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Author on Reedsy Prompts since Jul, 2024
Submitted to Contest #295
Henry sat on his Grandfathers favourite bench amid the central city park. The sun was warm on his back and the wind chill against his face. It was the freshest of spring days, the kind that would normally have boosted Henry’s mood after the long, grey winter. Activity blossomed all around. Life everywhere emerging from the same dull hibernation of a colder than usual season. Cascading laughter, thrown Frisbee's and the zipping by of bikes and dogs busied the parklands as far as he could see. Whilst chattering birds, scurrying squirrels and t...
Submitted to Contest #294
Lemon climbed up the vertical bars, her powerful scaled toes gripping each one effortlessly and pulling her ever closer to her target. Her advance was silent. Not a rustle of a feather nor a click of her sharp talons betrayed her as she crept upward. When she had manoeuvred herself into the perfect position, she reached forward with her impressive beak, slotting it into the space between metal poles and gripped the tiny paper corner that peeked over the edge of her cage. In one swift motion, she flicked it away. Down the label floated, grace...
Submitted to Contest #292
“Good Morning, Derek”“Mornin’ Doc”“How are you feeling today? Any more thoughts of harming-”I had to interrupt her. Doctor Fuller was one of the better shrinks I’d had to deal with, but she was a real jobsworth about following the script. It would be the same old introductory questions. She couldn’t help but tick those boxes at the top of the day’s crisp white form, still warm off the copier, but would be terrified of doing so unless I actually said the words. I struggled to find the patience to verbalise my repeated and identical statements...
Submitted to Contest #291
A cascade of black dust blasted outward from the collapsing wall. The loud boom of its demise breaking the silence that pervaded deep within the Dinwald mines. Dark clouds billowed down the tunnels at speed, rushing to fill every gap where once there had been only stale air. It coated Lex in a single blast, filling his nostrils and assailing his pinched eyelids with tiny debris. He held his breath, waiting patiently in darkness, until the roar of the collapsing shale silenced. He had felt the soft barrage of broken material sweep against his...
Submitted to Contest #290
Dizziness threatened Scott, blindsided by the question that escaped her lips. Words that felt like an uppercut to the jaw and impacted his vision in the same way. How could she possibly query his devotion? Was it not plainly obvious? “Oh my god! You’re doing it again!” She screeched, “Focus Scott, please, be here with me! SPEAK to me! I’m not a mind reader. You need to answer the question out loud!” “I don’t know how to. It’s so ridiculous…” He said.Aria’s mouth hung open, hurt clear in the eyes that began to shed tears. “Ridiculous!? Just t...
Submitted to Contest #289
Trigger Warning - Threats of violence, extremism and survival. Micas was awakened by the stabbing glare of sunlight against his face. He fluttered his crystal-blue eyes open, only to trigger an avalanche of the sand that seemed to constantly coat his face. Using the heels of his hands, that were no less grit encrusted, he managed to rub into being a semblance of sight. He sighed at the view he found, it was no less dire than the day before. Closing the plastic shutters on the aeroplanes tiny windows had been a pathetically futile gesture. On...
Submitted to Contest #288
Pana relished the cool, soothing flow of heavy rainfall upon her waxy skin. The increased tempo of drops, growing from a constant misting to intense deluge over the course of the morning, was most welcome. Silky streams ran all over her body, releasing tension and calming her mind under its familiar, glistening comfort. It also sharpened the curtain of falling water that marked the edge of the known world. Time spent gazing across the border into an alien landscape, festered the lingering anxiety within her chest. No amount of rain could was...
Submitted to Contest #287
With steam billowing in my face, I asked myself, what kind of psychopath orders hot tea on a thirty-five degree summer day? How off your head do you need to be to also request seating in the garden!? Some people just defy all reason. I took a deep breath to try and calm my unsolicited rage, but it continued to brew as steadily as the tea upon my silver tray. I impatiently watched the leaves swirl and spread amber within the glass pot, until it was finally, just the right golden shade to serve.“That one’s for table nine, Luce. Might as well t...
Submitted to Contest #286
Wilder gripped the stern taffrail and stood firm in his decision. A stray wind caught the few strands of his black hair that had fallen free of the sailors braid, which tightly shackled the rest above the loose linen shirt that billowed over his bare chest. His knuckles were white and unyielding against the timber that rumbled under his grip; the railing undulating with every wave that cut around the impressive ship. Across the rising and falling seascape, he could still make out the shadowed line on the horizon that was his homeland. He had...
Submitted to Contest #285
Trigger Warning: Crime scene, murder, suggestion of sexual violence.Douglas hadn’t felt his stomach stir on the job for years, not since he was green out of the academy. Something about the blood spatter against the kid’s toys though. It had sent his head spinning, dizziness threatening to undermine his hard-won reputation. The bright, dancing geometric shapes that adorned the red-stained sheets and curtains were not helping matters. Thankfully, the girl’s body had already been removed. He averted his gaze to the ceiling and traced the lines...
Submitted to Contest #284
Spam and concrete. I looked around at the sad state of affairs and knew immediately something had gone very wrong. The grey box I was presented with paled in comparison to the Christmas I had left behind. The warm lights, smells of cinnamon and table laden with steaming dishes were now miles away, locked behind the door of my mother’s house. Carols and laughter were left dwindling in the cold winter breeze that had chased my exit.Dad had claimed New Year’s Eve as his own, years ago. He knew Mum would have fought tooth and nail to retain Chri...
Winner of Contest #282 🏆
Cade steadied his horse with a squeeze of both knees, keeping her dancing legs in check and protecting the dusty mounds below from wayward hooves. The four lines of raised dirt sheltered the still-warm bodies of his dead friends. The new mount had a sure spirit, along with an insatiable lust for speed, but she would have to wait a few moments longer before indulging in the open road. Black spots peppering her stark, white hide made the beast the most beautiful he had ever owned, but also the least likely to go unnoticed. She would have to be...
Submitted to Contest #281
Trigger Warning: Suicidal ideation and candied violence.I remember being made. A sting of stainless steel cut my shape from a sheet of dough and as soon I was released from its embrace, I was aware. Heat filled me next, radiating from the dark void, suffusing my fresh body with the warm air of life. Gentle hands, with a power beyond my reckoning, gifted me further senses with the painting of my features and attachment of my candied eyes. The first thing I saw when my vision adjusted to the blinding light of day was her face, Amanda; my creat...
Submitted to Contest #280
“Welcome back to the land of the living! Now that you’re awake, sit up and put your seat belt on lad. There’s still a long road ahead.”“Wha…Dad? Is that you? Where are we?”“Heh! That must have been some nap! Give yourself a minute to come around.”“Is this…this is my car. Why are you driving? I never let anyone drive…my car…”“Don’t I know it! Yep…she's a little beaut. They don’t make them like this anymore…a VW Golf is a perfect first car, especially an old one like this. She’ll serve you well and keep you safe. You’ll learn a lot from your s...
Submitted to Contest #279
…Hello? Is anybody out there?……Does anyone read me?…God dammit!Theres got to be someone…please!?………sigh…I thought the analogue signal from this radio might have reached other like-minded folks by now. I guess I was wrong…or perhaps the range is just too short…I just don’t know. The machine must purely use digital signals…otherwise it would have tracked me down by now, with all the attempts I have made with this dusty old thing.……My name is Marcus…and this will be my last recital. What follows is a broadcast, detailing a true telling of the h...
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