Containment Breach

During her alien head massage, Bronwyn suddenly realised she’d left the door to the locker room open, where her lunch of cheese and onion sandwiches had been left on top of the lockers. The onion aroma permeated around the lab in very short time, after one of the hungrier, investigative aliens devoured them, wrapping included. The pungent aroma had a very strange effect on the other aliens. First the smaller alien creatures started shrieking and jumping around, then the larger ones. Test tubes smashed together, creating plumes of multi-coloured steam to appear. Windows were pushed outwards, and aliens of all varieties made their dash for freedom after being locked up inside the lab for so long.

Bronwyn found herself unable to move. The alien she’d trained to do the head massages turned out to be a gorgonite, and not a long-limbed tickler as she’d incorrectly categorised, and it froze her like stone during its dash for freedom.

Four days later, Bronwyn began to move again. She left work that day, without notice, and decided to pursue her dream of becoming a florist.

She never ate cheese and onion sandwiches again.

Since that day, there have been multiple alien sightings, everywhere, and every time Bronwyn became aware of one, she froze.

The building the lab was in was demolished and became a car park, apart from a small sandwich hut in the corner.

They do say what goes around comes around. Much to Bronwyn’s embarrassment.

This retelling of a true story has been posted for Michael's Afterwards Writing Prompt, Containment Breach.