Finish the Fiction Story Contest - Week #24 - @bananafish

The Town That Changed

Change blew in on the air that morning, whispering through a sleeping town. An eerie quiet rested along the main road, early commuters not yet disturbing the grey dawn. A wisp of waning moon, brushed pink with the gentle glow of the coming sun, hung low in the ombre sky.

A subtle shift rocked the heavy foliage of scattered trees, rippling between the houses. The cool silence of night still clung to the shadows. A lone ginger cat stalked between the sentinels of bins guarding the curbs. It paused, hair bristling along it’s back as it sensed a disturbance rushing past.

A lone mournful howl echoed in the streets, erupting into a sorrowful symphony as others took up the canine call.

Not a single harsh bark interrupted the lament that awoke the town that morning.

Back doors opened onto gardens, not quite the same. Concerned residents in an array of dressing gowns, coats and slippers, padded outside to find the same, inexplicable sight.

Theo hadn’t been home in months. He had told his mum he was getting clean. It was a lie. He hadn’t been clean in years.

The dark country road snaked before him, a twisting river of retreating night. She had insisted he came home for the wedding. Theo couldn’t stand her boyfriend, but his mum had half chewed his ear off over it, and he couldn’t deny, he owed her this.

He swore under his breath. The rising itch was dancing across his skin. The hard edge cutting inside him. He needed another hit. He had been driving since 1am, he loaded up before he set off, but the ragged scraping of the comedown was consuming.

He glanced at the road, he hadn’t passed another car in hours, and he knew these twisting roads.

One hand on the wheel, he fumbled through the bag on the passenger seat. He couldn’t face that c*nt sober, Aunt Hazel would help.

His skin flushed with the intense bliss coursing through his veins as he approached the sleeping streets.

Dawn was pushing towards the horizon, her soft pink glow catching the clipped moon.

Theo was speeding when he got to the town. He heard the hair-raising call of neighbourhood dogs, raising their cry as one.

Then he saw it. The change. He couldn’t look away. He didn’t see the tree.

My Entry:

The passenger side headlight of the vintage 1965 Ford Mustang hit the tree going 55 miles an hour, the metal wrapping itself around the stout oak tree. The driver’s door opened and threw Theo in the air landing on the lawn. He looked at the grass no longer green, more of a gray.

He looked back at his blue Mustang that had turned violet. All around in the distance dogs barked while the sirens of emergency vehicles blared. Only none came near this wreck. It seemed Theo not the only one out of whack.

He got up and stretched. No broken bones. He walked back towards the car feeling a little better.

And a lot better, with his bag of paraphernalia on the ground. The needle and syringe still intact; the heroin ready to inject. And he did just that.

“Found On Road Dead!” Theo said and laughed at the Mustang.

His eyes then began star gazing at the only sun in our solar system. Its pink hue almost too much to bear witness to. Could it be true that the sun now gave off a pink light?

Again he laughed out loud. Theo then fell to the grass on purpose, rolling in the vegetation with a smile like a Cheshire Cat. He guessed the wedding would be canceled because of the pink hue from the sun today.

Theo sprawled out on the lawn staring at the pink sky. His mind thinking like a scientist trying to explain this new development that would change everything and a hypothesis began to form in a dream like drug haze. The hypothesis being that the sun had stopped its nuclear fusion of helium, and now used some other type of fuel. It would be a new heavier element on the periodic table than helium.

Only what element remained beyond his heroin dazed concentration. Another puzzle to this mystery remained the fact that the sun had only used half of its helium supply. How did it use five billion years of helium so fast? Did this mean iron would be next? A possible supernova on the horizon?

Theo spent the rest of the day thinking this problem over. No one bothered him, or asked about the wreck. They had a bigger problem from the star nearest the planet Earth.

Thank you,
Cyrus Emerson

Red Roses the audiobook for your consideration at the Voice Arts Awards (NYC), and the Grammys (LA).
https://www.audible.com/pd/Fiction/Red-Roses-Audiobook/B07F2LWHPN

Red Roses narrated by Kira Omans
www.kiraomans.com

Red Roses music by Rike Luxx
www.rikeluxxbeats.com

Red Roses sound by Pond5
www.pond5.com

Also, available from The Author:

Fear and Loathing in the State of Jefferson - ebook
https://read.amazon.com/kp/embed?asin=B079R5KLPN&preview=newtab&linkCode=kpe&ref_=cm_sw_r_kb_dp_GsURAbAVDYNEM

Lost Angel – Introduction with Ray Manzarek of The Doors
https://www.downpour.com/lost-angel?sp=249812