This collection is comprised of a series of short stories, some written based on photo prompts and others for contests. Each chapter can be read independently.
1- Scream (Horror) : A woman loses her boyfriend in a traumatic kidnapping in the woods...
Later in the day, the rumble of a vehicle's engine approached, filling our hearts with hope. Unfortunately, a nearby farmer was checking on his land. He confirmed the road river was at 0.4 metres and not passable with our vehicles, but he'd dragged the tree off the road. He tried to boost our car for a while, but the Beast refused to come to life.
"You're lucky," he said to all of us.
We looked at him with furrowed brows, not sure how being stranded and having a dead car factored into that luck, but we had food and water. Worst come to worst, we could take a full-day walk into town and sleep in a hotel despite our shrinking wallets' protests.
A few hours later, another truck engine broke through the tranquil wilderness and our companions' country music. This farmer had a diesel engine with two batteries, as good as it would get for a jump. He gave us a boost while showing us photos of a flooded-out highway and other nearby areas that got hit hard.
After a longer charge, the Beast finally turned over and roared back to life. We were so relieved yet afraid it would happen again that we ran the car for nearly two hours straight, going for short drives to the underwater 'bridge' and back a few times. The water level dropped to 0.3 metres which seemed too high to cross for a sedan without a snorkel.
During one of our drives to keep the battery alive, we passed a cop who told us he was taking the others out tonight as more rain was coming. He encouraged us to join if we didn't want to be stranded again. We drove back and debated whether we wanted to risk a few more nights up here without help or chance that our Beast might make it through 0.3 metres of water. If she choked, our nomadic life was over. With only a month and a half left until we flew to our next destination, New Zealand, there was no sense in buying another car.
We gambled on the aquatic route, following the cop to the farmer's home where the teens parked their new car to be picked up in better weather. My chest tightened. What were we doing to our poor Beast? The cop had a high truck, the teens were playing it safe with a ride and we weren't.
At the river, I rubbed the Beast on the dashboard, got out and walked the entire route barefoot--muddy water reaching my shins and flowing through my toes--as if my actions would ensure success for the vehicle who'd been through so much with us. I gave Ethan a nervous nod and climbed in the passenger seat.
"Don't stop no matter what you do," the cop instructed. "Follow right behind me."
Ethan turned on the air-conditioning so we wouldn't fog up. After sharing an uncertain look and confirming we both wanted to risk our car, we followed the truck through the long river on a couple of raised tracks hidden beneath the waves. The water was high for our engine, but after holding our breath, we were on dryer land again. The Beast kept running.
"She did it," we whispered.
The cop truck sped off, not bothering to see if we'd made it.
"Wanna stay at Friendly Beaches tonight?" Ethan asked.
I laughed. "Sounds perfect."
***
Word count: 1990 words
Our final crossing. That back section is supposed to be the bridge XD
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The lovely Outback Beast (whose air-conditioning gave up after this river crossing, in the middle of an Aussie summer):
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