John Del Rio

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Apr, 2020

Stories (53)

53 Stories

1418 karma pts

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“About Pecht” by John Del Rio

Submitted to Contest #87

Pecht had found over the years that he sometimes lost track of time. He knew that this happened to a lot of individuals. He didn’t think that this happened to a lot of people like himself; because technically, he wasn’t “people”.Now Pecht did not forget anything; ever. It might sometimes take him a moment to speak or act: because he was recalling so much and contemplating so many possibilities, but to outward appearances he could seem somewhat scatterbrained.Pecht was a Pixie. These days, it was exceedingly rare to encounter any sort of bein...

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“Cornish Heath” by John Del Rio

Submitted to Contest #86

Nellie was near the rear of the shoppe when her aunt opened the door for the killer. It was a little past normal closing time for Flowry. That is the name of the thriving floral boutique that is run by her aunt. Nellie has worked there for several years. The front door to Flowry was a milky glass; this did not lend itself to knowing who was on the other side of the portal. There were two large windows to either side of the door; but if you didn’t see who was coming, through one of those windows, then it was a surprise when they ent...

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“GERALD 2.0” by John Del Rio

Submitted to Contest #85

Gerald looked confident; it was a look that did not often cross his coarse features. Teague told him; “I don’t see how you can be so sure about that?” “Vittorio has got to be on the run now; because as much as Mr. Penrose did not want to start anything permanent with the Italians;” Gerald explained to Teague. “You have to know that the Italians’ feel the same.” It made sense; what Gerald was saying, Teague had to admit. This was unusual because more often than not, it was Teague’s job to explain things to his coworker, and fellow troub...

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“Tenkha” by John Del Rio

Submitted to Contest #83

Gerald looked confused; it was a look that often crossed his coarse features. Teague told him;”I said we need to get you a change of clothes Gerald”The enterprise bruiser tilted his head slightly; like a hound who had heard an unusual sound. So Teague continued with; “you look like bloody murder man.”This was absolutely the case: the large man was currently in his shirtsleeves, having discarded his cotton jersey because it was drenched with his life’s blood. This was due to Gerald’s encounter with Vittorio in a back room of the Italian eater...

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“GERALD” by John Del Rio

Submitted to Contest #84

Gerald looked confused; it was a look that often crossed his coarse features. Teague told him; “I said that they took Pet from her, not that they took her pet.” This had admittedly confused Gerald because Teague seemed to be contradicting himself. It wasn’t Gerald’s fault if the other man sometimes didn’t make no sense. Gerald had gone on to comment about various sorts of pets; like his sister’s rabbit. That thing had not cared much for Gerald. He had tried giving it carrots and other things that rabbits are supposed to like but it ...

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“Nellie” by John Del Rio

Submitted to Contest #81

She remembered the first time she had met him. It had been early morning, and the large man had been in the shoppe looking for flowers for his employer. “Pardon me Miss,” the big man had said. “Do you have any Cornish heath?” Nellie had to take a moment to consider the question, because she had not been the one to pick up the day’s large order of flowers for the thriving floral boutique where she was employed. “You know some folks call it Wandering Heath“ she had told the big man. “That’s what my Mum used to call it” Fitz had told ...

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“Tobias” by John Del Rio

Submitted to Contest #80

Holy Moly was the first thought that popped into young Tobias’ mind as he spied the little man walking through the hallway of the fine hotel. Tobias had seen more than you might expect considering his young age. But he had not seen something like this before. He had already seen a historical day in the unseasonal Snowfall that happened this afternoon. It was only mid-June and yet it had snowed in the city for several hours. And now; if he wasn’t mistaken, he had to be one of the first to see an actual fairy in the city. He was on...

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“Razors' Edge” by John Del Rio

Submitted to Contest #79

Gerald looked confused; it was a look that often crossed his coarse features. Teague told him; “I told you that I would deal with Vittorio, what were you thinking.” Gerald tried to speak, but he couldn’t find the breath. That will happen when you find yourself on the wrong side of an ivory handled razor. Gerald who was normally a ruddy faced individual, was now exceedingly pale, and growing more ashen by the moment. That will also happen when you find yourself on the wrong side of a razor. Teague had found Gerald amidst the maze of ...

