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Keba Ghardt

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Jun, 2024

Stories (12)

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105 Followers

28 Following

12 Stories

1958 karma pts

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Break Through

Keba Ghardt

Shortlisted for Contest #309 ⭐️

There was a hint of color suspended in the ice. Jimmy scuffed at the frosty surface, trying to identify the entombed flash of red, an arrow pointed toward the sea. “I think it’s a flag.”James squinted. “It’s a marker for a man-made channel. The ice’ll be thinner on that side.”Polluting light from the nearby harbor clung to the low-hanging clouds. The thick shelf of ice seemed to glow on the edge of the wide river, black water softly lapping beneath a murky amber sky. James strode boldly over the displaced glacier, keeping to the safe side of...

26 likes

That Would Be Bad

Keba Ghardt

Submitted to Contest #307

“You might get kaiju’ed.”I tilted my head to the side. It’s a social cue that means I’m really listening. “I’m not familiar with that verb.”“You might get crushed by a rampaging monster,” the monitor clarified, pushing her glasses up her nose. “Or evaporated in a ray of radiation, crushed by a collapsing building, et cetera, et cetera. This campus is highly susceptible to kaiju attack, and while you are a lower-level student, you will be particularly vulnerable until you join a House.”I realized I’d been neglecting to make eye contact while ...

21 likes

Wash Out

Keba Ghardt

Submitted to Contest #306

-INT. Laundromat. Night.(The walls are lined with the round doors of stacked washing machines, like dark eyes turned inward. The plastic bus stop seats and folding tables are lit by harsh fluorescents and competing neon in cyan and magenta. Through the big picture window, the street is obscured by silver sheets of rain. ANNA enters, drenched, with a swollen garbage bag over her shoulder.ANNA, 20, with an oversized yellow raincoat and her wrist in a pink cast, looks around the laundromat while the overhead lights flicker. The place is deserte...

18 likes

Catterarium

Keba Ghardt

Submitted to Contest #306

CatterariumYou will need:-1 barrier (ex: window, screen, door, etc.)-Time-----------------------------------------------------Step 1) See a cat.Step 2) Avoid frightening the cat. Avoid sudden movements, loud noises, or any attempt to remove the barrier separating you from the cat.Step 3) Fail.Step 4) Modify the environment to entice the cat. Provide food and blanket-lined cardboard boxes, and re-establish the barrier between you and your chosen cat. If the cat approaches, appear to ignore it while taking covert photos with your cell phone. I...

16 likes

Ghost Protocol

Keba Ghardt

Submitted to Contest #305

I volunteered to be safety officer at the autumn festival because I had no problem being the killjoy that confiscated joints off zombies. Most of my job was running the opening checklist, sweeping flammable brush away from combustible effects, making sure all the mechanics were away from the reach of tourist fingers, and doing a quick sniff test for the sobriety of killer clowns. I did the final walk-through on the way out, but for the run of the haunt, my walkie was comfortingly silent, proof of how responsible a chainsaw massacre can be. O...

28 likes

Milkshake! Duck!

Keba Ghardt

Submitted to Contest #305

Howard stared at him, a few cookies-n’-cream rivulets tumbling down his face. “What do you mean, ‘you quit’? You’re supposed to protect me!”“Sir, you got milkshaked,” Breyerson said, flicking a glob of whipped cream from his lapel. “You’ll be fine.”“I was hit! With a projectile! On your! Watch!” Howard, his obsessively moisturized face turning deep red beneath the milky droplets, stamped his foot. Stamped his foot, like a child does. “You’re supposed to jump in the way!”“Jesus Christ, Bry,” was the static crackle in the infernal earpiece. “D...

9 likes

Holy Smoke

Keba Ghardt

Beneath his woolen cloak, Aethelstan, son of Aethelred, was burning with a high sanguine fervor, not daring to stop as the night air chilled his sweat. Clutching the precious bundle to his chest, Aethelstan spared a glance at the gathering storm clouds, dreading the potential for divine retribution before his purpose could be fulfilled. Stealing through the neat furrows of a walled garden, the breathless pilgrim pounded on the sanctuary door.It was not long before footsteps approached, and a light bled through the stoic timber. The door’s ru...

8 likes

Elves vs Vampires

Keba Ghardt

Submitted to Contest #300

Christmas Eve at the North Pole. Jingle bells in the air. Gingerbread in the oven. An improbable architecture overwhelmingly inspired by peppermint. Santa's sleigh has just departed, and the elves are wrapping up production before the end of a successful year.CC, the elf in charge of candy cane development, said, "Merry Christmas," and put his pants back on.Noelle, a lollipop parked between her teeth, squeezed back into her stripey tights. "You're not allowed to pay me in candy anymore.""What?" CC hissed. "Of all the bureaucratic...I mean, I...

23 likes

Seen and Not Heard

Keba Ghardt

Submitted to Contest #296

Only sweet-voiced birds are imprisoned. Owls are not kept in cages. --RumiIt was possible that I would be stopped. The forest had always been my home; I was merely a guest at the palace. The emperor was as vindictive as he was insecure, as paranoid as he was petty, and it was well within the realm of my imagination that I would be shot on sight.Instead, as I crept in over the garden wall, I simply failed to be noticed. Reminding me why I left.The last time I was welcome here, all hours of the night were filled with music, games, recreational...

21 likes

More With Honey

Keba Ghardt

Submitted to Contest #295

Officer Hale shook his head at the dust and weeds all over his recently washed squad car, and waved away a curious bee. Half a mile before entering the More With Honey summer camp, the road had crumbled from smooth pavement to an overgrown dirt track. As the officer waited, he watched a line of children, little knees hiking in theatrical march after their willowy counselor as she led a buoyant call and response.There was a treeThere was a treeThe prettiest treeThe prettiest treeThat you ever did seeThat you ever did seeThe tree in the hole a...

22 likes

The Staff

Keba Ghardt

Shortlisted for Contest #280 ⭐️

There you are. Hello, sir. Busy day, soldier? Not especially, sir. Awful lot of people here. That’s not unusual, sir. That’s true, that’s true. Lots of people come here, feels like every day, to gather out past that balcony, just to get a look at his excellency the pope, and receive his blessing. That they do, sir. Incredibly powerful spiritual experience that people travel miles for, to actually behold God’s avatar on Earth, and you and I are tasked with the protection of his holiness, to preserve the authority of the Catholic church. I tak...

32 likes

Your Animal Side

Keba Ghardt

Winner of Contest #257 🏆

Eddie was sweating. He'd been told, before putting on the suit, to drink a ton of water, so much your stomach hurts, and he bet there was an extra ten pounds of perspiration in the cheap costume fur. It certainly smelled like it, but rule one of wearing the suit: never take off the head. "That's an automatic write up," said Rob. "If you do it, and Faye finds out you subbed in without approval, you are off weekend hours, my friend. Good luck sucking up Tuesday tips." "I get it, I get it," Eddie had insisted. "I'll stay away from French revolu...

90 likes