Charles Corkery

Author on Reedsy Prompts since May, 2023

Stories (81)

81 Stories

1618 karma pts

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“GRUNTS” by Charles Corkery

Submitted to Contest #289

Day One. June 6th 2016. 12.05pm.“The room is…unfamiliar. I… don’t know how I got here. Who are you?”“Relax, lady. The doc’s on his way. Okay?”The cop, Glover, knelt by the side of the bathtub trying desperately not to heave, the coppery stink of blood pervasive and overwhelming as the young woman, naked, lay in the filthy, rusty bath, blood pouring, unabated, from the serrated gash in her abdomen. An older man, in plainclothes, carrying a small valise, pushed his way through the throng of cops in the doorway.“I’...

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“O COME ALL YE FETE-FUL” by Charles Corkery

Submitted to Contest #288

“This is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard, Sister Agnes. Nobody in their right mind would think to organise a village fete in the middle of an English Autumn. Fetes are for the Summer”. Though she remained tight lipped, Sister Agnes, a novice nun, six months into her novitiate, agreed with this sentiment. Exactly! As far as she was concerned, Mother Superior, the head of the convent attached to St. Mary’s parish church, was most definitely not in her right mind. Father O’Hanlon, the parish priest, ostensibly, the pe...

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“END TIMES” by Charles Corkery

Submitted to Contest #284

Arthur Balfour knew that something was awry; very much so. Yet, try as he might, he could not figure out what it was and, the more he tried, the more muddled things became in his mind. Everything seemed so familiar but, on the other hand, so, so different. At the age of twenty five, Arthur had lost his sight following a car accident that had caused heavy trauma to his brain. Three operations had not been able to restore his vision and, from the moment he’d been told that he would spend the rest of his life in darkness, just the tho...

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“INVASION” by Charles Corkery

Submitted to Contest #283

“How long have we been working together as a team, Val?”“Twelve years, five months, two weeks and three days. Do you want me to break it down into hours and minutes?”Paul Jones turned to his partner, an incredulous look upon his face.“Are you actually, frigging serious?’Val Thorens broke into a broad smile, his eyes never leaving the giant screen in front of him.“No, you muppet. I’m pulling your leg”.Paul, standing, strode across the small room to a filing cabinet and yanked open a drawer. Retrieving a brown, cardboard file, h...

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“REVOLUTION” by Charles Corkery

Submitted to Contest #282

November 1891 Beryozovsky District Anatoly Isayevich Bulgakov awoke from the deepest sleep he had managed since he and his partner, Lev, had set up camp, six arduous months previously, in this mining settlement, two hundred and fifty miles from their homes in the mountainous Urals. He could tell immediately that it had snowed again from the dark shadows on the canvas roof of their tent, the iciness infiltrating the interior and causing him to shiver involuntarily. His head was pounding furiously and he struggled to concentrate; his...

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“COFFIN SHIP” by Charles Corkery

Submitted to Contest #281

Captain’s Log. Captain Charles Anson, HMS Partition. November 12th 1732 Thank God! I breathe a great sigh of relief that, thus far, we are incident free. Our first port of call in charge of mine own ship, HMS Partition, as we sink anchor in Madeira. We shall take on provisions and fresh water here and I anticipate a delay of only two days before we depart for the Americas; two days when I can relax from the stresses of captaincy that have weighed heavily upon my shoulders.  I have treated myself to several casks...

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“IN SEARCH OF ALICE” by Charles Corkery

Submitted to Contest #279

My eyes open. zzzzzzzzzz!!! My eyes open. Where am I? Who am I? zzzzzzzzzz!!! Flashes of light. Glimpses of forgotten memories-too fragmentary, too ethereal to hold onto. Confusion. Where? What?  Misery, as the reality of my situation filters through the murkiness. Sorrow, as my brain fleetingly recalls my loss. Hope. Maybe…zzzzzzzzzz!!! My eyes open… It’s night. I’m coiled up inside an airless, windowless, subterranean chamber but I know, instinctively, that the sun has gone down and it’s gh...

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“THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS” by Charles Corkery

Submitted to Contest #248

THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS He finds it difficult to tear himself away from the window and, even when something draws his attention, the ringing of the landline in the hall or the sound of his cell phone, back he returns, involuntarily, to the French window that looks out onto the vast lawn and the cluster of trees that border the edge of the grass and the beginning of the embankment that stretches down to the river flowing hurriedly past his garden. It was always the same when she went away. The first two days, he would almost revel in his so...

