This was based on the suggestion of Frank, who said, "Write about fire." The rest of it is entirely my fault.

Amber



The flames burned brightly against the winter sky. One minute distant taillights flickered like fireflies up the road, the next they darted away, replaced by billowing smoke and an unmistakable amber glow. Veronica stared ahead, trying through tear-blurred vision to make out what had happened. As she neared the scene of the accident she saw nothing but empty highway ahead and behind her.

Keep driving…

The words were clear in her mind. As clear and loud and insistent as they had been when she ran from the house, with Mark standing in the doorway shouting after her. Not their first fight or even their worst, but she knew it would be their last. It was a relief, that realization. Tired for so long, of so many things, she felt herself come to life along with the cars engine as she turned the key.

There’s nothing you can do…

Above the crackling of the fire she heard sobbing. She wanted nothing more than to be wrong. She stared at the wrecked car down in the embankment, improbably laying wheels up, it’s front end smashed and burning. The thick black oily smoke choked her and she could barely keep her already raw eyes open as it rose around her. She heard the sobbing and slid down through the overgrown weeds, the gravel and rocks scraping and cutting her legs.

I can’t go on…

She wasn’t even thinking of the fight when she decided to do it. It was only the latest in a short life of disappointment and failure. If she thought back far enough she could remember smiling adults leaning down and telling her what a wonderful, bright, and talented little girl she was. That she had every opportunity in the world ahead of her, and somehow more importantly, that every man would fall in love with her instantly. So many expectations she hadn’t even come close to living up to, so why bother living?

It’s hopeless…

No one could have survived, Veronica thought, as she crawled toward the car. She’d circled around to the passenger side, away from the smoke and flame. The air was thick with the heat, hotter than anything she had felt before. She wanted to turn back, to call for help, but the sobs that she couldn’t be hearing grew louder, turned to screams. Reaching the door, she tried to grab the handle, to pull the door open, but the metal burned her fingers. She opened her mouth to say something reassuring to the woman trapped in the car. The words died on her lips as she saw her own face staring back, saw herself speeding down the highway, not seeing the curve in the road through her tear-filled eyes, feeling the flames grow hotter as she hung suspended in the wreck, her skin burning as the smoke filled her lungs.

Keep driving…

The words were clear in her mind. As clear and loud and insistent as they had been when she ran from the house, with Mark standing in the doorway shouting after her. Not their first fight or even their worst, but she knew it would be their last. It was a relief, that realization. Tired for so long, of so many things, she felt herself come to life along with the cars engine as she turned the key.

Great imagery. Great pacing. Really well done.

Thanks, Chris! One thing I just noticed, unfortunately, is that I somehow have "overgrown weeds" and a "wintry sky". I don't know if that's possible.

Another winner.

I like the understated TWILIGHT ZONE element at work here (Veronica somehow being a witness to her own death). The repeated "Keep driving" segment, which threw me a little at first, actually puts a nice little bow on the piece that would be ruined, I think, if you explained it too much.

A very good read.

A bit predictable to anyone who has read stories like this. But not a bad example of the genre. It's vivid--both the emotions and the images.