"I never told you this would be easy." The

"I never told you this would be easy." The words were icy against my ears. Of course I knew it wouldn't be easy. The gun shook between my trembling hands, my finger wavering over

the trigger. I couldn't do it. "I refuse. I can't, I won't kill anyone. It's..." I let the words fade off, unable to articulate myself. Was I a coward? I certainly felt afraid.

I removed the blaster pistol from the occipital bone of the extraterrestrial's skull. Then, situating the weapon back in the waistband gun holster I wore at my hip, I handcuffed th

eodore-that's what I called my extraterrestrial-to a chair. Huge tears rolled down his excuse-for-cheeks:"Theodore go home!" "Your home's ash by now. You'll make me lots of money.

But my Teddy Bear who was actually a quadrapedal cellulose-mattered extraterrestrial with serious tear duct issues, and a home planet turned to carbon cinder, kept up his sob story

until I finally gave in. "Okay," I said to him, "you can get into my bed with me, but keep your plush little paws to yourself." He gratefully climbed in and began to drop little

plush turds. I shrieked in horror, but he looked so sad, plush and cuddly I couldn't be angry. "Sweep those things off the bed and go to sleep." "I never sleep," he whispered.

He should have counted them, she said. Det. Manatee and the sea monkeys noticed everything. The room was inspected by the city and the room was cleaned.

Not a single speck of chocolate dust was out of place. and thus there could only be one option, the culprit was none than