17 Short Story
Sept 18, 2010 14:44:51 GMT -5
Post by CC is SO Sorry D: on Sept 18, 2010 14:44:51 GMT -5
Well, some of you may know about the writing contest 17 Magazine is hosting. Basically, you can submit a short story (500 words or less), and if you win, it's published in the magazine, you get $5000, and you get to talk to Suzanne Collins. This is the story I submitted. It's definitely not my best, but the 500 words or less things screwed me up...
I was blinded by actinic flashes of lightning, which back-lighted the glowering, coal black clouds. Rain assaulted the pavement, and obscured almost everything from sight. I was only just able to perceive where I was as I drove along the crowded road.
“When are we going to be there, Daddy?” my son, Caleb, inquired anxiously from where he sat in his booster seat. I merely grunted in reply. The passing cars held all of my attention, and I couldn't afford to focus on anything besides the accelerating vehicles as I sped through the puddles that had collected on the uneven surface of the road. They splattered against the tinted windows of my car, but it didn't make much of a difference at this point.
I cursed vehemently as a car cut in front of me, nearly causing an accident. I instantly felt guilty because Caleb could hear everything I said. Still, the driver came close to killing us. I cursed again, feeling quite irritable.
I wondered how my wife was dealing with the storm. I felt concerned for her; after all, she was out tonight as well, purchasing a card for her father's seventieth birthday. Actually, I was heading in the direction of her parents' house right now. We were already late because of the downpour. I knew we wouldn't be the only ones delayed, but Caleb was impatient to see his older cousins.
“Are we going to be there soon?” Caleb demanded ignorantly. I wanted to scream at him to be quiet, but I couldn't be so cruel to my son. Instead, I tried to remain as calm as possible while I answered him, turning my head slightly as I did so.
“As soon as—“
That's when it happened. I wasn't fixated on the road; I was too distracted. As I began to turn at the intersection, I realized that the light had changed to yellow and then red without me noticing. I registered the fact that if I swerved out, I would die, but if I waited a few more seconds, the other driver would be forced to spin out or hit me, and I would have a higher chance of survival.
My thoughts changed when I looked into the face of the other driver.
I only hesitated for a moment, thinking of my son, before I jerked our van to the side to avoid hitting my wife. The rainwater caused the wheels of my car to slip, and we began to spin. I couldn't make out anything; it had all become a blur of darkness. I was whirling around without any knowledge of my whereabouts, when all of a sudden it stopped.
Caleb was killed upon impact, blood pouring down his face from where the glass had lodged itself in his head. I, however, was conscience long enough to see another car hit my wife's. I became enraged, and hoarsely screamed out against the injustice of life, but I became silent. My heart had stopped beating.
So...um, there it is. I felt like posting it on here...*shrugs*
