Marty B

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Jan, 2022

Stories (103)

103 Stories

4157 karma pts

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“god of azon” by Marty B

Submitted to Contest #172

I have never been this high in the Temple, climbing to the most sacred floor to bring an answer to the greatest issue facing our Church in years.   I fear it is the wrong answer. I do not want to go. I pray to the gods they do not take their rage out on the bearer of the message.  My red robes, thick and heavy, slide down my shoulders as I take step after step. All I hear is the shushing sound of it scraping along the stone steps. Sweat runs down my forehead and prickles along my back as I walk through the pools of flickering can...

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“The Cowboy” by Marty B

Submitted to Contest #171

I got eyes in my head, and been behind this bar long enough to know when a somebody has dynamite with a lit fuse inside of them.I know I don’t look like much, my grey beard is too long and my belly too big to do much besides pour whisky for drunks. But I knew the Cowboy was trouble, though of course I couldn't tell how. Hot as a two-dollar pistol, the air was thick with the stink from the cattle yards. The street sounds were drowned out by Joe singing in the corner like he did when the drink got to him, toneless Irish songs in his stron...

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“Leo the Flea” by Marty B

Submitted to Contest #170

I can’t undo the zipper! My plan has gone terribly wrong, and now I can't breathe. It all came from me wanting to meet my idol, Lionel Messi. My name is Leo, just like his, except he is Lionel and I am Leonard. We are just alike. His nickname is La Pulga, which is the Spanish word for what my Mom calls me, Flea. She says when I was little I bounced around and was always where she didn’t want me to be. I have to see Leo play, I have to! I didn’t have money for a ticket. But I made a plan. I live right next to the...

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“Day of The Dead” by Marty B

Submitted to Contest #169

“The dead walk among the tombstones at Mountainview Cemetery today.” Police Captain Jason Mollring said. He stared out at the view of the countryside from the top of the cemetery grounds while he sipped from a police station coffee mug. Recently hired from the Big City, he was still trying to get used to being in a small town. Officer Tricia Montalvo was not paying attention to him, instead closely examining the dead body. The head and shoulders of the victim were shredded and lacerated. This was her first murder case after four mo...

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“Flawless Fasting” by Marty B

Submitted to Contest #168

Some artists sang, some danced, some performed magic for the fawning crowds, the man in the cage starved.Behind thin metal bars, tall enough for him to stand up, and just wide enough for him to lay down, a man sat cross-legged on a folded mat. He was in conversation with several of the spectators, quietly talking, and then after a comment was made, laughed, along with many of the people. A clock was in the corner, with an extra hand, tracking along with minutes and hours, the days. It read 14 days, 12 hours and 57 minutes. The smal...

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“Last Sunday Morning Drive” by Marty B

Submitted to Contest #167

Wham! Something hit the back of Matt’s head and his left side, the pain hard and sharp. It reverberated across his skull, drowning out awareness of anything else and shooting stars across his vision. With a sudden jerk he fell back hard into the driver's door as inexplicably the large SUV he was driving stopped moving forward, but sideways, a roller coaster-shift of momentum. He felt the forceful impact abrupt against his broad back, pressing with immense force. Matt looked out of the windshield, and had the sensation of being in a trai...

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“Cupid's Arrows” by Marty B

Submitted to Contest #166

 The blank look in the pimp's eyes matched the broken video monitors on the walls of the dark bar. He was generally against the sale of love, it was more of his mom’s department. But it brought real love more often than it should.  Dressed as an old man, he regretted his decision to stay in character and buy the cheap whisky. He wished for Ouzo and olives. Maybe it was time to give up, he was failing at his job.  The pimp was doing better than him. He just couldn't keep up with Tinder or Bumble or even Match.  He tilted ...

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“Living in a Snow Globe” by Marty B

Submitted to Contest #165

“Of course the gay kid was guilty.” The man said. “I mean it was his car right?”“He did not belong here.” A woman spoke, near him. Johnny could not tell where he was, a pale-yellow fog surrounding him.   “I know his type. My Sara goes to high school with him. Did you know he was on the cheerleading team? And he wore dresses to school! Marco was just trouble. He got what he deserved.” “We can’t have that kind of thing around here, corrupting our town.” The man’s voice lowered. “I heard he was drunk as a skunk.”The wor...

