Signs of Trouble #SoCS

Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “sign.”

“Looks like signs of trouble up ahead” Jeb nodded toward the flashing lights around the next bend.

I didn’t feel much like talking so, I nodded and went back to my own thoughts. This day had been one sign of trouble after another. First, the fire, then Charlie’s disappearance and now whatever lays ahead. Probably a road block. Seems like the entire county is out looking for Charlie. I just can’t wrap my head around what happened. How could he be there one minute and gone the next. A grown man doesn’t just disappear into thin air, especially if he is the chief of police. What could have happened? No evidence of a struggle, no blood, nothing out of the ordinary, just emptiness at the spot Charlies should be at.

The quick jerk of the brakes woke me from my thoughts. It wasn’t a roadblock. It was something, I had never seen before. Where did that come from? How could an entire statue be in the middle of the road like that? Was that Charlie sitting up there where General Lee was supposed to be? What did it mean? Was it a message? Who would have moved that statue from town square to the middle of the street? We had to be 10 miles outside of town.  And Charlie, sitting up there on that horse.

I slammed the door a little too hard as I got out of the cruiser. Walking closer to the statue, I could see there was a rope around Charlie’s neck. I knew just as sure as I knew my own name that this was no ordinary crime. A black man lynched on General Lee’s horse in the middle of the road was meant as a message. As the only black female detective on the force, I was getting the message loud and clear. A hate crime had been committed and one of the “fine citizens” of Hope knew something about it.

Here are the rules from Linda:

1. Your post must be stream of consciousness writing, meaning no editing, (typos can be fixed) and minimal planning on what you’re going to write.

2. Your post can be as long or as short as you want it to be. One sentence – one thousand words. Fact, fiction, poetry – it doesn’t matter. Just let the words carry you along until you’re ready to stop.

3. There will be a prompt every week. I will post the prompt here on my blog on Friday, along with a reminder for you to join in. The prompt will be one random thing, but it will not be a subject. For instance, I will not say “Write about dogs”; the prompt will be more like, “Make your first sentence a question,” “Begin with the word ‘The’,” or simply a single word to get your started.

4. Ping back! It’s important, so that I and other people can come and read your post! For example, in your post you can write “This post is part of SoCS:” and then copy and paste the URL found in your address bar at the top of this post into yours.  Your link will show up in my comments for everyone to see. The most recent pingbacks will be found at the top. NOTE: Pingbacks only work from WordPress sites. If you’re self-hosted or are participating from another host, such as Blogger, please leave a link to your post in the comments below.

5. Read at least one other person’s blog who has linked back their post. Even better, read everyone’s! If you’re the first person to link back, you can check back later, or go to the previous week, by following my category, “Stream of Consciousness Saturday,” which you’ll find right below the “Like” button on my post.

6. Copy and paste the rules (if you’d like to) in your post. The more people who join in, the more new bloggers you’ll meet and the bigger your community will get!

7. As a suggestion, tag your post “SoCS” and/or “#SoCS” for more exposure and more views.

8. Have fun!