Jimmy and I ran under the rhododendrons, pressed our foreheads into the earth and jammed our hands over our ears until the noise stopped. When I sat up my head was ringing and I saw blood trickle from Jimmy’s ear and soak into his collar. We crawled out into the garden and for a moment I thought nothing had changed.

But we were alone. The picnickers, the tourists, our parents: all gone.

Weeks later we remembered the camera, the photos taken that day. And that’s when we saw it: a beam of light and high above a huge shape, hovering.

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This is a Friday Fictioneers 100-word (exactly this week) story inspired by the picture supplied by Melanie Greenwood. Friday Fictioneers is organised and run by the wonderful Rochelle Wisoff-Fields. Click here to join in, and here to read other pieces. I’d love to know what you think of mine – please leave a comment!

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This week I’ve had a post (‘First Catch Yourself A Squirrel‘) published on the Tin House blog about some of the research I did for my novel, Our Endless Numbered Days.