Friday Fictioneers – New Life

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 © ALICIA JAMTAAS

New Life

The last of the wagons rumbled to a halt, discharged its ore, and sat, dirty and empty.

The last of the ore spilled from the conveyor into the furnace with a gout of sooty sparks.

The last of the molten metal was cast and the ingots trucked out.

Two men secured the gates with thick chains and heavy padlocks, and drove away.

The site was left; it wasn’t worth salvaging.

A whippoorwill came. Fireweed flourished. Brambles straggled over the buildings. Saplings shaded the wagon tracks even as they destroyed them.

New life!

Nothing grew on the spoil tips.

Ever.

Inlinkz – Click here to join the fun!

Friday Fictioneers – The Deal

Because I found the prompt very stimulating this week, I’m going to be greedy, and add another story. I’m also adding it because we’ve had many dark stories this week, and many that view the factory and industry as being inevitably linked to corporate greed. Of course, there is another point of view…

PHOTO PROMPT © J Hardy Carroll

Genre: Historical fiction c1975

Word count: 100

“So, instead of scrapping my old steel drums, I send them to you to re-process, and then I can use them again?” Jim, boss of the local chemical plant, was sceptical.

“They’re good as new.” Don crossed his fingers. The furnace he used was dodgy; the jobs of six men hung on this deal. “Why don’t I buy you lunch?”

Over chili dogs and beer, Don explained how it would save Jim money.

“And it’s good for the environment.”

Jim nodded thoughtfully.

“It’s a deal.”

Don bought him a whisky. Now he just needed a bank loan to fix the furnace…

200 lire steel drums can be reworked by draining the contents, burning out the residues, re-forming, shot-blasting and repainting. This is slightly more cost effective than scrapping the drums, and it’s a lot better for the environment – provided the furnace is correctly designed and operated. It was also typically a small business where skilled staff were appreciated.

 

Friday Fictioneers – The Dare

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 (the blue frog) on your page. Link your story URL. Then the fun starts as you read other peoples’ stories and comment on them!

PHOTO PROMPT © J Hardy Carroll

The Dare

It was dark. The dog barked furiously, straining at its chain. Robbie danced past it, staying just out of reach.

“I dare you to climb the chimney.”

Robbie looked at the vertical ladder. ‘Easy peasy,’ he thought.

Twenty metres up, he changed his mind. A rusty bolt holding ladder to brickwork crumbled, and the ladder lurched. Robbie scraped the knuckles of both hands as he clung on.

“I dare you…”

He climbed to the top and took a photograph. He could smell smoke.

Back at the bottom, “Done it!”  he gloated – just as the dog broke its chain.