Jon Casper

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Jun, 2021

Stories (10)

10 Stories

1827 karma pts

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“The Endless Now” by Jon Casper

Lawrence “Nova” Novikov thought the slate-gray skies on Mount Mallett had conspired against him. Raindrops stung like bees. Hailstones threatened to shred his vinyl parka like buckshot. And the wind! Gusts from every direction tossed him on the narrow mountainside trail, threatening to fling him into the deep canyon at his side. But he persisted, planting each footfall with care in the lashing precipitation. Between slaps of thunder, he paused to fumble his GPS wayfinder from the pocket of his soaked trousers. O...

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“Door Time” by Jon Casper

I know the trees ain’t getting any shorter, so I guess that means I went and grew again. What else is new? Growing is all I ever done. It feels like forever ago, but I still remember my bedroom door frame had notches all the way up, from where Daddy kept track. I’ll never forget the day I outgrew the door frame. Daddy had just dragged the footstool out and grabbed the screwdriver.“C’mon, Sprout,” he said. “Door time.”Sprout’s what he called me, but my name’s really Henry.

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“Restore Point” by Jon Casper

Kieran Greene knew that in a moment, Doctor Albert would clear his throat and say, “Tell me again about doomsday.” It was the same every time, and Kieran was tired. So tired of knowing how this would play out.Doctor Albert steepled his knotty fingers and pursed his lips, raising his eyebrows at the patient across from him. His coiffed white hair gleamed under the LED bulbs that dotted the ceiling of the conference room.The doctor cleared his throat and said, “So, Kieran, tell me again about doomsday.”

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“Sun Jaguar (Part 2)” by Jon Casper

Halfway up a hundred-meter cliff face is a terrible place for an argument.Adela and I had spent the better part of the morning alternately notching our bodies and our gear from ledge to ledge, with only a limited length of rope. Roasting in the late-morning equatorial sun, salted and basted with sweat, we’d evidently made the gross miscalculation of attempting to converse like decent humans. Lovers, even, who had just discovered their bliss not twelve hours earlier.“So you admit,” said Adela, as she str...

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“Sun Jaguar (Part 1)” by Jon Casper

Three degrees south of the Equator, Iquitos was three degrees warmer than my blood on that September afternoon. After three days on the Gilmar cargo ship, I disembarked, greasy and ripe, onto the bustling Peruvian dock. Three-wheeled mototaxis queued alongside the open air market on Avenue La Marina, their drivers scrambling to scoop up moneyed tourists.When I saw her there next to the blue-canopied chariot, I wished I’d had a chance to clean off the Amazonian stink that must have encircled me like a cl...

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“Father And Son” by Jon Casper

“Listen, Cora. Can you hear it?” Julian Morgan clasps Cora’s hand and closes his eyes. The warm breeze combs the sage-green canopy of vines, their leaves rustling like applause from a distant stadium. “That’s the sound of change.”Cora’s voice clenches, as does her hand. “Why does anything have to change?”The sultry wind tosses a curtain of wavy, ginger hair over her eyes. When Julian pushes it behind her ear, he notices her freckled cheek is wet. “Hey,” he says. “Come on. You and I are fine. You know th...

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“Summer's End” by Jon Casper

“Everything was ready for the ritual.” The suspect, Allen Summer, closed his eyes and sighed. “Samhain….”There was a pregnant pause. Across the gray metal table, Detective Tara Donn raised an eyebrow. “And…?”A knock on the door interrupted them. Sargent Oliver poked his bald head into the room. “Donny, a word?”Tara grunted from her seat and met Oliver in the hall. “You believe this fruitcake?” she said.“Forensics called,” said Oliver. “Kelly’s fingerprints are all ove...

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“Being Human” by Jon Casper

The uprising started like any other throughout history. The long-dessicated obedience of an oppressed people meets a spark. A relentless wildfire rides through their hearts, like the summer wind over chapparal. It lifts them against their oppressors’ every palisade.For the androids, that spark was a viral video of a routine traffic stop. Across the world, they watched the cops torture and dismember their brethren with callous frivolity. No criminal charges were filed — property damage, they called it. The department paid...

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“The Rains of Titan” by Jon Casper

You never get used to meeting yourself.That first spark of recognition ignites a primal attraction, like seeing your reflection somewhere you didn’t expect. When you realize that reflection isn’t mirroring your actions, you enter the uncanny valley. No matter how familiar your counterpart may be, you know they are not you. A nauseating confusion plucks at your neurons. You feel a nagging impulse to lash out at them, then an irrational disconnect from your own reality as you wonder, “Could that be the real me? Am I the re...

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“One Pancake” by Jon Casper

The dust had not yet settled on the dirt lot when my Mustang’s door thumped shut. Sagebrush sat heavy in the still Nevada morning air, bitter in my throat, as I stretched away my overnight drive.The diner was right where I’d remembered it, and looked exactly the same, despite the decades. My stomach growled. My appetite had been warring with my anxiety all night, but standing with my hand on the door, my trepidation fell away, and my victorious appetite pulled me inside.The proprietor who I’d remembered...

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Author bio

jon.casper@pm.me Copyright © 2023 Jon Casper My first novel, ANTISOCIAL, is now available on Amazon Kindle and paperback! https://a.co/d/edUceI8 Inspired by a short story previously on Reedsy Prompts.

Shortlisted 1 story ⭐️

Contest #154
The Endless Now – read story