The Fifteen Minute Novel is a novel written fifteen minutes at a time with each week day’s section starting with the sentence from the previous day. At least it is attempting to be a novel. For now I am just aiming at one continuous story I suppose, worked on for fifteen minutes each day. Started Friday January 1st, 2021 (in case you want to search for the beginning. I can’t wait to see where it ends up. It could be good, or it could be a mess. We’ll have to see. For now, here is today’s fifteen minutes.
Day 5: Slowly, the dusty Ford Focus left the darkness and signs of the city began to appear around them.
Slowly, the dusty Ford Focus left the darkness and signs of the city began to appear around them. It wasn’t much of a city, at least from what he saw. It was like a city that grew up around the city itself but wasn’t technically part of the suburbs. It was businesses that had seen better days, and a lot of gas stations and convenience stores.
The street lamps gave it a sickly, almost horror movie feel to it. The feeling was enhanced by the fact that no one was around. He saw no pedestrians, no cars. This city, whatever it was, seemed abandoned. James tried to drum up enthusiasm for it, but found himself sinking back into the gray fog that shrouded his thoughts for the past few weeks in the safe house.
It seemed he was still in transit.
‘Maybe when I get a new name,’ he thought. ‘Maybe then I’ll be a real person again.’
Old tales from mythology swam through his mind and he pictured himself crossing over the river Styx. He smiled to himself. The agent may not have looked like a Bob or a Steve, but he didn’t look like the ferryman either.
Gradually the car moved into more populous areas and other cars could be seen. The feeling of unreality started to fade.
The agent pulled into the parking garage next to an office building that looked like eveyother office building on the block and they parked.
“I suppose marking it as the place witnesses get new identities would make it stand out rather stupidly,” he said.
The agent snorted a laugh, but then quickly wiped the smile off his face and looked around guiltily. They entered the building through the side entrance and James saw that while the building looked ordinary from the outside, inside there were far more security cameras than any office would boast.
‘Even if they were paranoid about someone stealing office supplies. No one cares that much about paperclips.’
The boarded an elevator and James felt his skin start to itch from all of the electronic observation. He wondered how anyone worked in the building day after day without feeling creeped out by heir every movement being observed. The elevator dinged and James followed his agent out and onto a fairly non-descript office corridor. They entered the first office on the left.
At first the receptionist looked like an average receptionist. She greeted them politely and ushered them back to the conference room. As they moved, James saw the cold look in her eyes and caught flashes of the gun hidden under her powder pink suit coat.
In the conference room he was told to sit. He sat at the table and his agent stood by the door. James found himself relieved that there were no motivational posters on the wall. He wasn’t sure but he thought seeing a poster reminding him there was no I in team might make him throw something through the window. James glanced at the window and saw his own face more than the city beyond. He was pale, drawn his mother would have said. She would have put the back of her hand to his forehead and told him to eat more grapefruit before tottering off to her country club or charity auction. He looked as tired as he felt. He felt the air move as the door opened and in the reflection he saw a new agent hold a clipboard out to his agent. His agent signed and then exited through the door. James suspected he had just been delivered, like a postal parcel and that now he had a new agent. James turned away from the window to look his new agent over. He wondered if he was going to get this agent’s name.
Ten til Midnight 