Lou Silvestri Wins Flash Fiction Challenge

Lou Silvestri is the Readers’ Choice in this week’s Indies Unlimited Flash Fiction Challenge. The winning entry is decided by the popular vote and rewarded with a special feature here today. (In case of a tie,  the writer who submitted an entry first is the winner per our rules.) Without further ado, here’s the winning story:

3L0A1436 Foliage Flash fiction writing prompt copyright KS Brooks
Photo copyright K. S. Brooks. Do not use without attribution.

Larch
by Lou Silvestri

I saw a flash of red as his arm swept up clutching a rifle. Thank goodness he didn’t see us crouching behind the largest Larch.

While shuffling through town this morning, looking for a decent spot for our picnic, I heard the forest ranger warning visitors, “The bank robber fled in a stolen fire-engine red pickup truck. He’s armed and dangerous.” I hurried back to warn my other half, and offsprings. We found a safe picnic site and enjoyed a tasty lunch. Heading for home, we froze in our tracks when a red pickup truck rolled to a stop a hundred yards away. It had to be him!

The masked thief crawled under the truck with a bank pouch and became engrossed counting his loot. This would be a good time for me to go get the ranger, I thought. I stubbed my toe on a tree stump and moaned, “Oh!” He waved his rifle from under his truck. “Who’s there,” he screeched.
Just then, an owl asked, “Whoo? Whoo?”. Realizing it was only a bird, thank goodness, the crook went back to totaling his theft.

I managed to get to the ranger. It took some time to convince him, but, I managed to lead his team to the robber. In a matter of minutes, the bandit was taken into custody. We were rewarded with a barrel of berries and a crate of salmon. The local headline read – “Brown Bears and Cubs Lead Rangers to Bank Robber.”

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One thought on “Lou Silvestri Wins Flash Fiction Challenge”

  1. Dear Lou,
    Congratulations! Your story was very entertaining. Of course I wanted my story to win, but I really wanted yours to win, also. It took me a few moments to realize that it was written by a bear. The salmon and berries were an important clue. Great perspective! – Mary Kay

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