David Taylor

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Nov, 2020

Stories (14)

14 Stories

279 karma pts

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“Taijitu” by David Taylor

Submitted to Contest #104

The friendship was exceedingly rare, one in a billion. The two least likely people, set to be sworn enemies had allied with each other: Griffin the Straightforward and Lucas the Mighty. They were raised in different townships. Though he was known by the epithet "Straightforward," Griffin's hometown of Magnus was unremarkable. It was already a well-known breeding ground for the highly educated. Polymaths, alchemists, inventors, philosophers; great minds congregate in the township for its namesake Magnus the Brilliant was alleged to have had t...

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“Headed West” by David Taylor

Submitted to Contest #99

The three brothers packed their things. Jacob Chu, the eldest, was taking inventory of all the essentials. The middle brother, Joseph, did the same for his own personal effects; double checking that his essentials were packed in place. All who was left was the youngest brother, Jordan, who printed multiple maps from MapQuest. He used a highlighter to show the path they brothers needed to go from Atlanta to Santa Fe. If the path is to be believed, they would be on the road for a minimum of 20 hours ignoring traffic and time. In reality, Jaco...

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“The Traveler” by David Taylor

Submitted to Contest #96

The town of Coyne is a remote area. It's very well hidden with a forest around its west and southwest entrance. The northside has a mountain range that winds in a zigzag pattern and toward the easternmost edge of the town, a wide, roaring river separates the small community from its nearest neighbors. All these considered, the council of Coyne felt it was unnecessary to raise and maintain a standing army. Coyne had no distinguishing features that made it noticeable; it's mountain range--known as the Dotted Mountains--provided enough of a for...

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“Taking the Cake” by David Taylor

Submitted to Contest #93

Why the hell does this keep happening to us? First, my best friend, Maddie, takes our other best friend's, Korey's, car for a joyride and crashes it in his own damn house. Then, Korey risked a speeding ticket to return a very slightly overdue library book (he'd fire himself out of a cannon if it was three seconds overdue). Now, it's my birthday party... and it went about as well as eating a messy calzone during open heart surgery. But you know what? I'm jumping the howitzer here, let's go back a bit, yeah? I was born on June 24, 2000 and sin...

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“Racing for a Return” by David Taylor

Submitted to Contest #91

Oh, what a setback. It was partly my fault for not closing the door on my brand new Chrysler as tightly as I should have, but my friends, Madeline and Jocelyn, decided to go on a quick joy ride... and ended with them striking our garage door with my car, so that was around $260 or so for the garage door and another $200 for the car. Ah whatever, it happened. So, as punishment for my negligence, my dad put me in the passenger seat for about a week. Then the car came back and I still had to let him drive me around for another week, even to sch...

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“Learning to Fly” by David Taylor

Submitted to Contest #89

It's been a dream of hers; to be an actress. Millicent Rake didn't hesitate to attend a performance or even audition for one. Grade school productions were a learning experience for the girl; she studied from playwrights like Shakespeare and Wilde; she studied films, actors, screenwriters, and even musicians. Millie wanted to be a fine actress, one of the best in England. She got accepted into the University of Birmingham, south of her home in Leeds, setting out to gain a theatre degree. In between her usual studies -- maths, science, hist...

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“The Benevolent Trickster” by David Taylor

Submitted to Contest #87

April 1st. April Fool's Day. A date that's always lived in infamy for me. Since I was a kid, I was the subject of some really messed up jokes. It all started when I was around seven years old: my older brother Jason likes to go all out and prepare for some pranks. On my way to school, he got an exact copy of my bookbag and filled it with fake bugs. That shit shocked me when I noticed the bag wasn't as heavy, so I opened it and plastic flies and roaches and centipedes dropped out. I screamed and he was laughing in the other room. "Yo, I go...

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“Great Leap Forward” by David Taylor

Submitted to Contest #84

It had been a year since the Solanum outbreak of 2025. As part of a collaboration with the greater Anglosphere, scientists from America, Britain, Canada, Ireland, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand all gathered to study the effects of a new pesticide on several notorious insect species known to be hazardous to crop failures. Each scientist from different regions was tasked with finding and bringing the insects common in that region to a research facility in Alice Springs. The Australian Outback's legendarily unique geography has had a ...

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“Magnetism” by David Taylor

Submitted to Contest #81

I've got to say, I was not expecting an outcome like this. In fact, I was completely bracing for a catastrophic failure and for me and my good friend, Felicity, to become the comedy duo for therapeutic purposes like we usually do, but it seems Eastern-Western Eyes and Ears would sit this one out this time. So, I have this coworker that I became excellent friends with at our company. His name is Rowan Soul and he couldn't anymore divorced from his name than if he was born from a scorpion and a vampire, at least initially. I was the plucky, 21...

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“Bridged Gap” by David Taylor

Submitted to Contest #79

An elderly Navajo man stepped out of his black Lincoln. He reached for a worn wooden cane and slammed the door shut. He was invited by his son to come to his house for a chat. They hadn't seen each other since he left for the Marines. The old man inched his way toward a sun yellow Spanish colonial house at the end of the block, the one with a cherry red 1970 Dodge Challenger and the flagpole on the lawn, adorned with the Stars and Stripes at the top, the New Mexico state flag below that and the US Marine Corps flag below that one. Inch by in...

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“Listen to the Money” by David Taylor

Submitted to Contest #76

Las Cruces, NM June 9, 1996, 1:47 PM Red: So, let's say you get two choices: both of them lead to riches, but the amount is different for each and the way you get your wealth over time is different too. One path gets you $1,000 every hour on the hour, and the other path is worth $500 every 20 minutes. Which path are you taking? Darrell: A thousand every hour vs half that in a third of the time... Rosanna: Is there a time limit? Red: The time limit is when you die, so choose wisely. Luna: Oh good grief, it's another one of these? Re...

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“Change of Scenery” by David Taylor

Submitted to Contest #73

In New York, there's an talent agency known as The Light Foot Company or LF Co. for short. LF Co. was established in 1921 and is one of the leading talent agency for many aspiring thespians, dancers, singers, directors, filmmakers, playwrights among others for nearly 100 years. Among Hollywood's and Broadway's alumni, several have been in some sort of contact with the LF Co. One of there alumni was a dancer by the name of Courtney Teak. Courtney grew up immersed in the entertainment world under the thumb of prominent casting directors. His...

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“Grievous Mistake” by David Taylor

Submitted to Contest #70

My friend and I have made a very grievous mistake. A few weeks ago, my friend, Korey, bought a brand new car. He's been saving up for this machine for years, probably since middle school. Yep, this car's been on his mind since long before he could even drive. On his 14th birthday, he went straight to the local grocery store to work as a clerk and he's become more than a little bit miserly. He kept the money saved up in what he calls a secret stash, but in the real world, it's a damn shoe box. Obviously, one job wouldn't have been enough to ...

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“A Different Path” by David Taylor

Submitted to Contest #69

My family's been running the 38 Specialties Weapons Store for generations. After World War II, my great-grandfather, Aloysius Candle, spent many days and nights working odd jobs in and around Biloxi and Gulfport. 38 Specialties opened its doors in 1947; the name comes from the caliber of his favorite service revolver. The old man never stopped bragging about it; he kept saying it was his good luck charm, like god was watching over him the whole time he was in Germany. Great-grandpa Allie ran the store for twenty-two years. Debilitating heal...

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