Barry Starcher

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Jul, 2023

Stories (8)

8 Stories

153 karma pts

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“The Cellar” by Barry Starcher

Submitted to Contest #267

The Tornado   Jeff Nobles was not a happy man. He had been traveling since sunup through the vast, flat farmlands of Kansas. He had sold only one vacuum cleaner in two days. Hell, the farms were so widely spread out that he only had the opportunity to present his sales pitch to three families today. Now the sky was overcast, and it looked like a good chance for rain. One more house and he would call it a day. He checked his gas gauge, which registered less than half a tank. His old Ford pickup he named Rosco got pretty good gas mileage,...

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“The Pirate I Wish I Had Not Met” by Barry Starcher

Submitted to Contest #265

The Pirate I Wish I Had Not Met I have lived an un-conventual life for the last couple of years. My name is Mark Wallace and my life of crime began very young, starting with stealing hub caps when only fourteen. As I got older, my involvement in auto theft progressed, but everything came crashing down when a robbery took a deadly turn, claiming two lives. The judge sentenced me to thirty years to life. I had settled into prison life when a scientist approached me a year ago with a proposition I found impossible to refuse. Their search for s...

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“The Woolybugger” by Barry Starcher

Submitted to Contest #260

   You know the old expression, raining cats and dogs? Well, I saw neither cats nor dogs, but it was raining too hard for any living creature to be walking the streets of Cincinnati. I had taken the bus to the emergency room for ex rays on my fractured arm. My experience with emergency rooms is to anticipate a lengthy wait. Nothing happens there at the speed of light. It was late by the time I saw the doctor, and a heavy storm struck before I could start for home. I wasn't prepared for the rain. On a side street down from the ...

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“Monkey Business” by Barry Starcher

Submitted to Contest #243

                                    Monkey Business Hello, my name is Ralphie. We don't speak the same language but that's all right being as I am a Capuchin monkey. I am quite handsome with my lighter colored face and chest and a black body. My name has a pretty cool history that I bet you are unaware of. It all started back with St Francis of Assisi when he start...

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“The Sailor” by Barry Starcher

Submitted to Contest #240

The Sailor   "Bob, a call just came in and it may be related to our missing poet. Some kid found a sailboat on the beach with a lot of blood in it. It's way the hell up the coast in a place called Lucia Beach. I think it's part of the Birch Point State Park in Maine." Robert Montgomery stirred behind his weathered mahogany desk. A lean northeasterner with a short-cropped beard. He spoke with a crisp Maine accent. "I'm not familiar with it. What makes you think it's our guy this time? There were seven ship wrecks from the last storm and ...

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“The Kaamos Murders” by Barry Starcher

Submitted to Contest #232

                                         The Kaamos Murders My name is Lars Jokijen, and I have spent most of my life in Finland. The capital of Lapland, Rovaniemi, was where my mother, father, and two older siblings lived. After retiring from the army, my father became the principal of the high school. Years later, he tried to teach me ...

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“The Apprentice” by Barry Starcher

Submitted to Contest #222

  The Apprentice   Walking the back ally’s and side streets of Philadelphia with a mobster was not exactly how I envisioned my first day of my apprenticeship. It all began with my father’s involvement as a bookkeeper for the Salvatore Sabella Family in the summer of 1921. l was born in South Philadelphia in 1906. Thousands of immigrants, emigrated to New York and Philadelphia at the turn of the century to fulfill their dream of a better life, including my father. He had worked as a tailor and part-time bookkeeper in his native S...

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“A bang-Up Vacation” by Barry Starcher

Submitted to Contest #214

He stood, frozen in time, staring out the plate-glass window. It was raining with such intensity that Don Bryant could barely make out his car parked in the driveway.  Carol came up beside him and gently put a hand on his arm. She spoke in a low, commanding voice. "I don't like it, Donny love. Will we be able to complete the contract in time?" "Don't worry, dear. The car is packed and the gear is oiled and ready." He smiled, reached over and patted her hand with authority. "We have never done a double job before and it worries me," s...

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