Chris Campbell

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Dec, 2021

Stories (126)

126 Stories

11856 karma pts

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“Mr. Pratt's Agent Provocateur” by Chris Campbell

Submitted to Contest #144

The audible click of a camera’s shutter release echoed loudly through the cold, dimly lit street of the rundown neighbourhood, surreptitiously hidden from most of the world in post-war East Berlin. It had been more than two years since the ruling Socialist Unity Party began constructing the dividing wall, signalling the beginning of the Cold War that separated East against West with an iron curtain of secrecy. The government in West Berlin labelled it as ‘The Wall Of Shame,’ but that mattered not to the Eastern ...

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“Copulatory Ecstasy” by Chris Campbell

Submitted to Contest #143

Jeremiah Reddington stroked his healthy, reddish beard as he stood at the peak of the hill, overlooking his secluded mountain base. From this position, he could survey the vast elevated foilage of sweeping forest terrain that conveniently functioned as a perfect canopy of veiled cover.Scanning the distant horizon of trees, he adjusted his digital visor to seek out any heat signatures that would alert him of encroachers to the untouched utopia hiding its secretive residents. Any interference to the small mountain research laboratory that Jere...

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“Afterclap” by Chris Campbell

Submitted to Contest #142

“You know where you’re standing, Mister?... You’re on Hell Street and I intend sending you right down to the bottom of it.” Confronted in the middle of the town’s thoroughfare by a mere slip of a girl dressed in men’s clothing, the inebriated cowboy wasn’t quite sure whether to fight, run, or laugh the girl home to her momma’s teet. Wynonna Belle was as tough as librarians come in the scheme of things all western. Youngest born of three siblings – all girls – she had to be hard as old nails to survive the harsh realities of living in one of ...

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“Signature Dish” by Chris Campbell

Submitted to Contest #141

“Welcome to Little Red Riding Hood… How would you like your egg?”The hungry couple sat opposite each other looking puzzled. They had been travelling all day on foot without provisions and looked forward to something to eat in the accidently stumbled-upon Diner.A confused glance towards her husband of three years, Galyna prompted Dimitri to query the waiter.“Can we see a menu?”“No need, sir. We have egg, egg, or egg – depending on how you like it.”“Nothing else?”“A slice of bread,” replied the expressionless waiter.“Do we only get one egg eac...

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“No More An Innocent” by Chris Campbell

Submitted to Contest #140

Symon Kishka sat in the passenger seat of his father’s car, transfixed on the brightly glowing tracer bullets of an opening salvo from a Russian armoured personnel carrier rapidly finding its range. Moments before, Symon and his father had been speeding along a deserted Ukrainian highway, their successful mission to rescue the two dogs they left at their abandoned farmhouse, well underway. The road had been clear throughout the drive towards their home of many years. In the wake of the Russian invasion, an ...

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“Flowers of the Sun” by Chris Campbell

Submitted to Contest #139

February 16: Dear Diary, I love Wednesdays. That’s because it’s drama and literature day at school. For this term, Mr Kozak has challenged us to write about a topic that he selects each week. Assignments must be handed in every Tuesday for grading on Wednesdays. He says I have the aptitude and talent to go to university, but I still have many things to learn about the world. Being a 17-year-old girl in a small city is not always eventful, so I’ll try to write about...

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“The Free Man of Kyiv” by Chris Campbell

Submitted to Contest #138

“Have you seen my dog?” Frightened faces just shook their obvious, disengaged response as they rushed past the young ten-year-old boy, trying to get them to stop. Strains of panic caused old and young to duck for cover with every sound of an explosion - whether it be close or distant. This was unrequited life existing in the shadow of the modern bear, who had flexed its muscles and stamped its authori...

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“Cat in a box” by Chris Campbell

Submitted to Contest #137

“What happened to the cat?” “What cat?” “The cat in the box.” “There was no cat.” “But… you said that the experiment calls for a cat.” “It’s a hypothetical theory.” &nbs...

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“The Last Hussar” by Chris Campbell

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #136

A new day dawned on the wastelands of Europe, bringing with it increased radiation levels as the rising sun heated up the parched ground, and unhindered summer winds blew radioactive dust through open windows, doors, and bombed out walls that once sheltered their evacuated custodians from the elements outside.Hugo Borscht, a reluctant denizen of the night, sealed the doors and windows of one of the remaining liveable apartments located on the outskirts of Kyiv. Seven floors up, each stairwell was protected from unwanted intruders and scaveng...

