Bruce Charles

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Jul, 2020

Stories (23)

23 Stories

583 karma pts

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“The False King” by Bruce Charles

Submitted to Contest #57

“I think there’s been a mistake,” I said.“I’m afraid there’s no mistake, my friend,” he replied, shaking his head sadly. “I know it’s hard to accept, but you really are dead. From what I’ve heard, you put up a great fight. 4 years. That’s a long battle.”“No, that’s not what I meant.” I pointed at the door in front of us. “You said that this is where kings go after they die.”He nodded.“But...I’m not a king.”“Oh, really?” he said doubtfully. “So they just let anyone dress like that nowadays?”He was referring to the costume- and it was only a c...

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“Love Makes You Blind” by Bruce Charles

Submitted to Contest #56

From the moment you walked through that door, I knew I had to have you. Our eyes met and it felt like time had stopped for us, like the world had ended and we were the only two in existence. And I was okay with that. The idea of spending an eternity with you and only you not only made sense, it felt right.  You walked towards me, your dress billowing as you walked. My mind worked overtime just to take in every little detail of you. I saw a cut on your finger, I counted the eyelashes on your face, I noticed the glimmer of the gloss on ...

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“Confessional ” by Bruce Charles

Submitted to Contest #55

Can you keep a secret? Like really keep a secret? Because what I’m about to tell you is something that I’ve been holding in for years, and I feel like I really need to tell someone before I explode. You can? Great, I knew I could count on you.I really don’t enjoy killing. Not at all. That’s not to say I can’t kill, no, I can definitely kill, but I don’t enjoy it. That may seem silly to you considering my profession, but it’s the truth.So why did I become an assassin? Well, I’d like to say that the money was good, or that I used to enjoy kill...

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“A Dangerous Affair” by Bruce Charles

Submitted to Contest #55

It was late at night when Ashley drove up to her house. To her surprise, the lights were still on, meaning her wife was still up. Ashley, not looking forward to the encounter, stepped slowly out of the car and entered her house.As she expected, Madison was sitting in a chair frowning with her arms crossed. “Hi, hon,” Ashley said with as much warmth she could muster. She tried kissing Madison’s cheek, but she dodged her lips.“Where were you?” Madison asked, her tone icy.Ashley inwardly cursed. It was times like these she wished she had friend...

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“The Forgotten Society” by Bruce Charles

Submitted to Contest #55

Men and women sat together around a circular table, all wearing cloaks that hid their identities. The room was too dark to see clearly in, only the few candles providing some illumination. One of the members stood and greeted her comrades. “Welcome back to the Forgotten Society. For today’s meeting, we shall talk about the progress of our plan.” Facing the man next to her, she asked, “How goes it?”The man she addressed stood and replied, “It’s going smoothly. If it continues to go smoothly, I expect that we should be ready in about a month.”...

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“Ouranos” by Bruce Charles

Submitted to Contest #55

Adam had been standing for the past ten minutes just looking at the house. It had been abandoned for generations now, just left in the middle of nowhere to shelter no one. Taking a deep breath, he took his first step forward. The door opened with a push, and the inside was much of the same. It was old, dust covering every inch of the interior. Every step made the floors creak, and Adam wondered if they were strong enough to support his weight.He went up the stairs, which were also creaky, and roamed around the upper floor until he came ...

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“The Return Of The Prodigal Son” by Bruce Charles

Submitted to Contest #54

The cloaked figure stood in front of the gate, looking at it intently. The gate was just as he had remembered it: old, evidenced by the different marks and scratches on it. Back then, when he was just a child really, he couldn’t understand how something could last so long. Now the gate felt like a reflection of himself. He was no longer a child, but a man with his fair share of marks and scratches.    He pushed the gate opened, and walked into the empty temple. Not a single one of the brothers were there to greet him. He knew immed...

