Cole Lane

“The Perilous Journey Of Doodle And Stump (PT. 2)” by Cole Lane

Cold drizzle settles from gray skies, falling into the ancient forest. The heavy mist swirls and flows around Doodle and Stump, two pint-sized, bearded men traveling the wooded path. “Ding dong, the witch is dead,” Stump sings in a jolly, out-of-tune manner. “Keep it down,” Doodle says, “the forest has ears.” “You really should stop worrying,” Stump replies. “The Snow Witch is dead.” “We don’t know that,” Doodle says, pulling his collar up. “She was a powerful enchantress. It would be wise to be cautious.” “Look around us,” Stu...

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“The Perilous Journey Of Doodle And Stump (PT. 1)” by Cole Lane

*—————————————-* Author’s note: This is something different for me, a little fantasy story in third person POV. Also, I challenged myself to write a story that included bunnies because I always write about demons, monsters, and evil dictators. So, this is what I came up with. :) *——————————————* Knock. Knock. Knock. “Doodle, no need to knock. I can see you standing out there.” Stump says, looking out a knothole of the old tree he calls home. “We need to go today. We need to pack and get across the cavern before the snow is upon us!” Do...

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“Stay on the path” by Cole Lane

Submitted to Contest #96

*---------------------------------*Cue the creepy music!*---------------------------------*Hey, Earl, our friend here could use a cup of joe.I found him sleeping in his car out on exit 13.Sure thing, Sheriff, the man responds, sliding a cup of black coffee across the counter.What’s your name, friend?“Jack Whitaker,” I reply. God, my head is groggy.“Where are you coming from?”“California.” I reply, “I don’t even remember stopping. The fog was thick as mud though, I remember that.”“California? That’s swell.”“Yeah, I guess,”“Is there any way I ...

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“The Noble's Wife” by Cole Lane

Submitted to Contest #94

--- A Totally Unabashed Fully Loaded Space Opera ---/ Planet Tagabu. /“How is it we always end up at this same damn bar, on this same damn mud-hole planet?” Alex says, handing me a drink.“Because the Noble’s officers don’t like to get their boots dirty?” I chuckle.We tap our cups together.“Stayin’ alive, with money to thrive,” we chime in unison.This has been our victory chant ever since our first days of smuggling. Call it superstition, but it works.“The Noble’s patrol ships were all over this run,” Alex says.“I noticed. I had to use a dirt...

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“The Wolf Is Hunting” by Cole Lane

Submitted to Contest #91

*------------------------------------------*Author’s note: This reads way better with some creepy music in your headphones. :)*------------------------------------------*Everything has an explanation. Ghosts and monsters are fabrics of our imagination. My name is Terry Williams, and I debunk claims that the supernatural exists. Forget the holy water, the salt, the silver, or iron, You don’t need that to deter ghosts; you just need science and logic.My next destination on the debunk tour is the recently famous Witherbee library. There ha...

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“Fragile” by Cole Lane

Submitted to Contest #90

***********************************************Hey all, this has been a crazy week and I couldn't write until Friday, so this was a quick one. There isn't a lot of action, it is just a simple idea, but my goal with these prompts is to hit the deadline, much like the real world. :)Thank you to the Reedsy community for all the support we all get here every week!***********************************************The thing about flowers is, they are blissful exuberance, even if it is only for a moment. They remind you to enjoy the small things becau...

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“The Safeguard Society” by Cole Lane

Submitted to Contest #89

*******************A quick caveat, this story is about superheroes, just saying that upfront. :)With that being said, the characters' names I pulled out of my noggin. I'm sure in the vast universe of superhero names, that some of these have already been used and I don't mean to reference those characters. I will say, I have a young female character named 'Holly the Green Giant' which is my Hulk-like reference for this story, that one is probably original, lol!Hopefully, this is a lighthearted, fun read.*******************Being a hero is easy...

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“Mason the Mighty” by Cole Lane

Submitted to Contest #88

Mom must still be at work. At least I don’t have to lie about the dirt covering my clothes. Carl and his band of jerks beat me up again.I unlock the door and step inside.The bruises are tender, Carl is good at inflicting wounds where they don’t show. He learned it firsthand from his dad. At least that’s the school rumor.Walking by the kitchen, I notice a package addressed to me.Removing the brown paper wrapper reveals a book, a really old one from the looks of it, along with a note in my grandmother’s handwriting.‘Dear Mason,Hoping your scho...

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“THE BURN” by Cole Lane

Submitted to Contest #86

"This is the burn, Ronald."The air cracks open pushing a rush of heat and ash into the suburban basement."But, but, you're a cop, you're supposed to protect," Ronald says spitting on his stained t-shirt cowering in the corner."You sell children to the depraved, Ronald.""What about redemption? I can change."The heat intensifies until Ronald screams, convulsing as his soul splits from his body, forcibly inhaled into the abyss. The portal turbulence and flames retreat just as quickly as they began, leaving the basement quiet again. Ronald's lif...

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“DEMORA” by Cole Lane

Submitted to Contest #85

** I set out to write about an elderly man sitting in a park, watching his city change, and somehow ended up with this. :) **"Arm the damn thing, we have to go.""I'm working as fast as I can, " Jaime Cutter says, glaring at her brother, stabbing codes into the keypad.A few moments later, she closes and locks the keypad panel, "I've set the timer for 30 minutes. This is beast Schon, we need to be far away when it detonates.""So let's move." Schon Cutter says opening the roof access door. He checks each stairwell as they descend to the last st...

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“THE PALE BOX” by Cole Lane

Submitted to Contest #84

Dear Diary, it's me again, Cassandra Jiro, living day eight in isolation.At least I think that's how many it's been? Without a clock or calendar and no way to leave, I can't be sure. All I have is the ceiling illumination as morning arrives, and fading again as night falls.All things considered, I'm doing well. I have food, filtered water, and clean air. My home is a hermetically sealed refuge from the world, but I miss being connected to the Central-Net, that damn virus shut down everything.AQ they called it. It swept the net; shutting down...

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“KOLOHE KU” by Cole Lane

Submitted to Contest #83

You know that sinking feeling you get the moment you’ve done something bad? I don’t mean bad like you left your kids with a random convenience store circus clown. I mean universally impending doom bad. That is what I felt when I chuckled at the elderly woman selling handmade trinkets. I wasn’t trying to be a jerk she seemed nice, but my flight was long and I just want to get my suitcase. The baggage claim was already jam-packed when I arrived, which left me standing near the vendors selling to tourists. This woman stares at me from behind ...

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“KNOB” by Cole Lane

Submitted to Contest #82

The quaint brick cottage on Evergreen Lane sits in the morning sun overlooking a vibrant garden of hollyhocks and foxglove. Larry Baker kneels along the path, pulling weeds, depositing them into a bucket, careful not to get his overalls dirty. "I've let this go too long," he mutters. He stands and rubs his sore back for a moment, then collects his tools and cut flowers, carrying them up the porch stairs to the front door. Inside the cottage, floral patterns adorn the walls in faded yellow and orange, a gallery of photos hang here an...

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“SUBSTREAM” by Cole Lane

Submitted to Contest #81

Jim stokes the fire, the burst of warmth pushes back the night chill, the embers twinkle and flutter into the starlight. It is a beautiful night, like so many he had spent here with Samantha. Only tonight he is alone. Ding. It is a notification, battery 10%,  I hope I don’t need that tonight.  The world is quiet this far from everything, just the crackle of the fire and Jim’s thoughts of the last few days. It had been intense. Taking a small box out of his backpack, he opens it to find some bandages and disinfectant. H...

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