Put the radio on, search through a few pirate stations, hit upon The Boss, ‘Born To Run.’ Old school, that’ll do.
Drink of water, splash a little round my eyes, keep me alert, don’t waste too much.
Ten hours straight, enough gas for another three, then will need to find some more.
Sun dipping away behind me, headlights on.
Keep going at this pace, should get there before morning. They say there is peace and protection there. Civilisation, or at least as close as you can get to it now.
Don’t push it, don’t go over the limit, don’t attract suspicion.
Nice and steady. What’s that up ahead? Something in the road? Slow down a little.
Hell, a blockade. Handbrake yanked on, throw the wheel round, u-turn, gun the engine.
In the rear view mirror, headlights. They’re coming for me, for my car, for my gas.
Can I outrun them? The GT Falcon hasn’t failed me yet, apart from the time they took my wife and my child from me.
Floor the accelerator, drive into that disappearing ball of orange fire, leave only my trail of dust.
Written as part of Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers. The challenge is to write a flash fiction story or poem in around 175 words, based on the weekly photo prompt. Thanks as always to the challenge hosts Priceless Joy and Joe. For more information visit HERE.
To read other stories based on this week’s prompt, visit HERE.
Inspired by the Mad Max film series: Wikipedia
My new novel, ‘A Justified State,’ is now available in Paperback and on Amazon Kindle – An ideal Christmas gift!
‘a first class read from start to finish’ – reader review
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Iain Kelly 
Wonderful depiction of a mindset! When all is lost, hope is not lost … and yet ….
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Thanks Reena
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Dystopia Driving…
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That pretty mush sums up the Mad Max films 🙂
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Yep
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Definitely true to the legacy. Nice write Iain.
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Thank you 🙂
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Great thought patterns!
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Thank you 🙂
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Made me think of Springsteen’s “Born to Run.”
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Also a classic.
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Nice!
Side note: I’m showing my age here but “We didn’t Start the Fire’ is a Billy Joel song. I don’t think Springsteen ever did it.
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You are so right – what a mistake! I am correcting it now!
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Well … I think it is a bit before your time 😉
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Only just…!
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That was a great response Iain to the image, had me engrossed. I’ll go check out your new book.
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Thanks Michael, hope you like the look of my book, let me know if you read it! 🙂
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Love the perspective you chose for this story, the way you show the ramble of thoughts inside the narrator’s head and the progression of the action through his mind. Very clever Iain!
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Thank you Jade 🙂
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That sounds a grim world, but a story worth reading.
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Thanks Michael
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Brought the mad intensity of the Mad Max series to life. Well done.
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Thank you
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Great pace Iain. Now I’ll be stuck with Born to Run playing in my head for the rest of the day! BTW, just finished reading your book and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I couldn’t put down! The cityscape reminded me of that in the Divergent movies. You’ve got me looking at back-street brick walls now!
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Thank you so much Keith, so pleased you enjoyed it. Always good to get some nice feedback. If you’re on Amazon or Goodreads do give it a little review, just a few simple words, it all helps to gather some interest. I have a pretty solid idea for a sequel, so in the New Year that’s my next writing project. Stay tuned for more!
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This scene had me completely engrossed in the pressure! You’re really good at keeping up that feeling of tension for the reader.
Nice!
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Thank you
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This gave me a lot of tension. You have put all thoughts into words. Good writing 🙂
So you are an author? Many congratulations!
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Thank you. A self published author at least. Do have a look at the book, if you liked this, you will like the book 🙂
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Will try, Iain 🙂
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