Grey Oberst

Soulful Rot

Submitted to Contest #74

Trigger Warning: Discussions of death, kidnapping, prolonged isolation, and mild gore. One thousand, eight hundred, and twenty one days. Siv had been trapped here for one thousand, eight hundred, and twenty one days, and the only reason she knew that much was because of the cold, stone walls that encased her, which had been marked every day with tally after tally. Other than the streaks of light that left the small barred window far above her reach, this was the only evidence of time in her horrid world. Her memories of arriving here we...

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Assistance

Grey Oberst

Submitted to Contest #58

Miles was not claustrophobic. He had spent plenty of time as a child hiding in small cupboards and tight toy chests, making the spaces almost comfortable to him. Sure, they could be uncomfortable in a literal sense, with his back hunched over and his knees tucked in, but it gave him peace of mind, knowing that he could so easily hide away. But it had been years since he last had to hide. Now, in his well fitting suit and heavy briefcase, he took up space with ease. Broad shoulders pushed past anyone or anything that stood in his way, wi...

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Heaven's Closer Than You Think

Grey Oberst

Submitted to Contest #55

-. --- .- --..-- / .. / .- -- / -. --- - / -.. . .- -.. .-.-.- / .. / .- -- / .. -. / .... .. -.. .. -. --. / ..-. --- .-. / .-. . .- ... --- -. ... / .. / -.-. .- -. -. --- - / ... .- -.-- .-.-.- / -.. --- / -. --- - / - . .-.. .-.. / -- -.-- / ..-. .- -- .. .-.. -.-- / ..- -. -.. . .-. / .- -. -.-- / -.-. .. .-. -.-. ..- -- ... - .- -. -.-. . ... .-.-.- / .. / .-- .. .-.. .-.. / . -..- .--. .-.. .- .. -. / . ...- . .-. -.-- - .... .. -. --. / --- -. -.-. . / .. / .-. . - ..- .-. -. .-.-.- / ..- -. - .. .-.. / - .... . -. --..-- / .--. .-.....

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Costs An Arm And A Leg

Grey Oberst

Submitted to Contest #54

“Are you sure about this, My Lord?” Prince Wyon looked up at his knight, clearly frustrated. “For the last time, yes, I am sure. You and I both know that if I continue to sit idly, the situation will only cascade into full on rebellion. We must nip this in the bud if we wish to stop such a thing, correct?” Sir Edelin stared down at the prince for a moment longer, her concern unhidden. However, with a sigh and a nod, she signaled for the castle gates to be opened. Tightened chains and creaking wood struggled and surged in order ...

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Rain Or Shine

Grey Oberst

Submitted to Contest #52

Trigger warning: depictions of suicide “...Care to fucking explain?” It’s a quiet, foggy afternoon. Most of the neighbors had already gone off to work or school or whatever other obligations they had. Henry had been sitting on his porch, sipping his third cup of coffee and arguing with his editor over email. It had been a perfectly normal day, which was to say, a tedious and miserable day. That was until some bastard Henry thought he’d never see again showed up on his street, just as young as the day he had died and smiling lik...

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Soul Searching

Grey Oberst

Submitted to Contest #51

This time she’s a bartender. Curly blond hair rests just below her chin, and thick black frames surround large, dark eyes. She’s short, shorter than you for once, and round and soft and perfect. She’s beautiful, just like every other time you’ve met her. “Don’t believe I’ve seen you here before. What’s your name?” you ask, taking your drink after she slides it down the table towards you. She looks you over, thinking for a second, before deciding that you’re probably not a creep. “Amanda. I just started working here, so expect...

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Nothing Else

Grey Oberst

Submitted to Contest #49

“Excuse me? Young man?” Kiyoshi looked behind him, raising his mask back over his mouth and nose. Standing there was an older man, possibly around his late fifties, with dripping wet hair and slightly bloated skin. He was wearing nothing but a towel around his waist, though he didn’t seem at all bothered by that. “This is where you line up to be judged, yeah?” Kiyoshi nodded. “Good, good. You know, I’ve been looking for this place for what feels like hours. Though, I guess it’s probably been at least a few days, if I’m being ho...

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The Month Before August

Grey Oberst

Submitted to Contest #47

“Looks like it’ll be nothing but clear skies and warm days for the rest of the week, as seen behind me here. With August just around the corner, you can expect similar temperatures for the following weeks to come, with a not-so-slim chance of heavy rain and strong winds. Now, Patricia, back to-” You hit rewind again. “-thing but clear skies and warm days for the rest of the week, as seen behind me here. With August just around the corner, you can expect similar temperatures for the following weeks to come, with a-” Again. ...

