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George Georgerfrost@gmail.com

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Nov, 2019

Stories (283)
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283 Stories

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Intelligent By Design

Submitted to Contest #312

Paul Gallager was a quiet and reserved records runner toiling in the labyrinth known as County Public Records. Nobody seemed to pay any attention to his idiosyncrasies and odd behavior. He did his best to keep to himself cloaked in obscurity but suspected that others in the department somehow knew his secret. Whenever he would pass by their cubicles, he would meet their suspicious glances and sometimes hear their gossip. Ever since P.L 1927 went into effect at the beginning of the week, Paul could not quell his apprehension over the new pub...

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What's Behind the Looking Glass

Submitted to Contest #311

Slim Bodine woke up with an incredible hang over. Getting to his feet was a major effort causing pain in every frontier of his brain. Evidence of his wild ruckus from the night before lay where he had discarded the items in his drunken rampage that included a boisterous acclamation of how his life sucked. Slim knew as he approached his thirtieth fifth birthday, the only thing getting thinner was the hair on his head. Bessie, his girlfriend, had finally worked up the nerve to tell him that she was moving on. Everyone knew he was a loser. ...

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Medusa's Lost Readers of Tomorrow

Submitted to Contest #310

The Big Top Bookstore was going out of business. The owner Cronin Riggleworth was selling the place after his grandfather opened the store in the previous century. He had returned from the war in Europe in 1919. His grandfather’s love of books was displayed throughout the store. There were some big promotions that had taken place in his store during that time, but when Cronin left for the evening, he would not be returning in the morning to open as he had for the last thirty years of his life. It was hard to compete with the electronic ...

8 likes 2 comments 2
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Exile of Argus MacGuire

Submitted to Contest #309

“Take one more step and I’ll blow ya to Kingdom come.” A red-bearded man dressed in a kilt with blue tartar held a musket aimed at some discarded crates a few feet from where I had landed my skiff. Using an eighteen-horse powered outboard motor, I navigated the choppy waters from the port of Tagharry to this unnamed jutting pile of rocks a few kilometers west of Deasker Island in the northern Atlantic Ocean.Standing with my hands in the air, not daring to move a muscle, the large man spoke again, “Don; t’ink I won’ pull the triggah. The be...

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Distant Memory

Submitted to Contest #308

I recall my wife’s voice as if I heard it just yesterday. Memories can be deceiving, however. The distant memories can come to life right before your eyes, while things that happened in the recent past get clouded and lost. I would like to tell you how I reflect on my distant memories, but you’d probably think I was daft. At this point, it really doesn’t matter to me. “Vernon!” She called out to me as I was working in the yard. “You have a phone call. I shut the engine of my lawnmower off and walked to the front porch where she had been ...

11 likes 2 comments 2
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Haunting Lessons

Submitted to Contest #307

“Where am I?” I asked as the door closed, and I stood in complete darkness.Silence.“Is anybody here?” I could feel the panic surge through me like an electrical current. My eyes might as well be closed as the absence of light made me feel totally blinded.What was I doing before I came here? How did I get here? Why am I here?“Welcome.” A voice sounded from the darkness.“Who are you?” I panted, “Show yourself.” “We have a few questions for you.” The voice sounded demanding.“Not until I know where I am.” I definitely snapped. Laughter, deep a...

9 likes 5 comments 5
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When the Sunset Falls Hard

Submitted to Contest #306

When the Sunset Falls Hard When I look back at the ending scene, it reminds me of a movie script. And so with a heavy heart, I will attempt to write the script that I have just lived through. I am the hero. The writer is always the protagonist but believe me I am not feeling very heroic. (Scene opens with a panning shot of my street around lunchtime during summer break) Narrator: (Me. I play both protagonist and narrator) This is my street, Greentree Drive. It’s not very exciting at the moment, because it’s lunchtime. Lunchtime mea...

