Jethro Pili

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Aug, 2021

Stories (94)

94 Stories

280 karma pts

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“Ten Thousand Words To Redemption” by Jethro Pili

Chapter 1: The End of a Byline The newsroom was unnaturally quiet. Too quiet. Brian Combs adjusted his tie and glanced down at his resignation letter, the words blurring together and dancing despite his best effort to focus. His editor, Diane Monroe, loomed behind her desk, reading the letter silently. Her face remained neutral, but her eyes burned with disappointment like the disappointment of a parent over their rebellious child when they know their child should know better and could do so much better. Like a parent who is faced with their...

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“January 1, 2019” by Jethro Pili

The icy air of New York gripped Officer Shaan Patel as he clicked his seatbelt into place in the patrol car. His partner, Victor Velasquez, sat beside him, fiddling with the radio. It was New Year’s morning, early enough that the drunks from Times Square had all staggered home, and only the sirens remained to herald the city’s daybreak.“We’re in for an easy shift,” Velasquez muttered. He glanced at Patel with a lopsided grin. “You still hanging onto that ‘New Year, new me’ stuff?”Patel snorted. “Someone’s gotta make resolutions around here, ...

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“First Do No Harm” by Jethro Pili

Trigger/Content Warning: Illness and wrongful patient death On a cold and rainy Washington fall evening, Dr. Summer Smith adjusted the microphone stand with trembling fingers as a sea of reporters filled the Seattle Hope Memorial Hospital pressroom. Cameras clicked relentlessly, capturing every micro-expression, every subtle sign of emotion, and every crack in her voice. She took a deep breath, clutching a small stack of index cards with her neatly written notes, but it was no use. No script could frame this moment. She looked up and caught ...

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“A World Rekindled” by Jethro Pili

The land of Everdark knew no hope. Beneath the perpetual gloom that blanketed the skies and veiled the ground, life persisted in a desperate monotony. The stars were blind eyes. The sun and moon were legends whispered among the weary, passed down from eras forgotten. No one alive had seen the light; no one even believed it to exist. And yet, they feared what they did not understand—the promise of a brighter world, whispered in shadows by prophets too bold for their time.  For 4,000 years, darkness reigned unchallenged, its grip enforced...

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“1916 On Christmas Day” by Jethro Pili

December 25, 1916—No Man’s Land  Frost clung to the churned mud, slick and unforgiving under his boots, as Corporal William “Will” Morgan adjusted his woolen scarf against the bitter wind. The war had chewed up and spat out countless young men like himself, reducing them to numbers, statistics on a commander’s report. Yet here he stood, gripping an aging leather football, feeling more alive than he had in months.  The unofficial truce had taken on a momentum of its own. Both the British and the Germans had emerged cautiously from t...

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“The Eyeless” by Jethro Pili

Trigger warning: Mention of depression and suicide. It was the annual Viking News Christmas party, and the newsroom hummed with the kind of festive cheer that only came once a year. Fluorescent lights reflected off garlands of tinsel, paper snowflakes hung askew from the ceiling, and “All I Want for Christmas Is You” blasted from a single, slightly battered Bluetooth speaker near the conference room. Beneath the mistletoe, sports reporter Danny Van Hoosier had been sneakily trying to engineer a kiss, much to the chagrin of gossip columnist K...

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“ The Enemy of My Enemy” by Jethro Pili

Noah Harper nearly tripped over the brown box as he stepped onto his front porch that muggy afternoon. It was unmarked, plain, and unassuming—a cardboard rectangle set squarely in front of his door like it belonged there. Frowning, he glanced up and down the quiet cul-de-sac, as if expecting a mischievous neighbor or delivery driver to pop out and yell “Surprise!” But no one was there. The heat of late summer had driven everyone indoors. The cicadas screamed endlessly, their drone vibrating in Noah’s ears. Shifting uneasily, he crouched...

