room to see if the others heard it as well. Soon, several residents had donned their outwear and were rushing out the door to see what was happening.

Karima was the first out the door, with Amylu tagging close behind. Jilly was next and Sawyer was close on her tail as they all ran outside, their eyes open wide with wonder.

"My God, what is that thing?" The three women said almost in unison as the whirring sound grew louder.

"Don't you women know anything?" Sawyer replied as he moved closer to the women. "It's a spaceship!"

"What in the world is going on?" Ashley chimed in as she ran outside to join the others.

"Oh my God, it's so . . . so loud!" Karima complained as she covered her ears with her hands.

Everyone looked up in total amazement as the saucer twirled around and hovered above them in the night sky.

"Oh . . . I can't even look!" Karima whined as she covered her eyes. "What's it doing here anyway?"

Amylu and Ashley seemed to be stunned into silence as Sawyer replied, "I think we are about to find out!"

Everyone seemed frozen in place as the alien vehicle seemed to be doing a strange dance above them. Suddenly a aura of blue light began to glow all around it.

The commotion finally reached me in my place of dreams and I sat upright in my bed. Instead of rushing outside, I padded to the window in my sleep-groggy state and peered out at the most frightening, yet amazing scene I had ever had the opportunity to witness.

Jo remained in her state of deep sleep, however, as the gaping mouth of her Jack 'O Lantern head seemed to be trying to devour the covers from the bed.

The group outside was now joined by Valpre in her aqua chicken suit and Holley, whose outerwear was similar to Val's, except the chicken head was replaced by a gorilla head. As everyone watched, the blue haze surrounding the saucer grew thicker and glowed brighter than before. A collective gasp was released by the crowd at the sight of what happened next. A bright white light shone as a side hatch opened and . . .

Poor Crissy could be seen hanging out from it, dangling in midair as she screamed and called out for help. The strange vehicle seemed to shake and shudder and suddenly Crissy was sucked back inside.

All of a sudden, a bottom hatch opened and Crissy was dropped from it and began a free fall toward the ground.

Crissy screamed the top of her lungs, "Oh God, somebody please . . . help me! I'm going to die!"

Then Crissy tumbled over and she was heading toward the ground, head first, her arms and legs flailing wildly all about. Her screams became louder than ever before.

"Oh no . . . poor Crissy" Ashley wailed loudly, not believing her eyes. Amylu remained in her state of stunned silence, while Valpre and Holley turned their backs on the whole mess. Neither of them could bring herself to watch such a horrible spectacle. Jilly covered her ears and shivered uncontrollably.

"Would you just look at that?" Sawyer breathed, his heart pounding with excitement. He felt it was the most awesome sight ever and he could not look away.

"Is it over yet?" Holley asked in a quivering voice.

Karima replied, "I don't know. I . . . I can't look!"

"Me neither!" Valpre offered in a hoarse whisper.

As I watched, Crissy somersaulted and tumbled over several times until she was heading toward the ground back first. "You'd better not have hurt her!" Ashley growled furiously, as she gazed up at the alien craft, and I prayed it was the case and that the fall didn't finish her off. Crissy's horrified screams continued to pierce the still night air.

"Arrrggghhhh" Crissy wailed pitifully, which sent a stab of pain and fear shooting into my heart. "I'm going to . . . to die!" It seemed that the frightened young woman was trying desperately to control her landing, and as her arms and legs flailed wildly about, her body once again propelled forward until her belly was facing the ground.

"You'll be alright Crissy!" several of the residents encouraged with way more confidence than I was feeling. "Hang in there girl!" Valpre and Holley, still unable to bring themselves to watch, remained standing with backs to the scene.

Crissy released one last blood-curdling scream before she hit the ground with a solid, loud thud.

"Oh no, she's . . . she's dead!" Ashley cried out in horror.

Amylu was visibly shaking now. "You bad . . . bad aliens" she whimpered. "Look what you have done!"

