The prompt this week was one used by Furious Fiction for
August. They provided six pairs of adjectives, all to be included in your
story. Also, you had to make sure that one of the pairs was included in your
first sentence. Their limit is 500 words, and I couldn’t quite make that work
this time, so I went with the 1,000 words. Maybe the September prompt from
Furious Fiction will be one I can do right by.
The list of pairs is as follows:
Shiny, silver
Cold and greasy
Scratched and weather-worn
Sweet and pungent
Ink-stained
Shrill, piercing
The Visitor
“Sheriff, how can you swallow that cold and greasy crap from Doug’s? Just because we’re on a stakeout,
that doesn’t mean we can't eat decent. I could have gone and grabbed us a couple
of burgers from Cassie’s.”
“Ray, I know you won’t eat from Doug’s, so I picked up a
chicken plate for you from the Deli.”
Donnie opened his bag, and immediately, a sweet and pungent smell filled the car.
“You should eat that outside. Whoa! I wanna go home. Why do
I have to be here to watch this thing? Why can’t you watch it?”
Ray Donelson had worn that badge for the past three years,
and Donnie asked himself daily why he kept him on. The man was completely unprofessional,
and everything he was, and did, reflected badly on his position and on his
boss. His hat had a torn brim and was worn backwards, there were huge circular
stains under the armpits of his wrinkled uniform shirt, and the pocket on his
shirt and both pants’ pockets were ink-stained.
It was obvious to Donnie that the man didn’t give two cents about the way he
presented himself, either as a law enforcement officer or as a man. He’d let
Ray go, but no one else in town had any interest in the job. I guess beggars can’t
be choosers, Donnie thought.
“We’re watching it in case it moves or something comes out
of it. Think of it, Ray, we would be the first people on Earth to make contact with
a space creature. Don’t you understand how important that would be?”
This shiny, silver
flying saucer landing on Ebb’s south forty, was the biggest thing that ever
happened in Hixon Falls or in Donnie’s life. Ray wanted to pass the buck to the
Army, and maybe Donnie would tell them after he made contact. Some general
would take all the credit, and Donnie’s shining moment would become a blurb on
the back page of some supermarket tabloid. No. This was his find and his chance
for fame. Too, maybe his wife might even look at him with a bit less contempt
in her eyes.
“I do, but what if some six-eyed squid crawls out of it? I
don’t like the two of us all alone out here. What if nothing ever comes out?
How long do we have to wait?”
Rather be at Dodge’s Bar and Grill feeling up that new
waitress? Donnie knew if anything did happen, Ray would fold, and he would have
to face it on his own. Just as well, he thought. I’m the only professional
here, and if there’s any credit to be earned, it should be mine. He stared at
the craft and wondered how far it had traveled. The bottom half looked scratched and weather-worn, but how was
that possible? Was there any kind of weather in outer space? Maybe those dents
were from their world. Did it rain there? Did they have hailstorms? Did they… A
shrill, piercing sound snapped
Donnie back to the moment. He got out of the car and moved toward the ship. Ray
was frozen with fear. As they both watched, an opening appeared in the center,
and a ramp began to descend outward from it.
“Sheriff, get back in the car. We need to get out of here. What
if they vaporize us with…”
“Stop it, Ray. Nobody’s getting vaporized. Come out here with
me. Let’s show them we aren’t afraid.”
“Okay, but I don’t think we should get too close because…
Oh, God! Look! Something’s coming out!”
A figure in a spacesuit emerged from the ship and started
down the ramp. It was about three feet tall, and shaped like a man, with a
head, two arms, and two legs. The gloved hands however, showed only two long
fingers, and the visor on its head was tinted, so no face was visible. One hand
held an object that resembled a small green I-pad. It offered the object to
Ray. The other hand reached out to Donnie.
“What should I do? Should I take it? What if it blows up?”
Ray was terrified.
“Take it,” Donnie said calmly. “It’s probably some kind of
gift. See if there’s a message on it.”
He offered his hand to the creature, who immediately looped
both of its fingers around his hand and began to pull him up the ramp.
“It wants me to come inside, Ray. It trusts me. Wait here. I
won’t be long.”
“Don’t go in there. Let me get some help. You don’t know
what it’s… Come back! This thing’s flashing and beeping. I think there is some
kind of message on it. Wait until we figure it out. Please! Wait! Donnie, give
me your hand!”
Ray tried to grab his boss’ arm, but it was too late. The
creature had moved quickly and pulled Donnie inside. The ramp had been drawn
back and the opening had clanged shut. That shrill, piercing sound assaulted
Ray’s ears again. All at once, the ship began to spin, and flames and smoke
shot out from the bottom. The craft rose a few yards slowly, then quickly
darted out of sight into the night sky. The object in Ray’s hands began to glow
gold, and letters began to form on the small screen.
“It is a message,”
Ray said, his eyes filling with tears, and his voice breaking. “Oh God, Donnie
That’s why they came. I need to… Wait... Who can… Donnie? Oh, please, God... Please… No…”
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