Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust

Another Sunday another Sunday Photo Fiction. A weekly Flash Fiction prompt based on the photo supplied below. The idea is to write a piece of fiction of around 100-200 words.

Take a look over at the other participants, and have a go yourself. You may find yourself quickly addicted, I have.

 This is the Beagle 2. Photograph taken in 2009 at the National Space Centre, Leicester, UK.

(Wordcount 198)

The child had her hands on the exhibit case,

“What is it?” she shouted at the guide.

He looked at the girl staring up at him. Her eyes wide, waiting for a reply. He tensed. The ‘Collective’ had demoted him to the museum six neons ago and he was still seething. It wasn’t the demotion itself, no, it was the fact they put him here, amongst the relics. Head of Martian Security one day, tour guide the next. The pulse in his forehead twitched deeper.

“Oy Mister, I said what is it?” her high pitched screech notching his headache yet another octave. He crouched on his knees so he was directly in her eye line and said,

“Well, you see”,

“Hurry up old guy, I want to know”

He gritted his teeth.

“This is the machine the invaders used to vaporise the ancients”

He followed her stare to the small circular device in the casing.

“That’s stupid; you don’t really know, do you?”

He winked and raised a hand to the button on the side. He was thinking of the extra 2 neons he’d just added to his demotion as he swept her dust into a refuge bag.