Joan of Arc Waits In a
Queue at Heathrow
Joan stares at the guard
in the little booth ahead of her and gives him her fiercest scowl, to let him
know she is coming for him. But it has taken her two hours to get within
scowling distance and there are still ten or more people in front of her. This
is ridiculous, she thinks. It is quicker to cross the channel than it is to get
through immigration. This puts a halt to her plan to invade England this way.
She longs to drive the English not just out of
France, but to push them north to Scotland and show them what occupation feels
like. But how to get an army into England? All the rail and ferry terminals are
already besieged by armies of Syrian refugees, trying to sneak into England on
trucks and trains. It had been her idea to fly into England. Sit in comfort
eating pretzels and drinking coffee, and then all pour off the plane in a fury
- well-rested and fed. But now she is hungry again and her feet are sore. She
is not sure what to tell her army when she returns to France. They expect
victories from her - not a dispiriting two-hour immigration queue. When she
tells them about this they will give her a right roasting, she fears.
Craig Cormick is an Australian author of fiction, historical
non-fiction, and mixes of the two. He has published over 25 books, his most
recent being the Shadow Master series.
Check him out at: www.craigcormick.com
Tags:
Short Fiction