Frankie Kavakich. 21st place, IFComp 2022.

Love that cover art. Happier and more emotional than I expected.

I was hoping to see Texture used for something more like this. CHASE THE SUN is an evocative apocalyptic drive through the woods that examines the scale of our hopes and fears against the end of the world.

The first few scenes paint a vivid picture: Tattered remains of a wedding dress covered by a band shirt and board shorts. Driving a beat-up pickup for days into an endless sunset. The available interactions afford a little exploration of the scenery. It’s not clear why the world is ending but it’s a little scary and we’re on edge. Then we run low on gas.

Happily the story turns to the kindness of a nearby family, who have converted their house into a sort of truckstop and shelter for travelers. (The protagonist’s anxiety had me nervous that we were headed for the murderous Mennonites trope, and fortunately we’re not.)

The heart of the story is Bird, a charismatic young woman also seeking shelter here. She seems cool and in control. She takes us in and cares for us, and we can choose to open up to her and share our fears and regrets. But Bird has her own anxieties, and there’s a touching scene of mutual understanding. I’m the end I got to offer a kindness to Bird in return, and we hit the road again with more hope than we started with.

There were a few editing gaffes, nothing that interfered with my experience too much. One thing I’ve noticed in multiple Texture games now is when there’s a lot of text on the page the font shrinks quite a bit, and on mobile it was occasionally uncomfortable.

I’m very pleased with the emotional punch packed into this short story. What a lovely thing to write.