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Daniel R. Hayes

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Dec, 2020

Stories (74)
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998 Followers
994 Following

74 Stories

7357 karma pts

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Amy's Crusade

Submitted to Contest #85

Factory City is full of dirty lumber mills, coal mines, and recycling centers. In the winter we don’t have white snow, we have black peppered snow. I sometimes wonder if the Pepper Gods look down on us, and think the snow is mash potatoes. We don’t dare play outside because a person could easily get cancer. The city is a living breathing cesspool of pollution. My name is Amy Lee, and my grandparents died last summer from lung cancer. They never smoked a day in their lives. Just recently I heard my mom coughing up a lung in the kitchen. ...

41 likes 11 comments 11
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The Reluctant Vampiress

Submitted to Contest #84

I open my eyes slowly as the distant horizon swallows the sun. I give myself a moment to shake the grogginess from my brain. I don’t need an alarm clock to wake me up. I have an obnoxious neighbor who binge watches Law & Order every evening at six like clockwork. Oh well, another sleepless day and I couldn’t feel happier. I mean who doesn’t like the task of staying out all night searching for their next meal, right? I know I do, and I kinda have to or I’ll die. It’s like a sacred code or something.  Like a zombie digging its way ou...

37 likes 21 comments 21
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The Walking Plague

Submitted to Contest #84

A deadly virus known as Neuro-001 has claimed the lives of millions of people across the world. It came like an ocean of darkness flooding our very souls. The virus works by fooling our immune systems into thinking our healthy cells and tissues are foreign objects that must be eliminated. The brain becomes inflamed which causes impaired functioning and severe psychological and neurological symptoms. Neuro-001 quickly transmitted from person to person and the catastrophic results of having this virus was death.   We became our ...

32 likes 21 comments 21
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Alpha-101

Submitted to Contest #82

My name is Ellie Vancover, and I remember when my world changed in the summer of 1987. I graduated from Harvard with high honors in computer programming, and was recruited by Alex Whitney, the CEO of Cyber-Chip Industries. He made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. I mean what college student would say no to a six figure salary, right? Alex wanted me to lead a special top secret division that specialized in artificial intelligence. It was a bold initiative that was going to change the world.I became the shining star in my family eclipsing my old...

39 likes 11 comments 11
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Love Remains

Submitted to Contest #81

The stars were shining bright in the night sky as Henry and Edith Wilson shared a cup of tea on their back porch. Their hearts were filled with joy as they watched their ten year old Granddaughter run around the yard trying to catch lighting bugs with an old mason jar. Their old farmhouse home on Rosemary Lane was the envy of the neighborhood with perfectly trimmed grass, flower beds that looked like a blessing from Heaven, and a big beautiful oak tree that stood in the middle of their backyard. Jenny was visiting for the weekend while her ...

45 likes 26 comments 26
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Stolen Rage

Submitted to Contest #79

Blam! The bullet hit Alex straight in the back as he was running towards the canal. It was dark, and raining as the enemy soldiers were closing in on him. The canal was wet and muddy. Alex managed to crawl up to one side taking a defensive position. He checked his pistol and realized that he had no more bullets. He was all alone after being separated from his squad.  He looked up and saw the barrels of their machine guns creeping ever so slowly across the top of the canal. There was no time to think. He reached down and grabbed his la...

41 likes 27 comments 27
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Skate On

Submitted to Contest #77

It was a cold and dark wintery night. The snow started light at first, and then quickly started to get heavy. By morning the small town of Gemstone, West Virginia had accumulated 4 feet of snow. Just waking up, Mike looked out the window and said, “Nope, not today. I’m not going outside in this weather.”  Mike used to love going outside in this kind of weather. He used to be a champion ice skater along with his wife Anna. He gave it all up when she died five years ago from breast cancer. Her loss had devastated him. Anna was the light ...

35 likes 14 comments 14
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The Revelation

Submitted to Contest #77

“It’s time for dinner!,” yelled Bob. He fixed a wonderful pot of spaghetti with a side of garlic bread, and a fresh garden salad. He set the dinner plates at the table, and there was no sign of anyone. He yelled again, “Dinner, come and get it!” He heard no reply, so he walked over to the family room and found his wife Julie busy texting away on her phone. “Julie, where is everyone, didn’t you hear me calling?”  Julie looked up at Bob with an annoyed expression, as if he was disturbing her. She managed to say, “If you want our attentio...

45 likes 26 comments 26
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Together Always

Submitted to Contest #76

The day was winding down in North Central Park, as Lisa watched her granddaughter play. Lisa loved going to the park to watch the sun go down beyond the trees in the distance. It was a beautiful sight to behold, almost as if someone in Heaven had reached down and painted a masterpiece. Her granddaughter was only ten years old and loved playing with her friends in the park, so it was a win win situation.  She smiled when she saw Anna swinging on the swings. It took her back to a special memory from her childhood. It was a sweet memory o...

40 likes 6 comments 6
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Speak Before You Think

Submitted to Contest #76

Another day at the office and I just can’t seem to say what I mean. I always mean well, but it comes out wrong and too short.  I’ve been here for six months already, and it feels like six years. “Hi Steve, how are you today? I need you to finish up these financial reports as soon as you can,” Joe said, throwing the reports on Steve’s desk. Steve’s brain was quickly processing what to say to Joe before it was too late. I could say that I will work my hands down to the bone just for you. I could even say that I would be glad to burst an ...

60 likes 15 comments 15
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The Unexpected Diet

Submitted to Contest #75

Jill slammed her hands down on the kitchen table so hard and unexpected that it startled Brad. She gave him a look that chilled him to the bone. This wasn’t just any look, it was “The Look.” The look that our moms used to give us when we got into trouble, the look that meant she was serious. Brad looked at her with a child-like expression and asked, “What did I do this time?”  She cocked one eyebrow and proclaimed, “It’s not what you did, it’s what you're gonna do. What we are going to do together.” “What are you talking about? You kn...

44 likes 4 comments 4
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Bubba's New Life

Submitted to Contest #75

Jeff sat at his desk staring at a stack of applications that he had to go through. He hated this part of his job, but he knew it had to be done. Jeff started a unique service years ago to help people coming out of the military get used to normal everyday life. He got the idea from having to help his brother David assimilate back into society after years of service. When you're in the military for that long you get used to how things work. They had to follow a strict routine everyday, and sometimes they couldn’t even use the bathroom without ...

36 likes 0 comments 0
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Bret The Drummer Man

Submitted to Contest #73

It was Christmas Eve, and The Wildcats were getting ready to put on their annual Christmas concert. Bret played the drums and he hated this time of year. Why did he hate Christmas you ask? Well, you see in previous concerts he had to play the solo drum part in the song Little Drummer Boy. It’s not that he was bad, but he was the best, he played that part so well it made him a local legend. Everywhere he went people complimented him on that performance, even in the middle of summer. He got so much attention that he never got a moment's rest. ...

30 likes 2 comments 2
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The Christmas Love Bird

Submitted to Contest #73

Ben walked very intently down the isles of his favorite local pet shop looking at all of the pets for sale. This was his favorite usual routine that he enjoyed doing about every month or so. He lived in an apartment that had very strict rules against having pets. So as far as Ben was concerned this was as close as he could get to having that feeling of being a pet owner. As a child, Ben had grown up with several different pets ranging from cats, dogs, fish, and even chickens. He grew up on a farm in Northern West Virginia and was no strange...

33 likes 14 comments 14
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