The following is based on actual events. The names of the people and places involved have been changed to respect the privacy of the people and places involved. The events have also been changed. Just a bit.
________________________________________
I had just gotten my usual sandwich from Monty's and sat down at a table in the courtyard at work. It was a typical day with the sun beating down on those too busy to stay in the shade. I loaded my phone's copy of Frankenstein and began to read as I unwrapped my lunch.
The ambient noise was soothing. The sounds of planes and gunfire in the distance maintained a steady hum, par for the course considering I was seated in a Marine Corps installation near an airfield. I could smell the hoagie roll teasing my senses as I brought it closer to my mouth, when a piercing cry reached my ears.
Screams of, "Medic!" from new recruits were normal for this time of the year, but this one was oddly wordless, a low cry of different timbre that of a green soldier. I turned to find its source, but became more even more confused when my search came up empty.
I was just about ready to chalk this one up to experimental equipment testing when the air raid sirens started to go off and I heard the tell-tale rhythm of soldiers running away from something in (near) unison. I got up to brace for impact with a crowd, when I realized that the steps were moving away from my position. A silhouette, followed by several more, passed over my sandwich arm. As I stood up, I realized what I was in for just as a panicked voice came over the PA system:
"GEEEEEEEEESE!"
NOT THE GEESE! DEAR GOD, NOT THE GEEEEEEEEEEEESE!
ReplyDelete*HONK HONK HONK HONK*