Joy Ride (1st Place)

Forty colonists survived out of four thousand, and that by pure luck. Huddled in a cave we gazed forth and saw the smoke billowing from the burning buildings of Nastar – the first settlement outside of Earth’s solar system. The red flames licked at the sky so high we could all feel the heat.

A Modrolanian battle cruiser hovered above, searching for any survivors to blast. We shielded the cave entrance with a force field and fell back into the dim light. We had a few supplies – boxes of rations which would last a couple of years, a crate of beans, and a few bits of candy, but only enough water for three weeks.

I glanced around at the ragtag bunch. “Why did they attack us?”

People exchanged bewildered looks. A few shrugged. The five teens shifted uneasily. Thomas, the oldest of them, stared at the ceiling.

“Thomas? Do you know why they attacked?”

“Uhhh… no. Why would you think I’d know?”

“You seem uneasy. Did something happen last week when you visited Modrola?”

Eileen leaned in toward Thomas and whispered something. He nodded.

“I was one of the chosen group to visit and we met a group of Modrolanian teenagers…” Thomas gulped. “We had lots of fun taking the king’s ship for a spin. We even blasted a few stray asteroids. That’s when we saw one of the king’s other ships, and well…for fun we hailed it. Just kind of goofing around, you know…”

“And?” My brow furrowed, and I crossed my arms.

“Well, on Modrola cruisers when you hail another of your fleet their computers automatically locate the acting command.”

“So. What’s the problem?”

“It also activates the view screen, and there was the king having sex with a modrillaka.”

“A modrill…whatkka?”

“On Earth, they’re called prostitutes.”


298 Words
Flash Story Must contain: Forty, Candy, Chosen