In the Eye of the Beholder

This seemed like a fun writing assigment from Featured Grownups:

A picture is worth 1,000 words

Post a picture

in 1,000 words or less tell us a story about the picture

Those who know me will know it will be hard for me to keep it under 1000 words, but I’ll try. haha.

But I’m going to do it a little differently… I’m going to write a story describing the picture, then at the end, you can click on the link to see the picture.  Warning:  as with a good portion of my entries, it will be quite absurd.

So without further ado…

The world never knew how close it came to annihilation yesterday… 

When they first arrived, the visitors from Vega 6 seemed amiable enough.  In many ways they resembled us… two arms, two legs… but for their hideous rat faces, you’d think that they were human.  Their uniforms resembled full-length red cocktail dresses, which both the males and females of their race donned.

Everyone believed that they came with the intent of peace, but when agents from the World Headquarters of Anti-Terror Defense Agents (WHATDA) discovered their plans for planetary extermination, something had to be done.

They would set their ambush at the aliens’ secret rendezvous point – Pismo Beach Pier.  According to the plans they recovered, for which they paid the heavy cost of their veteran agent Alfred, the aliens would detonate their dreadful earth-mangling weapon at dusk that day.  This time the agents would be taking their new secret weapons.  It was an arcane-looking tool, but apparently it also was the only thing their extraterrestrial foe was vulnerable to.  It had the appearance of a giant canvas bat at the end of a short metallic cane.  Their inventor had nicknamed it “M-Berrellah.”  However, there was no time to become proficient in their use; the hour was at hand.

The storm clouds were rolling in from the sea… an ominous sign.  Agents Jack, Jeeves, and Alice hid behind a large sand dune waiting for their targets to arrive on the scene.  Agent Alice wanted to get some cotton candy from the boardwalk vendors, but Agent Jack snapped at her saying that this was not the time for sweets.

No sooner had Alice started to protest when three uniformed aliens appeared on the beach.  Agent Jeeves noticed that the one taking the lead was still stained with Agent Alfred’s blood up to his elbows.  He hadn’t the decency to even wash after so brutally murdering his brother in arms… this one was personal.  He also noticed that in the leader’s hand was what seemed to be the remote detonation device to their earth-destroying-weapon-like-thing.

The sun was slowly beginning to set.  It was now or never.

With surprising speed for two men in formalwear (did I mention that they were wearing tuxedos?) and a woman in an Alice in Wonderland costume (I guess I failed to mention that too) they quickly dispatched the first two aliens with lethal strikes from their M-Berrellahs.  All that was left was their leader… but he wouldn’t go without a fight.

The alien grabbed Agent Jack, and they wrestled to gain control of the remote actuator. 

“Kill it!” Jack shouted to the other two, “I don’t care if you get me too!  You know what you have to do!”

Knowing it was outnumbered, the alien resorted to the only other self defense tactic it knew and let out a deafening high-pitched shriek.  It’s all that Agents Alice and Jeeves could do to cover their ears with one hand while wielding their weapon in the other.

The moment before the fatal blows, a passerby shot this photo…

<this picture is worth 509 words apparently…> 

A memorial at the Portland Gallery for Jack will soon be erected….

© 2007 Nathon Publishing (Administered in U.S. & Canada by Oompah Loompah & Sons, L.L.C.)