Luca King Greek

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Mar, 2023

Stories (58)

58 Stories

1494 karma pts

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“Into the 2Q Print” by Luca King Greek

Submitted to Contest #238

It was much like any other meeting room, a boardroom table, a Polycom phone, a video screen on the credenza, leather chairs, too many, cluttered, slightly stuffy. We might have been anywhere, San Diego or Boston, but we were in Palo Alto. The receptionist, a bored young woman of about my age, offered us coffee. Tom declined, so I did too.Visitors normally get the view, it’s a thing, but Tom was having none of it and we sat with our backs to the briefly glimpsed parking lot with the eucalyptus trees shimmering in backgroun...

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“In the Wink of an Eye” by Luca King Greek

Submitted to Contest #237

Lieutenant Scott Thompson and Captain James Knott burst into the small house accompanied by a swirl of snow and a blast of cold air, which made their wives quiver and distracted the Lieutenant’s daughter, Kathy, from the book she was attempting to read. Scott removed his cap, and a thick thatch of black hair sprung upright giving the appearance of a man constantly surprised. He winked at his daughter, then hung his hat and great coat on an iron hook near the front door.“Brr, it's cold outside, Sybil!” said Scott to his fine-boned wife, ...

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“A Race for the Ages” by Luca King Greek

Submitted to Contest #235

The Hare pushed his way through the crowd, glad-handing the gentlemen, signing autographs, and availing himself of his handsomeness for selfies with the ladies; reassuring all and sundry with an excess of caffeinated wakefulness that this time he would prevail in the race. He punched the air theatrically, and the crowd cheered with effervescent joy, confident in a crushing victory for the famed speedster, not to mention – for a few – a modest return on their wagers with the bookmaker. The Hare was the crowd favorite.As for the Tortoise,...

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“Before the Titanic” by Luca King Greek

Submitted to Contest #234

“All this rush, rush, rushing around, it is more than my head can bear”, said John Appleton, depositing their overnight bags, a newspaper, and himself, exhausted, on a bench in Boston’s South Station, and there he wiped perspiration from his brow with a crumpled kerchief. His sister, Margaret perched beside him and offered up a private prayer for small mercies, which being the cleanliness of the rag, and his temporary capitulation to exhaustion. Judged by the acerbic commentary that accompanied much of their sight-seeing, Boston ha...

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“Ronny's Retreat” by Luca King Greek

Submitted to Contest #233

“You are so full of crap, Ronny”, said Mad Max, “You ain’t no different from the rest of us. Fact is, you’re muddle-minded, and full of shit about what coulda, woulda, shoulda been”. Mad Max stamped his feet, flicked his cigarette into Station Road gutter.  “Couldn’t, shouldn’t, wouldn’t”, chimed in Squidward, “I could tell you a thing or two about the things that I didn’t do”. Squidward rocked his giant bulk back and forth on the park bench, always in motion, never eating in public; it was a mystery to the other tenants how he sta...

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“Where is The Suzie-Q?” by Luca King Greek

Submitted to Contest #232

The fall weather was unseasonably warm, the sky cloudless, and the foliage on the upper slopes of Mount Katahdin was tinged with rust, so Baxter State Park, resplendent and remote, was overflowing with day-hikers and campers, everywhere abuzz with anticipation for the arrival of Konika’s Comet. Five plain white vans arrived at the Ranger Station carrying forty-three passengers, each with close-cropped or shaven heads, wearing androgynous black slacks and turtleneck sweaters, the mix of age and sex obscured by sameness. Sitting stiffly, ...

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“Island Vacation” by Luca King Greek

Submitted to Contest #231

TW: Sexual and physical violence, self-harm, and generally unpleasant things. Dressed in a faux leopard skin pant suit, Karen Teale watched despondently as glittering singles became intimate pairings, their insistent hands touching, eyes flashing, faces flushed with new love.  She stared sadly at her empty wine glass while trying to ignore the sloppy drunk with whom she’d been seated at the gala. A steward poured another glass of Chardonnay, and two sequined dancers razzle-dazzled across the ballroom floor.  Karen sl...

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“Infinite Hockey” by Luca King Greek

Submitted to Contest #227

The overnight snap brought things to a sullen halt in the harbor, empty but for two neglected lobster boats that bobbed about listlessly on red rusty moorings. Sea smoke drifted across the lead-grey ocean surface, and billowing clouds of vapor spewed from the shiny steel chimney of the cannery on the far side of the channel, cloying the waterfront with sweet and acrid air.  A blue-black stain of ugly clouds appeared to be sucking up the ocean out beyond the archipelago, a promise of snow somewhere, but not here in Bairstow, wh...

