The glass landed with a loud thud, but the fly had already flown out of the way, its wings miraculously activating in the nick of time.
With little time to celebrate, Brad zipped beneath the fabric canopy of a cloth napkin on his own kitchen table as he heard his father rain down curses as the target disappeared.
Fly Brad, cowering beneath a cloth napkin on his own table, buzzed pathetically and tried to summon enough courage to escape.
He simply needed to evade his father and brother long enough for Mark to get home and put an end to the out-of-control nightmare.
Unfortunately, his gigantic relatives, bent on extermination, were closing in on his hiding place. One chance remained… if the kitchen window remained open, he could escape outdoors and put some distance between himself and his family’s destructive intentions.
Approaching footsteps shook the tabletop beneath the canopy of the cloth napkin providing the cringing fly with a questionable hiding place.
Peering out with its strange faceted eyes, the newly-minted bug watched with unease as Sal began scouring the tabletop, beginning by picking up the salt shaker for a peek behind the glass and stainless steel structure.
“Brad’s not home,” Sal remarked. “Why don’t we head out and try another time?”
Brad quivered, at war with the impulse to venture from his hiding and try again to communicate with his giant sibling.
“I am here!” Brad wanted to communicate. “But…but I’m just a fly…”
Fortunately, the sure knowledge of what his father and brother would be sure to inflict on a helpless insect kept him from doing anything so rash as making another fruitless attempt at contact.
“We can go,” Jim said. “Just as soon as I’ve gotten rid of this pest.”
Brad despaired, but he refused to panic. As his strange eyes followed Sal’s huge form, he noticed a square of light in the background.
“The window!” Brad realized… also remembering that, thanks to Sal, the window was now open! He simply needed to be faster than their reactions once he launched a flight toward the window.
Muscles flicked his wings into action, instantly creating the tell-tale buzz that grew more shrill as he zipped out of the napkin folds and flew over the landscape of the tabletop.
“There it is!” Sal exclaimed.
“Got you this time,” Jim growled and swiped a large hand toward the insect.
Brad flew toward the light…