“Hey Mom, just moved to Spencerville – total pet paradise! Perfect until, surprise! Aliens. Don’t worry tho, Millie and me teamed up with some pooches and we’re guarding the town. Alien horrors? Mill still finds time for her Eeyore toy. Talk about keeping priorities straight! Spencerville’s safe under the paws, woof woof! 🐾 – MillieMoo”

Listen to the story here.

“City limits,” I read aloud, gazing at the welcome sign with that token gleam in my eyes, “Spencerville. I still can’t believe this place.”

Millie gave me a soft whine from the back seat of the jalopy, longing to be set free amongst images of frolicking pets, wagging tails, and hyperspace.

Yeah, Millie, I get it. I would be equally anxious if I were stepping into dog wonderland, heaven’s waiting room. “Lemme guess, sweetheart,” I scratched behind her floppy ear. “Beach first?”

Now, just imagine it. A surreal town, once a small little secret, looming right at the edge of the gleaming orange cloaked event horizon. Millie, romping around in the verdant fields, chasing the rustling leaves. Not a care in the world except for her Eeyore toy and the perpetual question – sausage rolls or pasta tonight, at The Bone Appetite? Life was perfect, for us, for her. Too perfect for an Alien Invasion.

“C’mon, Millie! Nobody takes over our town! Not on my watch!” I shouted, my voice echoing in the deserted streets of Spencerville. The critters had gone into hiding; even The Doggie Daycare was eerily silent. To think I’d see shutters down at The Howling Husky Hardware Store, it was unthinkable.

Millie hopped beside the driver’s seat, eyes wide with anxiety and anticipation. “We’ve got work to do, darling.”

“Alright, let’s run through the plan. We need to…”

Just then, from the corner of my eyes, the sudden movement. I had company: Henry and Shiloh. Right there. On the ready.

“I knew I called the town meeting for a reason,” I gushed, patting Millie’s neck with relief. “Alright, team, Spencerville needs us.”

And, we invincibles launched into a slow walk through Retriever River, right up to the pawfect Training Center, ready to negotiate, ready to fight. …ready to protect Earth and adapt to the new reality. In the midst of it all, with a galaxy of extraterrestrial horrors looming ahead, Millie bent her head and grabbed her beloved Eeyore for a quick game of Chase.

Laughter bubbled up within me. “You’ve got your priorities straight, girl!” And with that, I felt that familiar confidence surging through my veins again — if Millie was not afraid, then why should I be?

As the first wave hit, Millie hunkered down, Henry and Shiloh circling right behind me.

“Hold on tight, Spencerville!” I shouted, brushing a wayward strand of hair off my forehead, “The troops are here!”

The End.