Time Flies
by Jim Harrington
“Geez,
what are these things, Gord?”
“Time
flies.”
“Time
flies. Never heard of 'em.”
“Word
down at the barbershop is they're part of an
Alien invasion.”
“Are they
dangerous?”
“Nope.
Just annoying.”
“How come
you don't have any?”
“When was
the last time you took a bath, Walt?”
“Week ago
Saturday, I reckon.”
“Ten days?
No wonder. They say these buggers are attracted
to human odor and sweat.”
“Do they
make you itch?”
“Well,
they feed on blood, so I suppose they could.”
“There
sure are lots of them.”
“I heard
this is a high-tech batch. It only takes six
hours for new babies to hatch.”
“I can't
stop itching, Gord.”
“Maybe
you should take your shirt off.”
“I'm
completely covered. What do I do?”
“'Fraid
there isn't much you can do. I did forget to tell
why they call them time flies.”
“Why?”
“Once you
get this many of them on you, your time's up.”
“Hey,
Gord, you looked me straight in the eye and told
me they were harmless.”
“And I'm
going to look you straight in the eye and tell
you one more thing.”
“What's
that?”
“I lied.”
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