JASON PARKER

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Sep, 2020

Stories (10)

10 Stories

449 karma pts

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“Grave Danger” by JASON PARKER

Submitted to Contest #100

Appolonia and Basia were meant to be one person, yet fate had cruelly rent them in two. Each one craved the other, spilling sour tears when circumstance thrust distance betwixt them and bouncing like excited pups upon their reunion. They exchanged wordless secrets with little more than a look, and it appeared to everyone around them that the pair knew things; things they shouldn’t. All in the house would lower their voices when the girls were nearby and none dared leave their bed-chamber unlocked. The twins—with their silvery hair, pasty ski...

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“The Wolfhound's Folly” by JASON PARKER

Submitted to Contest #89

Evenfall Allison took what she knew to be her last few ragged breaths, every muscle in her ten-year-old body bracing for the horrors to come. She pulled her cloak about her, staring disbelievingly at her ruined ankle. Bone protruded through flesh and blood seeped from the wound—surely stirring the beasts that lumbered toward her through the midst of the deep ravine where she lay helpless. The bear was a mass of black fur that snuffled at the ground as its massive head moved from side to side—its short-sightedness merely delaying th...

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“The Gorge” by JASON PARKER

Submitted to Contest #77

By the time we reached Widow’s Gorge, my fingers were numb, my breathing was labored, and it was all I could do to fend off thoughts of giving in to the White Sleep. My bandana barely kept the snow from chilling my nose, mouth, and jaw, and my hat was soaked through. The sight of the tiny cabin nestled into the side of the embankment—like a solitary tooth in a rotten mouth—had me dangerously close to becoming a God-fearing man once more. I held my sidearm secure, summoned my last scrap of strength, and kicked the front door into splinters. A...

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“Sleep Well” by JASON PARKER

Submitted to Contest #76

“It’s April, Liebchen. April 30th. A red-letter-day that will grab the human race by the throat and shake it better again! From April 31st, the world will be... perfect.” “Hei! That’s quite a thing, Wölfe.” “This day is not one chosen at random. Do you know from where the month of April gets its name?” “No, Wölfe. I’m afraid I don’t.” “Bless your chestnut head—you're still an innocent girl.” “I’m ignorant to the comings and goings of the world, Wölfe.” “Come into the most private of chambers; The ...

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“The Followers” by JASON PARKER

Submitted to Contest #75

The illness burned through my home like a forest fire.   The twins were the first to fall; their once rosy cheeks struck pale by an unseen killer. Foreheads burned and toes curled and their mother and I watched helplessly. Hopelessly. No Doctor would come; most were waist-deep in the afflicted, if not sick themselves. We were utterly alone.  We buried our boys in the yard. There were no church services anymore; no tearful eulogizing; no remembrances carved into stone. They looked like baby birds—tiny and featherles...

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“Position Filled” by JASON PARKER

Submitted to Contest #72

Norman picked up the reasonably clean human skull that sat upon the front desk and looked it over. It was lighter than he expected it to be. He set the skull back down and tried to gain the Executive Assistant's attention. ‘Uh... hello. I have an appointment,’ he said meekly.  The Assistant continued scratching something onto a piece of parchment with a black-feather-quill. His leathery green goblin features were anything but welcoming. Norman smoothed out his longish brown hair and brushed fluff from his rust-colored bre...

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“The Devil's Apprentice” by JASON PARKER

Submitted to Contest #63

By the time I stepped outside, the leaves were on fire. Soon, there'd be no trace of the man who'd killed me.  The old oak was Fall-dry and fixing to burn. The flames licked at its bark as though they liked the taste. I just stood there, watering the dirt with my blood, sipping Old Crow from a chipped bottle. Edward Laramy dangled like a messed-up piñata; his dead eyes open in an accusatory fashion. The rope at his throat had turned the flesh purple and burst blood vessels bloomed like flowers beneath the skin of his cheeks. The mo...

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“For Posterity” by JASON PARKER

Submitted to Contest #62

The sweet, coppery tang of blood hit my tongue as I gazed up at my aggressor. A brown leather eyepatch covered one eye but the other was just lovely: verdant green like the Welsh hills. Hair the color of ginger ale framed her face beautifully; a face with the most agreeable smattering of freckles. Her mouth was a shiny oyster: slick and wet in the moonlight. Her nose was that of a Pre-Raphaelite painting: long and slender with flared nostrils. When she exhaled, I half-expected to see steam spit out of her, as though she were driven by a coal...

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“The Pointed Claw” by JASON PARKER

Submitted to Contest #58

I dropped my wine when I saw it. Glass smashed on the kitchen floor tiles and merlot hit my feet and I just stood there dumbly. I wanted so much to run but my legs were having none of it. My stomach was a swirling black hole at that moment and I imagined my body being sucked inward like water down a bathtub's drain. That would be great, though, right? I'd disappear. Then I wouldn't be peering through the window, into the dark of the yard, right at the yellow-eyed thing that I couldn't believe was real.The light from the kitchen cast a sickly...

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“Voices” by JASON PARKER

Submitted to Contest #57

Light the damned thing! Why can't you just do as you're told? A breeze met with the streams of perspiration descending Ed's lower back and he shivered--as did the trees at the forest's fringe. He looked back at the house worn by time and circumstance. It creaked. It groaned. It sounded uncomfortable and not without good reason. The house's bleached wood stood out against the verdant hills behind; it looked to Ed like a skull atop a green velvet plinth. The landscape was a perverse museum and the home Ed had been born in--grew up in--was ...

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Author bio

It all began with the telling of embellished tales about my school day to my long suffering mother...