Writing for Fun
May 2021
Coach Trip - Lynn Gale
The tutting started as soon as Max, the tour guide, announced that they had to wait for one more before they could be on their way.
‘Always one,’ Mrs Green commented loudly. ‘How selfish to keep everyone waiting.’
The four-hour journey to Fenworth Roman ruins required everyone to rise before dawn.
The Tollington Extra-Terrestrial Seekers (Known as TeTS) were not in the mood to forgive latecomers.
They were especially eager to visit this site. There had been several sightings in the area recently. Apparently, it was possible to see a crop circle from a passing spaceship.
An Ironic cheer started at the front of the coach as the latecomer, newest member Mr Crick climbed aboard carrying a large triangle shape box.
‘At last,’ Mrs Green elbowed her husband, who was snoring next to her. ‘We can finally get going.’
Mr Green opened his eyes, blinked, then went back to sleep.
Crick's long thin face burned with embarrassment, apologising profusely, he made his way to the back of the coach.
‘What on earth is he carrying?’ Mrs Green pulled her head back to avoid getting it clipped as he passed.
Godfrey Davies, the TeTS treasurer, was not so lucky. He was just about to have a slurp of tea when the corner of the box upended the cup sending the contents cascading down his new white t-shirt, declaring ET does Exist.
‘What are you doing, man?’ he shouted as his wife tried to mop up the brown stain with a wad of tissues.
Mr Crick reached the empty back row, holding tightly onto his box; he sat cross-legged and closed his eyes.
The coach rumbled into life and began its journey.
Two hours later, a strange sound reverberated around the interior. Disturbed out of their naps, everyone looked at each other, craning their necks to find out where it was coming from.
Crick's eyes flew open. He reached down and ripped open the box, ‘No, no, no, not yet,’ he cried.
The cone-shaped object was pulsating and admitting a rhythmic hum.
‘It's him again, that Mr Crick,’ Mrs Green said, ‘He is becoming a right nuisance.’
‘Stop the coach,’ a visibly distraught Crick shouted, ‘Stop now, I can't take you with me.’
The coach screeched to a halt. Crick grabbed the object and raced towards the exit, cries of ‘Ow’ and ‘Watch it,’ as he bashed a few more heads on the way to the exit.
He leapt off the coach and sprinted into the middle of a nearby field.
‘The man's a maniac,’ Mrs Green shouted. ‘An absolute lunatic.’
Everyone stood up and stared out of the side windows in amazement as Crick placed the cone down and started to remove his clothes.
‘What's he up to now?’ Mrs Green pushed her way to the front. She watched with fascination as a now naked Crick folded his clothes in a neat pile.
The cone began to emit a shaft of blue light high into the sky. A deep rumbling sound could be heard as the clouds rolled together to form a dark grey blanket.
Suddenly a silver pear-shaped spacecraft broke out of the cloud and hovered just above the beam. The TeTs grabbed their cameras, and flashbulbs began popping furiously. Mrs Green grabbed her husband's Sony 5000 super zoom camera and joined in, but she zoomed in on Crick.
Crick started to peel off his skin, layer after layer to reveal a yellow luminous humanoid figure.
The TeTs stared open-mouthed at the strange sight.
Crick turned and waved at the now shocked passengers as he floated up the beam and disappeared into the craft.
As it vanished into the now lightening sky. Mrs Green turned to her husband, who had finally woken up.
‘Well, you certainly don't come across something like that every day.’