On Monday mornings, I send out a story via email: ultra-brief tales of 1,000 words or more, usually in genres including horror, science fiction, and the supernatural. Those stories collectively are called Once Upon A Time. I’ve also published several ebooks and compendium volumes of those stories so far.

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Here's story 188, of 240 so far.

Insurance

Of course it happened when Mack was in the arse end of nowhere, and of course it happened when it was dark and raining, and of course it happened when his wife was arguing with him from the passenger seat.

He was tired, and it was already after seven o’clock in the evening, but he had more than an hour’s drive still ahead of him. The weekend break was meant to be a good idea for both of them, but when packing their bags they’d apparently brought their marital baggage along too. The end result was that he was distracted when he shouldn’t have been, and despite the road not being busy, he went around a curve and the truck seemed to come out of nowhere.

The car’s collision alarm sounded, and the computer valiantly tried to brake, pumping the anti-lock system and reinforcing the steering, but physics was always the winner. Before the last of his speed had been lost, Mack felt his seatbelt digging deeper into his chest as they hit the rear right corner of the bigger and slower-moving truck, and then he heard the sickening crunch-tinkle of road vehicles distributing sudden force in the only way they can.

“Jesus,” he said, five seconds later when he’d regained the power of speech.

From the passenger seat, his wife was silent, but a quick glance confirmed that she was alright, and that only momentary shock was preventing her saying something that would make the situation worse. Before she got the chance, Mack quickly unfastened his seatbelt, opened the door, and stepped out.

The damage to the front end of his vehicle wasn’t severe, and nor was the corresponding damage to the goods truck just in front of him. It had its hazard lights on, which was a good sign, and Mack could already see the driver getting out. An obscure instinct made him glance around quickly to see if anyone else was nearby, but the two vehicles and their occupants seemed to have the roadside to themselves for now. Mack wasn’t aware that he was keeping his shoulders loose, and his hands half-curled at his sides, even as he put on an apologetic smile.

The man who had just got out of the truck was wearing a baseball cap, which Mack privately thought of as being generally in poor taste, but it was better not to judge.

“I’m sorry, mate,” he said. “Are you OK, or should I call the police and an ambulance right now? My wife might be doing that already.”

It was a calculated question, designed to remind the stranger — the hat guy — that they were never truly alone in this day and age. The truck driver waved the suggestion off, and to Mack’s eye he did at least look uninjured. The guy also looked calm, which was another plus.

“Going a bit fast back there,” hat guy said, and Mack nodded, holding his hands up literally and otherwise.

“I know. My fault,” he said, and the guy nodded.

“Doesn’t look too bad,” hat guy said, walking around the rear of his truck at a leisurely pace. “Let’s just swap details and let the companies handle it. It’s late enough.”

Mack felt his chest tighten. He’d been meaning to renew his policy. His wife had nagged him about it several times, especially since it was illegal not to have coverage. She’d been right to nag him, and he knew that she was sitting in the car thinking about that very thing right at this moment, and he also knew that he was never going to hear the end of it.

“Uh,” he said, trying to settle on the right wording, but the guy spoke up first.

“Unless you’d like to just handle things privately,” he said, and Mack nodded straight away, maybe a little too quickly. Hat guy looked him up and down.

“Can be two reasons a man wants to settle without getting others involved,” the guy said. “One, he’s already in trouble with the law. I don’t get that feeling from you. Or two, he doesn’t have anybody else to call, because he’s driving without insurance.”

Mack sighed, weighing up the pros and cons of lying. “Just don’t see much reason to put my premiums up forever because of one mistake.”

Hat guy nodded thoughtfully. “That might be it, right enough,” he replied, “but I don’t get that feeling from you either.”

“You get a lot of feelings about people,” Mack said, then immediately regretted it. “Look, sorry,” he added quickly. “It’s late, like you said. This has been a bit of a shock. I just want to fix it and move on.”

Hat guy nodded again, now looking at the car. Mack’s wife was peering out at the two of them, not saying or doing anything, and Mack could tell that she was angry but was holding it in check until she had a better assessment of the situation.

“Won’t know how much this’ll cost until I get it to a mechanic,” hat guy said, jerking his thumb back towards his truck. “That’s not going to happen until the morning now. So we’ve got ourselves a problem of trust.”

“I can give you my phone number,” Mack replied, “and you can take down my vehicle’s details. You can even take a photo of my driving license. I have it here. Then you get a quote from a garage, text it to me, and I’ll transfer the money. Easy.”

Hat guy crossed the short distance to Mack’s car, then knelt down in front of the damaged portion on the right side at the front. The headlight assembly was smashed, the grille was crumpled on that side, and there was some distortion in the bodywork over the arch, but that was about it.

“We could do that,” the guy said, but then he stood back up again and somehow there was a gun in his hand. For the second time in five minutes or so, Mack felt everything slow down.

“Here’s what we’ll do,” hat guy said, sounding every bit as calm as he had a few moments earlier. He gestured towards his truck, then at Mack’s car. “I’ll take your phone number. Then we’re both going to drive away. I’ll get that quote tomorrow, and we’ll do it your way. But you’re not insured, and you might just disappear, particularly now.”

“I’m not going to disappear,” Mack said, his voice barely audible above the breeze. Hat guy nodded one more time.

“I know you’re not,” he replied. “Because I’m taking your wife with me as collateral.”

JINX

KESTREL face a new and terrifying enemy: an all-seeing mastermind who already knows exactly who they are, and many of their deepest secrets. Nothing stays hidden forever, and the line between privacy and liberty is razor-thin…

Book 3 in the KESTREL action-thriller series.

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