Davie McGuinn

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Dec, 2021

Stories (9)

9 Stories

224 karma pts

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“The Escape” by Davie McGuinn

Clyde had to hightail it from the railroad camps as quickly as he could. The trouble he caused at Camp Number 3 quickly caught up with him. Clyde decided that the safest thing he could do was head back home to North Cove. Clyde had to head down Pepper Creek in the dark of night and quickly if he could not be detected. He couldn’t walk directly on the Yellow Mountain road for fear of being seen, so he took a less conventi...

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“To Become A Brakeman” by Davie McGuinn

Jaybird reached into his pocket and pulled out a pouch of Bugler tobacco. He then took out a folded section of yellowed newspaper, tore it into a quarter sheet, plucked out the last of the pouch's contents, gently rolled the tobacco in yesterday's farm foreclosure notices, and rolled a crude cigarette, licking the flap to make it all stick together. A man's land wasn't worth much more than that paper puffed into a hobo's...

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“The New Normal” by Davie McGuinn

When Leonard stepped off of the Greyhound bus, he quickly noticed that he was not the only one with sleeve tattoos. College-aged adults, both male and female, had intricate designs woven and webbed up and down their biceps and forearms. He stepped inside a coffee shop unfamiliar to him. It was all unfamiliar to him. He reached in his front pocket and pulled out a crumpled five-dollar bill, some of his last money from his...

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“Don't You "Bro" Me” by Davie McGuinn

“We dated for four years, Chad.”“I thought we were more like, you know, friends-with-benefits, or whatever.”“For four years, you thought we were just one prolonged casual fling? No strings attached? Jesus that explains a lot. I wish I could go back and see just how shallow you really are. Shallow as a cheap Walmart inflatable kittie pool; the kind toddlers relieve themselves in.”“Bro, don’t you think that’s a little harsh?”“Bro? Bro?? Don’t you bro… ...

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“Roundabouts Suck” by Davie McGuinn

Dear Editor, This is America. We have four-way stops here, the way God intended it. Not roundabouts like some kind of Godless European country. You know, the kind of country that’s utterly thankless that we singlehandedly wrestled them away from the Nazis after we mozied on in, fashionably late to the party. The American way. We like to come to a complete stop at an intersection and stare down th...

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“Table Mountain Pine” by Davie McGuinn

(CW: Substance abuse, physical violence) Eliza sat on the outcropping and gazed at the flames leaping and dancing among the windswept wooded landscape. She made it this far, and she was not turning back. What brings destruction also brings new life and hope. The dry bones in the valley before her were resurrecting, reforming, dancing, and yearning for life. She would join the dance, but she had to be patient—no se...

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“Ghost Seed” by Davie McGuinn

1907 The ground shook, and the burlap bag of seeds flew out of her tiny hands. The seeds scattered around her bare feet as she caught herself mid-fall. For a moment, the earth stood still. No sound of birds. No wind whispering through the ridges. Bewildered, she collected herself. She would have to wait for the mud to dry to collect her seeds again. That, or she could just leave them be. ...

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“The Predicament” by Davie McGuinn

The headlight from the giant locomotive illuminated ominously through the foggy abyss as dusk settled into darkness. The steam billowing out of the valves and the black smoke huffing out of the smokestack only contributed to its abstract, melancholy appearance. The shrill of the airbrakes synchronized with the low-pitch whine of the whistle. The clanging of the bell was the only optimistic percussion that this mechanical beast seemed to produce. The locomotive was grimy and exhausted from its long climb up the mountain, winding through to...

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“Humble Servant” by Davie McGuinn

Reading over the first draft of grandma’s obit, I noticed some curious ambiguity; “She died in a Morganton Hospital.” The actual name of the institution wasn’t mentioned, as often was the case when I read other obits for ideas: “Martha Evaline Campbell, age 84, of Jonas Ridge, NC, came home to her Lord and savior after a long fight with cancer at Grace Memorial Hospital.” Curious, but not confusing. Grandma spent the las...

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Author bio

I like to write the occasional short story and read yours. Feel free to procrastinate more pressing obligations by reading mine. I'm from the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina and live with my wife and dog.