I have started advertising myself on a couple of Freelancer websites (Fiverr.com and Freelancer.com). Feel free to look me up. I am advertising myself as writer of Fantasy and Science Fiction stories both long and short. To build up a portfolio of some of my work for prospective clients, I am often requested for samples. With the clients permission I will post these samples here, to show off my skills, and hopefully attract more clients.
The first one I would like to share is one whose brief was: “Sandra was in a car accident, but it was no accident.” Originally I was going to play it safe and be a little cliche about it, having it so that she was run off the road by someone from her past but friend challenged me to think outside the box. He suggested that I show off my enjoyment of existential horror. So here it is, enjoy.
As rain pounded against the windscreen, the wiper blades fought furiously against the deluge in a futile attempt to keep the water at bay. The headlights of the car unable to pierce the weather outside. Sandra was not paying attention, her vision clouded not by the driving rain but image that was now forever etched in her mind. Her breathing was short and sharp, on the verge of hyperventilating. Her teeth chattering as adrenaline coursed through her system spurred on by a heart that felt as though it would burst out of her chest at any moment. Panic. Panic and fear drove her on.
Sandra’s foot was heavy on the accelerator pushing the car to dangerous speeds along the highway. The road itself was dark. Out here, well beyond the cities urban boarders and into the country-side, there were no street lights to light the way. Just the darkened road and the forest that it cut through. When she first passed along this stretch of road three days ago it had been day time. The trees then had been beautiful shades of autumn reds and oranges. Now they had taken on a dark and sinister appearance, walls of shadow closing in around the car as it pushed through the midnight deluge.
They need to know! Everyone needs to know, thought Sandra, quickly glancing across the car to the passenger side in an attempt to locate her cell phone. She spied her purse and made a reach for it. Her seat belt engaged at the sudden movement causing her to try again, forcing her to extend her body further over the center console of the car. This time her grasping hand found purchase on her handbag and she dragged it closer to herself. The movement caused her to take her eyes off the road for a moment. There was a rapid drumming sound as the tires of the car ran over the rumble strips at the side of the highway, the car drifting away from the center of the lane. “Shit!” Sandra exclaimed, her heart skipping a beat as she quickly grasped the steering wheel with both hands. Her reaction caused the car to over correct and Sandra fought to steady the vehicle.
“Fucking damn it!” Sandra pounded the steering wheel, both hands a clenched fist. “Come on, get a hold of yourself,” berating herself for the panic she was feeling. Something in her peripheral vision caught her eye and she glanced into the rear vision mirror. Staring back at her were two malevolent eyes that captured her with a baleful stare. The fear overwhelming her, she screamed. She whipped her head around to glance at the back seat, only to see that it was empty except for her hurriedly gathered luggage. Again the rapid drumming sound came from the road outside, this time Sandra was too late to correct the car. The tires caught in the gravel at the side of the highway, throwing the car and its sole occupant end over end finally coming to a rest in the flooded roadside ditch.
So anyway feedback welcome.
Later Days.
