Flash Fiction: Dark Edges
Hi everyone, a belated happy new year to you all. Thought I’d kick off the year by posting my flash fiction contribution for a competition entry for a 200 – 300 words mystery story based on an elephant (random, but aren’t most competitions?). Mystery is not really a genre I write so this was a little challenging but figured I’d give it a go. Hope you enjoy it.
DARK EDGES
She had been holding her breath for a few seconds and knew she would pass out if she didn’t let it out soon. Dizzying pressure had slowly built up in her ears and she was certain the scrambling noises she had made when she bumped into the beast could not have gone unnoticed. Yet, she stood still, clutching the flashlight to her chest, almost like it could provide some security against the magnificent animal she was too frightened to look upon in the dark. They had warned her that it could trample her if startled but for some reason it hadn’t moved at all.
She reached down and made contact again with its thick leathery skin, her fingers trailing along the surface until they made contact with something much harder and colder. She carried on, flinching when she reached the jagged edges where the tusk had been crudely severed. Still working in the cloak of darkness, she pulled out a blade from her satchel and scrapped around the cut, knowing that the plastic jar she held below would be filled with a green powdery substance. She had long since abandoned any caution regarding its possible effect on her bare skin. She would deal with the consequences when she returned to the lab.
If she ever got back to the lab.
Rising, she replaced the jar in her satchel and turned to trace her way back in the direction she had come from. She would only be able to switch a light on when she was sure she was far enough away from the elephant. But she immediately regretted the precautionary measure when her foot caught on something and she fell headfirst against what could only be a tree trunk.
That was when the beast stirred.
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