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, 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 134: “There,” the gunman said, sinking into an easy chair. “All nice and cozy.”
“There,” the gunman said, sinking into an easy chair. “All nice and cozy.”
James stared at the man with the gun. While he could hear his heart thumping in his chest, his mind felt oddly clear. It was as though he pushed past fear and was in some sort of empty space.
‘Like the eye of the storm,’ he thought as he watched the gunman settle. James was certain soul destroying panic was on the other side of the calm, but for now he felt reasonably steady. He decided not to question it.
“So what happens now,” he asked the gunman instead, turning his questions outward.
“So now I ask you what happened to Thomas,” he said. The tone was conversational.
“Thomas?” James repeated. Nothing in the file mentioned Thomas Grant having a partner, but as most files he’d seen in the past few weeks had missing information he supposed Grant’s file could as well.
“I don’t know a Thomas,” James said. “Does he work for Canisto, Incorporated? I’ve only been there a couple of weeks so I haven’t met every one.”
“No, he does not work for Canisto,” the gun man said. A flicker of unease passed across the gunman’s face.
“Oh,” James said. “Did he used to live in this house? No one told me about the former occupants. Perhaps the real estate folks would know?”
“No, he didn’t live in this house.”
“But you think I know him and you think he’s gone missing. Have you contacted the authorities?” James asked.
“No police,” the man snapped. He pointed at James with the gun and James felt his heart rate speed up as he leaned back against the sofa. His brain may have been in a calm quiet place, but his hear felt like he was trying to run a mile in under a minute.
“Okay, no police,” James said. He lifted his hand up in front of himself in the universal sign of ‘I’m unarmed’. The tip of the gun was shaking slightly and James realized the gunman’s hands were shaking slightly. James slowly lowered his hands and the gunman lowered the gun to his knees. He took a deep breath to steady himself.
“He must be a good friend if you are going to this much trouble to find him,” James said.
The gunman pursed his lips and frowned at James. “Partners,” he said, unclenching his mouth long enough to spit the word out.
“I see,” James said. For a split second he wondered if he meant working partners or something more romantic. The file said nothing about sexual preference.
“Almost partners,” the man corrected. “But soon I’ll be a full partner.”
“Of course,” James said. ‘Not love then,’ he thought.
“But that doesn’t mean I won’t shoot if you don’t answer my questions.”
Ten til Midnight 