This is a rough start to the short story I began. Johnny and the Alien. Johnny loved playing in the woods at the back of his house. It was his place, his own personal jungle where he could hide from the hordes of Indian Braves that were always on the lookout or a scalp or two. It was where he played Cowboys and Indians, Cops and Robbers and sometimes, if there were other children, he got to play War. Even if there weren't other kids hanging around in the woods Johnny could use his imagination to conjure up an enemy, or ten, whom he could track. Luckily, Johnny had an imaginary friend who was a superlative actor who could play an Indian tracker with consummate skill. On the day Johnny met the alien he was playing in the mudpool. Johnny that is, not the Alien. Aliens don't play in mudpools. They're too busy studying the mysteries of the universe, making crop circles and buzzing Air Force jets to concern themselves with the joys of the mudpool. Johnny was pushing an armored ...