SHORT STORY CONTEST: Traffic Signals

TRIGGER WARNING: this is a story about a forest fire.

PROMPT:

Green Light: Start your story with either of these two sentences:

1) She (he/I) couldn't hear what they were saying.

2) The blackout was citywide.

Amber light: Throw any three of these into the body of the story to mix things up a bit.

a) dead batteries

b) a surprise visit

c) two screaming toddlers

d) a jar of hair

e) black ice

f) free tickets

g) an obscene phone call

Red light: Finish your story with either of these events.

1) A dance recital

2) A cop writing a resignation letter

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THE WAY OUT

The blackout was citywide. It had started with rolling blackouts in an attempt to quell the forest fires, but by now there was no power at all.

"Lauren, do you have any more batteries? These ones are dead." Collin said from a dark corner of the living room.

He heard her scuffling, but she did not reply. Feeling along the wall, he got as far as the front window when he heard a frantic knocking at the door.

"Let me in! Let me in!" It was Lauren. Even with all his police training, he wasn’t prepared for this. A chill went up his spine as he opened the door and saw the terror on her face. She was screeching out words, but he couldn't hear what she was saying. Looking beyond her he saw the orange glow of the fire. She ran inside and slammed the door, waking the twins upstairs. As if on cue, they started screaming in unison.

The scuffling in the other room became frenzied. He grabbed Lauren's hand and pulled her up the stairs. As they entered the twin's room, they heard an explosion outside in the distance. Collin stopped to gather his thoughts and try to make a plan. He had the same helpless feeling from his two failed years on the force. Out of his depth, he longed for the news reports that would tell him a route to safety. The air in the house was starting to thicken, and he could hear something clamoring up the stairs.

"I know he's out there, he's gonna come save us," Lauren said about her husband, Bobby. As one of the town's only four firefighters, Collin wondered if his brother had a choice in the matter. Or if he was even still alive. The rag-tag volunteer fire department in their rural Oregon town may not have been ready for this catastrophe, but Bobby was born for this. As much as Collin wanted to believe his brother would make his way back, he knew he needed to act, and fast.

He wished he'd paid more attention when he arrived here after quitting his job in Portland. Nestled into the woods, the neighborhood had two entrances. He didn't know how many houses were in the development, but they were spaced pretty far apart.

"I hope your SUV has gas in it," Collin told Lauren.

He pulled a screaming nephew into his arms and told her to do the same. As they turned to exit, they faced a tortured animal with singed hair. It's bared teeth made a grotesque grimace. It's back was covered in tufts of white fur in sparse matted clumps.

"Sunny?" Lauren said, kneeling down to eye level with the creature. "It's the neighbor's dog," she said.

Collin pushed past the forlorn pup and urged Lauren to do the same. The sight of the dog spurned Collin out of his indecision and straight to the garage. Lauren grabbed her keys off a little table and hurried to the car.

"We can't wait to strap them in, you'll have to do it once I'm driving."

It was a crapshoot in which direction he should go. He went the only way he knew from the half a dozen times he'd driven in and out of the neighborhood. Judging by the orange glow on the horizon behind him, he had chosen well. He glanced down at the gas gauge and realized they only had a quarter of a tank. He prayed that it would be enough.

The children were quiet. Lauren sat between them, head in hands.

Collin drove down the winding road and saw another family in their driveway. They were packing their car with belongings and shouting at each other. Their young daughter was standing still in the front walkway holding an oversized babydoll. She was staring at their SUV as her parents whirled around her. Collin pushed the car faster leaving the family behind.

The smoke obscured the road forcing Collin to drive with caution. They reached the entrance of the subdivision. He could see the fire raging on the mountain above them. A car approached from the direction of the fire. The side of the white pickup truck was as brown as a toasted marshmallow. Collin fell in behind the truck and proceeded down the mountain.

They followed the truck to a makeshift triage center in the parking lot of a local restaurant. Thankful to see order and support, Collin introduced himself to the driver. He was a nurse on his third trip up the mountain to rescue residents trapped by the fire. He hadn't seen any of the firefighters on any of his expeditions.

Lauren and the twins settled in with other families at the restaurant. She learned that the fire crew had joined with two others from neighboring townships and were making progress on the other side of the mountain. While the improvised shelter was noisy, both twins had fallen asleep, toe to toe on a bench in the waiting area. Collin waved as he got back into the SUV to mount his own rescue mission. That family from earlier still hadn't made it to the shelter.

Turning into his sister's neighborhood, he could see the flames had devoured most of the homes. He got to the first intersection and looked in the direction the family should have come. The fire line was there, approaching him with ferocity. And just before the stop sign was the burned-out shell of the family's car. Collin sat idling, watching the tires melt into the pavement. He had failed again. If only it was as easy to escape this as it had been to write a resignation letter. This time, however, there would be no coward's way out.