One of the (many) great things about Monday night Life Groups is the random conversations that always seem to pop up during any given evening.

Two weeks ago, it was anything from whether Carrie Underwood *really* is a Christian to whether aliens exist. Yes, I’m being serious. That really happened.

It was quite the entertaining night. You know those times when people bring out all the freakishly weird things they’ve heard or seen when out in the country by themselves or driving down the road with their mom or read in a book by some brilliant mind.

Things like aliens really being demons. Biblical references to nephilim, who were extraordinary beings that got human girls pregnant who birthed giants, as a support to the demon/alien theory. Or seeing a flying saucer while living in Hawaii…a saucer that incidentally made the news cause many people saw it. Or just seeing and hearing things when out hunting or in the woods by yourself, that weren’t normal.

Great stories.

Here I ought to insert a disclaimer. I’m a city girl. Always will be. I don’t even like *driving* down country roads at night…they’re too dark. ANYthing could jump out at you…a deer, a cougar, a person…an alien. Better to just stick to well lit cityscapes, thank you very much.

So that particular night, I was doing pretty good. I rolled my eyes or laughed at the various stories. My mom and I have this theory that the legendary Bigfoot is a demon too. She had a logger uncle who believed he saw it. Smelled the sulfur even. It’s not the first time I’ve heard about demons showing themselves. My favorite books are by Frank Perreti. I totally believe in this stuff.

I had to drive my friend Bethany home that night…out to Riverside, a little ways down a country dirt road, to where she lives with her family. It’s always dark and I always imagine a deer popping out of the woods. Tonight, I was imagining giant green dudes with piercing yellow eyes, wreaking of sulfur, with lanky arms and legs standing just beyond my sight, watching me drive. If I’d had to drive through a corn field, it would’ve been all over. My nerves were tense, as we had continued the conversation of demons in human form. I felt very exposed in my car that suddenly felt like a moving aquarium, with all its window exposure.

I pulled in to the Stapp’s driveway and the weak stream of filtered light from the porch only seemed to make everything outside it’s feeble reach to appear darker, more hostile. Bethany opened her door and got out. We were still talking, when she laid her hand on the roof of my car and a ring or bracelet made a horrific clunking sound. At that moment my nerves cracked. It seemed that the sound had come from my side of the car and panicked. I couldn’t even look out my side window for fear that a pair of sinister yellow eyes would be staring back.

That was it.

My imagination began playing a scene over…as I faced Bethany, I could hear the thumping footsteps and outstretched green fingers snatching her up to carry her off. I played through my reaction…I hoped she was quick on her feet cause I sure wasn’t coming after her! “Save yourself!!!!!” I would’ve screamed as I slammed the car door shut and shot gravel into the air, peeling out of the driveway. I envisioned green giants chasing after me and catching my little piece of ghetto junk…but somehow I would’ve survived thanks to Bethany’s self sacrifice.

These thoughts played through my mind all through the drive from Riverside to Deer Park. I couldn’t get into the house fast enough and curled deep under the covers.

Needless to say, I made sure that the study friends who started that darn conversation knew the next day, that they were forbidden to ever do that again. I also made sure Bethany knew that, even though I love her to death, in an alien kidnapping situation, she’s on her own. Sorry babe, it’s every man for himself. Heh.