Menu

Menu

Prompts

Contests

Stories

Blog

Directory

Contests

Magazine

FAQ

Daniel Rogers

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Mar, 2023

Stories (73)

Comments

Library

378 Followers

409 Following

73 Stories

4227 karma pts

?

He's Pointing a Cookie at Me

Submitted to Contest #277

"Knock it off! Fleabags!" Another acorn hit me in the ear. I picked it up and hurled it at the nearest squirrel. It missed."Just what I expected from a baker," the squirrel said. "Go back to the kitchen and bake cookies. It's all you're good for." The squirrel clan laughed.I picked up another acorn and hit the rodent between the eyes. That put an end to his laughter."How's that for a baker?"The squirrel clan redoubled their missile attack. Acorns pelted me on all sides. Squeakings rang out for reinforcements. I just had to poke the bear. I'm...

39 likes

Scenic Ashes

Submitted to Contest #276

We erupted with a Mount Vesuvius-sized argument of hate and anger, the worst in our twenty-five-year marriage. Her scream shattered me like a rock hitting a windshield. My response only spread the cracks further. It happened during the epidemic in 2020. Our marriage shut down like unessential restaurants, clothing stores, and churches. We had no announcement from the president, but we knew only the essentials of our marriage would remain open. I hoped a few weeks would pass, and then all would return to normal. However, like our world,...

53 likes

Everyone Loves a Good Burning

Submitted to Contest #275

"Are you going to cook me?" I laughed, "Goodness, no." I grabbed a towel from the wash pot and wrung it. "Besides, I'm not a big meat eater." I cleaned the blood from his forehead. "You've flooded our village?" The lad hesitated, his eyes darting around in apprehension. After agonizing moments, he summoned his courage and added, "More than once!" The clumsy lad wasn't used to using his brain. To put it bluntly, he was thicker than a queen's mattress. "That's your ancestors' fault for building in a floodplain." "A floodplain? What's that?" "P...

81 likes

The Tell-Tale Clock

Submitted to Contest #274

"The pictures were hanging upside down," I said.My friend gasped and smiled, "Mary, you are a born storyteller. I actually felt goosebumps."I put my can of Pepsi down without taking a drink. "No, Cindy, I'm not making this up. I came home, and there they were. Perfectly level, but upside down.""Now stop it. You're freaking me out.""How do you think I feel? I have to live here."Just as I finished speaking, my grandfather clock struck seven and began to play "Westminster Chimes." We jumped, startled by the noisy antique."Sorry, girl, I didn't ...

55 likes

Mistress of Doubt

Submitted to Contest #273

Darn it! The Old Hag is following me again! I just can't, not after yesterday. Another day like that, and I'm finished as a writer.Doubling my pace, I cut through allies and shops, but I could still hear her high heels clicking behind me. Five shops and three alleys later, the clicking finally stopped. I pretended to look back at a passing bus to confirm I lost her.Darn it! Still there! What have I done to deserve this? Unlike me, she wasn't even sweating. It was ridiculous! Instead of looking frazzled, she looked like she came from a glamou...

51 likes

Strange Noises Strange Eyes

Submitted to Contest #272

There are many strange noises in a forest on an island: the hooting of owls, scurrying of small animals, crunching undergrowth of larger ones. Or are the hooting secret signals from man-eating natives moving into position to attack? Or angry grundle barrs? Or confused ellawyns about to blow the marooned sailors into the sea. Captain Wington imagined them all."Did you hear that?" Captain Wington said.He gripped his sword tighter, peering into the spooky tree line for movement. Not that his frazzled imagination needed any proof. He "saw" plent...

51 likes

A Rowing Pit Offers Hours of Sit-up Sleeping

Submitted to Contest #271

They don't tell you in rowing school that you sleep where you row. No! They let you believe you'll have a quadruple bunk or at least a wooden floor to sleep on. Surely, a ship in Selwyn's navy affords that much comfort? But no. The rowing pit offers hours of sit-up sleeping, no room to stretch out, and splinters to rollover sleepers - like Flimlet."Curse that cursed belt," Flimlet mumbled to himself loud enough for Lady Nimmo to hear.Lady Nimmo lay against her husband, unable to sleep. The belt wasn't the only thing she'd like to curse right...

