Danny G

“Soul on a Wanted Poster” by Danny G

Sheriff Hollister pushed the door open with a tired creak and entered the post office.It was quiet and hot. He could hear the buzzing of flies bouncing off windows as bright sunshine filtered in and highlighted the dust motes drifting lazily in the air.There was no one else here except the clerk, who had his head down, writing in a ledger. His head lifted as the Sheriff thudded across the floorboard, dust puffing with each step.“Sheriff,” the clerk greeted. “What can I do for you?”Sheriff Hollister removed his hat and scratched at his sweaty...

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“Curiosity killed the cat” by Danny G

James pulled into his driveway and noticed something had changed.He gazed through the windshield of his two-storey colonial house. White clapboard dull against the heavy grey clouds. The windows looked down on him dark and empty.It was as he left it.He climbed out of his car. The day was cool and crisp, flaxen leaves fell from the huge oak tree that bordered his own property with the neighbours.Then he realised what it was.The sign was gone.Previously a ‘for sale’ billboard stood in front of the house that had been empty for almost a decade....

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“Brother and Sister” by Danny G

Submitted to Contest #166

“I quit!” he said.It was so sudden and so unexpected that she didn’t know what to say. She just stared at him, mouth open so wide the wind almost blew one of her blonde pigtails in.“What– what do you mean ‘you quit’,” she said, finally finding her voice. “You can’t quit. We’re a team. We’re Maggie and Jake. Peter and Jane. Luke and bloody Leia!”He snorted and shook his head. “Not anymore. You can take on the Death Star. I can’t take it anymore. It’s too much. All that singing. All the walking. The climbing. The falling. The broken bones. No....

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“The Golden Parachute on the 35th floor.” by Danny G

“Hey, are you going to this retirement thing?” Bill asked.Steve took a sip of his coffee, “What retirement thing?”Bill sighed, “Do you not read your emails?”“No. Not really. Why would I? I’m in the mailroom. I’m like the lowest of the low. I hold up the ladder so all these corporate fat cats can walk all over me.”“Everyone is going to this thing. It’s for Arnold Powers.”Steve raised an eyebrow, “Arnold Powers is retiring?”Bill nodded, “Yeah.”“Who the hell is Arnold Powers?”Bill sighed, “Dude, he’s in acquisitions. He’s been with the company ...

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“The Man in the Hat (Tim Pittman #4)” by Danny G

It was a brisk wintery day and every time the door to Lola’s Cafe opened a cold breeze would blow in, whipping up comments about how cold the weather was.But despite the briskness of the day, the cafe was full as it was every weekday and most weekends. A cafe in the Melbourne CBD that wasn’t full meant it was doing something very very wrong. Lola’s was a mix of business men and women in their work wear, preparing themselves for the day ahead, tourists from all corners of the globe huddled over travel guides and phones and elderly couple...

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“Camp Clayton” by Danny G

“Ok, listen up,” Mr Lancaster, my sixth-grade teacher said. “First of all, Mr Johnson and I appreciate your efforts in getting ready quickly and orderly. We hope it’s a sign of things to come.The bus lurched around a corner and he grabbed onto a hand hold and continued, “Secondly, as you all know, we are heading to Camp Clayton for four nights. There we will be engaging in numerous activities like bush walking, archery, rafting and many other fun things–”As Mr Lancaster talked I found myself drifting off. I spent all last night worrying abou...

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“The Monster in the Shadows” by Danny G

A wind blew, the finger-like tree branches rattled and shook and I hurried down a winding path that reminded me of the one in Alice in Wonderland that the broom-dog dusted away leaving Alice stranded in the darkness.Which is exactly how I felt.Pale moonlight shone through the branches, casting a latticework of light and dark. It was disorientating, my eyes trying to simultaneously focus on the shadows and the light, and I couldn’t tell if anything hid in those shadows. There are always monsters in the shadows, a voice whispered. I didn’...

