End of the Line (1st Place)

The blare of the horn in front of me and the thunderous roar of the train shook the ground. It barreled down the tracks bearing down upon my fragile frame. The thought of the scattered pieces of my body when the EMT’s found me drifted through my mind’s eye. I shuddered at the grisly idea.

Instinct kicked in and I began to writhe against my restraint. My eyes grew larger as the light in the distance consumed the darkness between us. I prayed briefly that some miracle would occur and the train would grind to a halt. But in my heart, I knew like a man walking the final hallway into the death chamber.

My mind pushed to the last half hour and Tessa pulling the utility door closed with a click. The echo in the narrow passage just as haunting in my memory as it was in reality. Tessa with her fiery short-cropped hair, whimsical grin and tantalizing way of seduction, pulled me in. For a brief moment, I touched heaven on Earth. Her lips pressed against mine in unbridled passion.



“Hello! Stop! Stop!!!” I shouted to no avail. The rumble just kept coming. Why would they hear me? There would be no reason 250 feet below ground in a narrow tunnel. I flailed my free arm as the hardened steel of the handcuffs held fast my other. Still, the angry, mechanical beast charged at me – Lights blinking, cars rocking. Helplessness engulfed me.

The woman that held my heart since we were six, only to be tossed aside lo so many times to finally, agonizingly be discarded for $500,000. Somehow, I knew Tessa would be betray me. I just didn’t want to believe.

One final thought before impact passed through my mind. “What were you thinking?”



299 Words


Flash Story limited to 300 words
Must contain the line "What were you thinking?"
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