Everything was deathly silent for several long moments as everyone gaped at Crissy lying on the pavement. It seemed as if she were dead until she suddenly gasped sharply, and then cheers from the residents split the night air.

"Thank goodness you're alive!" Amylu cried as Crissy tried her best to pick herself up off the ground. Finally, Holley even turned around to look. Then Ashley and Karima covered their ears once again as the spaceship's whirring sound became increasingly louder once again.

"Oh, I just can't take it anymore!" Valpre cried, tossing off her outerwear and sprinting toward the front door.

"Ah, make it stop!" Jilly yelled as she glared furiously at the noisy flying saucer hovering above them.

"Need some help getting up?" Ashley asked as she dared a glance in Crissy's direction.

"I'm alright!" Crissy called out bravely as she pulled herself to her feet.

"Woohoo!" Karima cheered. "Take that, you lousy aliens! Our Crissy is tougher than you think!" Sawyer merely stood watching in silent wonder as Crissy straightened up to her full height.

"Well, that wasn't so bad, actually" Crissy grinned sheepishly once she was standing upright. Soon, however, her grin morphed into a deep frown as her feigned courage faded away.

"Oh, maybe I'm not so alright" Crissy moaned. "I think I bruised my butt!" Next, Crissy's frown changed into an expression of surprise and then one of complete horror as the noise from the hovering spacecraft became obnoxiously loud once again, reminding her of its presence.

Crissy feared it was going to take her away again and suddenly her blood-curdling scream, once again, pierced the still night air. "Oh my God!" she cried as she realized it was hovering right above her head.

"Go away!" she screamed loudly. "Please, just go away and leave me alone!" Ashley could not believe what she was seeing as it continued to hover directly above them for several long moments.

Crissy ventured a glance over her shoulder as she trembled with fear.

"I wonder if they know how to play instruments?" Sawyer asked Amylu crazily, out of nowhere.

Crissy's fear suddenly morphed into a white-hot fury of the kind she had never before known. "How dare you aliens swoop down here, grab me that way, and do . . . whatever it is you did to me?" Suddenly the craft moved a bit closer and Crissy turned to get out of its way.

She didn't like the idea of it hovering directly above her head, so she began to cross the road, but the inhabitants of the spacecraft did not seem to be interested in anymore abductions that night. It simply moved around gracefully in sort of a crazy dance and then lifted off higher into the sky.

The group of asylum residents watched with their mouths gaped open in wide-eyed wonder as it moved further away.

Soon, it was high above them in the starry sky. They continued to watch until it was nearly out of sight, and then suddenly it was gone. It seemed to disappear as if it had never been there in the first place. Several residents began to wonder if it had all been merely a crazy dream, but Crissy knew the truth.

Poor Crissy was devastated by the abduction, knew it was all too real, and would never forget that night and all the horrors she had gone through for the sake of alien experimentation.

"Check it out!" Karima said to Jilly as she patted her shoulder. "Crissy got to meet actual aliens and came home safely and in one piece!"

Jilly smiled knowingly, "Yes she did, and that is a good thing!"

Sawyer was riddled with envy and jealousy. He wished it would have been him who had been taken by the foreign visitors. He knew he would have to have a discussion with Crissy to find out what had happened to her at the hands of the aliens. "It should have been me!" he whispered softly to himself.

Crissy still fretted over her abduction as she emerged from the bathroom, but Sawyer was there to comfort her. "Hey Crissy" he said softly as he pulled out a chair across from her at the kitchen table. "Are you OK?"

"So" he continued in a casual tone, "how was it? What did the aliens want from you?"

Somehow, Sawyer's casual tone irritated Crissy and she sensed more just beneath the surface. "Well" she replied sarcastically, "they certainly were NOT looking to become my best friends!" With that, she rose and headed back to the bathroom to catch a shower before anyone else could get there first.

"Karima" Jilly said as the pair still stood outside talking, "if I do it right, this magic ball will tell me if the aliens plan to return, what they want, and when they may return!" The air had grown colder, so the pair soon went back inside.