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“A Stitch In Time” by Chris Campbell

Submitted to Contest #136

“I’m telling you, Hugo. People are dying there. Children, old people, even our own mother country’s sons!” “You’re mistaken, State Television tell us it’s nothing. Just boys practicing drills. Is Dad there? Put him on.” “Son, it’s war! You need to come home now.” “There’s no need, Dad. I’m safe he...

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“A Necessary End” by Chris Campbell

Submitted to Contest #135

For the past ten days, James Peabody’s life consisted of nothing more than constantly burying his head in the sand… Bullets, mortars, and grenades whizzed and exploded all around his platoon of war weary soldiers, as they attempted a full-frontal assault of a nondescript hill resting on the South Pacific Island of Okinawa.The Japanese had prepared well for the beach landings, suckering the eager Americans into the heart of the island where they patiently lay in wait in their hidden bunkers and fortified positions. The unsuspecting 10th ...

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“Cry The Wolfe” by Chris Campbell

Submitted to Contest #134

ALERT: Childish behaviour and Adult profanity… “JÜRGEN! Kommen Sie!”“What is it?”“Quickly! I can’t believe I’m seeing this!”“Seeing what?”“I was focusing on der exoplanet, Proxima B and I spotted a naked woman on der planet walking away from my view!... Ja! You can see her tucus, look!”“Ridiculous!!? Let me see…”Dr. Jürgen Muller, head of the German branch of SETi - Search For Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence, nudged his colleague, Instrumentation Engineer Thomas Wolfe, away from the telescope’s eyepiece.“…Are you crazy? There’s no naked ...

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“SÉRENDIPITÉ” by Chris Campbell

Submitted to Contest #133

Henry Mead hurriedly strode through the maze of French back alleyways that once bustled with the breathing life of street vendors and shoppers. The February night air was brisk with a fine mist of Northern French rain dampening the uneven terrain of the cobbled street roads he hastily traversed. The old streetlamps that still worked, threw up shining reflections from the wet ground, spreading enough light onto the hazardous obstacles of loose bricks and rubble, still littering the post war stre...

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“A Family Attrition” by Chris Campbell

Submitted to Contest #132

“Bless me father for I have sinned.” How many times have you heard that phrase? To me, they’re simply empty words on deaf ears from forced confessions of the indoctrinated - a practice passed down by each generation to the next gullible crowd of oppressed souls, fearful of divine retribution. I was born into an Irish Catholic family, so these archaic beliefs were acted out before me every Saturday and Sunday, firstly at confession then followed by the next evening with holy communion. As a reluctant child dragged to the weekly ritu...

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“Mr. Pratt's Game” by Chris Campbell

Submitted to Contest #131

Author’s Note:This is a true story. It is told as recounted to me by Mrs. Gladys White – who on this fateful night, danced unseen in the ballroom of the old Tudor Hall house depicted within. The author writes this story, solely in the pursuit of truth, and to dispel any previous inaccuracies published for the sake of selling scandalous newspapers. Anthony Ernest Pratt stood in front of the roaring fireplace, studiously peering through a glass of port held high in front of the flames. At the personal invitation of the distinguished physi...

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Author bio

** November 23, 2024 - I'm still taking a break from Reedsy, while I do some work on my novel (memoir of my youth as the first English-born child of an Irish family living in London through the swinging 1960s and changing 1970s). Similar to my obsession with the weekly prompts, my focus is currently on writing my memoir. See you all soon, when I see a weekly prompt that I like. ** Comedy is hard to write but so rewarding when the laughs roll in. As I continue to submit stories on Reedsy, I realise that comedy may be my path to follow. If I get serious, please remind me to laugh at the absurdity and to slap myself with a fish. On the off chance that I miss more than three weeks in a row of writing short stories, I'm most likely working on my book. So, should any fellow writers feel the urge to contact me, my email address is novelistinresidence@gmail.com.

Winning 1 story 🏆

Contest #226

Forthright Thursday – read story

Shortlisted 5 stories ⭐️

Contest #174

Exact Change Only – read story

Contest #172

Truth And Consequence – read story

Contest #168

By The Withernsea – read story

Contest #165

A Case of the Obvious – read story

Contest #136

The Last Hussar – read story