Good morning and Happy Hump Day! If it's Wednesday, then it must be time for more flash fiction from the Wednesday Briefers! We're a group of authors who bring you our finest flash fiction every week, 500 to 1000 words, inspired by one of our prompts.
Something is very much not right, but Vinnie and Ethan don't have an idea what that might be, except for the cryptic message that Troy received regarding a certain actress being MIA. See what's happening in this week's chapter of Bad Karma and the Family Plan. Don't forget to visit the other Briefers and see what's up with them! Their links follow my tale! Enjoy!
Carlos approached us, clearing his throat
respectfully. “I think we need to get everybody somewhere that’s not so
open.” He eyed our surroundings then
gestured toward the woods just on the other side of the clearing. “Frankly,
right now I’m afraid we’re sitting ducks where we are.”
“You’re so right,” Ethan agreed. “We should move
everyone to the shelter of those trees, and make sure we keep together. That’ll
make it easier for us to keep everyone safe.”
We returned to the others and apprised them of our
plan. “Help is on its way,” Ethan assured his family. For the most part, they
didn’t seem to be panicking, although I suspected it was only the presence of
the minister that kept Ethan’s brother from making a scene. As it was, he kept
to himself and just eyed the rest of us warily. Little Alex seemed the least
troubled of anyone. He was enjoying all the attention he was receiving, and was
currently being held in the arms of his grandmother, while Grandpa played silly
little games to amuse him, such as Peekaboo, which sent him into gales of
laughter. I noticed Sarah was listening intently to whatever story Troy was telling.
She undoubtedly realized by now that he and Brendan were a couple, but that
didn’t seem to faze her in the slightest. She hung on Troy’s every word as if
it were manna.
So far so good. But before we could put our plan
into motion, we could hear the wail of an approaching siren. Moments later, a
vehicle came into view, emergency lights flashing from the roof.
All conversation ceased as everyone’s attention
turned to the oncoming vehicle.
“That was fast, even for Anderson,” I commented.
Something didn’t feel right about that, but who was I to look a gift rescue in
the mouth? I shot a trouble glance toward Ethan, which he returned. He seemed
uneasy too. He gave me a small nod, which I understood to mean stay alert, but
don’t say anything yet. I nodded back.
Turned out that it wasn’t a standard police vehicle
but rather a regular car with the lights on top. Ethan and I had a set of those
ourselves. The car pulled off the road and came to a stop. Moments later, two
figures stepped out, coming toward us. The driver was obviously in charge as he
swaggered toward us, his fellow officer close behind. I gave the first one an
appraising glance as he neared. A little shorter than me, he was somewhat
stocky but not overly so, his movements possessing a certain leonine grace at
odds with his physique. Age was hard to tell behind the large aviator mirror
sunglasses, his dark hair mostly hidden beneath the policeman’s cap on top of
his head.
As the officer approached, he glanced around at us,
as if to ascertain who was in charge. That’s when I began to suspect these two
hadn’t been sent by Anderson, who would have told them who to look for. Local
law enforcement? But if so, shouldn’t he be driving a standard issue police
cruiser? And if he was plainclothes, why the uniform? I tensed up a little,
waiting to hear what the newcomer had to say.
to be continued
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