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Chuck Thompson

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Jan, 2020

Stories (24)

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Library

9 Followers

2 Following

24 Stories

379 karma pts

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The Four

Submitted to Contest #310

I’m ecstatic! The Rahway Book Club selection committee invited me to read at their June meeting. Me, Chuck Tompkins, a newly published poet. Who knew? The four ladies of the selection committee are the pillars of the Jersey artsy-fartsy community. Everyone defers to them. Everyone seeks them out for their approval and possible acceptance into their circle. As sycophantic as the next wannabe successful artist, I’m no exception. After their invitation, my excitement kept me awake for days! My career is about to be made. The critical wor...

6 likes

Reluctant Reinvention

Submitted to Contest #298

I had to tell him, “Yes, I am a holy man. These are sacred accoutrements of my calling.” Mr. Security queried, “What makes you think your hat and twenty pounds of incense are sacred? How will that stuff keep you safe on an international flight?” “Good questions, Sir. The hat wards off evil spirits from above and warns them that any attack on me will result in their complete annihilation. The incense flows to heaven and alerts the gods that I am near and ready for their communication and blessings. “All this incense is like shouting to th...

3 likes

Now, Death

Submitted to Contest #297

“Give me a minute.” Death here: What does that mean, give me a minute? I can’t give you a minute; I can’t even give you a second or another day or any other measure of time. I can give you a heartbeat, but not as a measure of time. More accurately, I can fail to take a heartbeat from you which is tantamount to giving you a heartbeat or several depending on the number of beats I choose to allow your heart to beat. You tell me you want to live a spot longer, a minute or some other inane measure of time. For me, time is present. No, I don’t...

4 likes

Side Gig

Submitted to Contest #289

Bob was the leadman for his factory work team. He and the team were all noisy and drinking a tad too much around their favorite four-top at the pub that evening. They were hooting it up about some silly new guy at work who always wanted to follow every rule. Bob and his team had been doing this work for years and knew which shortcuts to take to get the job done easier and not get hurt.As far as they were concerned, this guy came from another planet. He whined on and on about how they should follow the rules or they could ...

5 likes

Double Negative

Submitted to Contest #285

“Hey, Joe, do you remember that time you said you shot your old lady down by the river?” “No, Bubba, I don’t remember anything like that! And if I did, I sure wouldn’t go around bragging about it. That’s sick, man. What makes you say such a thing?” “I don’t know. I remember Jimi mentioned something about how you had a gun and some other craziness. How you had a gun and that you were going down to the river to shoot your old lady and then you came back and told him you shot her. You know how he used to make up al...

2 likes

Queen Snake

Submitted to Contest #283

Have you ever looked a rattlesnake in the eyes? Have you ever stood and realized the rattlesnake was upright looking you in the eye? Have you ever been so close to a rattler that you can hear it breathe? Do those images make you want to pee and flee? I live in desert country, have all my life. On hikes or walks through the land, I’ve met just about every kind of desert creature. Only one scares me every time: rattlesnakes.  Rattlesnakes come in a variety of colors: green, blue, brown, black with silver diamonds,...

6 likes

Conscious Canine

Submitted to Contest #281

Dad spoiled me rotten. The year before I met him, he had a stroke and got hit with severe depression. Everyone thought a pet would help ease his days. That’s why he came to the kennel with Auntie about four years ago. She helped him decide to adopt me because Dad had a hard time with decisions. Once they decided to take me home, I watched them very closely. They went through the paperwork every kennel requires before they release a creature to humans. Auntie helped Dad decipher the legalese and got us out of the...

5 likes

Touchstone

Submitted to Contest #269

They came and took my flesh. Here for millions of their lifetimes, they came to me with anticipation, trepidation and an innate need to possess what was not theirs. Forty-seven plus pounds of Moon stuff was delivered to the NASA lab back in 1969. Those guys spent less than an Earth day on the Moon. They put all that Moon stuff into sample bags and then into their Special Environmental Sample Container that protected the samples from Earthlings’ contamination. Over the years, tons of Moon stuff have been picked up, core-drilled out ...

8 likes

Forgive Me

Running down the rough brick side road in his Bali village, six-year-old Mas fought to get his kite aloft. Multiple attempts later, the tail was just right. The kite took flight with the right amount of running and wind. He was proud and his mother, secretly watching from the kitchen window, was proud for him. That night after Mas went to bed, she told Dewa, his father and her husband, about Mas’s efforts with the pride that only a loving mother can exude. Dewa laughed as she wove the tale of excitement, anxiety, labor, d...

1 like

The End in One Act

Submitted to Contest #257

Act One One lane cobblestone street running north and south, this night about 2:00 A.M. A sidewalk and store fronts on one side of the street providing dim light onto the street, two-story red brick wall without windows and with locked windowless doors to access the rear of shops on the other side of the street. MAKEDA, late teens to early twenties female, wearing chucks, a grayish hoody and blue jeans, is sprawled supine on the road feet toward the sidewalk, unconscious.           &n...

7 likes

Old Tech

Submitted to Contest #236

“You call this technology?” Captain was taken aback by the vehemence of the query from the room. “Captain, Old One requests an audience with you and the other captains.” “What does it want?” Captain knew Old One from stories his predecessor told him. No one could tell him if Old One was male or female or even StarOne. “It says it has a story for you. An old story.” In its hooded shimmering gray cloak, Old One stood a head above the others. Broader across the shoulders than even the strongest warrior, it stood tal...

4 likes

Nana

Submitted to Contest #211

It was the mewling that caught her ear. Outside the normal range of library vocals, it was haunting and slightly sad. It set her on a hunt. Connie woke this morning rested and with a sense of anticipation. It was a great way to start the day! Life and work became a tad stale lately and she questioned her purpose, her possibilities and all her decisions in life. It was a recurring theme for her. So many questions and virtually no answers. At least, no answers that satisfied her desire for meaning and tangible goal...

4 likes

Linguist

Submitted to Contest #210

I am a fan of physics, math and science fiction. I have seen multiple scripts imagined by the sci-fi greats. I know the symbology of physics and mathematics. I even know some of the ancient scripts including a smattering of Egyptian hieroglyphics and the symbology of petroglyphs and such. About ten years ago, divers discovered what became known as the “porpoise school” off the coast of Cuba. A year after the discovery, National Geographic had a multi-page glorious color presentation of the find. A series of structu...

5 likes

His Eyes

Submitted to Contest #210

My trial began in the usual way. “Hear ye, hear ye. All rise.” “The Honorable Llewelyn Magee presiding. You may sit.” Magee is one of their elders. Some told me he is the eldest elder. He is still tall and vibrant, but his skin has taken on the cast of the dying; gray, wrinkled, going translucent. His eyes bely his aged appearance. Fiery, alert, piercing, focused, terrifying to the accused, horrifying to the guilty. The guilty see their fate in his eyes. They never see mercy. We’re not much of a town...

4 likes

She

Submitted to Contest #206

Ever been eye to eye with a rattlesnake? Ever realized the rattlesnake was on its tail looking you in the eye? Ever been so close to a rattler that you can hear it breathe?  I live in the desert; have all my life. On a hike or just a walk through the land, I’ve met every kind of desert creature. One creature always scared me: rattlesnakes.  Rattlesnakes come in a variety of colors: green, blue, brown, black with silver diamonds, red or a combination of colors. It does not matter to me; they all scared m...

8 likes