Welcome to my Monday Minis.
This is where I review short stories and flash fiction.
For today I’ll be telling you about Distance To Empty
by Lee Moan
My Review
It only took me about 20 minutes to read this. That’s what I love about short stories. That and how well written some of them are. How the author can grab you and keep you totally enthralled.
The dilemma. The gas gauge says 10 miles to empty. Their destination, Barrington Ford, is 11 miles.
Joe sits in the car, his wife Susie asleep beside him, mentally kicking himself for not having the gauge fixed.
It’s been twitchy for a while now and can’t be trusted. So does it have enough gas or not? Should he keep going, hoping the gauge is wrong, or should he head back to the nearest gas station, hoping the gauge is wrong? Knowing his wife will let him have it, he hopes for the best and presses on.
They are close to their destination when Joe wakes up Susie. They both stare out the windshield at the eerie grey mist between them and town. It’s odd that behind and above them the sky is clear and blue. Whatever it is, they’re going to have to drive through it.
Yeah, there have been plenty of books and movies with something in the mist as the story line. The Bremuda Triangle, Stephen King’s The Mist and The Fog come to mind quickly. But Lee was able to make this his own version.
The couples disintegrating relationship, the grotesque things in the mist, the mysterious passenger they pick up. All of this makes for a surprisingly full plot in such a short story.
It never felt confusing, slow, or lacking. The stage is set, things start happening, and then even stranger things happen.
I really liked the huge surprise waiting in the mist. That is where the author owned this story.
The title has more than one meaning. My mind was left to wander, to wonder.
I sure hope there will be more added to this story. I need to know what happens.
Until then, I’m going to read more books by Lee Moan.
4 Stars
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Click on these links for more about Lee Moan and his books.