Cliff Pratt

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Sep, 2021

Stories (10)

10 Stories

193 karma pts

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“Temptation” by Cliff Pratt

Submitted to Contest #260

I immediately noticed her pale skin. Pale translucent skin, the type of skin that goes with red hair and freckles. One to two per cent of the population. Long red hair falling straight to her shoulders. Red hair that she shook back, exposing her pale neck. I thought I saw a pulse. ‘Alabaster skin’. Isn’t that what they call it? Green eyes and the delicate look that would get her on the front of any magazine.I dragged my eyes away and concentrated on what my group were discussing. I sipped my drink, but my eyes kept drifting back to the girl ...

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“Temptation” by Cliff Pratt

Submitted to Contest #226

I immediately noticed her pale skin. Pale translucent skin, the type of skin that goes with red hair and freckles. Long red hair falling straight to her shoulders. Red hair that she shook back, exposing her pale neck. I thought I saw a pulse. ‘Alabaster skin’. Isn’t that what they call it? I dragged my eyes away and concentrated on what my group were discussing. I sipped my drink, but my eyes kept drifting back to the girl and her pale, pale skin. Then, suddenly, she had gone. A different group of people sat at the table that she and her...

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“Jack of Spades” by Cliff Pratt

Submitted to Contest #218

“I’ve come to the right place then. You can’t forget the smell of soldering, can you? The little puff of smoke. The acrid burning smell. The slight irritation in the eyes. One whiff and you are back there, a young teenager, in your bedroom, wiring up your first project. Mine was a radio. What was yours?” “Who are you? Did my Mum let you up here?” The boy brandished the soldering iron like a weapon, but I ignored it. “Yeah, she let me come up here,” I said, stretching the truth. “Well, what was it? Your first project?” The boy’s room wa...

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“Frazz” by Cliff Pratt

Submitted to Contest #211

The Dwarf turned and looked behind him. Nothing. Just a bare hillside. “Ugh! Dammit! I thought that they were following me. Apparently not. Apparently I have to do it all by myself,” he grumbled. He turned and strode down the hill. A bird took off from almost under his feet, chirping its alarm call. “Now where is that damn Dragon?” He hefted his axe in his hand. There wasn’t much cover for a Dragon, he thought, as he looked around. A few boulders poked through the tussocky grasslands, but there were no caves or canyons that a large and...

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“Skittles” by Cliff Pratt

Submitted to Contest #208

I recognised it immediately. Nine small skittles hung limply down, dangling on their strings. I pulled it out from behind the cardboard box and the skittles swung backwards and forward in unison. I set it down and looked at it, remembering. A square wooden board about six hundred millimetres on a side, or two feet in the old measure. Strings emerged from the nine holes arranged in a diamond shape and were threaded through the hollow skittles and tied off at the top. Each skittle was around one hundred millimetres tall, or around four to five...

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“The Girl in the Pool” by Cliff Pratt

Submitted to Contest #144

Ripples spread across the surface of the pool, fracturing the reflection that he was trying to photograph, and Joe shook his head in annoyance. There was no wind, so he guessed that the disturbance was caused some small aquatic animal, a beaver or an otter or even a large rat. The ripples had spoiled his plan to take photographs of the sunset reflected in the pool, but maybe he could get a wildlife shot. The pool was isolated, hidden in a small corner of a wild area. There was a small jetty which had seen better days, but still seemed to be...

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“A Sailor on the Endless Sea of Stars” by Cliff Pratt

Submitted to Contest #124

A Sailor on the Endless Sea of Stars “I was a sailor. I sailed the endless sea of stars, hopping from galaxy to galaxy, from star cluster to star cluster, from star system to star system, even from Universe to Universe, looking for that rarest of phenomena, self-organised matter. Matter with the capacity for metabolism, growth, reaction to stimuli, and reproduction. In short, life. And specifically, the type of life termed ‘intelligent’ life. The sort that creates civilizations and which builds cities and collects knowledge.” Nessa looked a...

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“The Change” by Cliff Pratt

Submitted to Contest #118

Hunter forwarded the email on to the Prince’s Private Secretary, with a note. He sighed. The email was business and Harry handled all the business stuff now. He could go down and chat with Harry, and they’d probably have a cup of tea, but Hunter didn’t want to slow down the Prince’s Private Secretary. Harry had a lot more work on these days as the load shifted from Hunter to him. Hunter decided to go to look for his boss instead. *** Hunter found the King in one of the solaria. The King had had a couch brought in, and a computer was mounte...

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“The Confession” by Cliff Pratt

Submitted to Contest #116

“Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned. This is my first confession.” Father Michael seemed to hear the word “ever’ in the whispers and echoes of the old church. He was an older man, verging on elderly. He had been the parish priest for a decade or so, and was almost unflappable, having seen many unusual things in his long life in the church. There was a long pause. He scratched his balding head. “Go on, my son,” said the priest. In case the penitent was unfamiliar with the sacrament of confession, he added “You need to list your sins.” ...

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“Dream Reader” by Cliff Pratt

Submitted to Contest #113

Dream ReaderRory had been having these dreams, see? He was in a high place and someone who he couldn’t make out was trying to push him off the edge. He was fighting back, of course, but he was being forced backwards, centimetre by centimetre. Then the dream ended with a scream. His.He told his fiancee.“Wow! That’s amazing! What does it mean?”“Too many cheese sandwiches? That ale I had at lunchtime? I thought it tasted funny.”“No, no. It’s a Sign!”“A sign?”“Yes, a Sign. You must go and see a Dream Reader!”He was doubtful. “A dream reader? Don...

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