Edit: This contest has been extended until April 30th.

For this month's contest, I want to play with tense shift and structure. The inspiration for this contest came after reading the short story "An Occurrence on Owl Creek Bridge" by Ambrose Bierce, which features flashback, foreshadowing, and distorted perception. It's a fantastic story -- go here to read it: http://fiction.eserver.org/short/occurrence_at_owl_creek.html

Here are the contest rules:

Compose a flash fiction piece of 300 - 1,000 words in length. The piece must adhere to the characteristics of flash fiction -- you must have a protagonist, a conflict, and a resolution. Your most important rule is to follow the following structure:

- Your story must be written in 3 sections.
- Your first section must take place in the present tense, with your protagonist in a life-or-death situation.
- Your second section must take place in the past tense. This is your "flashback" scene, which will help explain how your protagonist got into this dangerous circumstance in the first place.
- Your third section must bring it back to the present tense and end with some sort of resolution. Will your protagonist live or die? The choice is yours...

It can be written in whatever point of view you like: first, second, third; singular or plural; omniscient or not. You may use foreshadowing or distorted perception -- it's entirely up to you. The only thing you must include is a flashback, as aforementioned.

You have until April 14 to enter. Write your entry as you would any other story on Protagonize, and then come back here and provide the link in a comment so that we can read it.

I will be announcing the winner on April 15th. Good luck! :D

Boo, the deadline came and went, and no one entered! I'm extending this contest until April 30th. Now let's see some entries! :)