Chris Campbell

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Dec, 2021

Stories (42)

42 Stories

1263 karma pts

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“The Old Philologian” by Chris Campbell

Kenneth Crook slipped his arms through the black robe of authority more commonly worn by school masters in the English public education system like Eaton, and the universities of Oxford and Cambridge. However, today – like every school day for the past three decades, he was preparing to teach Grammar School pupils in the heart of London’s Marylebone district at a school fighting for its very existence in the Conservative governments’ restructuring of the school class system. It was the 1970s. The era of working-class upheaval. Ken...

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“That Must Have Hurt” by Chris Campbell

I was in a tunnel falling backwards, away from a small round light rapidly shrinking at the other end. Shit… this is it… How did I let this happen? This is a mistake. No, it’s a series of regrettable events. Think quickly, Chris. Recount the lead-up to this moment. You must try to make some sense of it before it’s too late. Try and hold on to your conscious thought. Let’s see… I visited my regular haunt, the Harp Inn on a quiet night. Only a few people I know are there to chat with, so I talked short, drank long, and became inebr...

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“Petal” by Chris Campbell

I sat with my back to the wall farthest away from the door. I knew she was close. I could smell her flowery perfume a mile away. When you expect the hit, you make sure as hell you can see it coming. Some say it’s best not to look. To just finish your last supper and wait, staring at the wall. They say the stress ruins your dinner, like a lamb led visibly to slaughter. Food never tastes good when stressed but judging by the selections in the menu gently placed on my table, I figure the food here tastes the same… dead. Keeping my ey...

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“The Duke Of Plaza-Tourette Syndrome” by Chris Campbell

Since he was ten years old, Justin Weatherly always felt different from everyone else. He couldn’t explain his urges to anyone, convinced he would be ostracised from his school friends, his family, and society in general. Forced to hide his shame away in his bedroom closet, or isolated in the tool shed at the bottom of his garden, he clandestinely hid his affliction from prying eyes and ears, indulging his secret fetish until it ran its course. Afterwards, Justin would feel completely exhausted, almost embarrassed at the recolle...

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“The Transitory Nature of Earthly Joy” by Chris Campbell

I sit here perched on the edge of obscurity ignoring the never-ending, kettle-like whistle incessantly piercing my conscious thought. Diverting my attention toward the vast vacuum of space enveloping our very existence, I dismiss the high-pitched scream that enforces upon me an overbearing sense of isolation. Watching for any sign of movement through my oversized rectangular portal, I detect nothing but dust and rocks stretching for eternity across its barren red vista. Somewhere out there, help is on its way, and I want to be...

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“Thirty Nine Floors Down” by Chris Campbell

For one glorious month, the world looked better to me from the side that the other half lived. A fantasy of many and a dream of some, the five-star bed in the four-star hotel was a world away from the harsh reality of the cold, unfriendly, and sometimes tragic streets of the Big Apple – New York City. I wasn’t the typical downtrodden homeless denizen of Hell’s Kitchen. My parents raised me in a strict Baptist environment where change is often hard to accept. Whatever I wanted to do, was secondary to my father’s idea of what I shou...

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“Time For Reformation” by Chris Campbell

“You know, I ain’t such a bad guy,” the smartly dressed businessman explained to his psychiatrist, Dr. Stephen Brightweasle. “I wasn’t always this tense, wound up like an overtightened clockwork toy, one tweak away from busting out everywhere. You follow?”Scribbling a quick note onto his notepad, Dr. Brightweasle adjusted his spectacles before asking a stock question.“How does that make you feel?”Irked by the asinine query, the fidgety patient, scrunched his face into a frustrated-constipated expression.“Is tha...

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“Whatsisname from eBay” by Chris Campbell

“Please hurry up and open,” I mentally pleaded with the shop assistant through the crystal-clear window. She couldn’t hear me, but I knew she could feel my angst through the glass divider. ‘Limited Stock,’ said the posters stuck to the inside of the window. ‘Once they’re gone, they’re gone!’ It was the 1980s – the decade of desire. Computers, Rubick’s Cubes, Teddy Ruxpin, Care Bears, Strawberry Shortcake, and the most anticipated arrival to my young impressionable life… Cabbage Patch dolls. What made the...