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Friends In Low Places

Grey Oberst

Submitted to Contest #40

Leo had a headache. That wasn’t surprising, since he had approximately a billion scented candles burning around him, but it annoyed him nonetheless. Why did so many spells require so many candles? He hoped that the smoke wouldn't set off the fire alarm. The last thing he needed was his landlord coming by and seeing what he was up to. Leo glanced at the book to his side, then back at the circle in front of him. He double, triple, quadruple checked his work to be absolutely sure that he had gotten everything right. One mistake, and he cou...

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I'll Put The Stars Back In The Sky

Grey Oberst

Submitted to Contest #39

The last thing I see is a starry sky. It’s beautiful. Really beautiful. It’s a damn shame that I never took the time to really appreciate it up until now. I should have studied astronomy instead of business. Hell, I should have studied anything other than business. What was I thinking? Wait, no, I shouldn’t be thinking about that right now. The sky is beautiful, and that’s all that matters.As I stare at it, it’s easy to forget that I’m currently bleeding out on the sidewalk. Why is that happening again? I don’t remember. It doesn’t matter.“A...

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Take This Path With Me

Grey Oberst

Submitted to Contest #35

I don’t often take this path. It’s longer than my usual way home, winding through the trees and weeds of the woods. It seems scenic enough, but during the cold evenings that I spend walking back from work, I can’t find it in myself to care about that. It’s cold out this time of year, and the sooner I can get home, the better. However, as winter fades into spring and my boss keeps finding ways to give me fewer and fewer hours, I find myself curious of what could be down there. I mean, I’m sure it’s more of what I know, but still. In this life...

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Submission 435

Grey Oberst

Submitted to Contest #32

“Ah! Look who’s finally here!”Rodney looks over at you, smiling and getting Jack’s attention by nudging him with his elbow. Jack looked up from the book he was reading, an odd expression on his face.“Reader! Wasn’t expecting you, to be honest. We’ve been looking forward to meeting you for some time now, y’know.Jack stuck his hand out for a handshake, but hesitated. With a sheepish smile, he retracted his hand.“Sorry, I guess that’s not really possible, huh? With us not being physical and whatnot, I mean.”“We could always ask Author to write ...

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Real Sick Of Myself

Grey Oberst

Submitted to Contest #26

“Nicholas Martin Hall, get down here right now!”Nicholas froze as his mother called out for him. His brother, Malcolm, just started laughing at him.“You’re in trouble!”“Shut up!”Trying his best to ignore his brother’s mocking, Nicholas left their room and quickly hopped down the stairs. Their mother sat in the kitchen, glaring at thick piece of paper. Nicholas could see the red marker bleeding through to the other side of the page. As he approached her, his mother lowered the paper onto the table, spinning it so that Nicholas could read it. ...

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Really, Really Hopeless

Grey Oberst

Submitted to Contest #25

You ever notice how terrible self help books are? Like, look, I get it, sometimes they can help if you’re really, really hopeless, but come on. You’re really going to turn to a five hundred page book by some rich author who succeeded thanks to Daddy’s money and dumb luck? You really want to read what someone like that has to say about living life and being happy? They’re all the same book anyway, so why are there so fucking many of them? They’re all “take risks!” and “have a positive outlook!” and “believe in yourself!” etc, etc. You can get...

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Hope Yet

Grey Oberst

Submitted to Contest #24

“Welp, we’re officially broke.”Kitt climbed into the van’s front seat as he spoke, clearly anxious but doing his damnedest to hide it. Spade lifted the sleep mask off of his eyes and propped himself up on his elbows. They shook slightly with the effort, but he didn’t seem to care.“We’re not broke yet, Kittycat. We got a show tonight. Oughta rack up a least a few bucks there.”“Oh, yeah, ‘cause that’s gonna pay for gas, food, and your meds. We’re fucked, Spade, just admit it.”“Nah. We got hope yet, trust me.”Spade reached for his guitar and be...

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16 Stories

358 karma pts

Soulful Rot

Assistance

Heaven's Closer Than You Think

Costs An Arm And A Leg

Rain Or Shine

Soul Searching

Nothing Else

The Month Before August

Friends In Low Places

I'll Put The Stars Back In The Sky

Take This Path With Me

Submission 435

Real Sick Of Myself

Really, Really Hopeless

Hope Yet