"Happy Anniversary, Sharon," Jim said as he removed Sharon's blindfold. As part of a grand romantic evening he had planned for he and his girlfriend, he had surprised her with an evening picnic in the valley. There was not a person around for miles, and under the setting sun they sat on the soft blanket and ate delicious goodies that Jim had packed in a wicker basket.
"This is the most romantic thing you've ever done," Sharon said as she ate.
"And you thought I'd forget again, didn't you?"
"Well, you don't have the best track record for this sort of thing."
Jim reached into the basket and pulled out dessert. "Care for a mini-apple pie?"
The spacecraft dipped lower into the sky. A satellite dish extended from the lower portion of the craft and began scanning for biological lifesigns. A number of small creatures lit up the aliens' display screen, but the indications showed that so far the target was not in sight. Large lights onscreen pointed out high concentrations of the target lifesign, but to extract a small amount of these... humans... from such a region could arouse suspicion. No, the ideal target was defenseless and isolated.
With the meal finished Jim pulled a bottle of wine from the basket along with two goblets. He poured her a drink, then one for himself, and the two lay side by side on the blanket and looked up at the sky. "There's the Big Dipper," Jim said, pointing out the constellation.
"I see Orion's Belt," Sharon said.
"I see... what's that one? I don't recognize it."
"It looks like it's getting closer."
"That's impossible. Stars don't.... holy shit."
And before either one could say anything else, an energy field ensnared them both and they were beamed up into the alien spacecraft.
Jim was the first to wake up. He found himself laying naked on his back in a dark, mid-sized room. The sounds of whirring and clanging machines were in the background. A small window to the outside revealed a starscape outside; Jim presumed he was aboard the spacecraft he'd seen.
Sat Aug 30 12:11:56 2003