Two alien starfighters battled in the narrow streets of Earth’s Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic. Their deadly battle was dangerous enough, but they raced between the closely-spaced buildings, challenging death with every turn.
They raced down the river that ran through the city, careful not to touch the stone sides. At their incredible speeds, contact with any structure would obliterate their machines and take their lives.
Pyrt watched with shocked eyestalks as the Kyrszathy flew towards a cafe. Pyrt stayed back. His enemy courted death with that maneuver.
Sudden movement surprised the enemy pilot and he crashed into a deadly, damp cavern. No one had ever survived such openings. Pyrt was victorious! His enemy had been a fool.
Fighting around humans was dangerous.
At the cafe, Mrs. Szerny suddenly choked.
“Are you alright, Madam?” asked the waiter.
She took another sip of Espresso. “I’ll be fine. I just swallowed a gnat.”
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Written for What Pegman Saw: https://whatpegmansaw.com/2018/02/24/karlovy-vary-czech-republic/
Author’s notes:
Who says aliens have to arrive in miles-long spaceships? Life comes in all shapes and sizes. Aliens might be here already and wondering why the hostile humans keep swallowing them all the time.
I may never look at gnats the same way! Great story-telling.
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Haha! Me neither. “Did I just eat a sentient being?” π
Thanks Karen!
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Great stuff. Was thinking about Star Wars at first, but I love how you ended it.
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Hehe. That was the whole idea. I love Red Herrings, especially when grilled with lemon and garlic. π
Thanks much!
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Haha! Love it! I was wondering about all the collateral damage from Starfighters, then you tell me they’re gnats. What fun!
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Hehe. Their main guns are deadly to each other, but hardly noticeable to humans. Now I know where all my freckles came from. π
Glad you had fun. Thanks, Penny! π
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That was great, Eric! A gnat would barely cause a choking π … a fly on the other hand… π
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Hehe. Flies are the equivalent of their heavy cruisers. Bumble Bees, their dreadnaughts. π
Thanks Dale!
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Ha Ha!!
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An alien gnat. Maybe she’ll get superpowers.
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Haha! You never know. Maybe she’ll start flying? π
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Actually something the size of a gnat traveling at the speed of a bullet probably should have punched a hole through her. Sure, the ship wouldn’t have survived, but she’d be lucky to live through the experience.
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I wondered if someone would call me on that. I’ll just have to say the mass of something gnat-sized isn’t much and it wasn’t traveling nearly as fast as a bullet. If it were traveling several thousand mile per hour, that would be a whole different story. She’d have a hole in her cheek.
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Or the back of her head.
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π
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Oh my, I don’t like his chances of surviving the exit tunnel π
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Haha! Especially after Mrs. Szerny ate those hot & spicy peroshki.
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π
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You always bring a smile with your stories. Thank you.
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Hehe. They’re offered free of charge. π Thanks Alicia!
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And they are greatly appreciated.
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Hee hee! What we might call a ‘small’ problem with aliens… π (‘Waiter, there’s an alien in my coffee!’ ‘Not so loud – everybody’ll want one’).
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Haha! She should be glad the cafe doesn’t charge for the gnats. The hotel down the street does. π
Thanks Matthew!
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π
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Thank you! π
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A rip-roaring yarn, EagleAve, with a sublime last line. Who said size matters. As an aside, did you know there are more cells in the human body than there are known planets and galaxies and universes.
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Hehe. Glad you enjoyed that zinger. And yes, I did know about the count of our cells. A mind-boggling fact isn’t it?
Thanks Kelvin!
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Dear Eric,
You almost got me with this one. However, I know better to drink when coming you the ending line of one of your stories. At any rate I laughed out loud. Don’t think I swallowed any gnats. Hilarious. Tears are rolling from my eyestalks.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Drat! My master plan failed once more. Coffee through the nose is my most-craved goal. π Glad you laughed, but try to swallow a gnat next time. They’re packed with protein. Glad your eyestalks got a workout. Thanks so much, Rochelle!
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