Flash Fiction by David

The stakes of the take and trade game grew much higher when Charlie snatched Doug’s satellite phone from his deckside hammock. This was the zoologist’s critical link to the outside world. He’d only stepped away for a moment, but came back to see Charlie scampering up a liana holding the Garmin Mini by its lanyard. The little bugger settled twenty feet higher up in the canopy, casually chewing on the gadget’s rubber antenna. Doug knew he had to act quickly, before Charlie lost interest and dropped the device sixty feet to the forest floor. A few other monkeys from the troop emerged from the thick foliage, chattering and watching their friend with the little black rectangle. This gave Doug an idea: use the rest of the group to bring back Charlie. He went inside for some some dried figs, spreading them out on the deck. It worked! The group descended, chirping pleasantly, including Charlie who was still lugging the phone with him. As the monkeys gathered for an impromptu picnic, the thief tossed it back on the empty hammock and dove in for his share. Doug sighed in relief: “At least he puts things back where he found them.”