Karima laughed wildly as she entered the kitchen to see Sawyer sipping on a beer. "Drove you to drink, did they? It's mighty awful early to be drinking beer, Sawyer!"

"Oh, just can it, Karima!" Sawyer snapped irritably and then took another long sip of the pungent liquid.

Soon, I joined Sawyer at the table to peruse the morning paper, as usual, hoping to find an opening in the Oceanography career. I could see something was bothering him, so I read in silence as Crissy began preparing breakfast for everyone as if this day was the same as every other day.

"My job is STILL not in the paper!" I complained as Crissy brought a delicious-smelling plate of omelets to the table.

"Those smell wonderful, Crissy" Sawyer smiled up at her from his place at the table.

As Ashley entered the room, she chimed in, "They sure do!"

Soon, nearly half the residents had been lured into the kitchen by the aroma of the omelets.

"Good morning, Ashley, and everyone!" Jo greeted as she joined us, completely unaware of the incident concerning our alien visitors last evening.

Over breakfast, Jo and Ashley managed to reach best-friend status as everyone tried to keep the conversations casual and light, knowing how distressed Crissy was over her recent experience.

As Crissy began clearing the plates, I spoke of awards and how wonderful it always was to receive them. Soon, nearly everyone had left the kitchen except Crissy, who seemed unusually quiet and not quite herself. I happened to have the day off work, so after breakfast, I decided to invite some people over to hopefully lighten everyone's mood and to get our minds off recent unpleasant events.

"I've already told you to leave me alone!" Crissy snapped at Sawyer when he, once again, questioned her about her ordeal with the aliens. "I have no desire to discuss it right now!" Jo, still unaware of Crissy's recent trauma, danced in the living room with a couple of our guests.

"Let the party begin!" Paxton called out happily as he entered the living room, not caring or noticing that the party had apparently already begun without him.

After working all day the day before, and having my sleep disturbed early that morning, I was exhausted, so I slipped away to find a bed in which to rest. I never thought about all the fun I may be missing as I drifted away into my own little world of dreams and aspirations.

As I peacefully slept, the party got going full swing. Holley was thrilled to have the handsome Chad's attention all to herself, while Jilly was finally able to sit down to a plate of omelets. Brittany giggled and whispered to Paxton, "I think that maybe Chad has no idea what he's in for with that one! I'm wondering if we'll be hearing wedding bells soon!"

"Hey Pax! How're ya doin', Brittany?" Crissy greeted merrily as she passed by them in the kitchen. Valpre wondered how Crissy could be acting so nonchalant after all she had gone through the past several hours.

As Darcy conversed quietly with Dario, she caught Sawyer's eye. Sawyer moved toward her with malicious intent gleaming in his gaze. Something about the woman irritated him to no end, although even he didn't know what it was.

"Why are you here again?" he screeched furiously at the startled woman. "It would seem you'd get the idea by now that it would do you well to stay the hell away from me!"

"Hey" Dario said gently to the other man as Darcy checked the place where Sawyer had poked her in the chest, "take it easy man. What did she ever do to you?"

"Just leave it alone, Dude" Sawyer replied in a dangerously low tone and Dario moved away from the pair.

Both Darcy and Sawyer were seething in anger for several long moments afterward. Sawyer knew he felt an unreasonable hatred toward the woman, but he couldn't seem to stop himself from harassing her at every opportunity.

"Hey handsome" Karima said to Chad in a seductive tone, "wanna dance with me?" She could not believe her good fortune in finding the man unoccupied and standing all by himself.

"You know something?" Darcy said to Sawyer as she poked him in the chest. "I have no clue what your problem with me is, but I'm sick and tired of being picked on by you! If you don't cut it out, I will make you sorry you ever started up with me. Got it?" Sawyer was so shocked about Darcy turning the tables on him that he didn't say one word as she turned and walked away from him.

