Sal knew his time was running out, a runaway train heading straight for him but he had nowhere else to go.

"So... will you?" he pleaded, kneeling before the woman of his dreams, heart- quite literally- in his hands. Ever since they had met at the runaway shelter, they had spent every waking moment together.

Lucy gazed, not at the engagement ring with the heart-shaped diamond, but rather at the train hurtling toward them both, it's lights illuminating her would-be fiancé like a spotlight.

"What, are you crazy?" she hissed, pulling at her boyfriend's arms, leaning back with all her weight. "Get off the tracks! You're going to get us both killed!"

"The only way I'm moving is if you agree to marry me." He clutched the red velvet box tightly in his hand so as not to lose its precious contents.

The object of his desire stared at him in abject horror as she pulled and prodded him, but he budged not an inch. "Are you CRAZY?"

He smiled a beautific smile, stars in his eyes - or were they the reflections of that oncoming train? "The only thing I'm crazy about is you!" He had to shout above the din, the train's motors thundered as the horn screamed for him to move.

Lucy, staring at either an uncertain future tethered to a madman or an early grave, chose option 'C' and ran away as fast as her feet would carry her, diving behind a nearby building to avoid the carnage of her lover's fate.

She may not have been the nicest person, but she definitely knew enough to run AWAY from her problems and not headlong into them.

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ganymeder (joined about 14 years ago)
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Author Catherine Russell shares her life with her high school sweetheart, their son, and two ferocious puppies in the Wilds of Ohio while writing short stories, editing her novel, and learning more about the craft every day. Her work has been published in Flash Me magazine, Metro Fiction, Beyond Centauri, and the ‘Best of Friday Flash – Volume One‘ and the ‘Best of Friday Flash – Volume Two‘ anthologies.

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Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0

Prompt

Prompt (write a story including these elements)

hero Sal
villain Runaway Train
goal Propose
Prompt suggested by Galen

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