Kendall Defoe

“On the Run” by Kendall Defoe

Submitted to Contest #276

This is the confession of an addict. I will admit that I have spent a lot of time not writing about my love of jogging, or running (both words mean different things to me; I will explain them later). Running was one of the things in my life that I came to completely on my own. It was never something that I was encouraged to do. I never did track and field in school (never even made it onto a team of any kind). I saw no one in my family who enjoyed going for a run. And it was not something that I ever suspected would change my life. But it ha...

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“Routine” by Kendall Defoe

Submitted to Contest #275

“Better late than never...” He was smiling. This was a joy that he could not explain. He woke extra early that morning, putting away a warm glass of lemon and mint water with the granola bar that he knew gave him an edge as he jogged on the paths nearby. Today was the start of what was going to be a very long week, so sidewalks and dirt trails would not be enough. He would have to use the track near the school. This meant leaving a little extra early to do at least four laps and then head home. A slow jog and a few indifferent traffic lights...

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“The Request” by Kendall Defoe

Submitted to Contest #273

“Hear me, oh master, as we submit to your will for our meager and groveling desires! We beg and ask you to feel our souls as they bend and call to you, oh master, for your mercy and favor upon us now!“We beg you to hear the thoughts of us all: Kevin, Robert, Dave with the Beard, Dave without the Beard, Steve and Stephen, Roger, and…yes, my little brother, Brian.“We have brought ourselves to this place on this very cold and difficult day to ask you for your assistance oh master…and please respond pretty quickly because my brother is driving m...

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“Dreaming” by Kendall Defoe

Submitted to Contest #272

The boy woke up with a shudder, sweaty and scared. For the last few months, at least once a week, he had been having the exact same dream: a cabin; a light; no one else around. Why was this happening to him again?He turned on a small lamp beside his bed.“Mom!”He shouted at the open door and waited. She was a patient woman and knew that something like this was bound to repeat itself. She woke up from her light sleep, put on her slippers and trudged down the hallway. Her perfume entered the room before she seemed to float inside.“Another one?”...

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“The Trip” by Kendall Defoe

Submitted to Contest #271

All stories really are about leaving town or arriving in one. She was trying to remember who said that, and it bothered her that it was a mystery; also, the train’s slight lurch pushed her back into her seat, and that had irritated her neck. In first class, she thought that she would truly be able to set her thoughts down, whether in a notebook she had just bought and really did not need, or in the space on the screen of her cell phone. She stared at both of them and tried to remember.Memories were not helping her. It had been over three yea...

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“Serves Who?” by Kendall Defoe

Submitted to Contest #270

Note: the following recipe allows for variations and additions, but the list of ingredients and instructions has been collated by experts with many years of experience in this field.*Ingredients:SaltPepperSpinachEggsMilkGarlic Sun-Dried TomatoesBreadMustard (Dijon, perhaps)Extra-Virgin Olive OilCoffeeAlcohol (choice left up to you)*Instructions:1.     Realize that you have woken up on the first day after it ended – truly ended – with no food in the house. She was the one who always cooked on weekends because you spen...

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“Lead a Normal Life ” by Kendall Defoe

Submitted to Contest #263

It’s nice here with a view of trees.Eating with a spoon?They don’t give you knives?‘Spect you watch those trees.Blowing in the breeze,We want to see you lead a normal life.-“Lead A Normal Life” (Peter Gabriel)And with that, I lowered my arms and waited for the cheers to stop as I rested.When you are a superhero, you know that there are going to be moments when you have to make decisions that will affect a lot of people. You will have to do things that no one else will have to choose. That was my fate.I had to choose.And now, it was all over....

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“The Beach” by Kendall Defoe

Submitted to Contest #262

The family made good time on the highway and arrived at the beach before a crowd could form. On a long weekend, the father and mother wondered if it was smart to take their boy and girl out to their old hangout; the place where they first met, fell in love, and continued to think about as a couple with responsibilities and little free time.“You kids are gonna love this.”“Yeah, dad. You said that already.” His daughter never looked up from her phone as she spoke.“We met here when we were about your age.”“Yeah, mom. We know.” Her son looked ou...

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“Thanks?” by Kendall Defoe

Submitted to Contest #261

Dear Dad,It has been almost forty years since you stepped out of my life in the most cliché-ridden manner possible. Not just a bad heart that attacked you; not just on the day that you were to be released from hospital; not just when all the signs were good for you and your health. It was the day itself that stays with me.Seriously? December 23rd? I guess that you really wanted to avoid the holidays that year, right?Sorry, bad joke. They seem to be the only kinds I have when I think about you. We had even purchased a gift for you (Christmas ...

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“Kind Mr. Richards” by Kendall Defoe

Submitted to Contest #260

Michael decided it was the right time to visit Mr. Richards.“Mr. Richards?”He knocked on the screen door and waited. This was not a bad sign. Michael had known Mr. Richards since he was a young boy and they first moved next door to the very old home that reminded him of something from a monster movie. As they were unpacking, he noticed the man sitting on his front porch, happily rocking away in his chair with a drink in his hand and sunglasses on to block out the light of that very bright afternoon. He had waved at the family and they all sm...

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“Locket” by Kendall Defoe

Submitted to Contest #260

Unofficial Report Document:I did what I had to do.Okay, I am writing this to cover my own ass if any of this comes out. I was engaged by Captain K_____________ on a mission to retrieve an object on a post-apocalyptic Tier-4 planet and the mission went very badly. This is how I am interpreting it. This document will be stored with my other papers, so I do not expect to have this timestamped beyond the safe where it is kept and the lodging where I awaited my instructions. Again, I was taken onto a mission by a senior officer. I followed orders...

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“Another Pleasant Weekend” by Kendall Defoe

The car was packed early, but they were still not ready. The mother still had her food to wrap up and put into separate plastic tubs and bowls. With the cooler, they could take enough for more than just their small group. The father was checking the oil in the car port, taking time to change it and look over the distributor cap, windshield washer level, and other plugs and connections inside the hive of the hood. The boy was waiting for the phone he would carry with him to charge (he knew that it would be a very long trip). And the dog was a...

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“The Spot” by Kendall Defoe

Submitted to Contest #258

No one blinked. As they gathered by the image processor, taking time to adjust all of their eye sockets and each dial and module on the machine, they simply stared and stared at what they were looking at. No one thought to make a mental note of this; no one thought that their psychic connection could handle this. But there it was and they had to process it.Wild synaptic cheers came through the neuron feed. There was a great deal of speculation as to what would come next now that they had made this great discovery. Would there be some sort of...

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“Energy” by Kendall Defoe

“Anger is an energy…Anger is an energy…”Where had he heard that before? He kept tapping the steering wheel and listened to the static coming out of the radio. That was a song from something he knew a long time ago… Maybe in college? Maybe when he was…a teenager?The traffic was beginning to move again.“Anger is an…”He really hoped it was. He really did. A part of him wondered if this was some sort of joke on his behalf, one with a terrible punchline. This was his third interview with the company, and he had done well with the initial meetings...

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“Man Discovers He Has A Second Chance!” by Kendall Defoe

(Reuters – Montreal)June **, 20**The Man in QuestionA man discovered recently that life is not to be abandoned just because he has reached a certain age, does not have a large amount of money in the bank, and has limited his social circle to only key people, source say.The man in question – name withheld pending publication ban – was on the edge of giving up on his life and returning to his community with his proverbial tail between his legs. After many years of work, it was seen that the man was not making any real progress with his career,...

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