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Cover Up

Submitted to Contest #305

Cover Up I was once asked a philosophical question by one of my graduate students. She asked if there was ever an instance when telling a lie was a better option than revealing the truth. My mind instantly thought of several instances in history where political leaders chose to cover up the truth. Later the leaders justified the tactile advantage of a cover up which would lead to a more favorable diplomatic situation in the long run. After mulling this over for several minutes, my answer was a definite maybe that left me some wiggle room....

11 likes 4 comments 4
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Uncle Freddy's Writers' Boot Camp

Submitted to Contest #304

I saw an advertisement in the U.C. Davis college news bulletin as I was sitting on a bench near Bixby Hall across from the Dining Concessions. Join Uncle Teddy’s Writers’ Boot Camp Program starts on June 10th Be there or be square June 10th happened to be the start of summer break. I was supposed to be on my way home to Tracy, California. I would have to break the news to my mother Tammy Wiggins that I did not pass my philosophy class and might have to take it next semester in August. I could just about hear her harping on about not put...

10 likes 2 comments 2
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Father Forgive Me, for I Have Sinned

Submitted to Contest #303

Cancer is the cruelest ending to a life. All you can do is sit and watch the person you love be consumed in an everlasting cloud of misery. Everlasting until the person breaths their last breath. That describes the hell I have lived through this past year. The sunrise is bursting through the window shedding light on all that was once holy. I can hear the birds chirping merrily in the trees as I sit here in this room. This room of death watching my wife Emily struggle to take another breath. Her breathing has become raspy and shallow. ...

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I Wound Up in a Ditch

Submitted to Contest #302

It is hard for me to believe that I learned how to drive a standard transmission when I got out of the military at 36 years old. The old saying, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks” had to be overcome if I was going to drive my new Mazda home with the standard transmission. I needed a reliable car that was good on gas mileage since my job was over thirty miles away from my front door. In city traffic, it took me forty minutes to get to work at R-House in Rincon Valley east of Santa Rosa from Rio Nido. Getting to work meant I would hav...

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Swimming with a Shark

Submitted to Contest #301

I have always had a mortal fear of sharks ever since my Uncle Roy told me about the USS Indianapolis. He told me about it after he played Jaws on his DVD player when I was about ten years old. That movie would forever haunt me when Robert Shaw as Captain Quint tells the true story of the ill-fated mission. Growing up in Southern California, I heard stories about surfers who encountered sharks while riding the waves. In high school, my best friend Nolan Bates became enamored with surfing and kept begging me to go with him. I did accompan...

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Last Call at Finnigan's

Submitted to Contest #300

Herb van Claussen is in the middle of his joyous retirement party.Everybody is having a good time, patting him on the back and congratulating him for being with Berkermans for over four decades. Yes, everyone is having a blast except Herb van Claussen. Time like a tide came too quickly and he feels he is being washed out into the sea. “Hey, Herb, got any plans for your retirement?” Brett Highmyers asks as he delivers a friendly slap between Herb’s shoulder blades. Wincing Herb grimaces answering, “Gardening.” Brett’s expression changes to o...

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Cold Peas for Breakfast

Submitted to Contest #299

Childhood trauma can last a lifetime. For me, my trauma revolved around peas. There is a valid reason why this trauma exists that stretches all the way back to when I was five years old. To this day, I cannot stand to eat peas. The taste of them makes me gag. In some cases when peas are mixed with other food items, I may get away with eating them, but alone, by themselves, I cannot even put them in my mouth. My mother passed away when I was three years old. I remember living in a two-story home. Dad was a certified public accountant (C...

12 likes 9 comments 9
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Fling

Submitted to Contest #298

Agnes went peacefully in her sleep. Her roommate at the Tate Senior Community Center, Rose called the front desk to inform the staff of Agnes’ passing. Even though Rose was not a close friend of Agnes since she had been admitted only three weeks before, the thought of having a deceased person in her room was distressing. “Rose, why don’t you go to breakfast in the cafeteria while we take care of Agnes.” Nurse Wendy suggested as she rested her hand on Rose’s arm.“Alright.” Rose closed her eyes and nodded compliantly. Rose made her way down ...

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