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.
Well, the cat's out of the bag now. It was Caroline St Clair all along! But why? So many questions, so few answers! See what's going on 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!
“You did all of this…for an audition?” I knew Hollywood was nutso, but this went
past that. Far past that. What sort
of audition required an actor to terrorize people for real, people who weren’t
involved in any actual way? I glanced at Ethan. His face showed a great deal of
the skepticism I felt. Even Troy seemed suspended in a little disbelief, and he
worked in the industry.
Something just did not make sense here. I cast my
mind back, trying to remember everything that had happened in just the past
couple of days. The attempted shooting at the hotel where Benny was in
protective custody. The Atlanta threats. The mysterious woman at the rest stop.
The slashed tires. The call to me. The false detour that led to all our tires
being blown out.
When added up and put together, this seemed like a
whole lot more than one crazy actress could manage on her own. Frankly, I
didn’t think she was smart enough to cause this sort of chaos. A shiver ran up
my spine. Somehow, I didn’t think we’d reached the source of our problem by any
means.
“Look.” Carlos lowered his voice, addressing Ethan
and myself. Not that the actress was paying attention to us, prattling on to
Troy and Brendan. Sarah listened to her with wide eyes. I suspected she
wouldn’t be quite as starstruck after this experience. “I don’t understand what
is going on here, to be honest, but I’m only here to provide back-up for you
guys. So it’s your call, what do you want to do about this woman?”
What indeed? That was the million dollar question,
wasn’t it?
“I appreciate that,” Ethan said, casting a quick
glance toward the woman in question. “To be honest, I don’t see her as any sort
of a threat. I think the more immediate concern is getting these vehicles
repaired and back on the road.”
Carlos nodded. “This is going to take more than a
regular roadside assistance call, I’m afraid.”
Truer words were never spoken. Luckily, the damage
to the vehicles wasn’t as bad as we’d feared. The resourceful Anderson sent us
a very competent government mechanic who was able to get everyone back on four
wheels, at least temporarily. His repairs would last long enough to make the
trip to the nearest tire store.
We sent off Ethan’s parents first, along with Sarah
and Alex and Uncle Benny. To his credit, the little boy’s behavior was stellar,
but he seemed to be getting a little cranky. I didn’t blame him. I was feeling
a little out of sorts myself.
Once Troy’s car was back in commission, he gave
Ethan and I an inquisitive look. I had a feeling I knew what he was asking,
which was verified when a certain actress took her assistant by the arm and
attempted to get into Troy’s back seat. Where did she think she was going? She was truly delusional if she thought she
didn’t have consequences to face.
No comments:
Post a Comment