From time to time, I will post either a short story or a chapter from one of my books for you to read.

Duo-drabble (200 words)  – a sci-fi short story

Collision

I spun the Comet around the curve, revelling in the speed, the way it hugged the road as close as a lover.  The power, the freedom!

Mother had been reluctant to let me take the Comet out on my own, but I’d begged and pleaded until she gave in.  Finally I had got my permit to drive solo and I loved it.  The desert air was still and crisp, stars glistened faintly above, all overshadowed by a glorious silver moon.  Could life get any better?

I knew I wasn’t supposed to be there, but it was the middle of nowhere, the Australian outback.  There was no-one else for hundreds of kilometres.  What was the harm?

I saw the other vehicle coming toward me with only a second’s warning.  My search beam lit up the face of the driver, showing me a young human, a teenager, mouth open in terror.  Frantically I pulled sideways on the controls, slicing the top off several trees before coming to a crashing halt.  The Comet’s front was half-buried several metres in the ground.  But … the back end of the saucer must be sticking out for all to see.

Mother was going to kill me.