Meanwhile, outside, Ashley decided to do a bit of 'stargazing' of her own. She had started out looking for the aliens that had abducted Crissy, but she soon found herself as fascinated by Vidcund Curious as Karima was. "Those guys are a hoot!" she giggled to herself, unable to tear her eyes away for very long.

"Oh Chad, you say the sweetest things!" Holley giggled daintily as the handsome man paid her a compliment, the fly-ridden plates on the table forgotten for the moment.

Holley found herself torn between Chad and Paxton, but when it came right down to it, she would walk down the aisle with either of them. She was in hot guy heaven when those two were around!

But then again, Holley liked keeping her options open, so she started up a conversation with another male visitor. "Do you think it's more fun to dance to a large stereo, or a boom box?" she asked the puzzled the man.

"Ashley, MUST you sleep on the sofa while we have a houseful of guests? There are plenty of beds available you know!" Karima mumbled, miffed that Ashley was taking up space that could be used for others to sit and chat. Since Ashley had tired of the telescope, I decided to do a bit of stargazing myself when I awoke from my own nap while the party raged on inside the house.

In the living room, everyone was having a great time dancing and chatting to the guests. Jo had not bothered to shower or change upon waking from her own slumber, so she was showing everyone the pumpkin dance again.

Things in the kitchen had reached a boiling point when Brittany walked up to Jill and shouted, "What's wrong with you, you red-headed floozy? The best thing to do is keep your eyes and your hands off someone else's man!"

"Whoa, wait just a minute, what did I do? You'd just better back away . . ." Jilly's words were cut off mid-sentence

A loud smacking sound filled the air as Brittany suddenly slapped Jilly across the face with all her might. "You know exactly what you did, so don't play dumb with me!" Before Jilly could say another word, Brittany had turned and walked furiously away as Jill's anger swelled to new heights.

Jilly stared after the other woman, giving her the 'stink eye' as she likes to call it. "Oh, you will be so sorry you did that, Brittany Sanity!" she whispered furiously, thinking no one was close enough to hear her threat.

"Oh yeah, I just love a saucy redhead all worked up that way!" Dario remarked in a casual, yet seductive tone.

Jilly laughed, "Oh, you ain't seen nothin' yet, Honey!"

"How dare you flirt with that woman that way?" Brittany exclaimed as she appeared out of nowhere and slapped Dario's face . . . hard. "You made me fall in love with you and now . . . this?"

"Woman" Dario gasped, shocked beyond belief, "are you crazy?" He had serenaded her the other day as a joke and he thought she knew that. He had no clue that the woman would take it so seriously. "They should have kept your ass in this asylum!" he spat vindictively.

"Yeah!" Jilly agreed as she stepped up and poked the woman in her chest. "You should never have started up with me! Now I'm going to have to kick your ass." Jill smiled sweetly at Brittany then, but the other woman violently shoved her backward.

"Now I'm really pissed!" Jilly growled in a threatening tone as she glared at the woman who had been foolish enough to become her enemy. "It's payback time!"

As Dario joined Chad, Darcy, and Karima at the table for a very satisfying conversation, Jilly lunged at Brittany, almost knocking her off her feet. By that time, I had grown tired of gazing through the telescope and was getting ready to make my way back into the kitchen.

I stood in stunned silence for several long moments, watching the dust fly, as Jilly pounced on Brittany's back, uttering a string of epitaphs.

Everyone at the table scrambled to rise and cheer on their favorite. "I'll show you, you lousy, no good hussy!" Brittany screamed at Jill as she took a jab at her.

"I don't think so" Jill shot back from between clenched teeth as she grabbed Brittany and drew her into a headlock.

"Oh yeah, go Jill!" Karima cheered excitedly. She could not resist the excitement a good fight brought with it.

As the fight raged on behind me, I casually plopped down onto a chair, and sighed, as if nothing unusual was happening. It was as if my mind had grown numb to moments such as these.

