The latest round of visitors deplaned and wobbled down the stairs. Visitors. That’s the term the boss man uses. It makes me laugh, but I guess ‘tourist’ sounds too capitalist for a non-profit. But I love my job on Preservation Reservation, so I smile and play his game.
At least they arrived before dark. Easier to keep them on the marked paths and away from electric fences. Seeing an ogre tends to be more motivational than my strongest worded safety lecture.
They never quite believe the reservation is real until they get here.
We’ll keep them safe. We always do. It’s hard for them to write a check otherwise.
But their fancy jet might be another matter. The fences frequently fail on the gremlin habitat.
__________________________
Kimberly Ann Smiley was born and raised in California, but now lives in Mississippi after an unexpected plot twist. She has several pieces of paper that claim she is a mechanical engineer and none that mention writing but she has decided not to let the practical decisions made in her youth define the rest of her life. Her work has appeared in Daily Science Fiction. This is her second published story.
This time The Pete Wood Challenge
was to write a flash fiction story of up to 125 words in length using
the prompt, “reservation.” To see the previous winners of previous
challenges, click this link.
» Support Stupefying Stories • Subscribe | Donate »
No comments:
Post a Comment