‘Scan it,’ Colonel Hawk ordered.
Kelso gulped and approached the huge skull with it’s gaping eyes and large nasal cavity.
He raised his scanner. It bleeped and the gave a read out. He radioed back. ‘Negative, Colonel. Whatever it is, it’s from this planet.’
‘Some sort of mutated monster gorilla,’ Hazard mused, peering over the ridge. ‘What do we do, Colonel?’
Hawk was tempted to call in an airstrike and be done with it. Hawk knew why the top brass were concerned. Cargados Carajos was one of the islands in the Indian Ocean used for nuclear bomb experiments in the fifties.
Kelso came over the radio in an urgent whisper. ‘Someone’s approaching.’
A small man appeared, in tattered clothes, wearing a tool belt and carrying a ladder. He set down his ladder against the skull and climbed. He took a chisel and hammer from his belt and began working.
Hawk motioned to his men and they sprang out, surrounding him, rifles aimed.
‘US Army, what are you doing here?’
The small man, raised his hands above his head.
‘For the tourists,’ he said in broken English and gestured to his sculpture, ‘King Kong, yes?’
Written as part of Sunday Photo Fiction. Write a story of around 200 words based on the photo prompt given (above). Hosted by Susan Spaulding. For more details visit HERE. For a change, this story is autobiographical as I have recently started cycling to and from my work.
To read more of the stories based on this week’s prompt, visit HERE.
Totally brilliant Iain. Love the take on this. 🙂
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Thank you so much Di 🙂
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You’re welcome Iain.
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Loved it Iain. You had me laughing. With the military out foxed by a wee man. King Kong indeed.
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Thank you Michael, a laugh was the desired effect.
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Very funny. Just like the military – blow it to smithereens.
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Thanks Janet. I hope it’s not their first thought in all cases, but it works for a little comedy 🙂
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Made me laugh — King Kong, I love it! It’s hard to believe that the military couldn’t tell it was a rock carved into the shape of a skull, but it’s totally believable that they’d have this reaction to whatever they didn’t understand.
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Thanks Joy. A little poetic licence but I do think the military must end up in some absurd situations at the bidding of their political masters. Fortunately in this case it ended innocently enough. Glad it gave you a laugh 🙂
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LOL! I loved this one…well told!!!
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Thank you Donna 🙂
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You had me fooled with the ending. Nice work, Iain.
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Thanks Susan
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Ha ha ha. As usual, the military doesn’t have a clue.
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Like any big corporation, it has it’s share of dimwits
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🙂
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