Yesterday I had the pleasure of entering the 250 word Micro Fiction challenge, set by NYC Midnight. In this first round I was drawn in a group where I had to write a 250 word story in 24 hours based on the following prompts:

Genre: Action/Adventure.
Action: Ticking an item off a list.
Word: Mind

And this is what I came up with. I hope you enjoy.

The Bucket List

His foot slipped beneath him and desperately his fingers dug in deep, clinging to the ice above him.  Every part of Peter ached, numbed by the raging blizzard that repeatedly slammed him against the frozen rock face. 

Confused, he started to panic. He had to save Julia.

The climb was the last on their bucket list.  It had taken years but now the list was almost complete. And then the fall happened.

“Peter! God! Please! No!”  Julia’s screams pierced the freezing whiteout. 

She was still alive!

Desperately, he attempted to pull his bodyweight upwards, his foot searching for some purchase in the ice.  He risked a look down and through the blinding snowstorm he could make out a dark form lying twisted and broken on the icy ridge below.

Again, the freezing wind smashed him against the glacier and this time he lost his grip and slid helplessly down the ice face, his head and face bouncing violently off the jagged rock.

He crashed onto the ridge below, his breath completely knocked out of him.

“Peter! God! Please! No!”  Strangely, this time Julia’s voice came from higher up the glacier.

He turned to the body lying in the snow beside him and rolled it over. He gasped as his own bloodied face stared back lifelessly at him through the sheets of slanting ice.  Then, as he succumbed to the complete whiteout engulfing him, Peter crossed the final item off in his mind.  The bucket list was done.