Words on Wednesday. As I’m setting this up in draft form (last Thursday) I need to point out that there are no spoilers in this scene. You might think there are but trust me, this thing is not like the others–not really. Why? Because. Let me explain. Last week’s Thursday Threads prompt came from my flash fiction because I won. I don’t like piggybacking scenes. I’d rather take the prompt and create something completely new. In the course of writing this behemoth, I’ve hit on some twisty-turnys in the story that ARE spoilers. I wanted to work on one of those scenes while the inspiration was fresh, and did, but then sort of borrowed bits and pieces for the challenge of 250 words. Here’s the prompt: **It wasn’t like that.”** I won’t say where in the timeline any of this scene might happen. I will say that only part of it DOES happen. Because I’m a big ol’ tease like that. Anyway, here goes:

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Maura knelt beside Ronan, fighting panic. She heard men approaching. Good guys? Probably not. Ronan was still breathing. Maybe she could lead them away, lose them, and circle back here. Did she have a choice?

“You sure you hit the guy?” The voice was low and dubious.

“I shot ’im. Saw ’im take the hit. He’s dead.” The guy was bragging.

“We gotta find the girl then get outta here.”

“Nobody around here will call the cops.”

They were close enough she could smell their sweat. The time had come—it was now or never. Like a startled rabbit, she jumped up, knocked over a trash can, and sprinted down the street, away from Ronan. A gun went off behind her and she almost face-planted on the broken concrete. The men argued as they chased after her.

“Idiot. You coulda killed one of us.”

“It wasn’t like that,” the braggart whined. “I thought it was him.”

“You said he was dead. Get the girl then we’ll come back and finish off the Irishman.”

Maura kept running. These men were after her, not Ronan. It was her fault that he was lying unconscious and bleeding. The lines between black and white blurred. Again.

She turned a corner and realized her mistake. A dead end. With no time to escape, she backed into a corner and tried to make herself disappear.

“C’mon out, girlie,” one said.

Then the other screamed as a gigantic silver beast took him down. Ronan. Rescuing her again.
****

Don’t get all excited! This scene will be stretched (already has–mostly) into several scenes spanning a complete chapter. As mentioned, I could only submit 250 words and trying to tell a complete story–which is the whole point to flash fiction–in 250 words is HARD! I would almost lay odds that once the book comes out, y’all won’t remember this snippet at all once you read the completed chapter. Anyway, there are twists and turns and loop-de-loops and these aren’t them. *bwahaha* All I can say is, “It wasn’t like that…” because I’m evil. What are you like today?