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“The Orange Striped Backpack” by Marty B

Submitted to Contest #164

He was on a path to a better future until he ran into the bright orange, striped backpack. Eddie needed to get away, and it felt good to use his legs that morning.  The train station was full of commuters. Sad, tired people with no purpose, no drive to live, not like him.  From the fare gate he had heard the train pulling into the station, his train.  Quickening, he took long steps in his well polished leather shoes, flashing as they caught glints of the morning light. The blood spatter was hardly noticeable. Toward the e...

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“El Cerrajero” by Marty B

Submitted to Contest #163

Of Miguel’s many talents, the one he liked least was his ability to be underestimated by everyone he met. He thought it would help in his career, but really it was just annoying. Of average height and weight, curling light brown hair with stooped shoulders and a paunch, he was not attractive, nor a threat. Always ready with a quick joke, he was remarkable only for being unmemorable. His light brown complexion could be of several nationalities, and his voice was lost in crowds. He was a cypher in more ways than one.The last morning ...

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“Storybook Sushi (1 roll, 6 pieces)” by Marty B

Submitted to Contest #162

Discussion of violence.*AceMy face is pressed against a blood-splattered restaurant menu while I am handcuffed flat on the floor of the restaurant. On the pink paper there is a drawing of a sushi roll on an open book, the logo of my favorite restaurant, Storybook Sushi.All I did was defend myself with a stupid jujitsu move I learned watching the Black Panther movie. How did I get here? Everyone has a backstory, the reasons behind their actions. But the only thing that mattered was what happened, not how it came about. That nig...

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“Long Distance Phone Call” by Marty B

🏆 Winner of Contest #161

You can talk to the dead on the pay phone in front of Seventh Street Market in West Oakland.  There is also a donut store where they sell burgers, and a check cashing store in the small strip mall, but everybody references the market when talking about the Phone. I didn't tell my Dad we were going to California so he could talk to his dead wife, my Mom, until we hit Olympia, Washington. “That is the stupidest goddamn thing I have ever heard of! We are driving to Oakland to have a seance on a pay phone?” He said when I tol...

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“Promise of the Garden of Eden” by Marty B

Submitted to Contest #160

The dark storm raged around her, she needed to get inside or she would die.  Sara was still on the ground after falling, she had to get up! The sand and rocks pelted her body through her thin dress, pressing tiny needles into her skin. It was another dust storm, coming from the west to engulf their farm, but bigger than ever before. The black blizzard had filled the air, she had no landmarks to know which way to go. She stood up and began running forward, she hoped it was the right way. The whipping dirt was cutting her, blinding her...

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“Demo Man” by Marty B

Submitted to Contest #159

To destroy, to tear down, that was the Demo Man’s job. The heavy hammer flew of its own accord in his fists, the walls falling, collapsing in huge crashes. He was the conductor in this orchestra, calling for the high pitched crack of thin lathe, the long rip of the tearing wallpaper, and the kettledrum boom of the breaking studs. His skill was not in building, or creating, but in destruction, the art of destroying another’s creation. What takes months to build comes down in a day. Usually he knocked down homes, but he was indifferent, b...

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“Last Minute Fadeaway to Win the Game” by Marty B

Submitted to Contest #158

 Back in high school, I was a player, a basketball star. In the sport of love though, I keep putting up bricks, it took until my last day at Vic’s to realize I was playing the wrong game.  I had gotten to the store first that morning, with a little anxiety as I knew Lourdes was working too. She had a tempestuous relationship, she could make the day go quick with her stories, or terrible if she picked a fight. Most of the other shops in the strip mall were already open, and as usual the regulars at the Bean gave me a wave. The Co...

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Author bio

It is difficult to get the news from poems yet men die miserably every day for lack of what is found there. Asphodel, That Greeny Flower [excerpt]   by William Carlos Williams Copyright © 2023 Marty B - All Rights Reserved. Using content without written permission is prohibited.

Winning 1 story 🏆

Contest #161
Long Distance Phone Call – read story

Shortlisted 1 story ⭐️

Contest #213
Anand's Lamp – read story