MB Campbell

“The Answers To All Your Questions” by MB Campbell

The Answers To All Your Questions Steven paces between the pool and the gazebo, repeating the words he will use when he is introduced. “What you are about to witness”—special emphasis on the ‘W’ in witness—"has only been performed once. While it is perfectly safe, I promise you, there are no answers. It’s magic.” Around him, the party is in full swing. A hundred of his fath...

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“Anticipation Is” by MB Campbell

Submitted to Contest #170

Anticipation IsWill is half asleep and doesn’t brace himself against the impact. It is his good fortune. The driver is thrown against the steering wheel and it is now pressing on his chest and restricting his breathing. Ian’s head is whipped sideways and cracks the passenger window, knocking him out. The Range Rover comes to a stop with its front wheels dangling over the edge of a rock wall. A hundred feet below runs the Bartang River, a pearlescent ribbon of water and ice that has traveled from the Alai Range.

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“The Meaning of the Nightingale's Song” by MB Campbell

Submitted to Contest #167

The Meaning of the Nightingale’s Song(PREFACE—Part of this story you will find in children’s storybooks. But the rest, the part that happened after the fairytale, is not for children. It is the story of the never-ending battle between nature and artifice, between art and vacuous mimicry, and between lies and the real nightingale’s song.The fairytale began with an Emperor. A plump man with thin and auburn hair, a lock of which hung across his forehead like a banner. He wore jewels on three of the fingers...

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“In The Event” by MB Campbell

Submitted to Contest #165

In the EventFirst, it was the phone in the study. They both ignored it. To answer it was to surrender or worse to agree. Then it was the siren and flashing lights coming from the alarm panel in the hallway. That continued for minutes until something had to be said. “What did you do?” Leona yelled from the kitchen.“I didn’t do anything,” Leonora replied, as she came down the stairs. “What did YOU do?”“You were here with that creep with the weird face.”<...

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“Shared Experiences” by MB Campbell

Submitted to Contest #162

Page heard the noises coming from the kitchen, but she didn’t consider them particularly important. The only sounds that mattered to her were those that came from her tablet or from her baby brother. At seven-years-old, she could unconsciously prioritize one sense over others. Doubt and paranoia had not yet replaced wonder and imagination. Clank. Ping. Tia, the nanny, heard it as well. But...

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“Patient X” by MB Campbell

Submitted to Contest #159

Patient X The siren floated just above the whispers and groans of patients waiting to be treated. It was just a flutter and based upon the cycles Milton knew he had time to message his latest crush before it arrived. Maybe move from virtual sex to something that might leave a mark. Busy day,” he wrote. “But it’s how I save  lives. Meet tonight?” He pushed aside the files of...

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