Something Unknown

Something Unknown

“I swear, it came out of nowhere.” John sat on the ground. He looked a little shaken up.

The TV cameras rolled as the reporters asked questions.

“What was it?”

“When did it happen?”

“Who was with you?”

“Were you scared?”

“Tell us again what you saw.”

A crowd continued to gather, neighbors, passersby, the news crews, the newspapers.

“It was noxious. My first thought was that it was some chthonian being, but I dismissed that as being an abysmal dismissal of all things chthonic. But then I decided it was perhaps a being that used some kind of noxious gas to overtake its enemies.”

Everyone in attendance looked puzzled.

“What is he saying?”

“Anyone have a dictionary?”

Finally Professor Harry Symthe from the college spoke. “John, I know you’re in my class. Your circumlocution of this subject is troubling. What happened, in five words or less.”

“A UFO hit me. Hard.”

Now the crowd got excited.

“Call NASA. See if any UFOs have been sighted.”

“Call the usual experts, the sci-fi weirdos, call anyone you know.”

“Can we quote you on this? What’s your last name?”

Others not quite so in tune with the rest of what he said focused on two words.

“Noxious gas? I told you the utility company was up to no good.”

“What’s gin and tonic got to do with this?”

The crowd dispersed, chuckling over the idea of gas, gin and genies.


W/C 239