Peppered tail

‘Did you hear that?’ John whispered.

‘Hear what?’ Ned hissed back.

‘That click.’

‘No.’

They were creeping round a small store on a suburban high street, a dark apartment above.

A stair creaked.

‘Oh fuck!’ John muttered, heading for the backdoor they’d forced open.

The lights switched on, revealing the two hooded intruders.

‘Stay where you are!’ a man shouted.

‘Run!’ Ned yelled.

They exited into a dimly-lit laneway.

‘Stop!’

The night air filled with the explosion of a shotgun.

‘Oh fuck,’ Ned moaned. ‘My arse!’

‘Keep moving! If we get caught, it’ll get a worse seeing to in prison.’


A drabble is a story of exactly 100 words.