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“H & G's Confectionery” by Danny G

In the deep, dark forest not far from where you live, there is a store. A wonderful, fantastic, joyful store full of wonder and delight.A store bright with light radiating out of the darkness like a beacon.And it beckons you. A rainbow of dazzling colours greets you when you arrive. Welcoming you into its warmth.You open the musk stick gate and skip down the path made of Pez, laid out like the yellow brick road. You pass the sour patch garden where, if you are lucky, you might spot the gummi bears hiding amongst the mint leaves.The...

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“Catching the train.” by Danny G

“Are you there, God? It’s me…”I don’t know if I said it out loud or in my head but either way, I was down to God saving my ass as the yeti reached in to grab at me. It’s razor-sharp claw ready to shred me to ribbons.I was stuck in this upside-down car, awkwardly positioned with no way out.If I had time, I could reposition myself and crawl out the broken window, but I was mere seconds away from becoming stock in the yeti’s soup.But I didn’t have time and my only saving grace was the yeti was so big it couldn’t properly get into the cabin, so ...

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“10-year anniversary” by Danny G

Submitted to Contest #132

Jack pushed the door open, stumbling in. He drunkenly fumbled for the lights, then he gave up. What did it matter anyway?It was dark in the apartment but even in his drunken haze he knew the way. Five steps forward and you’re in the kitchen. Five more and you’re in the lounge. Two steps left, three more forward and…“Ouch!”Maybe drunken steps are different. Longer maybe? Or maybe it’s the wrong apartment. Jack fumbled around, found a switch and flipped it.The lights flickered on.“Hmm” he mumbled. He was in the kitchen. The halos of light boun...

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“I'm gonna fly so high!” by Danny G

Submitted to Contest #131

Ben heard the door open excitedly. He knew a door couldn’t open excitedly, but it felt like good news. The door didn’t sound heavy when it opened. It didn’t slam against the wall, punching another hole through the plaster. No, there was happiness in that door opening.“Ben!”Noah’s voice flooded down the hall.Ben tried to ignore it, this maths homework wasn’t going to write itself. Nomatter how much he wished it would.“Ben!”Footsteps followed his name.Excited footsteps. Now, footsteps, he knew, could be excited. There was a wholelot of emotion...

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“The Locked Door” by Danny G

I pushed the doors open. The golden doors that the Nazis, of all people, were trying to keep closed. If the Nazi’s were trying to keep a door closed, then you know it has to be something interesting. I stared into the looming darkness before me and decided if I was going to go on this adventure, I needed a torch. I returned back to the room of dead Nazis and pulled a torch from the wall bracket. Feeling like a 1930s adventurer, I secured the satchel and passed through the doors, the warm glow of the fire barely lighting the way as I headed d...

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“Of course there are Nazis” by Danny G

Once my mum told me that my adventurous spirit would get the best of me one day. Not everything had to be an adventure. Not everything had to be a challenge. She told me this when I was in hospital with a broken wrist after I tried parkouring up the school administration building as a dare. She said I had too much of an ego.I regret not listening to mum.Because if I did, I wouldn’t be here, lost in the Italian alps after I strayedoff course because a meathead named Brady said I couldn’t ski an expert-levelslope.I said I could.I’d never skied...

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“The Husband and Wife” by Danny G

As I watched the man lay there, choking on a turkey bone, I realised that Thanksgiving was the busiest time of year for me.And I did not know why.I watched his face turn from red to blue to a pale purple, his fingers clawing at his throat, with all the impassiveness of an accountant and all I could think was why?Not why this man in his late twenties was laying on the dining room floor, his nice, pressed shirt covered in flecks of cranberry sauce, turkey meat and, strangely, an almost perfect circle of wine stain over the stomach. I knew the ...

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“Falling Leaves of Autumn” by Danny G

Submitted to Contest #118

I still don't know what I was looking forAnd my time was running wildA million dead-end streetsChanges by David Bowie. It was my ringtone.Glancing around to make sure my boss wasn’t around, I pulled my phone out of my pocket and checked the number.My heart skipped. It was the call I was waiting for.I ducked down behind my cart just in case Mr Burson saw me and ripped me a new one. We weren't meant to be on our phones during work hours. I pressed the button, “Hello” I said, my voice barely a whisper. “Hello,” I repeated, louder this time...

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