C.B. Tannon

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Aug, 2021

Stories (6)

6 Stories

169 karma pts

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“Two Choices” by C.B. Tannon

Submitted to Contest #287

‘What is that?’ ‘It’s mint,’ Dod informed me. ‘We grow it in the gardens. We’ve herbs, and fruits and veg. Even some flowers, just to brighten the world up a bit, grey as it stays these days.’ The existence of gardens here set my mind to wondering what else this old keep contained that I had not yet discovered during my three months here. Dod handed me a mug, a cloud of minty vapour dragging after it and steaming up around my face, filling my nostrils with a warmth that cooled. ‘Did you know the grounds here were built as a military fortress...

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“The Cat and the Claus” by C.B. Tannon

Submitted to Contest #281

Scoop, grunt, thwump was the rhythm of his work as he dug the grave. He was interrupted when his pocket buzzed and a tinny rendition of We Wish You a Merry Christmas echoed around the dark cemetery. Matt squatted down behind a headstone, swiping a numb finger at the luminous screen, cursing that this had happened to him on the coldest night of the year. He peeked up, surveying. No one there, just black silhouettes of snow-topped headstones looking like some huge, macabre game of whack-a-mole. He put the phone to his ear.‘Hello? Mr. Delaney?’...

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“Dark Dreams” by C.B. Tannon

Submitted to Contest #149

[Note: this is a sequel to the story "Lies of the Rational Mind", although it can be read as a standalone story]The aftermath of whatever had gone down was grisly, grislier than most supernatural crime scenes I had investigated. I’m slightly ashamed to admit I’d had to run to the toilet to puke immediately. I returned to the bedroom a shade paler than usual, brushed underneath the yellow and black tape crossing the doorway, and appraised the corpse for a second time, trying my utmost to ignore the viscid stench of rotting offal emanating fro...

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“Hanlon's Rialto” by C.B. Tannon

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #146

Hanlon’s Rialto was a redbrick bar occupying a corner unit where the streets Nemsin and Elpis met. A flickering neon sign proudly captioned its entrance. Inside was all dim yellow lighting and old stonework walls, booths with threadworn red cushions that looked like a good smack to one would kill an asthmatic. As fine a bar as any to sit and stare and wallow. Absolutely nothing special about it, absolutely nothing to distract from the drink, which was a ten year old single malt scotch glowing gold in the bar’s sallow light. The bartenders se...

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“Lies of the Rational Mind” by C.B. Tannon

Submitted to Contest #107

It’s all in your mind, Pete. Pete put one foot through the half open door of his bedroom and slipped out into a hallway in total darkness. He looked down and wiggled his fingers and all he saw were murky phantom blurs. He waited a moment for his eyes to adjust as best they could, resisting the urge to fumble for the light switch on the wall somewhere to his left. It was a kind of test he put himself through sometimes. To prove what, he wasn’t sure. That he was a rational man, unafraid of the dark? That he didn’t need light to walk in a strai...

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“Aeroplanes, Chocolate Bars, and Fridges” by C.B. Tannon

Submitted to Contest #106

Thick blue smoke plumed and pooled around the old man's head. His grandson sat crosslegged before him on the harsh concrete floor of their subterranean shelter, watching the coils of smoke slowly unfurling upwards and collecting beneath the low, stained ceiling. There was one window in the room; a small rectangular pane of filthy glass close to the top of the wall. A pallid stream of light penetrated the layer of grime welded to it. The boy's grandfather sat across the room drinking in the meagre ray of light, the leathered seams of his face...

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Author bio

creative writer

Shortlisted 1 story ⭐️

Contest #146

Hanlon's Rialto – read story