Hi everyone! It’s that time of the week again …fun flash fiction from Suzanne Burke. This week’s theme led me down a darkish path.

Here’s the short story I came up with >>>

 

Ghost Van

 

The van was worried and most definitely not at peace. Anything but hippie, it wanted to make war, not love.

Its last owner had come to fear him, and so would this one … cute college girl or not. He’d never been one to suffer fools gladly. And this amateur paint job—well, he had no words. Just rage. While he might have been a bit worn and rusty, he wasn’t destitute or desperate.

Anger simmering below the hood, he waited and bided. Once in a while his patience shattered on the rocks of fury, and he would stall the engine or flat-out refuse to start. Her frustration filled him with glee. After a few months, she took him out for a night ride. Now was his chance.

She picked up a guy—a loser if the van had ever seen one. A privileged jerk with no respect for the female form. After the drive-in movie, they went to Lover’s Lane … how many cliches did she intend on putting him through?

The spirit in the van intended to kill them both. With any luck, he’d get returned to the junk yard and left to rot in peace. Only once the carcass had rotted entirely would he find release. She navigated down the rutted lane and all the way to the hilltop. The view was tremendous. So was the sheer drop.

The jerk made his move. She fought him off. With a little help from the spirit in the van, she shoved jerk-boy out of the passenger door, and he tumbled to the grass. She slammed the door shut and reined in her sobs.

As soon as she found first gear, his resolve went up in smoke, along with the engine. He snatched control from her hands and roared toward the edge, and the boy. Over the screaming revs, the dull thud of the impact barely registered. The body flew feet into the air and then plummeted. The van hit the brakes. With the bumper hanging over the cliff, the van lurched to a stop. Behind the wheel, she sat with her wide eyes hidden behind her hands.

In that moment, he realised how much he’d come to love the girl. The van utilised the radio function to communicate. Let Me Take you Home Tonight by Boston crooned from the speakers …

You must understand this

I’ve watched you for so long

That I feel I’ve known you

I know it can’t be wrong

If we just get together

I want to make you see

As soon as the final refrain of Let Me Take You Home Tonight played, he switched off the sound. Then he drove her home.

It didn’t bother him too much that she left him parked on the drive for the next few months. He could wait. He was used to biding his time. Every once in a while, he gave her a nudge to remind her of his presence, and she’d have to open up his door and turn off the headlights or the blaring horn. She’d come around to his way of seeing things soon. Eventually, they always did.

 

 

 

© Harmony Kent 2021

 

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I’d love to know what you think of this short piece … so please don’t be shy and leave me a reply.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

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Photo by Vasilios Muselimis on Unsplash

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The rules:

Please put your entry (or a link to it) in a comment HERE or email it to Sooz at her email address. by DEADLINE: 4pm EDT on Thursday, February 18th. Subject: Fiction in a Flash Challenge. If you post it on your own blog or site, a link to THIS page would be much appreciated.

 

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