Red Mustang

by Michael Holden

Release: 2 November 2015
Format: Short Story
Genre: Science Fiction
Audience: Adults
Content: Definite Time Travel
Original Language: English

Sixty-five-year-old Jimmy Spaulding, a combination handy-man/petty-thief, agrees to drive an old Grace Clark to an unknown destination in return for her not pressing larceny charges against him.

I liked the story’s atmosphere, but felt that the author needed better research about prices in the 60s. By my calculations, that red Mustang must have held about 70 gallons of gas—leaded gas, that is—given the price they paid for a fill-up. And back in hippie days, teen talk should have been peppered with “cool” far more than “like.”

Pulling back the tarp, I exposed a chromed grill and red paint. Peeling it back fruther, careful not to drap the tarp and bugger up the finish, I found more chrome, more red paint, and red vinyl upholstered seats. As I uncovered more and more of the car, a vague feeling of familiarity crept over me.

DEBUT

“Red Mustang,” in The Time Travel Chronicles, edited by Crystal Watanabe (Windrift Books, 2 November 2015).

VARIANTS

1 English variant

TAGS(SPOILERS!)

Groupings

The Time Travel Chronicles (anthology)

TIME TRAVEL ITINERARY: We haven’t yet mapped out the time travel itinerary.