"I'll rip you apart, you nasty, jealous thing!" Jill growled as she dove at Brittany again. Karima jumped, clapped her hands, and squealed in delight. Chad seemed to have grown immune as well because he passed through the kitchen without even glancing at the two women fighting like cats and dogs.

Brittany screamed shrilly as she was tossed high into the air and landed on the floor with a horrific thud.

"Ha, take that!" Jill sneered as she watched the other woman try to get onto her feet. "Anytime you are feeling froggy, come on back and leap!" Jill laughed maliciously and then added, "I'll be ready for you!"

Some residents and guests never even realized a fight had gone down in the kitchen, but one woman was making sure to spread the word. "You should have seen it!" she told Maria breathlessly. "I'm surprised the cops weren't called and no one got arrested!"

"Ah Jill, that was some fight!" I smiled as I congratulated Jill on her victory. "I think someone needed to give that girl a good butt kicking to put her into her place!" Little did I know that in another part of the house, more tension was building between a couple other people.

"You know something, Chad?" Paxton said angrily as he poked the man in the chest. "You are really starting to get on my nerves, the way you seem to follow all the ladies around while we're here! It's very irritating!"

Jo relaxed on her bed, seeming not to notice the two angry men, but Brittany, ever the drama queen, had followed them into the bedroom to see what was going on.

"What business is it of yours?" Chad shot back, fury blazing in his eyes. "You have no room to talk!"

"What a beautiful painting!" Brittany sighed as if nothing else was happening in the room. It sometimes seemed as if she should never have been released from the asylum. She didn't even turn to look at the loud slapping sound and subsequent grunt coming from behind her.

Chad felt satisfaction as his hand connected with Paxton's cheek and he growled, "First, you steal Chanel away from me, and while she isn't looking, you hang around here flirting with all the ladies! What sort of jerk are you, anyway?"

"You don't know Chanel very well, I see" Paxton replied as he stood upright, rubbing his cheek. "She has been messing around all over town, even though she thinks I don't know!"

"Oh . . . really?" Chad smirked. "If that is true, I think it serves you right. Maybe the two of you deserve each other!"

Brittany could not stop herself from bursting into laughter at the two men's exchange. "Just look at them!" she remarked to Jo, who still seemed to be lost in her own daydreams. "They're fighting over a tramp who isn't even worth the time or trouble!"

"You don't know a damned thing, Chad!" Paxton shouted furiously. "You'll soon see!" Then he pushed roughly past Chad and headed toward the door.

Unaware of the conflict going on in the bedroom, several of us ladies sat around the kitchen table chatting. "That job I need has still not been listed in the paper!" I complained to Jill. "I'm starting to become concerned that it never will!"

"Oh, I'm sure it will turn up eventually" Jill smiled reassuringly. I decided to not worry so much about it and suggested going into the living room to hang out awhile.

Turning the conversation to more pleasant prospects, I laughed, "I am going to immerse myself in all the ice cream sundaes I can eat when we get out of this place!" Crissy, Holley, and Jill could not have agreed more.

Meanwhile, Ashley found a way to temporarily lighten Chad's mood as she told him a couple of cheesy jokes. Valpre was thrilled for the chance to finally have the bathroom all to herself. Ashley couldn't hold Chad's attention for very long, however, so he left her to join those of us in the living room.

"Uh oh" Sawyer said softly as he watched Chad move toward Paxton, "Chad looks like a man on a mission!"

Crissy giggled, "Oh Paxton, you are just too sweet!" He had just complimented her hairstyle and told her how well it seemed to suit her.

"Listen, you!" Chad growled at Paxton furiously. "Just what did you mean by what you said in the bedroom? You can't just toss something like that out there and then walk away like that!"

Crissy gasped, surprised at the sudden outburst. She was a peaceful person, as a rule, and liked to avoid stress. A fight would most certainly stress her out to the max!

"Please guys" she pleaded softly. "Is all this tension really necessary?"

