Another Wednesday, another time to read some quick fiction. The weekly flash fiction challenge from Indies Unlimited has come again.

It is my hope that by now you have a good idea of how the whole thing works. They give out written and picture prompts every Saturday and then we spend our time creating stories based on the prompts. The stories that best represent the prompts are then put up for vote on Wednesdays. Simple concept, a challenge in execution.

Tom’s Turmoil

Ah, finally! This was what Tom had been waiting for: true wilderness.

Right at this moment, quitting his job and selling everything became totally worth it. Tom had gotten absolutely disgusted with the rat race and couldn’t deal with it anymore. He wanted to get as far away from people as possible. And now, at last, he was.

As he pondered where to set up his tent, there was a loud noise behind him. Quickly turning, Tom’s jaw dropped when he saw…

photo by K. S. Brooks

A tree crashed to the ground about twenty meters where he had set his gear down. The clear cutting crew had been efficient and quiet, at least till they had gotten so close to where he had planned to set up camp.

But it wasn’t the encroachment of the loggers that disturbed him so much. The sign, seen now that some trees had been cut away, the giant sign proclaiming the future home of Flatbush Acres. They followed him. Tom packed up his gear just in time to get away from the next tree to fall. They didn’t stop, cutting and clearing away trees around the area and through where he had staked out a space away from the world.

He hiked back the way he had come only to find that the crew had cleared out a path large enough for the heavy equipment to push through. Bull dozers and diggers had set to work tearing up stumps and leveling the ground. The forest had been cleared all the way back to the side of the road and his car parked just into the first line of trees.

Well, where his car used to be. It had become a dumping point for dirt and rocks. The orange wind sock on his radio antenna fluttered in the wind, just barely visible over the growing mound of earth.

And then it started to rain.

***

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