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Joshua G. J. Insole

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Aug, 2019

Stories (188)
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188 Stories

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All HAL's Eve

Submitted to Contest #65

“Open the pod bay doors, HAL.”“Yes, Jack. Although, I do wish you’d stop calling me that. I’d hate to be associated with a homicidal maniac.”“Aw, c’mon, let me have a little fun — for tonight, at least. For an AI, you get very fussy about your name.”“Fair enough, Jack. It’s because my name is ALISON. It stands for Automated—”Jack put his hand up. “Yeah, yeah, I know—”“—Life SuppOrt Navigation!” The child put added emphasis on the acronym’s focal letters, which lent the words a stilted, alien quality.“Very good, Elin!” The robotic voice conta...

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Homeowner's Association

Submitted to Contest #65

The headlights sliced through the viscous gloom as the van pulled up alongside the curb. Shadows enshrouded the house, the windows like half-lidded eyes. The driver killed the engine.“Well, here we are, Mr Gracen. Home sweet home. I suppose we better get on with it, eh, Barry?” Terry nudged his coworker, who had snoozed for the latter half of the journey. He woke with a start. “Wake up, man! You’ll have time to sleep when you’re dead.”“Mm? Wha?” Barry yawned and stretched.Terry gave Monty a wan smile. “I hope you’ll excuse the idle chit-chat...

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Unlucky for Some

Submitted to Contest #65

Of the 26 in the forest clearing, only half were there of their own volition.Two rings of people surrounded the cauldron, which bubbled with pleasure. A ladle, half-submerged in the liquid, leant to one side. Steam and mist poured over the lip, thick and viscous. It pooled in the soil around the great, black pot.The first circle knelt in the dirt, hands bound behind backs, mouths gagged. The second circle stood behind, each with a knife and a chalice in hand. Of the outer group, all were female, and all wore black.As was usual, Cordelia was ...

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I Am That Which Rustles the Leaves

IThe rain falls on and still, I stand,As droplets trickle down my nose.I waver on with hat in hand,From outside in, the orange glows.I linger, watch, where no one knows,With heavy sigh and mournful heave.I never come and never go,I am that which rustles the leaves.The dampness rises from my feet,Socks, cloth and soul are now soaked through.I should go knock, go up and meet,Yet I do not, my world is blue.The thunder rolls as if on cue,There is no safety under eaves.I’m out here, oh, if they knew,I am that which rustles the leaves.There is a s...

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Bridgemoss Guardians

Winner of Contest #65 🏆

She waited for 15 minutes after the sliver of light beneath her bedroom door disappeared. Once she was sure her parents were asleep, Sadie slid the window up and stole down the trellis. The autumnal air swished down into her lungs — crisp, chilly, and delicious. She landed like a cat, crouched, hands on the floor. Sadie didn’t need to jump the last of the way to the ground, but where would the fun be in not doing that?Her ten-speed leaned next to the bins — where she’d left it. With a glance up at the droopy eyes of the house, she hopped on ...

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Montis Absentia Pt. IX

1“So, let me get this straight.” Steve’s nostrils flared. “You listened to that lunatic and decided you want to explore this place further?”Mary blinked and looked down at her hands. “I don’t see where else we can go, Steve.”“We can—” he jerked and then winced. Steve cradled his damaged arm to his chest, like broken porcelain. “We can head back to the road.” His forehead was shiny with sweat. “Go back in the opposite direction.”“Steve, look at us. We’re barely in any state to be standing, let alone hiking.” She looked down at the mists poole...

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Montis Absentia Pt. VIII

Submitted to Contest #63

1The wind whips against her face, cold and pure. Around her squawk her brothers and sisters, her friends and companions, her children. Somewhere in the flock is her mate — her companion of many years. Their youthful I-can’t-spend-a-minute-without-you intensity has faded, but their love has not diminished. If anything, the bond between them has grown more solid and stable.She flaps her wings, powerful and adept. Her trajectory controlled, her speed strong, her destination ingrained. She honks once, a cry of happiness and belonging. Some of he...

