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Author on Reedsy Prompts since Jan, 2022
Nathan Butler, a sandy haired 26-year-old graduate student, laid alone in his bedroom and stared at the ceiling. He glanced over at the clock, it was three a.m., then, looking up, he whispered, “Five nights in a row without sleep.” Beads of sweat glistened on his forehead, his hands were clammy. His heart beat kicked up a notch, and his pulse thumped at his temples. His insides quivered as his mind raced. My grades are slipping. I've lost all my friends. I’m alone in a crowd. Something's just not right. He sat up, and threw back the c...
Doctor Todd Bischoff smiled as he walked into the hospital room. Alaina Graff, a lovely 28-year-old first time mother, held her baby boy, Jake. The soft glow from the deflected light above the bed put them in an almost angelic aura. Her husband, Ethan, his dark brown eyes filled with their reflection, stood at the side watching over his wife and new son. Glancing from one to the other, he said “Good morning, Mr. and Mrs. Graff, I'm the staff pediatrician. Congratulations, you have a perfectly healthy child.” Alaina’s smile melted into a...
Joe Freeman, a handsome man in his early forties, and a certified federal building inspector, decided to take the back-road home to Sacramento from Reno. The two-hour drive would take longer, but he needed the time to clear his head. He took his cell from his shirt pocket. There was a message with a direct link to a bank account. He clicked on it and his phone number verified his identity. The money was there. Then he hit the speed dial.The voice on the other end said, “Freeman’s residence.”“Is this the lady of the house?”His eight-year-old ...
Jake McGinn, an average looking thirty-something guy, panted, his chest heaved and a bead of sweat trickled over his brow. Moonlight poured through a row of hopper windows overhead. He slid onto the basement floor. The concrete wall was like ice against his back. Wearing only his boxers and a tee shirt, he glanced up at the sound of creaking joists. He heard running footsteps above. Then he turned to the door at the top of the stairs. Wiping his forehead, he rubbed his eyes. Just two days ago, he was rushing to catch the Greenville commuter ...
Lisa Jenkins, a twenty-two-year-old college student, decided to spend Halloween with her mom at her new house in Granbury, Texas. Unfortunately, the weather grew worrisome throughout the day, but she decided to make the drive from San Marcus anyway. Once there and settled in, she went to bed early and was awakened by a knocking. “Mom, is that you?” she asked, sitting up in bed. The rain pelted against the windows, a flash of lightning lit up the room. The reflection of herself, shown in the dresser mirror. When her mom didn't answer, she lai...
Fractures of white light crawled across the black sky over Immortal Hills Cemetery. The lightning cast a momentary flash of blinding blue over the eerie graveyard. Headstones and tombs were instantly visible. Like long slender tentacles of waving hairy hands, Spanish Moss hung from the live oak trees and oscillated with the wind. The ground trembled with the horrific clap of thunder that followed.In Zachary, Louisiana on a late October, stormy and muggy night, something evil was lurking about. The sound of concrete grinding against a sa...
The reflection from the satin brass light reflected in her aqua blue eyes as she stood gazing at the fourteen by twenty-eight inch painting. Her long blond hair, like waves of satin, wrapped to one side. It flowed across her left breast like a soft bubbling brook of gold. Are those my legs? She thought, as she reminisced of the day she’d sat while Tommy lay on his stomach, as he sketched. She giggled to herself. Remembering how she’d surprised him with her Sharon Stone leg crossing stunt wearing no panties, of course.“Excuse me madam, are yo...
“We’re running out of time,” Detective Brighten said, releasing a heavy sigh. “If that girl’s alive after 48 hours, I’ll be surprised. Whoever took her has a gun.” Squatting down. He pointed to an unspent nine millimeter bullet on the ground. His partner stared at it lying alongside a small puddle of blood. At nearly midnight, just off campus. A florescent light flickered over the dryers in the laundry center. Not much happens on a Thursday night in San Marcus. Corey and his buddy Liam sat playing cards at a little wooden table in the back o...
Carol Hawkins and her eleven-year-old son, Todd, sat enjoying dinner at their Houston home, on a hot, muggy, July night in 1991. The neighborhood in the northwest suburbs was peaceful, with only the sound of katydids and a dog barking in the distance. Someone knocked at the front door just after seven.Carol answered it by slightly cracking open the door. She peered through at a stranger in a bright yellow clown costume and a blue curly wig. The clown’s face was painted white with a big red smile. The clown extended a hand and offered he...
Oliver Barker, a 27-year-old lawyer, sat on a bench in front of the Austin Public Library eating a day-old donut. He'd done most of his studying for the Bar Exam at the library. Only two days earlier, without much fanfare, he’d been sworn in as a Texas lawyer. He took today off to search for his first job as an attorney. So far, the day hadn’t gone quite like he’d hoped. But no matter what, he was a bar-certified Texas Attorney. That feeling of accomplishment stuck with him.Neither his brothers nor his mother were present at his swearing in ...
[Warning contains profanity] Close to midnight in the lobby of the law firm of Malone and Perkins, on a hot-muggy Austin night. “How could you?” screamed Todd Malone, a 45-year-old attorney. His eyebrows straight, lips pursed. He drew short rapid breaths. “You fucking bastard, admit you killed my brother!” He yelled with spittle flying from the corners of his mouth. Sweaty creases ran across his furrowed brow. His breath was pungent with alcohol. He squeezed a gun in his trembling right hand. In his left, he held a magic eight-ball, so tight...
[Warning Contains Profanity] “You have HR on the phone? Oh, hell no. You’re not going to fire me. I have a plan, I quit!” Jeremy Meyers shouted, with spittle flying from the corner of his mouth. He spun around and started toward his boss's door. He stopped cold in the doorway and whirled back around. “You know, you’re one ugly-ass bitch. You’ve been after me since the day we met.” He turned his back to her, and slammed the door. The glass wall shook. Heads in the bullpen popped up like prairie dogs and then ducked back down.Shelia Eckhart st...
Life’s too short to have regrets. I hope to someday write something worth reading,
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