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“Shades of the Prison-House” by Luca King Greek

Submitted to Contest #226

The glossy postcard from Australia depicted a lazy-looking town of empty roads, deserted pavements, and rows of identical little houses, each within a small square garden. To Simon Platt’s eye, it looked like a place for old-age pensioners and their fat constipated dogs. He flipped the card over and re-read his father’s short ‘miss-you mate’ message which was almost identical to the one he’d received a few weeks ago.Simon’s mother, Sylvia was exasperated at his disdain for their plans, “Your father says every day is like a summer S...

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“All Night Long (All Night)” by Luca King Greek

Submitted to Contest #224

Celine confirmed their status on the console, “Gale Crater Dome, only 162 million miles to go!”.“Then we make a right, or a left?” Mordecai joked.Celine flipped to a new window on the console, “NYX II is cruising at just over 20,000 miles per hour.  ETA is 6.53 on November 16th, 2038. Mars, here we come!”.“I hope it’s 6.53 in the afternoon”, said Mordecai, “remember to wake me if it’s a morning arrival”. They both laughed.“So, now what, Mr. Poet Laureate?”, said Celine, an inviting smile on her face as she swiveled the pi...

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“Battling Metaphysicians” by Luca King Greek

Submitted to Contest #223

Reggie was in a hidden room, the tower room, then he suddenly wasn't.“I swear it’s the truth; he gave us the assignment in the tutorial last week, while you were at the doctors” said Delia, a bit too enthusiastically, “Fitz wants a two-page essay at the end of the today”, she couldn’t quite suppress a smug smile when she saw Reggie’s alarm. She flipped open her ring-binder to a neatly typed document and read the prompt out loud,” Why is the world, as a whole, as it is actually, and not otherwise?” and she managed to sound arrogant,...

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“The Blood-Stained Shore” by Luca King Greek

Submitted to Contest #222

Old Hugh’s toothless jaw seemed to move independently from his skull, restlessly searching for its place. He picked up a beer in his cadaverous hand, sipped off the foam, licked his dry, cracked lips, and his craggy face relaxed for an instant, repose from constant agitation. “Give me a moment to savor this nectar, my dear”, he said, looking at Kelsey with hooded eyes that seemed buried deep in his skull, and seemed too intelligent to be trusted. His voice sounded like it was struggling to get out of his body, like he hadn’t u...

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“Remorse of a Depraved Heart ” by Luca King Greek

Submitted to Contest #221

Six Months PriorAt the prayer group meeting in Unit 2, at the Maine State Prison, half a dozen inmates found temporary solace in communion, an oasis of humanity in a barren place. Among them was a relatively youthful man of a broken and yearning heart., barely twenty-five years old. He hung his head and prayed hard, harder than any man should, so hard that he sucked a singularity through a cleft in eternity, he stirred up the spirits of the dead, the other prisoners could feel it, and it drew a rush of energy into the recreation room.&n...

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“As For Lynch” by Luca King Greek

Submitted to Contest #220

I received a call from dispatch: Joey Goodfray was down on the boardwalk causing some kind of commotion, but when I arrived at the harbor trail he was sitting on a bench, smoking, looking like crap, like he’d a had a few too many brewskis. I told him to put out the cigarette which he did by flicking it off the boardwalk and into the ocean, which ticked me off, but I let it go. Joey and I graduated from the same high school, a few years apart, but our paths had diverged. Cops and robbers from the same hood. He had a g...

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“Out of Place” by Luca King Greek

Submitted to Contest #218

The mozzarella cheese slides across the top of the marinara sauce, spills off the side of the pizza slice onto the red-hot electric element. Gray smoke spews from the toaster oven and the smell of burnt cheese spreads through the kitchen and into the dining area. Maki, the black dog looks anxious, if the smoke alarm activates, she will start running around, barking, go bat-shit crazy. I open the window above the sink, the ocean breeze pushes air into the kitchen, the smoke dissipates, and drama is averted.  Two crows...

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Author bio

Many thanks to the reader for their time and thoughtful feedback.

Shortlisted 1 story ⭐️

Contest #244
Poor Box Suprise – read story