Fiction Friday - Chasing Chaos

Skylar was running. She didn't know where she'd run to, but she couldn't stay in town. She was one of the fortunate ones. Or smart. When the screams broke the night and woke her, she'd grabbed a hoodie and pulled on her running shoes that were waiting for her by the door before going out to join the mobs of people trying to find out what part of governmental collapse had broken the city center.

And then she ran in the opposite direction.

In fact, while others were already rushing through the downtown to the civic buildings and the vigil at the memorial, she had taken a minute to throw some necessities into a backpack. Whatever it was, she had waited long enough. It was time to leave. Past time.

She didn't really care which side was at fault. Everyone expected the collapse - news,  social media, customers in the shop where she worked, buddies at her gym, everyone. It was inevitable. She wasn't going to wait for the morning news to find out.

And now, here she was, running over the ranging hills of farmland in the early dawn while the city burned behind her. 

Maybe everything would be fine.

Yeah. And maybe my grandmother is going to rise from the dead to chastise me on my life's choices. Again.

Now as she settled into a long-distance stride, she thought again about her luck. No doubt the city exits were closed off already. All those people who ran in toward the city center to get answers were stuck there. Whatever happened next, they could deal with it. 

Or not. Whatever way the politics fell, she was out of there.

And the fake identification she'd had prepared months ago would help officials in other places trust that she was not one of the troublemakers from this horrible place. She'd be free to start whatever chaos she wanted in whatever place she'd land.

It's FICTION FRIDAY!

Every Friday I write a new flash fiction piece. If you have a writing prompt you'd like to see turned into a story, just leave it in a comment.