Jeffrey McDonald

“Persuasion” by Jeffrey McDonald

Submitted to Contest #248

“Hey, I’m Art,”“Joe,”“Would you like some candy?” Art asks.“No.”“Strange, isn’t it?” Art asks.“I can’t wait to leave,” Joe replies.The two men sit and watch each other for a moment, and then Art feels the grandfather inside him want to reach out and pass on some knowledge to this young man while he has the chance.“Do you know how old the art of persuasion is?” Art asks.“I don’t even know what that is.”“It all started with Aristotle,” Art began.“Who?” Joe asks.“Aristotle was a great philosopher who invented logic among other things. In his wo...

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“The fun and games killer” by Jeffrey McDonald

Submitted to Contest #246

“It's all fun and games until someone gets murdered,” he reads on a letter inside an evidence bag, “what the heck is this? Not another body, I am getting sick and tired of this!”“Yep.” Charles Parker says looking up from playing solitaire on his computer.“When did this happen?” George Parker screams.“Don’t you watch the news!” his brother Charles yells at him from another desk.“They are having a briefing in five minutes in the conference room,” Barbara Mattel the new precinct secretary informs them both as she slinks by in her skintight skir...

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“The Stones” by Jeffrey McDonald

Submitted to Contest #245

The cross-shaped standing stones of Callanish in the isles off the west coast of northern Britain have become the focal point of Saint Augustine’s mission to spread Christianity throughout Britain. Tradesmen, immigrants, and legionaries traveling from Rome had brought the religion to Britain by the late third century, but it never took root. Then Rome fell, their presence dissipated from the remote lands, but it was not gone. The mighty Roman empire crumbled under weak leadership and misguided ambition, but like the Phoenix from the ashes, a...

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“Kate's secret” by Jeffrey McDonald

Darkness edges ever closer as the blue sky turns orange, then red. Storms lighting pillowy grey clouds in the distance warn that the mission here in An Najal will soon need to be finished. Houses in this desert town seem alike, it is the differences that cause worry, and pain. Breech, raid, capture, and interrogate. Over and over the job can be monotonous, but training keeps you vigil, and seeing someone die in front of you because you were anything but. Victories are small, and losses are devastating, but in the mix of all this chaos blessi...

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“Dragonfly” by Jeffrey McDonald

Submitted to Contest #243

“Dragonfly come in, Dragonfly we read catastrophic failures in the crew deck, propulsion, life support, and guidance, do you read?” The crackly voice asks.Mission control has lost communication only a week after leaving the lunar surface on its way to Mars. The first manned rocket with solar sails that give it the look of a Dragonfly had performed flawlessly on numerous missions, until now. Sirens blare, and warnings sound. Inside the ship, debris floats aimlessly here and there bumping into panels and a member of the crew floats motionless ...

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“Poppy and Johnny” by Jeffrey McDonald

Submitted to Contest #241

Two lifelong friends just trying to get by in life get the opportunity to make a big score and move up in the drug ring they work in. Johnny the older of the two and more aggressive plays front man for the two of them with the heavy hitters of the drug ring and sets up a money drop for some product they had received recently. The next day Johnny shows up at Poppy’s house to give him the good news, but he doesn’t seem to be happy for the opportunity to make some money and make Bull The Animal happy. Bull has run the ring for a year now since ...

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“AND THAT IS THE WIND” by Jeffrey McDonald

Submitted to Contest #240

AND THAT IS THE WINDBy Jeff McDonaldJake sits on the rear deck of his sailboat enjoying the last Chinese takeout from Ho’s on the big island on his return trip to Baja. A gentle wind blows across his face but barely even ruffles his sails.“He will go nowhere if this keeps up,” he thinks as he sips from his water bottle.Any open-ocean crossing is dangerous, he knows this. You need a properly provisioned vessel, a good background in blue water sailing, the ability to read weather maps, and so forth and so on.“But the one thing you need for sur...

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“Something's wrong with Alexa” by Jeffrey McDonald

Jeff McDonald word count 1089 4138 Holman ln. Edmundson, Mo. 63134 lordoftheales@aol.com 314-312-5187 a story where a regular househ...

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