Tails From the Swamp

“Tony! Hey Tony!”

“What?”

“You shouldn’t lay out in the sun like that. It’s bad for you. It’ll give you alligator skin!”

Vinnie guffawed loudly at his own joke.

“Oh, you’re hilarious,” said Tony.

“So did ya hear about Bobby?” asked Vinnie.

“Bobby Knuckles? No, what about him?”

“Choked on an egret last night. The bill got stuck sideways in his throat.” said Vinnie.

“No kidding?” asked Tony. “Geez, I just saw him last week.”

“Yeah, I guess he’s floating belly up over by Cypress Log,”

“You know, that happened to me once. Had this pipsqueak youngster gator giving me lip, so I thought, ‘I’ll show you, ya bastard’. I clamped down on his head but started clawing me in the throat.”

“Whadya do?”

“It was instinct. I just let go of him.”

“You let him live? That don’t sound like you.” said Vinnie.

“Yeah well, he don’t come around here no more so… you know.”

“Hehe… nobody messes with Longtooth Tony, that’s for sure,” laughed Vinnie.

For a moment, the two were silent.

“Well, I gotta get back to the nest. Catch you tomorrow?” asked Vinnie.

“Sure thing,”

“See ya later, alligator,” said Vinnie.

He swam away laughing wildly.

Word Count: 200

[This is my entry into the Flash Fiction Challenge for Flash Fiction for the Purposeful Practitioner by Roger Shipp. Write a story based on a photo prompt and introductory sentence in 200 words or less.]

~V