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“THE DEVIL YOU KNOW” by Charles Corkery

Submitted to Contest #247

THE DEVIL YOU KNOW “There’s a blind spot. I’m sure of it. I’ve checked it out several times. We could be out of here before anybody even realises...” “What’s with you, Cathal? This constant talk of escape? We have everything we need, right here, man”. The two brothers were walking back to their home at the end of another day’s toil in the fields of their commune; another day, similar in every way to all others. No stress, no strain, no angst of any kind. Peaceful labour that exercised the body sufficiently to make their evening meal somet...

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“A TRUE RUSSIAN HERO” by Charles Corkery

Submitted to Contest #246

A TRUE RUSSIAN HERO The weather on this June day is glorious as he arrives for the hastily convened meeting of the Presidium and he, the most powerful man in the country, is in ebullient form as his chauffeur pulls into the courtyard. Those closest to him, the officers that he has personally nurtured and promoted, have never previously seen this smiling, tolerant side of their boss who, for so long, has been feared by so many but has, himself, privately, feared for his own life.But times have changed. Oh, how they have changed. Joesph Vissar...

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“AT RISK OF LIFE AND LIMB” by Charles Corkery

Submitted to Contest #244

AT RISK OF LIFE AND LIMB May 23rd Belzec Durchgangslager Attention: Reich Security Main Office Urgent -stop -camp infiltrated -stop -ukrainian guards responsible -stop - advise action -stop May 23rd Office of Obergruppenfuhrer Heydrich RHSA, Berlin Commandant-interrogate immediately-stop-report direct -stop-highest priority -stop May 23rd Belzec Durchgangslager Attention: Obergruppenfuhrer Heydrich Orders obeyed-stop -guards admit complicity -stop -infiltrator Polish -stop -name Jan Karski -stop -observed conditions -stop -photographs tak...

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“A VERY ENGLISH GENTLEMAN” by Charles Corkery

Submitted to Contest #244

A VERY ENGLISH GENTLEMAN (Excerpts from the wartime diary of Oliver ‘Chips’ Copper, born 4th May 1893 - died 5th January 1917) November 15th 1916 Dined at Arlington Street. The Blue Dining Room looked exquisite in the candlelight. Eight of us, including Diana. Never has she looked more beautiful. Am I in love with her, after all? I do believe I may be. Later, as I was departing, she stole into the hallway and smothered me with kisses. Her feelings towards me, at any rate, are quite clear but, an hour later, as I lay in the arms of a blonde b...

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“A MATTER OF SURVIVAL” by Charles Corkery

Submitted to Contest #243

A MATTER OF SURVIVAL The Shuttle He opened his eyes and knew, immediately, that something was amiss; no headache, no blurred vision, no sluggishness of his central nervous system, no disorientation of any kind. With growing trepidation, he turned to his right and, swallowing his anxiety, gazed at his digital, countdown screen: frozen at 9 years, 5 months, 3 weeks, 6 days and 19 hours. He had been in cryosleep for just 5 hours! What the f**k! Glen Thomas, Commander of Deep Space Shuttle, Commodore V11, noted for his coolness under pressur...

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“THE DAY THE LIGHT WENT OUT” by Charles Corkery

Submitted to Contest #240

THE DAY THE LIGHT WENT OUT The wind; it has always been the wind. His one, true companion throughout his sixty years of life. He knew it as it knew him. Ivan Rokosovic, born on the island of Sakhalin, one year after the Great War that claimed the life of his father, a Russian mariner, cherished the wind for it spoke to him, its natural movement of air and gases warning him of storms to come, caressing him in its gentle breezes, informing him, always, of life far away in the tropics, the subtropics, the distant poles. Its varied directions c...

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“LA BELLE EPOQUE” by Charles Corkery

Submitted to Contest #237

LA BELLE EPOQUE At best, his barista skills could be classed as rudimentary. In fact, the last time he had been forced to actually work a shift at the cliff face of a Wega 4 Group coffee maker, the type his establishments preferred, they had suffered more complaints over quality than actual coffees sold; most regulars, upon seeing that it was him, Jonah, manning the steaming wands, would simply retreat as unobtrusively as possible, preferring to chance a cup of instant from the kitchenette of their various workplaces. He couldn’t cook e...

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Author bio

Had never previously done any writing but have been a dedicated reader for all of my life. Have no ideas about "rules". Just, now that I'm retired, enjoy writing stories that spring into my mind and which, I think, have a different slant or take on the norm.

Shortlisted 2 stories ⭐️

Contest #209
SUPPER FOR TWO – read story
Contest #205
BREAKING POINT – read story