Search for Stories

A search of many short stories Linked Short Story Collection by Russell Twyce

The linked stories are of attraction, rejection, revenge, violence, murder, dating, live, law and or reconciliation. Life itself is a search for stories.

Search For Your Own Story

It’s well after 2:00 am on a Saturday night. The Hayloft Nightclub is closing but the music still runs out like thick syrup whenever the double-doors open to eject the final revelers. A mixed throng of people are exchanging stories, laughing, arguing, searching for partners and making dating arrangements. In several groups, it appears that fights are about to begin and in others, the dating attractions are so intense that inter-pelvic relations are about to begin whether in public or not. Girls are searching for the guys they are dating and guys search for the girls they are dating. Some people are searching for their cars and searching pockets for keys. The activities seem as fairly typical stories for a nightclub lot after closing time but the main attractions for this night are about to begin. The stories are about to unfold.

It’s the middle of summer and the warm air that blows in zephyrs is tart with cut fescue from the lawn mowing done on the Saturday afternoon and gasoline exhaust from the idling taxicabs lined up through the parking lot and trying to attract fares.

An exceedingly attractive young woman walks purposefully toward the taxi line. She bends down and pulls her hair back. “Remember my face.” She says to the dozing driver. He awakens sharply and looks at her. It’s not her face that he recalls most vividly but he does know who she is. Her face is burned into his mind. She walks on and turns to go to her vehicle. She does not look back.

At the head of the cab queue, Abdul Walid has been sleeping but now he is awake with a phone pressed against his ear. He is calling with a girl he is dating but she hasn’t answered her phone yet. His eyes search the crowd for a hand raised to hail his taxi. He has no inkling that a scope crosshairs are centered on his temple. Abdul is equally unaware of the bullet as it ravages his skull and pulps his brain. His body slumps over: his story is cut short and his search for a customer is finished. Gushing blood shorts out his cell-phone and soaks the passenger seat.

Make your own true stories into the stuff of legends

Unaware that a death has occurred, two young men have been trying all night to attract a certain young lady and their contest for her attentions has now erupted into a fist fight. The violent action quickly attracts a crown of onlookers. Some are cheer for one or the other, several people rush in to attempt to break up the fight.

Kayla Billings is not dating anyone tonight but she was attracting some attention. She has been laughing and telling stories with several of her dating friends, but now she takes her leave and she moves to the taxi line, she is searching for a ride home. Jenna Olsen is standing with the guy she is dating but she eyes her buddy curiously. The attractive Kayla has been afraid to ride in a taxi alone because of the story she told of what happened the last time she took a cab alone.

With barely a glance at the driver, the girl pulls open the door and sits in the blood pool: then Kayla screams and stands up aghast. Her hand clamps her mouth as to hold back vomit and she staggers around the building’s corner. But the search for stories doesn’t end here. Neither the driver’s death nor the fight have attracted the attention of the law quite yet.