Flash Fiction #7 - No Matter the Cost
- Jacob RD Johnson
- Oct 11, 2025
- 2 min read
Updated: Oct 12, 2025
Picture Prompt
300-word Flash Fiction
Post # 7
Week Ending: 07/25/2025
Genre: Horror
Title: No Matter The Cost
The sun had just fallen beyond the western horizon. The fading orange burned just over the peaks of the distant mountains in the gloaming. Penelope knew that if she didn't find Christina before the dank dusk fizzled into darkness, the daunt would grow exponentially.
Penelope’s bare feet, on the rough texture of the gray, lifeless ground, were in such constant pain, she could no longer feel the impact of each individual step. The air reeked of moist, musky swampiness … and fear. Her own? Christina’s? Or did fear itself spread the creation of this god-forsaken forest at the edge of the water?
A light breeze ushered trickling, tiny waves against the lakeshore. The incessant rippling was the only detectable sound. The breeze also delivered to her skin piercing daggers of winter’s ire. She shivered and not just because of the relentless cold.
As Penelope rounded the jagged tree, she placed a hand upon its frozen, rugged bark for stability. It clinged to her palm with its sticky menace. She felt as though the tree would claim her, never let her go, then engulf her body as part of its own to absorb her soul.
She managed to forge further, to the lee of the tree. She may have been thankful for the minor respite from the air flow had she not come upon the lonely lantern that had once been accompanied by her best friend.
From the opposite side of the monstrosity, Penelope had seen a soft glow casting a shred of optimism through the crotch of the tree. Perhaps Christina would be there, clinging silently to life. They could reunite to survive the defection of this Hell together. But now, the glow served only to reveal her absence. Penelope would not relent in her search, no matter the cost.
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