Every week, Rochelle Wisoff-Fields (thank you, Rochelle!) hosts a flash fiction challenge, to write a complete story, based on a photoprompt, with a beginning, middle and end, in 100 words or less. Post it on your blog, and include the Photoprompt and Inlinkz on your page. Link your story URL. Then the fun starts as you read other peoples’ stories and comment on them!
PHOTO PROMPT © C E Ayr
Film noir
The helicopter’s engine stammered.
“Guys, there’s something wrong. We’re losing power.”
* * *
Meanwhile, in the film studio:
“Action!”
“Good morning, MacDonald…”
“Cut! For goodness sake beef up the accent, David. This is Glasgow, not Edinburgh.”
The famous star nodded acquiescence.
* * *
“I can’t find anything wrong, but the engine is misfiring.”
* * *
“Action!”
David spoke. What he spoke was unintelligible apart from the words MacDonald and Barlinnie.
“Cut! Alright, you’ve had your fun. Let’s shoot some decent footage, shall we?”
* * *
“We’re going down!”
With a roar like an avalanche the helicopter smashed through the roof of the film studio.
Autumn Leaves 
As a Glaswegian, I appreciate the distinction between Glasgow and Edinburgh 🙂 A bit more dramatic action than they were expecting in the film!
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Truly. And not the sort of drama anybody wants. Thanks for your kind comment.
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Sometimes the best footage is caught by accident. Then again…
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I wonder if anyone caught the footage. One would hope everybody was helping the injured and making the wreck safe. Still, I daresay someone caught it on their mobile…
Thanks for the comment.
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If they were shooting right then, I would assume someone got the helicopter crash on video.
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You’re probably right, Nobbin
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Help ma boab!
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Thank you, Oor Wullie! I’m glad my visit to Scotland surprised you.
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Dear Penny,
As a Yank, having never been to Scotland, I wouldn’t know the difference…that is, unless I was there for any length of time. 😉 Unprecedented and dramatic ending. Hope they weren’t shooting a comedy. Good story.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Dear Rochelle
Thank you for reading and commenting. I’m glad you thought the ending was dramatic.
Shalom
Penny
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A crash ending, in fact. I guess it’ll have to be a short film! Nicely done, Penny.
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Thanks for the kind comment. I think this may be one film we never get to see.
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An unfortunate convergence of events for all concerned. As to the director, be careful what you wish for!
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Thank you! I’m so glad you noticed the convergence of events. I was trying to capture something of the shock people feel when a catastrophic disaster smashes into their daily life.
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You’re welcome and you succeeded!
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i’d been to edinburgh but not glasgow, so i can’t really make the difference. anyway, i hope everybody survived the crash.
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I hope they survived too. Unfortunately, helicopter crashes tend to be disastrous.
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That was a crash landing.
Hope all are safe.
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I hope so too. Unfortunately, helicopter crashes tend to be fatal.
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That film’s sure to be a smash hit!
Here’s mine!
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If it gets made…
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Is Famous movie star survived?.. nice take
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The text doesn’t say – so the reader is free to decide for themselves!
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So much drama over an accent. He didn’t have to crash it in pique 😀 😀 😀 Delightful story Penny
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I don’t think the actor had anything to do with the crash. I meant this to be a story about the shock people feel when a catastrophic disaster smashes into their daily life. Don’t think I succeeded as well as I would have liked!
Thank you for your comment, Jolly! Much appreciated.
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Good title, Penny, it pulled me in right away – and it was indeed a very dark event that overtook the studio.
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Dear Jilly
Thank you for reading and commenting. I’m pleased the title drew you in.
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That’s the trouble with helicopters — horrible glide ratios. Good one.
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As you say, Bill. In fact, probably not much better than bricks. Thanks for reading and commenting.
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You’re welcome.
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I had a definite feeling things were going to end this way…
Great story telling!
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Yes, it was one of those accidents that was fated from the moment of the first asterisks! Thank you for your kind comment.
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🙂
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I hope they caught it on film. I’m sure they can script it in! As long as everyone escaped alive and unharmed, of course… 🙂
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I expect it was caught on film, unless the cameras were destroyed in the crash. As the narrative doesn’t say whether they survived or not, you, the reader, have that awesome responsibility!
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That would’ve been some hard landing … oy! Nicely woven, Penny!
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Ouch, yes, it would! Thank you for the kind comment, Na’ama.
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🙂 Love it! 🙂
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Accents can be so different, I guess that the director got more than he wanted.
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Yes, the famous star was truly taking the Mickey!
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That must have been quite a shock! It’s not everyday that helicopters come crashing into our lives…
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Luckily it’s an experience that very few people suffer. In fact it’s not entirely unknown in Glasgow. Some years ago a helicopter crashed through the roof of a crowded pub there, and killed a large number of people.
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Quite some special effect there! Love your ‘split-screen’ approach, flicking from the set to the cock pit, building the tension. Great story
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Thank you for your kind comment, Lynn. I’m glad the ‘split-screen’ approach worked for you.
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My pleasure and it really did 😊
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BAM! I knew there was a connection between that copter and the film studio. One surely had an impact on the other!
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I’m afraid the impact was considerable. We can only hope casualties weren’t too high. Thank you for your kind comment.
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‘unintelligible’ accent is probably Hollywood version of authenticity. Maybe it’s an omen. The movie is going to be either a smashing hit or crashing failure.
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Sadly, this is one scene where the director can’t yell, “Cut!” Great story with a tragic ending.
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Oh… I think the film will be more Apocalypse now than what was intended.
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From the looks of the last line one would reckon it wasn’t quite a total catastrophe?
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