A very short story.
Witness
“I should have left earlier, there’s not enough time!”
She hit the brakes hard, causing the car to slide on locked wheels, and flung the door open as the car came to rest.
“The bag,” she exclaimed while reaching for the backpack situated in the passenger seat beside her before climbing out of the car in a rush.
Kylie assessed the situation. She had the bag, her phone, everything she needed for this. She still had a short way to go however, no roads provided direct access.
An alarm on her watch beeped. “Shit, I’m supposed to be there already!”
She swung the backpack over her right arm and broke into an all-out run, holding the backpack tight to prevent it from bouncing around too much.
She fled the car park and hooked onto a narrow, unsealed path. As she progressed farther along the path it became more overgrown, bushes encroaching into path space, trees reaching overhead.
It went on like this for several minutes until it was thick enough to force her to walk.
Kylie was desperate now, she had to be there, she couldn’t miss this.
Finally she broke through the overgrown scrub into a small clearing on the edge of a cliff. In front of her was a valley which grew wider as it reached to the horizon. There wasn’t much to see right now as it was still quite dark and monochromatic from moon light.
She sat down and pulled her camera and journal from her backpack, her breathing steadying towards a less pressured rhythm.
Over the horizon, framed by the valley, an orange tint started to peak out of the darkness.
Kylie smiled. Witnessing this wasn’t going to solve any of her challenges, but it gave her comfort and reassured her things were going to be alright.
Alternate ending:
She sat down and rested the backpack on her lap, her breathing steadying towards a less pressured rhythm.
Over the horizon, framed by the valley, an orange tint started to peak out of the darkness.
Kylie smiled. The police were sure to catch up to her shortly, she’d left an obvious trail of wreckage in her haste to flee the scene of her crime and get here. But until they arrived she’d take this moment, it gave her comfort in her decision, no matter the outcome.