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“What kind of Pet?” by John Del Rio

Submitted to Contest #78

Gerald looked confused; it was a look that often crossed his coarse features. Teague told him; “I said that they took Pecht from her, not that they took her pet”. The third man who was larger still than both of the other two large men looked at the interaction with a slight smile on his plain, serious face. Gerald spoke once again; “well what kind of pet did the cook lady keep? Was it a dog, a cat, a rabbit?” Teague slowly shook his head as the bruiser continued with his not quite tirade; maybe it was a speech, it was at least said wi...

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“Snow Day” by John Del Rio

Submitted to Contest #77

Teague found himself in front of his employer’s door. The door was closed, which was a little unusual. Mr. Penrose prided himself on his approachability and his door was almost always “famously” open. The door in question opened onto a suite of rooms with the first and largest being the office where Penrose held court if you will, and otherwise conducted daily business for the Enterprise that he had spent years building. The door was in one of the finer hotels on the West Side of the city. It was different than all of the...

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“What's next” by John Del Rio

Submitted to Contest #75

This all started because I swore something that I never would have the year before. That's not to say that I wouldn't have made this particular vow; it's just that before a few days ago I didn't know that there was a reason for me to swear to kill a yet to be decided number of people. I know that might seem horrible. Honestly I have to say that no matter the justification; no matter the type of people involved, it is a rather horrible thing that I am contemplating. So now i’m in the back of a patrol car he thinks to himself...

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“Nadelik Surprise” by John Del Rio

Submitted to Contest #73

It’s Christmas eve and he’s nervous. Not many things make him nervous. He is a big man. Two meters tall and weighing in at 21 stone, there aren’t that many men larger than him. He has thick hair, black as pitch, and a calm serious face. His full name is Branok Fitzsimmons, but most know him only as Fitz. His employer routinely calls him by his given name; something only his mother and father had done before they passed several years prior. Coincidentally his employer was one of the few things t...

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“FLOWRY” by John Del Rio

Submitted to Contest #72

Teague heard the little bell above the shoppe door tinkle as the door was opened and glanced to the front of the flower shoppe.The sign above the door read simply “FLOWRY’s”. This was actually just truth in advertising as the shoppe which had been run by his Mamm since before he went off to war was a florist boutique.The door opened and three individuals entered the cozy, pleasantly scented establishment. The first two who entered were large men. The second of the two was even larger than himself. This man was two meters ...

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“Special Ingredient” by John Del Rio

Submitted to Contest #71

Special IngredientHe sat in the foyer waiting; and he was nervous. Penrose always made him nervous. He had been working for him for several years now; but he was always nervous when he met with his boss. It didn’t make much sense to him because Penrose was a slight man; maybe 5 ft 6 in his stocking feet, while he himself was 8 inches taller and outweighed the boss by 4 stone. He knew that Penrose had spent several years in the mines back in the old country and many years building his “enterprise” so that he controlled the...

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“Day Break” by John Del Rio

Submitted to Contest #71

This is the latest in a series of 4 stories so far that feature a couple in a Post-Apocalyptic setting. They start with "Just another day" and are chronological. They all have "Day" in the title. I enjoy any feedback.She looked over at him and gave a silent look of reproach. He saw the look; he always saw the look. He asked her “What?” And she told him, “I can’t find that can of candied fruit.”“Excuse me?” he asked. And continued with “can of what?”She told him “candied fruit; it’s kind of like jujubes or jelly beans, or maybe licorice”....

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Author bio

my latest story "Denoument” is actually the last in acontinuation of multiple stories: so it is the end.. if you want to read them in order you can:: they go like this: "Flowry", "Special Ingredient", "Snow Day", "What kind of pet", "Razors' Edge", "Tobias" , “Gerald”, and then “Tenkha”, “Gerald 2.0”, "Cornish Heath ", "About Pecht", Vittorio", “Gewehr 98”, "Fitz", “The Office”, "Meeting", Window", "Skiff", “Door”, “Melee”, "Denouement", Nellie", “Nadelik Surprise, and “In the Library”- so there are 25 chapters in all. I'm a middle aged Army Veteran and a life long Nerd. I have been an avid reader since childhood. I can remember reading "Fire-Hunter" by Jim Kjelgaard outside at recess in the 6th grade. Familiar with a wide spectrum of Nerdiness : Comics, Sci-Fi, Movies, RPG's -not just on the computer but old school, table top, dice and lead figure Dungeons and Dragons. i really enjoy having people read my offerings and offering their thoughts/advice/reviews.