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B. D. Bradshaw

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Mar, 2023

Stories (56)
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56 Stories

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Quillink

(Content warning: Some strong language) Every generation of readers have their own literary masterpiece - that one book that everybody has to read, as if their entire identity depended on it. For Stevie, it was Quillink. A month into senior year and stuck part-timing as a barista, there wasn't a day that went by where she didn't see a group of freshmen with their eyes glued to a copy of Quillink - their drinks idly sipped between chapters. She might have been tempted to read it, had it not been what everyone else was doing. If the story of h...

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Eight Rooms

Dear diary,Gosh, writing those words makes me feel like a little girl again... I should get straight to the point, I've been having trouble sleeping. I can't actually remember the last time I had a good night's rest, and I fear it's having a negative impact on the hotel. Fewer guests are staying; I'm sure they're picking up on my foul mood, and I keep forgetting those little conveniences that keep us at five stars - the complementary chocolates on the pillows, folding the towels into swans, properly restocking the mini fridges, and I always ...

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Gods Can't Quit

"And this is... what?" I gulped, clammy palms wiping down my thighs, nails scratching at my knees. "It's a... um... Letter of r-resignation..." He lay my paper on his desk, pinching his brow with a heavy sigh. "Gods can't quit. That's not how it works." He leaned back in his chair, tapping the end of a pen against his chin. "Why would you want to quit anyway? You've got millions of followers, and they all adore you." "Well... You see..." My voice snagged in my throat like driftwood caught in a net, tightening with every breath. I scowled, sh...

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The Ascension Trials

The Warden's crook clocked Ten in the head. "On your feet, Stockman."They woke from a shallow slumber, their hands still bound in energy cuffs, and their back pressed against the scalding metal of the train."Eyes up." A weary voice rasped from across the aisle. Another Candidate. In the same grey coveralls bearing the Confederacy's emblem and their hair cropped short.Steeling themselves, Ten dared catch a glimpse of the metropolis of Acarerim flashing by the vents at the top of the wall. Their heart raced. The overcity was a paradise known o...

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Of Swords and Song

The mournful winds howled across the fractured lands of the Shattered Realm. Though the terrain was known to break and reform, and the Void would shift, the wind was ceaseless, relentless, and it tore against the cloak upon Azim's back.He stood atop the crumpled remains of a spire upon the jagged edge of the Void - nought but the swirling abyss of chaos on the horizon. Below him, the remnants of a primordial city lay scattered, and gorged upon by the tendrils of corruption creeping over it.Most of the old world was gone, but Azim was of the ...

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Leukon in the In-between

Submitted to Contest #295

Leukon pressed his palm flat against the cool menosite alloy of the Waygate. As he'd feared, it didn't so much as shudder in the presence of his mana."This one too, Kyon." His familiar whined softly, pressing his wet little nose into the prince's side. It seemed like every time they went into the Tunnels, another gate had shut forever. "And we were only here last month." He raised his lantern up to the edges. Like the others, it had fused to the frame. It was a great shame - he loved visiting the Whitefire Lands."Come on, let's go." He becko...

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The Green Problem

I once asked a friend, "what do you imagine when I say the word, 'countryside?'"They looked at me with a polite smile and a tilt of the head. They said, "green fields."And I frowned. They had grown up in the city, but I had been born and raised on the edge of a national park. I had also pursued ecology - the study of natural environments and their processes. Although green happened to be my favourite colour, when it came to the countryside, it didn't always mean 'good.'Green fields had been my home for as long as I could remember. The countr...

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Patient 56

Patient 56 Report:Assigned Supervisor: Dr Edric MercierSleep Study 6Summary:Patient 56 (real name Eliza Gardis), age 26 years was on the 25th November, 1967, collected from Stillwater Asylum and initiated into WoSRC's Project Nocturne, Sleep Study 6.Eliza was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and anxiety in childhood, and surrendered to Stillwater at the age of 11. Her records detail that during her last days with her birth family, she suddenly panicked, ran into traffic, and was declared missing for thirty-two hours, until she was found...

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I stand upon an ocean, and rain peels over my skin.

Submitted to Contest #288

Where that from above bleeds into what is below. I stand upon an ocean, and rain peels over my skin. Caught between earth and sky. A name? Well, what's in a name? It was never mine, and it should never be mine. It was bestowed, or forced - to claim it would be to cling to a lie. Besides, what use is a name for nothing? That which I have become. That which I am. Forgotten from life and time, I walk to the edge of the sea. The weight is such a burden. To shake it off would be relief, but to lose it would leave me empty. A dark voice coils, tw...

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Missing

"Here, Mrs Harrington." The deputy set a cup of milky tea before the woman sitting wide-eyed and shaking at his desk. "It's well-sweetened, to help with the shock."Her glassy stare met his for a moment. She gulped, curling a finger around the handle with a nod.Detective Holmes pressed record on the machine, taking out a pen and notepad. "This is Detective Natalia Holmes, missing persons case 006-A. The date is Thursday, the twenty-eighth of October, 1993, and the time is eighteen-hundred hours. If you feel able, could you state your name for...

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I'm Glad

August 14th, 2022:My therapist has asked me to keep a journal. She says she wants me to write down everything I've felt glad about since it happened. I suppose... I'm glad I have something to do. I'm not sure there's anything else I could really be glad about right now. I don't think there ever will be.August 16th, 2022:... I'm glad it was the police who found Maddie, and not Dad. I overheard him say on the phone today that if he'd seen her, he'd have thrown himself in after her; then I wouldn't have a Dad or a sister. I'd have to live with ...

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I Am Summer

(Content warning: Violent imagery) Cold. A freezing, biting, gnawing, piercing cold. That terrible chill that stings deep in the soul, congeals the blood, and petrifies bone. It sinks down into muscle, sapping every drop of warmth. First comes numbness, tingling hairs and frigid breaths, then the tips of the fingers, the nose, the toes each are killed - slowly, silently. Yes, cold truly is the bringer of death. And he is my enemy. For I am Summer. My icy foe knows no mercy for your kind. He is patient, striking when you drop your guard. Ju...

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The Oracle and the Jester

Speak now. The voice of the Oracle boomed. Their words echoed across the ages, through the boundary planes and beyond the Reach. Shadows receded at their call, dissolving like mist before the dawn, to be replaced by the everlasting light of the Eachoros - the first stars of the universe. Their brilliance painted the void with ethereal colours - the Oracle's visage intangible yet perceived by the eye of the soul. They knew not time, they knew not space, still the cosmos became them and moulded to their will. Witnessing the beginning and the e...

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All's Fair

(Content Warning: Some strong language, mentions of blood/gore.)You sure about this, Cam?Don't be such a wuss, Kay, you've been to the fair before.Not at night.Nah. I miss when they'd do Danger Night. Hey, watch your coat on the barbed wire!Danger...night?You know, they'd open up the rides the night before and let you on for cheap - 'cause they needed to test them out. They even ran 'em faster too.Sounds like a health and safety nightmare.Gross, I hope that wasn't dog shit... Huh? Oh, yeah. Guess that's why they stopped it.You'd think there'...

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Breaking Point

(Content warning: Strong Language)It all happened so fast. I don't know why. What had he said? I think it had just been one of those days. I'd had it non-stop from the moment I set foot in the office. No, earlier than that. Four-fricking AM.The dog threw up on the bedroom floor - Will refused to take care of it. I never wanted that damn animal - the kids begged for a puppy, but I knew they wouldn't take care of it. I'd be the one taking it for walks and picking up its crap, I'd have to give it baths, and feed it, and train it - twelve, eight...

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