Mary Lynne Schuster

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Jul, 2023

Stories (9)

9 Stories

413 karma pts

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“Swept Away” by Mary Lynne Schuster

Submitted to Contest #257

Jerry took a deep shuddering breath. Last one, he thought. Last one. I can do this. Last one. He glanced around the tidy porch and reached out a shaking hand toward the doorbell. I can’t do this, he thought, panicked, but his finger had already pushed the button and he could hear the chime in the house. “They aren’t home,” he muttered, but before he could even turn to leave the door was yanked open. A man in a loose wife-beater undershirt with an unlit cigar dangling from his mouth peered at him through the scre...

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“Respawn” by Mary Lynne Schuster

Submitted to Contest #239

Sara looked around for a prompt, a trigger, a clue – anything that would give her a hint on what to do next. The vast plain stretched before her, golden waist high grass undulating under the hot steady wind.  She whirled around the see the tunnel of ice she had just stumbled out of, but it was gone, the endless grassland reaching to the horizon under the blazing sun. Ok. She took a breath and wiped the sweat already dripping down her face. The heat still felt good after the cold of the ice cave but she knew that so...

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“Starting Over” by Mary Lynne Schuster

Submitted to Contest #236

The crushing headache was expected, and having every nerve ending screaming like she was being electrocuted. But it only lasted a moment, as she had been promised, and she swam back to consciousness moaning and cradling her head. The pain faded quickly, almost instantly, and she slowly raised her head and looked around.   Sarah expected to be disoriented, so she wasn’t alarmed that she couldn’t place where she was right away. She should be in the bedroom she shared with her sister in the apartment on Glendale Road....

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“Time Sink ” by Mary Lynne Schuster

Submitted to Contest #234

“We have all the time in the world,” Sam said.  Jerry looked up. His hands were deep in the guts of a irregular black box, one side off and wires poking everywhere. Multicolored lights were blinking in a quick pattern across the top. “It still might not be enough,” he said. He carefully pulled one hand out, slowly releasing a blue wire as he did, and wiped his forehead. His hand was shaking.   “Take your time,” Sam said. He sorted through the jars on the metal shelf, glancing at the labels, and sco...

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“Not a Lick of Sense” by Mary Lynne Schuster

Submitted to Contest #232

The radioactive factories put out enough energy to power things. I’ve read about how it was before – the world was too cold at the poles, too hot at the equator. Most people shuffled around in the in-between zones, the temperate zones, managing their clothes and buildings to deal with the hot or cold. Even people changed – I’ve seen pictures of Eskimos and Aborigines, hardly looking like the same species because they changed to meet their environment. It's like that. You live closer to the factories and hulking remains ...

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“No Junior League” by Mary Lynne Schuster

🏆 Winner of Contest #231

You are sure you want to do this?   Running away. Starting over.  It’s not as easy as people think. You have to give up everything.  Oh, that part’s easy. Everyone thinks we are all traceable, that you can’t really hide. But, see, everything is tied to your identity. Your papers. If you change those, you are a different person.  Fingerprints? If they’re in the system, if you’ve ever been fingerprinted, it’s a little trickier. But it can be done.   Oh, tha...

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“Worldly” by Mary Lynne Schuster

Submitted to Contest #228

She was not interested in dating.   At first Sarah was just reciting a fact in her mind, just stating the obvious to herself. When she finally realized that Drake, the father of one of her daughter’s little friends, might be expressing interest with his small talk in the school pick up line each day – yeah, no. She was not interested in dating.  She braced herself, ready with an excuse when he greeted her each day with a smile, asking about her day. But he just kept – being nice.  It turned out they did...

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“Diamonds” by Mary Lynne Schuster

Submitted to Contest #227

She had always hated winter. As a child all it meant was she that couldn’t go swimming, or climbing up to her treehouse. Winter meant being stuck in school, and the house being way too cold, and the grit and stink of the kerosene heater in the living room. Going outside meant stiff clothes, and chilled fingers within minutes as the snow melted in her mittens, and bread bags on her feet under her boots to keep them dry, making her feet sweat.  Even fall was depressing, because it meant winter was coming. And here she was...

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“Do Your Worst” by Mary Lynne Schuster

Submitted to Contest #226

“Hi! I’m Claire. You’re in my English class, right? You’re Emmy.” I’m not sure what I replied – I’m sure I at least stuttered.  I knew who she was, if I didn’t know anything else yet at the school I’d been at for a couple of months. Claire was the star, the queen. She was the cheerleading captain and teacher’s pet, the most beautiful and popular girl with the crowd of next-most-popular girls in her wake.  She smiled at me and sailed down the hall, a titter waving through the crowd that moved with her. I h...

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Author bio

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Winning 1 story 🏆

Contest #231
No Junior League – read story