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 141: Penelope nodded and the two of them turned the corner and began walking down the street.
Penelope nodded and the two of them turned the corner and began walking down the street. Michaelson was clearly in a hurry but he shortened his stride for Penelope’s much shorter legs. She appreciated it but could almost feel the tension vibrating off him in waves. Michaelson felt like he wanted to run. He didn’t talk, just kept walking and Penelope decided silence was best.
They walked down the street and for most of the block there were no other pedestrians. Then the sidewalk they were on intersected with another at the corner and she saw others walking in a steady stream along it’s length.
‘More shopping,’ Penelope thought.
Michaelson reached over and put a hand on her elbow, drawing her closer as they began mixing with other people. His hand was a firm pressure. As she still felt shaky from the explosion she didn’t mind. She didn’t really like the thought of being maneuvered through a crowd but as Michaelson was constantly searching the crowd around them for threats, Penelope didn’t complain.
AS for herself, she too scanned the crowd looking for anything that might send her internal warning system pinging. She doubted it was fool proof but at the moment it was all she had.
They made it down the blook and turned down a side street. There were fewer people walking here and after looking around Michaelson let go of her elbow. “Stay close,’ he said. Penelope nodded.
There was another corner and another side street. Michaelson took them down the least traveled, passing as few people as possible. Penelope assumed that with fewer people there was less risk of someone attacking.
‘And I suppose we would see an attacker coming,’ she thought.
Eventually, Michaelson opened a door into a brick building. The building was fairly non descript and on the front glass of the door was pained, ‘Stevens and Stevens Accounting.’ The name sounded vaguely familiar and as they stepped through the door, Penelope realized they were one of the firms she sent a job application to.
After not getting many responses she made a list of all the accountancy firms in the area and sent a note of inquiry. ‘I guess this is why they didn’t respond,’ she thought.
They walked to the desk and although the receptionist was everything she expected in a front line receptionist, she also had a hard look to her eyes and the slight bulge of a gun in a shoulder holster under her blazer.
“We have an appointment with Mr. Stevens,” Michaelson said. He presented his ID and it was scanned.
‘Not typical for a front desk,’ Penelope thought. ‘As though the gun wasn’t a giveaway.’
Michaelson’s ID passed and they were buzzed back into the inner office. As Penelope stepped through she realized this wasn’t an ordinary office door. It was thick and looking at Michalson holding the door she guessed it to be heavy. Given the recent explosion she found the sight of it oddly comforting.
Michaelson let the door close behind them and he led her down the hall to an office. They entered and he gestured to a chair. Penelope looked around as she took her seat. There were no personal photos, no awards or mementos. There was a bookshelf filled with binders. The binders had titles referencing regulations and protocols.
Ten til Midnight 