Boris sat in the burnt out car, turning the steering wheel as he screeched round the corners, chased by the polizei.
In the forest outside the town of Riedenberg, Boris had stumbled upon the old car. It had been there for decades, plants and grass had surrounded it.
He picked up the revolver he had found in the glovebox. The trigger was jammed. He shouted ‘bang’ as he pretended to fire the gun at the pursuers behind him.
When he turned round an old man stood staring at him. Boris froze.
The man approached him and dragged him out the car.
‘Give me the gun,’ he demanded. Boris handed it over. ‘You shouldn’t be here.’
‘Sorry sir,’ Boris apologised.
‘There must be no witnesses.’ The old man raised the gun. On his shirt Boris saw the swastika. ‘We must wait for the führer to rise again.’
The old man shouted ‘bang.’ Boris turned and ran.
Behind him he heard the deranged howls. He kept going until he could hear them no more.
Written as part of Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers. The challenge is to write a flash fiction story in around 150 words, based on the weekly photo prompt. Thanks as always to the challenge host Priceless Joy. For more information visit HERE.
To read other stories based on this week’s prompt, visit HERE.
I wonder if that old man was a ghost? Poor Boris being scared like that! Hahahaha! Cute story, Iain!
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Interesting theory PJ, i hadn’t thought of him like that, bit it could work as a ghost story too. Thanks 🙂
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The story didn’t indicate he was a ghost but it kind of left it up to the reader to decide. I felt like he was probably someone who had died in that car in the woods from a crash or something.
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Boris was lucky to be able to get away from that lunatic. Great story!
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Yes, I wonder if others have been less fortunate… Thanks 🙂
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You’re welcome.
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Ooooh very thrilling and chilling take on the photo, Iain.
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Thanks Jade 🙂
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I saw an old man who was loosing his marbles, and a frighten young boy. Will they become friends if you develope the story further?
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Intriguing idea, would he return and get to know the old man’s story, or is he too scared ever to go back. Nice thought, thanks Michael.
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So visual. I know, because I was in the car with that kid and freaking out when we realized there was an old man staring at us through the busted-out back window. Well done!
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Thanks John, glad you got that sense of being there.
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What a thriller Iain. Love the way the ending leaves me feeling so undone.
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Thanks LaRonda 🙂
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My pleasure.
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Spooky tale well written Lain.
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Thanks Neel
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Creepy old Nazi, hiding out in the woods? Enough to scare the whatsits out of anyone. Reminds me of the stories of those old Japanese soldiers, still fighting the war decades after peace was declared. Nicely done Iain.
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Thanks Lynn. Of course sadly old Nazis don’t seem to have to hide on the woods anymore, seems in the current climate they might get elected 😦
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Ha! Would be funny if it wasn’t so true 🙂
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Creepy take on the prompt, I definitely enjoyed this one!
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Thanks Angie
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There were tons of stories like this published and on TV back in the 1960s. They usually revolved around Hitler secretly being alive and plotting a Fourth Reich. As time passed and most of the original Nazi thugs died of old age, the stories faded.
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Thanks James. That was the sort of thing I was aiming at. They seem to coming back into vogue at the moment on television especially.
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We will always need bad guys to tell a story.
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Was the old man real, or was it part of the boy’s hallucination in his panic? I wonder. There’s been so many urban legends about vanquished WWII warriors haunting the place, or as the old man did, waiting for a sign. A curious story, but an interesting one!
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Thanks Chris, I had in mind he was real, but a couple of people have suggested a ghost or hallucination. I’m happy to leave it to the reader to decide!
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Great minds…
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OMG a Nazi! I am so glad he escaped…! Very entertaining read!
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Thank you
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That old man has a lot of friends, unfortunately.
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More and more these days it seems. Thanks for reading Jane.
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Holy Crap Iain! Homerun with this one! Initially I thought this was going to be a gangster related story. And then the word “swastika”made its appearance. Isn’t it amazing, the mention of one word and your mind goes in a given direction. Truly enjoyed it
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Thanks, glad it caught you by surprise. It’s good to find one or two words that have an impact when you only have a hundred or so to play with.
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Thanks for the tip. Makes perfect sense.
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…then he woke up? What a nightmare.
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Hoping we can all wake up and the last few years have all been a bad dream too….
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Great suspense! I could easily picutre the whole thing as I read and also realized the fear he must have felt when approached by the man. Thankfully, he managed to get away and will have a hair raising story to tell his buddies.
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Thank you
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oh wooow! the tension. the fear. so vividly put!
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Thank you
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you’re welcome!
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Great take on the prompt, Iain! Loved it!
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Thanks Rosemary
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seems that things abandoned in the woods have secrets and hidden objects that trigger memories or apparitions. I felt the old man was trapped in a time warp and still waited for an era to arrive. Poor Boris accidentally crossed the threshold. Nice story but lots to conclude.
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Thanks for the comment. Yes, history has left the old man behind.
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Hearing those words about Hitler would be scary enough. Having the crazy guy point a gun hit you with a swatzika symbol on his shirt, gypsies e as frightening! The boy shouldn’t trespass but still a weird neighbour. Nice writing Ian.
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I don’t think he’ll be trespassing again. Thank you
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