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“Nooma” by Jethro Pili

In the high sanctuaries of the Eternal Sky, where only wind and starlight dwelled, I existed before time measured itself. The creatures of Merenthys called me Nooma, goddess of the wind, love, beauty, and stars—but names have never mattered to me. I was only what the wind whispered, what hearts swore, what eyes beheld in awe when they looked to the heavens above. Some nights I manifested as a cool breeze threading through forests, carrying the scent of pine to tired wanderers. Other nights, I was the warm caress across a lover’s cheek when w...

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“Winter’s Icy Grip” by Jethro Pili

Snow blanketed the little house on Old Bluebird Lane, so heavy and thick it piled against the windows like sand dunes. The wind howled outside, making the old walls groan in protest. Inside, everything felt still, save for the rhythmic crackle of the fire struggling valiantly against the cold. Claire adjusted the worn fleece blanket wrapped around her shoulders as she watched her husband Jim toss another log onto the dying embers. Their two kids, Lucy and Nate, sprawled on the living room floor, each tucked into their respective mounds ...

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“‘Twas The Blizzard Before Christmas” by Jethro Pili

St. Augustine’s Boarding School for Catholic Youngsters was abuzz with excitement on the last day before winter break. Freshmen scurried through the halls, hauling suitcases and gift bags, anticipating the moment they’d see their families again. Christmas carols echoed through the building, adding cheer to the fading gray light of an early winter evening.  But in the corner of the student lounge, 14-year-old Rebecca Alvarez sat with her chin on her knees, frowning at her phone screen. “Zero precipitation,” she grumbled for the third tim...

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“Hostile At Nine O'clock ” by Jethro Pili

Jack "Gunny" Harper had seen it all. He’d been a career Marine since he was 18. His friends served for one or two years and wanted out. He didn’t leave until he reached retirement age. He’d stormed beaches under enemy fire, survived insurgent attacks in hostile deserts, received scars from Desert Storm, and manned the tight quarters of submarines with a calm demeanor that made younger Marines look to him with awe. The thought of an enemy sub firing a torpedo at them didn’t faze him one bit. He was content with a watery grave. He lived by the...

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“The Echoes of Humanity” by Jethro Pili

The hum of fluorescent lights and the muffled whir of air filters filled the bunker, a cocoon of metal and concrete buried beneath the surface of a dead world. For 27 years, David Mathis had lived here, sheltered from the fallout that had turned the planet above into a poisoned wasteland. The world he remembered—a world of crowded city streets, laughter, and human touch—was gone, incinerated in the fires of nuclear war.  David paced the bunker’s narrow corridor, his boots scuffing against the cold floor. The mannequins were arranged in ...

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“The White Void” by Jethro Pili

The wind howled, a banshee's wail ripping across the barren landscape. Snow blasted sideways with such force it stung like shards of glass against Dylan's exposed skin. His parka hood flapped wildly, tugging against the weight of the storm. Each step felt like wading through a sea of quicksand, the drifts swallowing his boots whole.  It was supposed to be a simple hike. A weekend escape in the mountains. He had checked the forecast—clear skies and a crisp chill. But weather in the high altitudes was unpredictable, and the blizzard had ...

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“The Green Divide” by Jethro Pili

Sammy and Joe had always been inseparable. Their laughter used to echo down the streets of their childhood neighborhood, where games of catch turned into deep conversations about dreams and futures. Even after going to different colleges, fate brought them back together, teaching at the same high school in their hometown. It felt like destiny—the universe's way of ensuring they remained a team.But everything changed the night of the blackout.It wasn’t the kind of power outage that flickered back on in a few hours. It was a suffocating, all-e...

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“The Ashes of Avalonia” by Jethro Pili

The fallen prince stood barefoot in the mud, his linen tunic damp from the mist that rolled in off the sea. His black hair, drenched with sweat, was plastered to his fevered brow. The tang of salt was a pale ghost of what he remembered from the high cliffs of Avalonia, his father’s kingdom. Here, the salt air was harsh, bitter, an unwelcome reminder of his exile.  Alden, once Prince of Avalonia, now a peasant in the faraway land of Andareth, leaned on his hoe, surveying the small garden patch he was tasked to till. His hands, once accus...

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