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“Skyros” by Bruce Charles

Submitted to Contest #54

Odysseus looked at the island Skyros and felt anxious about what he would soon have to do. Calm down, he told himself, just follow the plan and everything will be okay. He kept repeating that to himself, but he had trouble believing it. Even the best plans can go wrong, and his mission to Skyros was evidence of that.Noticing his expression, the medic asked, “Are you okay, Odysseus? You don’t look okay.”“I’m fine,” Odysseus lied, “just feeling a little seasick.”“No, I can tell it’s something more than that. You’re thinking about your wife, ar...

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“Creature Of Habit” by Bruce Charles

Submitted to Contest #54

Ted walked into the office while Donald was on the phone. When Donald saw him, he nodded and gestured for him to sit down. As he waited, Ted gazed at the posters of the shows Donald had worked on in the past, and out the window that had a view of the city. Donald finished his call and greeted him. “Hey, Ted, nice to see you again.”“Yeah,” Ted replied. He couldn’t remember who Donald was (he only knew his name from the nameplate on his door), but he had a feeling that he was someone important on the reality TV show he was starring on. Nervous...

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“Awkward As Hell” by Bruce Charles

Submitted to Contest #54

Clyde was in Hell. He wished that he could tell you that arriving here was a surprise, but if he had to be completely honest with himself (which he did due to it being part of his punishment), he would’ve told you he expected it. Clyde was one of the biggest bastards in the world, and everyone would’ve told you the same. At his funeral, when it was his mother’s turn to speak she stood in front of everyone and said, “He’s in a better…” She paused to look at the ground. “Well, he’s in a place now.” The video of his mother saying this...

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“Stolen Time” by Bruce Charles

Submitted to Contest #54

Frank was incredibly nervous. He was about to confront the man whose life he had ruined a year ago, and hopefully make amends. He knew that what he was doing was the right thing, but he still couldn’t bring himself to knock. What do you say to a man you’ve stolen time from?For years Frank has been obsessed with harnessing time travel technology, ignoring all of the warnings from his fellow scientists. He knew what he was doing was dangerous, but he didn’t care. When he was in his lab, it was almost like he was in his own world, and he was th...

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“Athena” by Bruce Charles

Submitted to Contest #53

A bead of sweat trails down my neck as I draw. The sweat from my forehead falls on my drawing, and I’m glad that it’s a tablet instead of real paper. Turning the screen off, I wipe the sweat on my tablet and lean back, looking out the window next to me. The sunlight is intense right now, and though it’s been making me sweat non-stop for hours, I think I prefer it to the night. Like most artists, I’ve had to work into the late hours to finish projects, but it’s not something I enjoy. Working in the night fills me with weird existential d...

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“Sacrifice For Lady Moon” by Bruce Charles

Submitted to Contest #52

“Let go of me!” I struggled against their arms, but it was no use. These guards were probably used to the struggling of people like me, chosen to be sacrificed to Lady Moon. But there was no way anyone would see me like this. If there was one thing the Church of the Moon excelled at, it was hiding their secrets. The guards forcefully led me down the corridor, but I had no idea how closer we were to my impending doom. The whole building had nearly identical white walls that seemed to stretch for an eternity. Even if I had a chance to esca...

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“Pan” by Bruce Charles

Submitted to Contest #51

As a god, there were many things I feared. Pain, losing the faith of my believers, eternal imprisonment, and meeting a force stronger than me and the other gods. But one thing I was sure I would never have to fear was death. I’ve heard of aging and dying gods, but the Greek pantheon was supposed to be forever immortal. Even our enemies- the Titans- could not die, so for them we had to design prisons and tortures they could never escape. But for the first time in all of our history, one of our own had fallen. My own son Pan, god of the wild...

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“Apollo” by Bruce Charles

Submitted to Contest #51

I’m was on my back, lying on a green field, and above me were the stars sparkling. In the nighttime sky, I saw the shape of an archer, the constellation Orion. This is how the dreams always started. I vaguely remembered the tale of Orion from Greek mythology. He was a hunter and friends with a goddess named Artemis. Apollo, the twin brother of Artemis, was jealous of their closeness, and sent a scorpion to kill Orion. Artemis grieved for her friend, and turned him into a constellation to honor his memory. The first time I was sent to the...

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