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KCW Foster

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Oct, 2024

Stories (45)
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159 Followers
184 Following

45 Stories

910 karma pts

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Technomancer 7: The Battle of Walmart

Through the sight of the sniper rifle, the parking lot of the old Walmart appeared normal to Masa. A crowd had gathered between the abandoned cars. They chatted like friends, discussing their day and she enjoyed the illusion of a return to a time before the bombs dropped. At that time, she would be with them, headed into the store to browse the aisles. It was so familiar but different. The overturned shopping carts dispelled the fantasy, smashed and broken into pieces; their wires sticking out at odd angles. The aisles in the store were long...

6 likes 11 comments 11
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Fireworks come to Tonga

Submitted to Contest #285

It was December 31st, 1999, the night of the New Millennium. I was thirteen and living in Tonga with my parents, Kiwi expats brought from New Zealand to run Taulua Press. The press was a joint venture between the Wesleyan and Catholic churches. To ensure fairness, they set out to hire an impartial third party. The first manager was an atheist and my father, the second, was a Baptist.When we first arrived in Tonga, it was like stepping through a portal into an alien world. The air was so hot that it was hard to breathe and the mosquitos were ...

16 likes 3 comments 3
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Technomancer 6: A Change of Expectations

Submitted to Contest #284

**Mature content, mentions of violence***The clouds drifted above Masa, their puffy white edges haloed by the orange light edging over the wall of the canteena. She squinted, wiping the sleep from her eyes, and stretched. Behind her, Leron grunted, pulling her back towards him. “Stay,” he whispered, kissing her cheek and resting his head beside hers. It had all happened so fast. One kiss had led to more and before she knew it they were lying together beneath the blanket she kept in her pack on the roof. She felt a twinge of guilt. Her father...

12 likes 5 comments 5
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Technomancer 5: Love in Nuevo Laredo

Submitted to Contest #283

From one of the nearby shelves, a can dropped, hitting the floor sending a clanking sound resounding through the empty grocery store. Masa cringed and held her breathe, trying to calm her racing heart. Not now, not now. Fearing an attack, she clenched her jaw and looked over the edge of the shelves. She locked eyes with Arion and relaxed. He stood strong, watching over them all and completely unphased by the sound. Masa was glad he had joined their group here. Arion had fought for her right to fight, unlike Leron, who had argued for her not ...

9 likes 8 comments 8
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Technomancer 4: Taking a stand

Submitted to Contest #282

***Warning: Violence and Abuse***“We found these two sneaking into the camp,” growled one of the camp watchers, thrusting Leron onto the ground. He cried out as the gravel bit into his knees and forearms, and the pain ran along them in a series of throbbing pinpricks. He struggled onto his knees and fought against the zip-tie restraints binding his hands in front of him. What was he thinking? He was only eighteen. Why did he think he could sneak into camp and save the people?His eyes fell on Masa and his heart ached at the glare she shot him...

12 likes 15 comments 15
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Technomancer 3: The Gift of a Life

Submitted to Contest #281

Will we make it? Was this really the best idea? Leron wondered, wiping thick beads of sweat from his brow. The sandy, grass-covered mountains towered above him on either side and the sun beat down from the sky, causing the people around him to stumble on the asphalt while they worked their way through the pass towards Texas. Far behind him, the squeak of roughly constructed carts and the occasional cry from someone who had decided to give up, before someone else encouraged them onwards.The gift of life his parents had given many of these peo...

12 likes 4 comments 4
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Technomancer 2: Monterrey Monster

Submitted to Contest #280

Masa flattened herself against the ruined wall and listened to the people surrounding the fire barrel, crouched and at the ready. She peered around the edge, hand resting on the handgun at her waist feeling the cold metal in her hands. It was an unfamiliar presence that weighed heavily at her side, along with the knowledge of what that presence meant. Tonight, she might have to kill someone.When she was younger, her father taught her how to shoot and while she wasn’t bad at aiming, it was not nearly the level she would need to defend herself...

