---
generator: pandoc
title: '2008-09-07-fruit-salad'
viewport: 'width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0, user-scalable=yes'
---
Men in lines. Their boots were still clean,
so I could tell they'd never been anywhere, done anything. They were
from up north, they carried these ridiculuous light arms - chrome plated
sub-machine guns. They were perfectly polished and I could barely see
the faces of the soldiers, they were so bright!\
\
.\
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The whole city had been put on alert when this task force had approached
from the west. We'd seen men and women in green dashing to pill-boxes
and tanks, loading rifles, hiding in bushes. Colonel was driving towards
them now, that black car of his. Out he hopped, salutes all round from
the men who got out before him. Gloves off. The engine's still running
and the door's left open and attended.\
\
.\
\
There all the soldiers in blue and yellow all stand, being talked to by
some woman ... without a hat? Is it possible they're not being briefed
by even an officer? Impossible, it has to be a trick - they're all in
plain uniform as a ploy - yes! The lines of foreign soldiers then took
off in a hundred different directions - God, they were fit, you
should've seen them run! They marched off behind buildings, into post
offices, shops... even straight past the Colonel, who's in charge of the
whole city! What an insult! Brushing shoulders with such a powerful and
righteous man!\
\
.\
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I think its almost needless to say the Colonel was furious. I saw him
look back at his aide, I saw his rage for a split second - how exciting!
Oh he was going to show them, I was so sure. He was taking long,
impatient steps towards a small group of the foreign people still back
where they'd all been - four of them were standing to attention, hands
at their temples. Three had different uniforms, they had bright yellow
trimmings to their enlarged lapels - unlike the one in between, who had
his face wrapped up like the people on the farms, with those black
goggles to match.\
\
.\
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The two women addressing the four had beautiful uniforms, wonderful
large white boots with miles and miles of white lacing tying them right
up to their knees - those most pale of pale blue suits moving up from
there on. I don't remember either of them appearing good-looking, or
young, for that matter ... I'm no pervert, I swear - but they seemed to
be too beautiful to be an enemy...\
\
.\
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After watching these graceful people conduct themselves so mysteriously,
the Colonel's jealous march towards them seemed impetuous. There
galloped he, gloves off and whip-in-hand, I remember his first words
were, "Do you call this an invasion?" I was so lost in their little
world of war-games I could just tell what he was saying.\
\
She just laughed. She laughed just long enough to strip the green-suited
man of all his pride, "No, Colonel. No, not at all."\
\
And then the faceless man second from the left produced a pistol and ran
hot lead through his head.