Elizabeth D

“The Replacement. ” by Elizabeth D

              The office was silent, except for the sounds of feet scuffing against tile and typing keys. There were twelve of us in the analytics department, all bent over our computers, thankfully, separated from each other’s eyesight through tall partitions between our desks. When I glanced up at the clock hands inching closer to five, to me, I could hear each second as it ticked by, even though the clock was silent. I glanced back down to the double scree...

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“Summer Rain” by Elizabeth D

Eva leaned her shoulder against the white marble pillar and inhaled the sweet scent of rain. She watched as rain cascaded down the edge of the roof a couple of feet in front of her, droplets occasionally splashing up to speckle her black slacks. Beyond the sheet of water, she could see the sloping lawn and the ocean in shades of grey, the sun had set behind the clouds thirty minutes ago. There were a few lamps a...

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“Evening at Baxter's” by Elizabeth D

Zoey wanted to be anywhere else than standing behind the register, smile firmly in place, as a customer lambasted her for the awful, terrible condition of the restaurant he chose to dine in at least once a week. She knew his name was David, he was at least fifty, if not pushing sixty, and led a miserable existence as far as she could discern. The corner of her lips quivered with effort as spittle ran down David’s reddening face, as his complaints rolled on and on. She had developed the ability to tune them out by now, they were so frequen...

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“Midnight Rain” by Elizabeth D

“It’s been a while since I’ve driven in a rainstorm like this,” Hector said with a soft chuckle as he white-knuckled the steering wheel of his suburban. Rain pelted the windows. Hector could barely see through the torrential downpour. He supposed he was lucky there were few cars on the road at this time of night. Rain had finally come to the County. The summer had been warm and dry, the kind of summer which turns...

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“Shadybrooke Landing” by Elizabeth D

Submitted to Contest #99

It wasn’t supposed to be like this. A road trip was meant to be fun. An adventure with great friends, delicious food, and marvelous sights. It wasn’t supposed to involve blood, guns, and a seedy hotel. We were supposed to laugh, not fight for our lives. It wasn’t supposed to come to this, me in the middle of the night with my knees soaking up blood on the pavement, tears flowing down my cheeks. 40 hours earli...

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“Ophelia” by Elizabeth D

Submitted to Contest #96

Elena added the last book to the display window and allowed her attention to drift out the large glass panes. The sky sparkled a glorious gemlike blue. Her brows crinkled as she spotted an unfamiliar young girl walking down the street.“Do you recognize her?” Elena asked Frieda, the owner of Hamish’s Bookstore. Frieda’s gray hair was perched in a lopsided bun and a beige cardigan hung on her slim frame.Frieda shrugged. “I’ve never seen her.”They lived in a small town, the kind of place where everyone knew everybody. El...

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“Hunting the Ghost of Fiona Diamond” by Elizabeth D

Submitted to Contest #91

The librarian watched from behind the circulation desk as a young mother and daughter, the last patrons of the night, approached the desk with a stack of picture books. Pasting on a cheery smile, the librarian checked out their books and sent them on their way. As soon as they passed through the double glass doors, she strolled over and turned the lock, reaching for the drawcord to lower the blinds on the quiet dark stre...

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“Someday” by Elizabeth D

Submitted to Contest #90

Jessie rested her hand against the window pane, running her fingers along the peeling white paint as she stared at dry fields. Brittle brown stalks withered in the bright noon sun, shrinking from searing rays. The once green plants of spring had folded in on themselves three months ago, before true summer had even begun. Wind picked up dust, sprinkling it against the glass, rustling the fields, which from the angle of the first story of the house, seemed to go on endlessly in all directions. She knew the fields were not infinite and that ...

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“To Be a Hero” by Elizabeth D

Submitted to Contest #89

“Do you want to be a hero or not?” Thomas demanded, staring down his long nose at me. Risa and Nella crouched on the cold cobblestone of the alley behind him. Bass leaned against a brick wall; arms crossed over his crisp while shirt, a loose silver tie about his neck. Moonlight shimmered down the damp building walls, collecting in silver disks within the puddles at our feet.I returned my attention to Thomas’s outstretched hand. I hadn’t believed him when he told me what they had done. It wasn’t because I thought he was lying about ...

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“Verna and the Hall of the Gods” by Elizabeth D

Submitted to Contest #87

The Hall of Gods was grander than I remembered. Golden columns shooting upwards into a roof of midnight blue dotted with silver sparkles of stars. Polished marble tiles, alternating blacks and whites like a chess board, a reminder the Gods played games and bent the rules towards their favor. Their imitation tactics had never stirred any feelings of fear or apprehension in me, even during those first days when it should have, leading to me to believe I was created lacking such emotions. Scents of wildflowers and the sea hung in the air, a ...

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“Paper Flowers” by Elizabeth D

Submitted to Contest #86

The vibrancy of the fuchsia and violet paper flowers was diminished by the grey light pouring through the cloudy sky. Freya and her cohort had finished hanging the strands of bright flowers along the marbled path through the park. Patrons had yet to arrive for the annual spring festival, leaving the park desolate, the food stands and craft vendor’s stalls empty of personal. A tech crew worked at a constructed stage, performing microphone tests. There would be a concert and the crowning of the Spring Princess upon the stage. Freya thought ...

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“Legacies” by Elizabeth D

Submitted to Contest #85

Martha rushed into the study with her heart beating an irregular rhythm, and tried to catch her breath. They had found her, after eight years of hiding. Skirts rustling around her legs, she crossed to the study window, her feet silent on the plush red and beige oriental carpet. She stood to the side and pulled back the heavy velvet drapes, confirming what she had spotted from the sitting room. Two men stood on the opposite side of the street, staring at her home. She recognized them as her father’s men. She had eluded them years ago, and ...

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“It's Your Future” by Elizabeth D

Submitted to Contest #83

There is something about a still ocean. You have this intrinsic understanding that such a large body of water can’t be static. It has to move, it has to live, but sometimes before dawn when the wind has dropped away and warm air feels thick enough to carve with a machete, the ocean is as frozen as the surface of an ice cube. As if, despite the tropical heat, the ocean has solidified and has invited you to take a precarious step, to test your weight on its flawless surface.I couldn’t help but stop at the end of the dock a...

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“Android's Night Out” by Elizabeth D

Submitted to Contest #82

       It had finally happened. Greg, Amelia and Harold had invited me to the apartment they shared on the Eastside. I had worked for weeks to attract their notice, months to gain a semblance of friendship, and now, the epitome of our bond would be celebrated over delicacies and fine wine, not that I could partake in the enjoyment of consumption. Any food and drink I allowed to fall through my windpipe collected in a steel container I would empty at my convenience. Taste sensors lining my mouth allowed m...

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“Walter and the Dinner Party” by Elizabeth D

Submitted to Contest #64

“They’re going to be here in ten minutes.”            “What do we do?”            “There’s not enough time to deal with it.”            “Should we tell them the dinner is cancelled?”            “We can’t rescind the invitation now.”    &...

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