FF – Preparations
Here is my story for Friday Fictioneers, hosted by Rochelle. This week’s photo was contributed by Dale Rogerson.

Copyright Dale Rogerson
Trigg sat in his restaurant, so quiet without customers, and tucked into braised steak. He’d planned for everything. With storerooms stocked, employees furloughed and loans in place, he knew his hotel would weather the lockdown with ease.
He smiled as he took another sip of premium wine. He was completely pandemic-proof.
That night an avalanche, dislodged by unseasonably-warm weather, dumped a million tonnes of snow on his hotel, smashing it to bits and smearing him across five miles of mountainside.
Yep. Climate change is still a “thing”, pandemic notwithstanding.
It’s hard to plan for everything.
Categories: Fiction
flash fiction, Friday Fictioneers
Dear Ali,
Pride goeth before a fall and false security before climate change. Good one.
Shalom,
Rochelle
LikeLiked by 2 people
Dear Rochelle,
He was so sure…
Thanks,
Ali
LikeLike
I’m sure he had insurance though
LikeLike
I’m sure his next of kin will be delighted!
LikeLike
Damnation! Just when you think you’ve checked all the boxes…
LikeLike
Such a loss, all that lockdown toilet paper gone forever 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Poor Trigg, that really is a bit rubbish! Funny though.
LikeLike
There’s nothing like smearing someone across a mountainside to raise a smile 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
HAHAHA! Never get too self-satisfied because the inevitable will definitely happen. 😀
(I see you received your sausage and cheese delivery!)
LikeLike
Yes, he forgot to order and install the anti-avalanche one-man ejection system 🙂
Yep, all my goodies have arrived, yay!
LikeLike
Hella good story, especially that last line. Poor guy will be fertilizing the daisies in the summer.
LikeLike
The cycle of life 🙂 I’m glad you liked it!
LikeLiked by 1 person
🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh, what a gory ending for Trigg! Good take on the photo prompt. 🙂
LikeLike
He went out in style 🙂
LikeLike
Cruel!
LikeLike
Absolutely!
LikeLiked by 1 person
like they say, when it rains, sometimes it pours.
LikeLiked by 1 person
And sometimes even snows!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Indeed, this is just the beginning. Buckle up, it’s going to be bumpy.
LikeLike
Yep, you’re right. Trigg certainly hit a lot of bumps on the way down the mountainside.
LikeLike
Oy. Best laid plans can …. well … fall flat.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yep. Very flat.
LikeLiked by 1 person
ahem …
LikeLiked by 1 person
Good channeling of the arbitrary nature of our current experience–or perhaps of human life in general. We’re just having it thown in our face right now.
LikeLike
Yes, everything is going down at once.
LikeLiked by 1 person
So does this mean my reservations for next winter will be canceled?
LikeLike
Unless you’re happy to convert to an open-air picnic…
And don’t expect your money back either, these are “unprecedented times”…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well that’s one way to flatten trade, lol. Nice one.
LikeLike
Hah, yes!
LikeLike
Ew. Poor Trig. You don’t hear as much about climate change lately. The Pandemic is hogging the news. Climate change it seems is waiting quietly to squash anyone who forgets. Did he by any chance buy that land on the side of a mountain at a bargain price?
— Suzanne
LikeLike
It was a real bargain!
I haven’t heard the word “Brexit” for a while, either 🙂
LikeLike
Oops! One certainly can’t plan for everything! I hate to say it, but this kinda made me laugh.
LikeLike
It was the smearing across the mountainside, wasn’t it? Made me laugh too!
LikeLike
Haha teach him for being so cocky. Can’t escape fate. 😀
LikeLike
Pride comes before a flattening 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
HAHA! Now that’s the old Ali. You do know how to give us an unexpected twist. 😀
P.S. Keep safe still.
LikeLike
I’m back!
You keep safe too 🙂
LikeLike
Well, at least he enjoyed his last meal 🙂
LikeLike
He went out in style 🙂
LikeLike
‘Smearing him across five miles of mountain’ – not a pretty image. Good story, though.
LikeLike
Yeah, a bit messy!
LikeLike
A million tonnes? That’s some serious snowfall. At least when it melts, it’ll clean off all that smearing.
LikeLike
Yes, nature’s self-cleaning!
I actually did “research” avalanches (ie looked it up on Wikipedia) – “They can exceed speeds of 300 kilometres per hour (190 mph), and masses of 10000000 tonnes”. So my avalanche wasn’t even a huge one!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wow!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Loved it, smiling at a million tons of snow smearing him across the mountain.
LikeLike
Made me smile too!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Trigg certainly didn’t see THAT coming. Wait… maybe he did see the snow before it smeared him.
LikeLike
I bet it was quite majestic in the seconds before impact 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Poor Trigg, thought he had everything under control. We can be prepared but sometimes it’s never enough.
LikeLike
There’s always something. Not sure what he could have done to protect his hotel from that, though!
LikeLiked by 1 person
No-one is ever ‘fully prepared’ I guess.
LikeLike
No-one can be prepared for everything.
LikeLike
A fierce warning about smugness, Ali I think. I like the exaggeration of ‘five million tonnes of snow’ and him spread over five counties ! He really had it coming to him didn’t he ?
LikeLike
He certainly did. Thought he was sitting pretty…
LikeLike
Seems that nothing is certain these days…poor Trigg 😺Extra Clean Pawkisses🐾😽💞
LikeLike
Poor Trigg indeed. Nothing is ever certain, Binky 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Indeed and all the vintage wine spread over the mountainside.
LikeLike
That’s the real tragedy 🙂
LikeLike
The snow is white and makes everything seem still outside. It muffles the sound. Going to bed with a smile on your face should have been safe! Darnation – Your beautiful little snow globe just was smashed! Great story Draliman! WOW- very picturesque! Nothing is safe! Enjoyable!
LikeLike
At least he never knew anything about it!
LikeLike