Frankenplot : Missed

Gold cherry

By GlosKat

Mon, 28 Sep 2026
  • 234 reads
15 comments
 

Dire Straits turned up loud, the white line rushing at her through the fog.  The passenger nods, his chin on his chest.  Occasionally she sneaks a nervous glance at him, licking her lips, but mostly she peers out at the motorway signs.  Coventry, Nottingham, Sheffield.  Mesmerized, she is standing still in time, staring at the stargate sequence as the bright lights bleed and stretch and race past her. The first flash of panic, when she might have acted, lies far behind her down the rushing road.  He was still alive when they left London. She drives on through the night.

Certificate U
Story
Other Fiction

Comments

Submitted by insertponceyfre... on

An excellent entry to the writing challenge GlosKat - very nicely done, and thank you!

 

Submitted by GlosKat on

Thank you Claudine and thank you for the cherries.  I was going for mysterious rather than ghouls and ghosts type spooky.

 

Submitted by Turlough on

You beat me to it Kat.

I had a wisp of an idea where I would travel through darkness and eventually wake up in Burnley. I can think of nothing scarier, with the possible exception of waking up in Sheffield.

Well done!

Turlough

Submitted by GlosKat on

Praise indeed from the master of the hundred word story.

Funnily enough I was only in Sheffield last week.  I was at the station and all the trains were late because they were travelling at slow speed because of 'defective track' between Sheffield and Scarborough.  Surely if there's defective track the trains shouldn't be running at all ? That really was a scary ride, I was frightened the train was going to fall over.

PS if you have a few minutes please read my blog on books I started but never finished.  I'd be interested to know your list.  

 

Submitted by Turlough on

I think the defect with the track is simply down to the fact that it goes to Sheffield. You should have been alright going in the other direction.

But that’s just West Yorkshire / South Yorkshire rivalry talking. I’ve had some great times in Sheffield… possibly as many as three.

And I’ll certainly have a look at your book blog.

Turlough

Submitted by Ewan on

  This piece makes a virtue of its brevity. As an entry in the Frankenplot Comp/challenge it is very different, that's why it's today's Pick of the Day. Do please share it, if you like it too.

Author Page at the 'Zon
 

Submitted by GlosKat on

Gosh thank you very much !  Love the photo on Facebook.

 

Submitted by SoulFire77 on

I love it! Thank you for such an original submission! I love the short form. In horror it is the most difficult option because it takes time to build an atmosphere. You have solved this problem nicely here. I could feel the tension in the plot right away.

Perhaps someone will bring poetry? I think a spooky poem would be a nice addition to the competition.

I am open to whatever someone wants to contribute, though - suspense screenplays, horror hiaku, terror tankas, aversion acrostics, ominous odes (you get the idea). You choose anything you want.

 

Submitted by Ewan on

 they will :-D

Author Page at the 'Zon
 

Submitted by GlosKat on

I started with the idea of making it exactly 100 words and then tried to fit a mystery into that.  I like stories that ask questions and leave the reader's imagination to try to answer them.  Has she killed him ?  Is she rescuing him ?  Is he still alive ?  Even I don't know !

As a 17 year old I saw Stanley Kubrick's 2001 A Space Odyssey and that stargate sequence has really stayed with me.

Thank you for coming up with the competition.

 

Submitted by celticman on

the only think scarer than not waking up at your stop is realizing you're driving the train. 

 

Submitted by GlosKat on

Indeed, it would certainly be scary to wake up and find you're doing that. Bit like that Jacob's Ladder film with all the trains, one of the scariest films I ever saw.

 

Submitted by Jane Hyphen on

I've had to re-read this several times and each time it has a slightly different meaning. Either way, it's eerily mundane with the motorway signs and somebody is no longer alive. I'd keep driving for as long as possible if that was me, it's the best time to process things.

 

Submitted by GlosKat on

Interesting interpretation, Jane. 

I meant to imply that he might still be alive, we don't know - and neither does she.  All we know for sure is that he was alive when they left London.  He might just be asleep now.  But of course an alternative reading is that he's not.

I do know that feeling of driving around in an emotional crisis, not knowing what to do, and finding the driving hypnotic and the best way of putting off a looming decision.  I hope I managed to get some of that atmosphere into the post.

Thanks for reading !

 

Submitted by Jane Hyphen on

Ha ha, I suppose I should have said, it combines the eery with the mundane. My imagination went straight to, she's somehow bumped him off (dodgy mushroom season) and is avoiding the consequences for as long as possible.