For those just tuning in, this challenge is about taking a story idea from bare bones idea into a fully fledged story by writing consistently every week day for fifteen minutes. The sentence I end with on one day, is the sentence I start with on the following. Part one was Bob’s story and has nothing whatsoever to do with the story below. Part Two follows a character named Penelope. I have a few basic sentences to act as road marks on her journey. I am loosely calling that an outline. We will see where she ends up by the time the story is done. For now, we start Part two of the 2025 Fifteen Minute Writing Challenge.
Day 76: The rain was starting to come down hard now.
The rain was starting to come down hard now. Penelope saw it hitting the paved parking lot and then rippling over the surface. No doubt whatever liquid was under her car would be washed away. Fairchild shook off the last of the rain as he reentered the bank and he then looked at his phone.
Penelope could see the photos clearly showing something as cut and the yellowish brown fluid leaking out. Fairchild frowned. “Brake line,” he said. His voice was grim. “Why don’t you come into my office. You won’t be driving the car and we will need to call people.”
Penelope nodded. Her mouth was dry and her hands wanted to shake. She followed Fairchild back to his office. She felt somehow disconnected from her body. It was as if she floated up and was somehow watching herself following the bank manager back to his office. She blinked . There was no mystical actual floating, just a sense of unreality.
She wasn’t the sort of person others wanted to kill.
‘Or maybe I am now,’ she thought. She sat in the guest chair as Mr. Fairchild slipped behind his desk. She heard him dial out and report the incident but she kept thinking of the photo on his phone and how it resembled the photo in her file. Penelope felt her vision start to darken on the edges as though she was going into a tunnel. She realized she was holding her breath and gulped in air. She took slow deep breaths and the blackness edged back. She still felt a little sick to her stomach, but she no longer felt like she was blacking out.
“Someone will be here soon,” Fairchild assured her. There was something strange about his voice. Penelope blinked and looked at him. He wasn’t looking at her. He was looking at the small plant he kept on the edge of his desk. Penelope noticed it when she arrived but wasn’t certain if it was real or plastic. It was a succulent. It was somewhat rounded as it had rows and rows of slightly pointed petals. It looked like a plumped green rose with spiky tips. It had been about as big a round as a doughnut when she was in the office. It was glossy green and looked somewhat fake. Now it was roughly the size of a basketball and the small decorative pot looked like a ridiculous afterthought at the base. It reminded her of large cartoon characters who wore small comedic looking hats, except upside down.
“Oh,” Penelope said.
Fairchild smiled. “I suppose we can see where your talents will develop,” he said. “I wouldn’t worry about it. I’ll get a new pot and all will be well. I certainly did far worse when my abilities started coming in.”
“I see,” Penelope said. “Will the police be coming? Or is it a mechanic?”
She wasn’t certain what the procedure for such things were. Did it need to be reported to the police or did a professional have to confirm what was happening first? It was not something she ever had to think about before.
“Actually, I notified the Emperor’s agent,” Fairchild said. He will be here shortly. Once he evaluates the situation, he will make the decision whether to handle it internally or to notify the police. I imagine a mechanic will need to be notified as well.”
“Oh,” Penelope replied. She had never met an agent of the emperor before.
Ten til Midnight 