Friday, May 20, 2011

The New Client

For those of you venturing out of town this weekend, you might find this little tale of mine interesting. It's flash fiction, a short story in 300 words or less.

The New Client

Carol was miserable by nature. After an exhausting 4 hour flight the last thing she was in the mood for was finding out the midsize coupe she reserved was not to be. This lead to a heated, albeit one sided, argument with an unconcerned agent at the rental counter.

“I’m sorry for the inconvenience,” interrupted a sharply dressed woman with a restrained voice. “I’ve had someone bring around a luxury sedan. Please accept this with my compliments.”

Carol dismissed the agent at the counter with a piercing glower, followed by a condescending smile to the gracious manager.

In the car Carol regained her composure. This was her first meeting with the client; they had only spoken once on the phone. The address was unfamiliar, so she was grateful for the GPS.

Merge onto Interstate 84 West.

An hour went by. The sky was turning darker ahead and the surrounding area less inviting. Carol was getting anxious about being on time.

Turn left .5 miles ahead onto Charon Avenue.

“That voice sounds very familiar,” Carol mumbled to herself. She became increasingly distracted by the drastic change in scenery. “This can’t be right. There’s nothing out here.”

Turn Left onto Charon Avenue.

“This is absurd,” Carol remarked, making quick glances out of each window.

The road narrowed to one lane. Turning around was not an option.

Turn right 2 miles ahead onto Acheron Drive.

Something wasn’t right. The sky was pitch black with a deep red horizon.

Turn right onto Acheron.

As Carol turned the corner the scene ahead startled her. She stomped on the break. The car stopped inches from a sheer drop.

You’ve arrived at your...final...destination.

The doors locked. Carol panicked, pushing with all her strength on the brake pedal. A moment later the taillights disappeared over the edge.

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