Relishing The Day

When I step into the taxi, what happens next is something I will never forget…

It is warm so I loosen the annoying necktie and use my handkerchief to wipe the sweat from my brow.

I gaze out the window at the immense buildings relishing my first time in Manhattan. Tired from the flight, I rest my eyes. There is time before we reach the office building.

A loud honk and screeching tires startle me. Coming toward us is a large white truck.

As I’m loaded onto the ambulance in a stretcher, fading, my handkerchief lays torn on the ground.

From Guest Contributor Lisa M. Scuderi-Burkimsher

For A Laugh

Tina sat in the back of a taxi on her phone. She looked up, and her breath caught.

No longer was she staring at the glass partition; instead a bear stared down at her, its black eyes boring into her.

She screamed and threw her phone. It bounced off its head.

It roared, its canines glistening. “Stop!” The bear growled. It shook her, its claws digging into her.

Tina freed her pepper spray and emptied it in the bear’s eyes.

“The hell?” The cabbie screamed, falling to the ground, grabbing his face.

A twisted laugh carried faintly on the wind.

From Guest Contributor Madison Randolph

Madison is a reader by day and a writer by night. Her works have appeared in Friday Flash Fiction, The Drabble, Bright Flash Literary Review, Spillwords, The Chamber Magazine, A Story in 100 Words, Free Flash Fiction, Microfiction Monday as well as 101 Words under the name Ryker Hayes. She resides in Oklahoma with her family and dog Belle where she spends her time sharpening her writing skills and drinking large amounts of coffee. Her works can be found here. She can be found on Instagram @madisonrandolph17

Addiction

Juliana knew it was psychological. But the distress of withdrawal was real.

Her travel wanderlust was more than an indulgence. It was a craving deep in her cells. Journeys broke the shackles of the mundane and had become the embodiment of her independence.

Her last fix was fifty days ago. She kept distracted with work and avocation diversions. Yet, her mind would drift to the need, and normally steady hands would tremble.

When the seductive siren called, Juliana’s immobility became a shrinking coffin. Claustrophobic and suffocating.

As the taxi dropped her at the airport, she was able to breath. Freedom.

From Guest Contributors A.L. Gabriella and Billy Ray

Yellow Cabs

Jake sat in the back of the taxi wondering where the snowstorm was coming from. Outside was a sunny day in New York City, but the interior of his yellow cab already had several inches of cold, wet snow and the conditions seemed to be worsening.

He'd heard of strange events happening in cabs before. He actually knew of a guy who got into a taxi on 96th Street and got out near the Village transformed into a woman. But this weather seemed even more bizarre.

Perhaps the fact his driver was a penguin had something to do with it.

The Taxi Driver

Ed was too frightened to open the boot. The banging from inside could indicate the end of his job, but there were also plenty of scenarios that would lead to deportation back to England, jail, or worse.

He shifted through his options as he searched up and down the empty street. Finally, with his maglite in hand, he pushed the button on his keychain and jumped back.

As the jackal darted out and ran into the ditch, Ed cursed. He'd been ordered to stay silent. This was his last warning. No amount of money would be worth what came next.

This story is meant to demonstrate suspense, the topic of today's post over at The Chaos Factory.