16 likes 7 comments 7
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Technomancer 1: The Aftermath

Submitted to Contest #279

The dish's curved metal dome clanked as Masa tried to lift it. She failed and it resounded loudly as it hit the ground. Her hands went to her ears while she screamed from the pain while its metallic echo bounced back and forth across the dome. She took a deep breath and tried again, but failed.In despair, she beat against the dish. "Help! Someone help me! Father?!" she screamed and burst into tears, nursing her sore hand. It couldn’t be. Why could no one hear her?Masa tried another approach. The rock was soft in one spot so she used a loose ...

29 likes 11 comments 11
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Meeting Old Man Winter

Submitted to Contest #276

As I sit here, like all writers do, hiding the truth within beautiful lies, I reach far back at your promptings; far back to the time when someone changed my life. It is hard as a writer of fiction, to tell the truth. We pretend to be so many people and when it comes to the truth, we get so good at burying it in our stories, that it is difficult to share it accurately. I find it hard even in church to share my testimony (my story of coming to Christ) because it requires me to be honest. So, I will pretend to tell you as a friend, the story o...

10 likes 4 comments 4
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The Proposal

Submitted to Contest #275

“Dear Agatha, I have finally finished thinking. I am sorry it took so long. Alfred.”The letter had arrived by the courier that afternoon. A small white envelope with a folded letter inside. Agatha brought it to her nose. The scent of fresh paper and cedar wood filled her nose. Along with the letter came tiny wood shavings from the carpenter shop where Alfred passed his time in retirement.They had once been engaged, but Alfred had been free-spirited and at times juvenile, even as a grown man. He had run off to war and chased many women. ...

11 likes 4 comments 4
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The Game of Life

Submitted to Contest #274

‘I have cancer. They’ve given me six months,” Rock Cameron admitted to his dearest friends around the poker table, covered in chips, cards and coinage. He scratched his head and stared at his cards. A two and three of clubs, a ten of spades and an ace - all nothing worth betting on. He seemed to recall the ace of spades symbolized death. He frowned and considered folding.He looked up and watched their faces contort into strange expressions of grief, anger, and pity. The same thing he was learning to accept from those around him. At first, he...

17 likes 3 comments 3
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Love Letters from Belgium

Submitted to Contest #273

July 27th, 1914Last night, I said goodbye to Thomas at Chelmsford station. He looked so handsome in his green woolen uniform and helmet, bound for the war in Europe. He was excited, looking forward to the action with his friends, looking forward to killing some Germans from the Central Powers. I don’t really care, but I think all this talk of death is foul and I told him so. He laughed and drew me into his embrace. His coat smelled of pipe smoke and cabbages from his family's farm. I traced the lines of his face with my hands, trying to memo...

26 likes 6 comments 6
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The Choice

Submitted to Contest #272

Trigger Warning: Drugs, Suicide, substance abuse, mental healthThe world spun around Markus in vibrant colors. A whirlwind blur fascinated his drug-filled eyes, joyful music filled his ears, and the memories were lost in the mix. Everything was a haze and he was finally free from the pain. The moment the memories returned, he took hold of another needle feeling the table beside him, and rammed it into his arm feeling the release and groaned with pleasure, and another. He never wanted to return this time.Everything went dark and the vibr...

21 likes 8 comments 8
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Assassin's Gambit

Florian lurked in the shadows. Beneath the sleeve of his long black shirt, his hand gripped the hilt of his dagger. He kept his breath steady. The street before him was empty, barring the homeless woman in rags feeding the birds beneath the clock tower. He could barely make out her form in the thick fog drifting through the street. The wind blew, sending trash rolling about. Night had come, and the crowds had disappeared to their homes, leaving him where he was concealed between two government buildings. He crouched in anticipation of his ta...

7 likes 5 comments 5
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God goes on holiday

Submitted to Contest #271

“I need a coffee,” Aerin groaned, climbing out of the big rig, careful not to slip and harm the babe in the carry pack on her back. Her long brown hair was tied back in a tight ponytail for work and she wore a tank top and comfy pants for driving. Her legs were weak and she needed the small boost the coffee would give her to keep going.“Coffee will ruin your bones,” replied her husband taking her place behind the wheel and beginning the paperwork to start his shift. Piles of logs and permits sat on the steering wheel. Pen in hand he beg...

19 likes 13 comments 13
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