Chad looked at her as if he was just noticing her for the first time and replied, "Damn Baby, you're pretty cute, but this none of your business and I think you should stay out of it!" Before he knew what was happening and could say anything more, Paxton was upon him and Crissy quickly moved out of their way.

"Well, at least we haven't had any burglars breaking in here at night" Sawyer said with a grin. It appeared that I was not the only one who had grown immune and used to all the fights breaking out in our home. We all continued our little chat session as the two men pummeled each other senseless with everything they had.

"I'll show you who the better man is" Chad growled as he took Paxton into a deadly headlock. A couple of the chatters actually reached best friend status as the dust swirled all around us. Now it was I who felt we should do a better job of cleaning the floors around the house!

The two new best friends were Holley and Sawyer. It came to be, despite the fact that Crissy was screaming and jumping around wildly behind them, as the fight escalated to new heights. Finally, I had to stand to move out of the men's way before I was run over by them.

"That is that!" Chad said triumphantly as Paxton landed flat on his ass on the floor. Chad had finally redeemed himself from losing the last fight to the woman, Crystal Vu.

Jo missed all the action because she had spent the last hour trying to get into the bathroom. When her attempts failed, she gave up and went to bed, taking her green stink cloud with her.

As I headed into the kitchen to grab a plate of spaghetti, Ashley decided to slip outside and do her own search for aliens, wondering if the ones who had abducted Crissy would come back for her next.

Crissy, however, had other things on her mind as she passed by Sawyer into the kitchen. She wondered why she had never noticed how hot he was before, but then she felt sick to her stomach at the thought.

"I'm telling you, Amylu" Valpre said excitedly, "when I get out of this place, the first thing I'm going to do is head downtown for a bit of fun. We never have much fun around here!"

Once again, instead of our guests heading for their own homes, several of them decided to take over our beds.

This time I was still awake, so I promptly told them it had been nice having them over, but they needed to go back to their own homes if they wanted to go to bed.

Once that was done, I quickly grabbed a bed for myself. Of course I had to work in the morning, so I needed my rest more than anyone else in the house.

While Dario thought Crissy was sizzling hot, Crissy's mind was on Chad. She found him quite attractive and hoped to get to know him better someday. Suddenly she wasn't feeling so great, though, as her mind went to her experience on the alien spacecraft. Feeling the need to be alone, she rushed into the bathroom.

She barely made it there when the flood gates opened and she allowed her tears to flow freely down her cheeks.

"Everything will be OK" she sniffed as she dried her eyes. She had to believe that for the sake of her own sanity.

"Dang Jo" Ashley whined, "I really wanted to sleep in that bed and all you're doing is lying there relaxing!"

Jo smiled sweetly up at her. "Yes, and this where I intend to stay for awhile too!" That night, Jo, Amylu, and Karima all took up the beds on one side of the room.

The beds on the other side were occupied by Jill, Valpre, and me. It was nice to find a quiet place to sleep!

Crissy decided to go out and see if the aliens were still lurking about. She had always been told to face her fears and if you fall off a horse, the best thing to do is to get right back on it, and that is exactly what she did!

Finally Jo vacated the bed in which she had been relaxing and Holley wasted no time grabbing it for herself.

Although it was now early spring, a light snow began to fall as Crissy continued to stargaze, relieved that nothing unusual was happening again. Soon the air grew colder, so she made her way back into the kitchen.

"You know" Crissy said to me as I began my daily search for the job my heart desired, "I'll bet if I was big and heavy like a sumo wrestler, those stupid aliens wouldn't have been able to lift me up so easily!"

I laughed at Crissy's suggestion and opened my mouth to speak, but my eyes grew wide instead as my lips curled into a huge grin.

"It's here!" I cried out in utter delight. "My job, the one for which I've been searching for ages is right here!" I could not believe my own eyes, but there it was. There was only one problem. It was Friday and the job started at 4:00am and it was now around 8:00am. I had already missed today's carpool and what was worse is that the job gave me the weekend off, so I would have to wait until Monday to begin work! "At least my search is over" I smiled to myself.