Flash Fiction Challenge, Round One!

Hello all! Sure has been a while, hasn’t it? A lot has happened over the summer that would take forever to write here, so here’s a super condensed version. Some stuff happened with school and I had to drop out, with plans of going to a different school in the near future. Then I had the absolutely wonderful opportunity to work in Alaska for the summer, where I learned so many things!

One major thing that happened over the summer is I entered a flash fiction writing contest that NYCMidnight hold every year. It’s a contest where people from all over the world create short stories (1,000 words max) that are based off of randomized prompts that contain a genre, a location, and an object. Those stories then have to be written and submitted within 48 hours. I actually just submitted my round two story and will hear about the results in a few weeks, but a few days ago I got the results for round one.

I made it to second place in my group!!

The prompt was Crime Caper/Vineyard/Laminating Machine, and as soon as I got the prompt I knew immediately what story I was going to write! Unfortunately I was at work when I got the prompt so I had to wait before I could actually write, but I was able to complete it within the 48 hour limit. Let me tell you, trying to write a cohesive story with no more than 1,000 words is a lot harder than it sounds!

Anyways, I would like to share with you guys the story I submitted for round one, Close Call. I hope you enjoy it, I had a ton of fun writing it.

At the top of a large hill sat a Winery, its vineyard spilling down the hillside in every direction. The full moon, unhindered by clouds, bathed it in a cool white light. The night was peaceful and inhabitants, both inside the building and out, slept.

Suddenly, a loud crash sounded as the back door of the house burst open and two figures spilled out into the night. The sounds of shouts followed them, as the owner, yelling profanities waved a baseball bat at the rapidly retreating figures.

A man and a woman, dressed in dark clothing, ran between rows of grapevines, using them for cover as they vanished into the dark of the night.

“What were you thinking?” The woman hissed to her partner. “You should have known better than to try to lift that crate by yourself!”

The man was running beside her, one hand gripping a large bag over his shoulder, the other holding what appeared to be a large machine under his arm. “I’m sorry okay? It was heavier than it looked!”

“It was full of wine bottles!”

“How was I supposed to know that?!”

“It’s a winery! What did you think?”

The two kept running, the sloping hill helping with their speed. All too soon, however, the wail of approaching sirens could be heard in the distance.

“Crap, it’s the cops!” The woman growled. She glanced around for something, anything that could serve as a quick hiding place.

Her eyes landed on what looked like an old shed standing near the edge of the vineyard. Perhaps Lady Luck was smiling down on them after all.

“That way!” She told her partner, pointing to the shed before changing direction toward it. Within moments they were both inside, quickly closing the door behind them, muffling the sounds of the police sirens.

The woman slid her back down the door and sat on the floor, breathing heavily. Her legs and lungs burned, but she still had enough energy to flip off her partner.

“What was that for?!” He cried, also breathing heavily as he dropped the bag.

“For getting us into this mess, Greg.”

“Listen,” Greg protested, now sitting as well, “I admit I screwed up, but cut me some slack! It’s been a while since we’ve hit a place this big before.”

The woman glared at him through half closed eyelids. “I won’t listen to any excuses until we get out of here without getting caught.” Her eyes fell to the device Greg was still holding under his arm. “Did you seriously just take a laminating machine?!”

Greg had a confident expression. “Cynthia, do you know how much these things cost? It could easily go for $400!”

“Out of all of the things we were able to nab, you chose a laminating machine?!”

Under Cynthia’s gaze, Greg’s facade fell and he shifted uncomfortably, toying with the lid to the machine and avoiding Cynthia’s eyes. “I thought it would be useful. Since Mr. Carmine woke up, I grabbed the most valuable thing in the room, and it happened to be this.”

Cynthia groaned and turned her head in order to hear through the cracked door. The sirens were still blaring, but they didn’t change in volume anymore. The cars must have reached the house, she mused silently. They didn’t have much time left.

“Alright genius,” she said in a low tone. “Just put the stupid thing in the bag so you have a free hand. Cops will be swarming this place any minute, so we gotta get back to the car, ASAP.”

Greg nodded as he carefully place the machine into the bag. “I noticed a patch of trees a little bit away from here. We might be able to get back to the road through there.”

Cynthia stood up, ignoring her protesting legs. “Alright, on the count of three we ditch this place and head for the trees. If we get separated we meet back up at the car.”

“Got it,” Greg replied as he stood, hoisting the bag over his shoulder.

Cynthia looked back out the cracked door. She saw nothing but the flashing of lights up the hill. “Okay, let’s skirt to the back of the shed, then make a break for it. One…two…three!”

The two of them darted out of the shed and around to the back, the shed door (thankfully) closing quietly behind them. Soon the building blocked them both from view of the house, and they ran.

Cynthia’s legs were throbbing as she ran. Pushing through the pain, she ran as fast as she possibly could towards the trees. Appearing through the trees in front of her was the road. She ran straight to it.

Greg stayed close to her, following right behind her as she ran. They might actually-

Shouts echoed behind them while Cynthia cursed under her labored breath. Their luck finally ran out. They had been spotted.

She didn’t dare look back, praying that they had enough of a head start. They just had to keep running and go as fast as they could trying not to trip in the dark. We can do this, we can do this, we can do this! Cynthia repeated the mantra in her head, willing her legs to go faster.

After what felt like an eternity, they broke through the trees and ran out onto the road. A quick glance around revealed that they were a few yards away from the end of the road leading up to the winery. And just further down from them was-

“No way!” Greg exclaimed as he darted to their car hidden in the trees. “We actually made it!”

Cynthia didn’t reply, jerking open the drivers’ side door and jumping in, immediately turning the key and racing down the road before Greg closed his door.

It wasn’t until they were a safe distance away that Cynthia began to relax. They had made it.

“Greg?”

“Yeah?”

“I never want to see that stupid machine again.”

“…okay…”