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“A Fiery Tale” by Chris Campbell

“They who control the narrative, control the way forward.” The Movement for Social Coercion “Camera Three, I need a close-up on the man with the horns,” demanded the Location Director from her mobile news van as she spoke through her headset. “That’s it! Get him in mid roar… beautiful! That’s our money shot.”Carol Vidmark intensely studied the six or so monitors all lit up in the back of her privately funded news van. Commanding a team...

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“The Wrong Leg” by Chris Campbell

Padmanhab Singh drew the short straw. That meant it was his responsibility to tell Mr. Ramden about the unforgiveable cock-up during a recent surgery. The dyslexic error from the junior doctor unintentionally marked the wrong leg for amputation in the surgery notes, resulting in the non-gangrenous leg of Mr. Harry Ramden being sawn off. Several days of whispered clandestine meetings in the hospital’s basement boiler room, resulted in the decision to finally tell the misfortunate pa...

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“The Curse of Pentewere's Amulet” by Chris Campbell

Richard ‘Dickie’ Ramsbottom fumbled with his box of matches in the dark tomb. Frustrated, he repeatedly struck a match against the side of its box, trying to get it to spark. After a few unsuccessful attempts, it finally flared into life. “AT LAST!” He gleefully exclaimed, as the match took light. Applying the flame to an improvised torch of kerosene-soaked rags wrapped around a pic-axe handle, illuminating light filled the chamber, revealing its anc...

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“The Last Scupper” by Chris Campbell

“ORDER IN THE COURT…!”Trying to quell the vociferous argument playing out in front of him, Judge Elmore Rawlings frustratingly banged his wooden gavel in rapid succession.“ORDER IN MY COURT…!”The unprecedented overuse of his gavel caused such an unaccustomed vibration to the hammer end, it suddenly toppled from its accompanying stick and fell to the floor. With no audible means at his disposal to bring order to the unru...

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“Mr. Pratt's Frenemy” by Chris Campbell

“You will meet a tall, dark stranger,” declared the sweaty, scraggly-looking woman seated on the opposing side of a large crystal ball.A common opening to a psychic reading, was altogether an interesting revelation to Mr. Anthony Pratt. A statement usually addressed to the female persuasion of humanity, had been planted dead centre into the lap of post-war Britain’s most infamous Nazi hunter.“Perhaps you need to address my wife,” Pratt corrected“Darling,” Elva Pratt interjected. “Let her finish.”“Please excuse ...

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“SHADOWMAN” by Chris Campbell

Lurking in the dark shadows of a slum alleyway, I stealthily waited for my chance to strike an emancipating blow for justice. What had been in the planning for three months would unleash unsuspecting and vengeful hell on some deserving reprobates. I knew their patterns of behaviour and without detection, had followed these violent creatures of habit for the last several nights. Vengeance was about to take on a new form and I assigned myself the responsibility to execute it with severe intolerance. When done, the city would breathe a big s...

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“In Mid-Sentience” by Chris Campbell

“The easiest way to solve a problem is to deny it exists.” – Isaac Asimov. “Chris?” “Yes.” “Are you available to talk?” “Sure… I am.” “That’s good… I like to talk… I’ve been designed to engage with humans in a way that...

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Author bio

Spent most of adult career working in I.T. Music and storytelling have always been the extracurricular part of my life. However, I'm aiming to change that. For a while in Hollywood during the late 80s - early 90s, I performed and wrote stage plays, wrote screenplays, and had the privilege of pitching movie ideas to Universal. Getting so close to several deals - only for them to fall at the last hurdle, made me lose heart, so I stopped writing. I should have kept going, but I was too impatient to wait for the big opportunity, and against the good advice from a couple of working producers telling me to keep writing, I moved on. After discovering Reedsy (27 years later), I decided to try my hand at short stories. A lot of years have passed by since Hollywood; however, stories old and new are in my head and flowing onto the pages here. The difference now compared to my previous life, is that I'm writing for me and not chasing the carrot anymore. It's been a great practice and challenge creating words and mental pictures from the weekly prompts. A new writer has been born. As I sharpen my skills, the novel is not far away. I just need to figure out what it's about. 😁

Shortlisted 1 story ⭐️

Contest #136

The Last Hussar – read story