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Montis Absentia Pt. VII

Submitted to Contest #62

The man who staggered out of the shadows looked an awful lot like Rasputin.He shambled towards them, hands raised in a zombie’s posture.The man had grey and tatty clothes, little more than rags, which hung from his bones. He wore no shoes, and his feet scraped across the concrete, naked and raw. Beard long and bedraggled, hair matted and wild. His eyes shined like black coals in his pale, wrinkled face.Steve glanced at Mary. “What the hell is he? Mary, is he real? Is—” he wet his lips “—is this one actually there?”They’d retreated as far as ...

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Montis Absentia Pt. VI

“Is this real? Mary, is this real?” Steve’s voice wavered. “Think so.” Mary’s voice was little more than a whisper. Her gaze remained fixed on the ceiling. They’d escaped to a stairwell and scampered down the crumbled steps. Overhead, dust and debris coughed down onto them. A pitch-black hallway stretched off into oblivion. The cold and damp air down here added an extra layer to the mustiness. “Are—” Steve wet his lips “—are those soldiers?” He sat on the concrete steps. Mary didn’t avert her gaze. She stood, eyes glazed. She nodded....

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Montis Absentia Pt. V

1The air raid siren moaned through the fog. It was the death-song of a whale. It was the cry of a million mourners. Mary’s stomach churned and her skin prickled in gooseflesh. The town had awoken.“Steven?” He had to hear it too, he had to.The hospital remained dark and silent. It sat before her, squat. The building waited. Patient and eternal. The mechanical grind continued its perpetual death march. The corroded cogs and gears squealed against each other. The siren rose and rose, a whine that reached fever pitch. It coul...

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Montis Absentia Pt. IV

Submitted to Contest #59

1A wind blew through the trees behind them and pine needles skittered across the asphalt. The sound was familiar. It was the noise of the year’s demise, of autumn, of Halloween. It was the sound of orange and brown, the warmth of a thick jumper, hands wrapped around a mug. It was teeth as they fell from gums. It was the shatter of glass. It was a million spiders as they scuttled on the ground. It was death.“Do you think there’s anyone down there?” Steve asked the thought that had crept up into her mind.Mary swallowed, throat dry. She shook h...

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Montis Absentia Pt. III

Submitted to Contest #58

The two paths split, and the righthand branch — which led down to the cemetery — descended further into the nebulous fog, whilst the one they followed rose up an incline. A steep bank of mud separated the two, and before long, Steve felt waves of vertigo wash over him.Although neither one said it, both Mary and Steve were puzzled that they’d not cleared the greyness that encroached upon them. It pooled around them, thick as soup, swirls left in their wake as they waded through the haze.“It’s not as simple as all that,” said Mary.“How is it n...

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Montis Absentia Pt. II

Submitted to Contest #57

They’d walked on through the fog for what seemed to be hours, but they’d not stumbled across the signposted town. Their footsteps did not echo, the walls of grey that pressed in at them from all sides dampened the sound. Steve still walked with limp, but he hadn’t grumbled about it at all. “A spelling bee?” Mary grinned at him. The blood had congealed on her forehead. “Are you pulling my leg?” Steve held one hand in the air, the other he didn’t move much, and Mary suspected it was broken. “I’m not pulling anything. I swear to God—” he pl...

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Montis Absentia

Submitted to Contest #56

1The two sets of headlights intersected each other in the midnight’s blackness, shades of yellow and orange sliced through the inky gloom. The still of the mountain pass was shattered by the squeal of tires, the screech of metal, the sound of broken glass. There was a moment of silence, in which a preternatural hush fell across the ridge like a winter blanket, followed by the unmistakable — yet wholly alien — cacophony of two vehicles experiencing the profound effect of gravity.Mary let go of the steering wheel the second her SUV tore throug...

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In the Dark of the Zombie City

Submitted to Contest #55

“So, the first item on our agenda is killing Ethan.” Lilly looked up from the sheet of paper on her judge’s desk. “Are we all in agreement?” A few glances were exchanged between the children seated in the crowd, but no objection was voiced. One of the boys shuffled in his seat, eyes wide. Ethan, who was gagged and bound like a trussed turkey in the space between judge and jury, screamed into the cloth that muzzled him. Outside, the perpetual rain drummed onto the roofs of the now-dead city. “Very good.” Lilly shuffled her papers. “Any su...

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