The Dig
“Where did they go?”
Doctor Roger Pence wondered the same thing. He decided to take his archeology students on their first dig to ruins of a building in the Arizona foothills constructed from mud bricks formed from the iron-oxide soil and not yet explored.
Two days into the dig, they found bones not of Paleo-Indians but of a species of human never seen before, having enlarged skulls with wide eye openings, teeth more suited to a vegetarian diet, and long fingers. Excitedly, Pence emailed a photo to his department head and within hours, black helicopters descended on the dig.
Pence and his students signed national-security non-disclosure documents and were allowed to continue the dig under the watchful eyes of armor-clad guards. However, Pence knew whatever they discovered would never see the light of day.
Pence answered his student, “I think they returned to the stars.”
Word Count: 145
Written for the wonderful writing challenge, Mondays Finish the Story. Each Monday, Barbara Beacham posts a picture prompt, along with the first line of the story. The stories must be between 100-150 words and must include the given first line, shown in italics in the story.
Special thanks to Barbara Beacham for sharing her excellent photography skills to provide such challenging prompts. Check out the MFTS blog… some great short stories posted. https://mondaysfinishthestory.wordpress.com/
Direct link to this week’s stories… http://new.inlinkz.com/view.php?id=551999
Nicely done.
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Thank you!!!!
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The way you answered the question in the last line is brilliant! Great piece of flash 🙂
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Thank you…. appreciate it!
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A real mystery! Excellent imagination as always hon!
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Thank you!!! Glad you enjoyed!!!
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Great last line – we always like to have an answer to the mystery.
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Thank you!!!
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I like the direction that you went with this, and a finely crafted piece as well.
Bravo
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Thank you so much, appreciate your kind comment!!
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Totally loved this story
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Thanks, so glad you enjoyed!
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Great story! I loved it.
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Thank you! Glad you enjoyed!
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Interesting
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Thanks!
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Oh I really enjoyed that. Great last line too!
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Glad you enjoyed! Thanks!!
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Oh the last line really clinches it for me. Nice story!!
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So glad you enjoyed! Thanks so much!!1
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Loved this story! And, another government cover up! Well done, well done CQ! Thanks for writing again for the MFtS challenge and be well… ^..^
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Thank you!!! Another wonderful photo and first line!! See you next week!!! Take care!
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A great story. 🙂 I love the last line – it finished the story off perfectly.
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Thank you!! Glad you enjoyed!!!
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Intriguing. Probably they really were from the stars!
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Someone thought so! Thanks!!
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A very interesting story that actually reminds me of one my archaeology professor once told me. There were a particular group of preserved bodies found in a cave- these really tall, red-haired, pale bodies- in North America. Only some of the data has actually been released. She actually got permission to go see the bodies where they were being stored. She showed up and the curators freaked out. She ended up being sent away without seeing anything.
Sorry for the slightly-off-topic anecdote, but your story just reminded me of it.
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Art imitates life? What an interesting story… I’m not a card-carrying conspiracy theorist, but I am a skeptic when it comes to these matters. We have to wonder what secrets about our universe are really known. Thanks for sharing the story!
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Great story! I see the security services took only hours to intercept his photo and send in the government chaps 🙂 Great take on the prompt.
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Thanks so much!!! Big brother always seems to be watching! Glad you enjoyed!
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Great story- I can see it being part of a bigger piece, do you think you’ll build on it?
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