42 likes

We Could Tie a Rope Behind the Ship

Submitted to Contest #270

"We have to go to Izen!" Lady Nimmo pointed her roasted chicken leg at everyone around the campfire. "I agree Captain Wington is a little much, but who else do you know that has his own ship?" She said before taking a bite out of her chicken leg.Everyone reluctantly agreed, even though they knew they would be subjected to Captain Wington's weight-to-oar fixations."Will he?" Flimlet asked. He grabbed a potato off the pan and took a huge bite before thinking. His eyes jumped wide open. He didn't want to spit it out, so he attempted to cool the...

43 likes

Lady Nimmo and the Cursed Belt

Submitted to Contest #269

Oakaford strategically positioned stumpers to capture the shadow elves who were shooting arrows into Lady Nimmo's house. Oakaford and the stumpers took this very personally. She brought them to life, and because of this connection, they become extremely upset when someone tries to harm her."Okay, everyone," Oakaford whisper-shouted. "Less noise."The entire line of root-footed stumpers kicked up enough noise to alert a passed-out drunk troll who is hard of hearing. Of course, Oakaford's "whisper-shouting" only added to the cacophony.Ash-rim s...

31 likes

Through A Locked Door

Submitted to Contest #268

If you saw my wife, you'd tell me how stupid I was for hitting her. And I wouldn't argue. She's a looker. I mean, she makes women in the movies look butt ugly. But in my defense, if you only knew the things I put up with at work, you'd cut me some slack. I know what you're gonna say – that's no excuse. But, hey, don't worry. I'm going to apologize – if she'll let me. She's been crying in our room for hours. I've tried entering several times, but it's locked. All that punching and shouting must have drained me more than I imagined. Just turni...

48 likes

A Twisted Tale of a Fart Gone Wrong

Submitted to Contest #267

That was not a fart! I knew Taco Bell was a bad idea. Number 35 stole the ball meant for me. "Hey, Ed! What the heck! Cut!" Darren yelled. It's true, the lane was open. However, my current situation did not lend itself to fast breaks. I slowly jogged back to the other side of the court, trying not to exasperate the mishap. Then it hit me — white uniform! We're the home team! The coach bellowed, "Get your butt back on defense!" My butt was precisely the problem. I needed to limit my movement as much as possible. If I keep moving, t...

37 likes

The Clash of Ed, Burt, and the Author

Submitted to Contest #266

The dragon lay prostrate, wounded and exhausted."No! No! No!" The author yelled.The scaled beast collapsed, wounded and exhausted."'Wounded and exhausted?' What are you doing? You think you're a writer. You're crap! That's what you are! Crap!"The scaled beast collapsed, bleeding from his many wounds. Exhausted and weakened by the fight, the ancient dragon sensed his end was near."Okay, that'll have to do for now. What's next?" The author searched in the dark recesses of his mind for a while before spotting the muse, who was lighting a match,...

41 likes

The Old Man at Elephant Rock State Park

Submitted to Contest #265

2020 was an epidemic year. It was the year the biggest argument of our twenty-five-year marriage erupted. Like a volcano, my wife's frustrated and angry scream sent shock waves that knocked me off my feet. At that moment, I knew something had broken. We buried the issue by pretending it was an ordinary argument and focused on the viral threat plaguing our world. We had essential jobs, so we weren't trapped inside the house together. Life continued through COVID-19, and so did our anger. We slept on the bed seams, talked very little, and wond...

50 likes

Cracked Glass and the Scene Maker

Submitted to Contest #264

Dear Lord, there's the nod. Be confident. Be cool. No tears! Abby suggested I get everyone's attention by tapping the glass with a spoon. She said, "The glass clinking gets me every time." So, of course, I agreed to clink. It never crossed my mind to practice. How complicated could it possibly be? I stood and nodded back to the wedding organizer. I grabbed the spoon and swung. My shaking hand careened out of control, and instead of a tap, I hit the glass so hard it cracked. But that's not all. No, no. I hit it again, which extended the crack...

41 likes

A Craving For Toxic Waste

Submitted to Contest #263

Where can I find some toxic waste? This stupid city has to have some somewhere. I’ll show them! But first, I need an incredible superpower. Wait a minute! The old plastic factory. It’s bound to have some lying around. Perhaps it will give me the ability to stretch. No, not that. It could make me a super powerful plastic surgeon. That would be so much better. I drove to the abandoned factory. It looked like a mangy old dog that needed to be put out of its misery: windows broken, doors removed from hinges, and car-sized holes in the roof. Deco...

42 likes