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B. D. Bradshaw

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Mar, 2023

Stories (61)
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61 Stories

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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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Chronicling the Ages : A Sanguivore's Reflection

Submitted to Contest #272

Chronicling the Ages : A Sanguivore's ReflectionA comprehensive account of the eras spanning the vivications of the esteemed Lady Lahmia Pavel.Era OneDawn of ImmortalityMy intimate era. This age marks my most profound transformation - the end of my mortal life, and rebirth as Sanguinis renatus, a creature of the endless night. My beloved, Demetrius, has bestowed his most precious gift, sharing his blood, that we may rule these lands together, immortal. The process was agonising, yet necessary, and Demetrius remained at my side through it all...

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Con-fessions of a Cosplayer

(Content warning: Some mentions of terrorism and the Covid-19 pandemic.)Grimslough Comic Con. Like most small-town Comic Cons, it was never much to write home about. It was held in our local shopping centre, St Johns, and each year attracted mostly men who were really into comics and games, and a few troublemakers looking to bother them. Walking around, you'd see a dozen Spiderguys, Thundertroopers, and Batwings in any direction - their costumes usually carefully-handcrafted. But every once in a while, you might spy a couple kids in cheap po...

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Lies on Mars

Matteus couldn't remember the last time he was so excited. Six years into the program and finally, finally someone from the company would be on their way, travelling one-hundred-and-forty million miles to meet him. The landing site was only ten minutes from the station. He'd taken the rover. Well, it was a special occasion after all, and he was sure his guest wouldn't feel like walking after their long journey. He'd received the notification a year ago - to say a supervisor would be visiting to assess his progress on the terraforming project...

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The Horror of Fantasy

"Florencia recited the words from the book... No, that stinks..." Charlie scratched out that last line. "With bated breath, the young witch muttered the spell aloud... That's even worse!" Her notes weren't so much as an experimental first draft as they were a crude attempt at crosshatching. The entire two-page spread had been scribbled and slashed in thick black ink - a mad scrawl reflecting the artist's gathering frustration. "Gah! Why is writing so hard?" She dragged her fingers through her pixie cut, withdrawing suddenly as she remembered...

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His Final Thoughts

I hoped I would never have to hear that sound - the mass emergency alert built into every phone. Try a hundred phones all at once, in a huge, echoey airport. A state of international emergency had been declared - the literal end of the world. Yellowstone had erupted, that one event that everyone is told will spell certain doom, but we try not to think about. The initial explosion will have already scorched a sixth of North America. The plume of ash and caustic gasses will choke the rest, and then hide the sun for a hundred years, casting th...

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All You Need To Be A Hero

By the next day, it was all over the news."HERO'S EPIC DEFEAT AGAINST VILLAIN RESULTS IN LOSS OF SUPERPOWERS"Social media called it, 'The Greatest Defeat of the Century.'Either way, my life, my reputation, was ruined.It shouldn't have even been a tough fight. Mister Masquerade was another half-baked wannabe supervillain with a stupid master plan to rule the city of Overrun. Like always, I crashed his premature citywide domination party, beat up his masked goons (all dressed like they were on their way to a bird-themed ball), and then got to ...

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Life Needs More Dragons

All fire dragons hatch on the hottest day of the year. It was one of few things that everyone seemed to agree on. Regardless of where you were in the country, it was one of those well-known facts shared from mothers to daughters and sons, whether or not they've even encountered a dragon before. I was hoping to study the great hatching event for my book; I was part-way through writing all about the curious creatures of the states. It isn't a subject most would care about. The general population couldn't care less about fairies, or basilisks, ...

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A New Ending

I had lived a thousand lifetimes, and in every one, I was the villain. The wolf, the witch, the dark wizard, the dragon, the goblin king - just some of the many parts I had played across my cursed existence.If the reader knew every book they read is brought to life, would they put it down, or would they wish to live within? Well, it was some twisted wretches who concocted this set of realities, since I find myself repeating the same existence over and over. Names like 'Grimm,' 'Aesop,' and 'Anderson' come to mind - I don't know how I know. T...

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The Body in the Basement

(Content warning: themes of death/murder)Tick... tick... tick. The clock on the mantle punctured the silence, counting the seconds like a nail tapping on glass.Each click carried through Violet's chest, and her heart heard the commands, synchronising its thumping to its monotonous rhythm.Tick... tick... tick. She lay on the floor, the sick, artificial florally scent of carpet cleaner clouding her head. Her fingers pinched around another jigsaw piece, half of her thoughts focused on where it belonged in the puzzle, the other half stuck on som...

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Buried Secrets

When I was fifteen, every Saturday, I would make my way to my neighbour, Ms. Murphy's house to do a little housekeeping in exchange for pocket money. It was no trouble - she and my grandmother had been close friends, so she was practically family.Ms. Murphy lived alone, and at the grand age of ninety-nine, there were many things that she struggled with. While her late husband's estate paid for a carer five days a week, my parents helped out by providing meals, and the occasional chat over a cup of tea. With each passing week, we couldn't hel...

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