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 140: There was open space she assumed people could use for picnics or for some sort of sport, but there was no play ground.
There was open space she assumed people could use for picnics or for some sort of sport, but there was no playground. Currently no one was in the park. She was willing to concede that the middle of the afternoon was probably not the most popular running time for the walking trails.
‘Probably see more use before and after work,’ she thought.
Given the heavy cloud cover there were no people walking the trails, sitting on the benches or picnicking either. ‘Empty,’ she thought.
She looked from the park to the empty building on the other side. Someone planned this with no casualties other than her and Agent Michaelson. Somehow that made it feel even more targeted than the cutting of break lines. Those would probably have killed or at least injured her but other people would have potentially gotten hurt. This was aimed at just killing her and the agent with her.
She looked to Michaelson. While his face was grim, he was in constant motion. If it bothered him that someone almost killed him, he hid it behind his ordered conversation.
People began arriving. Official people, even if she could see the curious in some upper floor windows. She and Michaelson were far enough away from the shell of the vehicle that people were not looking at them. As she watched the firetruck and other emergency vehicles arrive she found herself relieved that no one was looking her way.
‘Except Michaelson,’ she thought. She darted him a glance. No matter who he was talking to or what he was saying, he seemed to look away only to make sure no new danger appeared.
‘I suspect I am going to have to explain why I made us get out of the car,’ Penelope thought. She decided to go with ‘It felt wrong’ and a whole lot of ‘I don’t knows’. Considering her lack of information at this point both were accurate. She somehow suspected Michaelson wouldn’t be happy with either.
‘But I didn’t feel bad about getting into the car,’ Penelope realized.
The car came to a stop to pick her up, Michaelson more or less simply keeping his foot on th brake rather than parking. They were facing the direction they needed so she got in and they kept going, no turning or shifting of gears required. The only stop they made was at the light and it was only as they stopped at the light that she felt the urge to flee the vehicle.
If she closed her eyes she could feel the exact second she decided she needed to leave. ‘I just can’t remember if it was before he applied the brakes or not,’ Penelope thought. She didn’t know if it mattered. ‘But it seems logical that the explosion was tied to the breaks.’
Penelope was not a car person. ‘And I’m definitely not a bomb person,’ she thought. ‘But the breaks were the only thing he pressed. Once when he picked me up and once at the light.’
She thought it seemed logical that the two were connected. ‘Unless someone put the bomb there by magic.’
She looked back to Michaelson. He was stepping over to her. “How do you feel about walking?” he looked at her shoes. She chose sneakers for the day, not knowing what it would hold. He seemed relieved by their presence.
“I can walk,” she said. Her ears were still ringing but she was more than willing to get on her way. “Is the auto shop close?” she asked.
“No but the office is,” he replied.
Penelope nodded and the two of them turned the corner and began walking down the street.
Ten til Midnight 