The Gift

Allo gave an involuntary shudder as he laid the final explosive charge in the casing, lowering it down the deep cylindrical hole. He loved his profession, but this latest tour of duty did not sit well with him. Deep down it felt wrong. Yet he knew it was unavoidable, as this is the easiest way to gather the minerals they desperately needed. Normally they blasted where there were no habitants, but because this place was so rich in alloy deposits, the loss of wildlife was considered acceptable collateral damage. For the past sixty-two nights he proceeded throughout various areas, installing his devices in strategic places, always in the dark, never the day.

Leaning back for a well-deserved break Allo breathed in deeply, taking in the soothing comfort of the familiar hiss with-in his helmet. His work was finished, and he was preparing his team to head back to base when he heard a sound behind him. Spinning around he saw one of the small creatures stumbling forward toward him, wobbling on stalky little legs. It was a tiny one, not yet fully grown, deep brown eyes burrowed into his very essence. His next action was impulsive, in his entire life he had never interfered before, but this act was instinctual. Before he knew it he was stuffing the little thing into his pouch and headed back to base.

Upon his arrival he was summoned into the main cabin. Allo glided in with confidence as he entered the room, monitors filled every available space. highlighting the location of his explosive devices, in the center of the room was a timer counting down.

A voice boomed over the cacophony of conversations. “Welcome back Allo. Is everything completed, are we ready to proceed?”

“Yes commander, all is ready.” He was about to add further information when a sound emanated from within his pouch, and a tiny head popped out. The room went instantly silent.

“ Allo?”

“Yes, commander?”

“What is that in your pouch?”

Rather than try to lie and cover up, Allo decided to be truthful. “It is one of their young, everything there is about to be destroyed and I thought it would be nice to have a souvenir. This would make an excellent pet for Ahnalee.” Holding it up for all to see.

Rising to his full height, the commander knew he needed to tread carefully, because Allo is his best demolition technician, and he did not wish to upset him, but he had to say something. “We have a strict rule, and you broke it. Unfortunately, there is no time for us to return this…this …back to where it belongs.”

Allo smiled inside, knowing full well that would be the case. From the far corner of the room a voice called out. “It is rather cute commander.”

“Of course it’s cute, they’re always cute when young but then they grow up and...” Fumed the commander.

Only the blips, beeps and whirring of instruments could be heard as everyone waited for an answer to this dilemma.

In frustration the commander, dismissed Allo and gave a final command. “You’re going to take care of that thing, you have to feed it and clean up after it and I do not want to see it running around, is that clear?”

Before he could change his mind Allo saluted and exited the room. He didn’t have the heart to tell the commander everyone on his team grabbed one as well. All he heard was the commanders voice echo loudly giving the order to commence with the detonation.

Entering his living quarters, Allo's youngest slid into his arms and squealed as he removed the little one from his pouch. Holding it up he said “Ahnalee, this is for you.”

She held the tiny object in her grip, staring into it's dark orbs. She was so happy, she wanted one ever since her father showed her a picture. Its four limbs wiggled, the lower limbs kicking the air while the upper limbs had soft little fingers that grasped her talons.

Before she could say anything, her father called out. “Ahnalee, come over to the viewing port, we can watch it from here.”

From their vantage point in space, they looked down on the blue planet and waited for the explosion to occur.

This was written for the mother combs twisted endings challenge. If you have read any of my stories you will realize, I really enjoy writing ending like this.

I have added a couple my twisted endings:

A micro story:

A horror thriller: