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Nicholas Westbrook

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Oct, 2019

Stories (12)

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39 Followers

1 Following

12 Stories

196 karma pts

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The Night Muse

Nicholas Westbrook

There was nothing worse, in Matt’s opinion, than having a two shift day. Six hours at the computer store and another six in the kitchen at the university cafeteria. He made decent money on nights like tonight, but he longed for a more civilized sleep schedule. As he rode the bus home, he fought the urge to sleep. There was one more job to do tonight.Walking off the bus, Matt took a deep breath of wintery city air. It was coming on mid-December and the biting cold of the Pacific Northwest was starting to sink its teeth into the city. Matt wal...

1 like

The Dream Bureau

Nicholas Westbrook

Submitted to Contest #103

Beth was always the “early to bed and early to rise” type of person. She didn’t do this for health or some kind of lifestyle philosophy. It was simply that she preferred the world of her dreams to anything the real world had to offer.  Granted, it wasn’t all bad. Beth’s job took her to different places all over the city as a fire inspector. Her daylight hours were when most of the places she inspected were asleep: clubs were empty, restaurants only had a few lonely patrons, and she’d inspect the basements of offices to avoid interruptin...

12 likes

Looking Glass

Nicholas Westbrook

Submitted to Contest #97

Anne Marie examined the frozen landscape outside her window, leaves paused in a brief moment as they fluttered to the ground. Upon a moment of reflection, Anne Marie decided things would be easier to understand with coffee in her system. She had half boiled the water when Matt came out downstairs from his attack bedroom and regarded the window curiously.  “Not getting any closer?”  “You’d think Chronovision would be a little easier to crack,” Anne Marie said. “This is attempt number three and I still can’t get the glass to behave...

6 likes

Victor VanLorn's Lunar Circus

Nicholas Westbrook

Submitted to Contest #93

Victor VanLorn’s Lunar Circus was known for taking its customers away. Natalie didn’t think it would be quite so literal.  The circus was a collection of blue and grey tents with strings of lights that looked like mason jars filled with fireflies. Natalie had been so enamored with it all: the joyous cries of laughing children, the smell of funnel cake and popcorn, and the sparkling wonder of the circus that made Natalie wander around so bravely. She’d drifted through the carnival games, followed behind a trio of performing acrobats, and...

12 likes

Self-Fulfilling

Nicholas Westbrook

Submitted to Contest #62

“So, what’s your plague?”  “What?” Reine looked up from her drink. The bartender was in his forties with surprisingly thick, blond hair, a bulbous nose, and kind eyes. His skin was a bit red from sunburn and his tunic was stained with beer.  “A person drinks like that?” the bartender rested his elbows on the long, oak counter and wiped up some liquor from the countertop. “They only drink for three reasons: an ex-lover, bad news, or a terrible loss. The very unlucky ones get all three, but it can always be boiled down to one of th...

11 likes

Soaring

Nicholas Westbrook

Submitted to Contest #43

Tuesdays were the worst, in Paul’s opinion. Mondays were often bemoaned, but he could at least look forward to the other people in his office talking about their weekend plans. By Tuesday, the fondness of weekends past had worn off and it was too far off to dream of the weekend to come. Tuesdays left Paul sitting at his desk, catching longing glances out the window, watching the city from eighteen stories up. “Numbers are down again,” Mr. Stevens grumbled, pulling Paul back to the projected graph at the front of the room. “Our goal was ...

6 likes

She Comes...

Nicholas Westbrook

Submitted to Contest #42

John sat in his chair, patiently waiting with the rifle at his shoulder. She’d come again soon. This was the worst night of the year. John had managed to survive last year and he’d be damned if he would let that vile creature in. John had rented the cabin earlier that month and paid for two weeks, leaving a wide buffer on either end. After all of the set up he’d done, John felt he’d need at least a few days to get the cabin back to normal. Last year, he’d stayed home but the neighbors started asking too many questions when he began...

4 likes

A Hidden Plea

Nicholas Westbrook

Submitted to Contest #42

“You’re gonna want to send someone to clean up Aisle 16…” “What?” Matt asked. He’d been three hours into his shift stocking the shelves and it already felt like eight. It beat the hell out of check out, but people were buying food like it was the end of the world. Matt couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen a full shelf for more than an hour. The only reason he took these shifts was so he wouldn’t need to talk with customers like this girl.  “There’s a mess in Aisle 16,” the girl urged. She had long, blonde hair tied up into a messy ...

3 likes

Dear Doctor Warner

Nicholas Westbrook

Submitted to Contest #41

Dear Doctor Warner,  It has come to my attention that your department is planning to cut funding to my research into the Alicanto (poecile alicantus). With that in mind, I am writing to urge that you reconsider this decision and continue funding my research, which I assure you will be worth the while.  As I'm sure you know, I first came down to South America looking for the dreaded Titanoboa in the Amazon. I had gone to the established research site, but imagine my surprise when another university had already made their camp there....

9 likes

Deep Roots

Nicholas Westbrook

Submitted to Contest #40

Angela made her usual offering before climbing up into Veeren’s boughs overhead. She pricked her index finger with a needle and squeezed a few drops of blood into the hollow opening of the tree’s trunk. Sucking her fingertip, she waited until the tree flexed with a low grumble. With her offer accepted, Angela clamored up the branches of the tree and wrapping her arms around one of the bigger branches. “Hello, old friend…” Veeren’s bark creaked and snapped until it split open revealing the humanoid ship inside the tree. A featureless face tur...

6 likes

The Overview Effect

Nicholas Westbrook

Submitted to Contest #39

Maybe I'd had too much to drink or smoked too much weed. I had definitely had enough to make the room spin for a few hours after I stumbled out of my jeans and collapsed into bed. I had confided to my girlfriend, Olivia, that I was feeling 'floaty'. She told me that I just needed sleep and brought me back to my building before going home to sleep herself. I still felt like if I wasn't holding onto to someone or something, I would float up into the air. I had no idea how far up I would fly until I ended up doing it.  I couldn't sleep tha...

5 likes

Service and Return

Nicholas Westbrook

Submitted to Contest #38

April wanted to scream when she got to her backyard. And there was no end in sight.  When the newscasters announced that everyone would be staying in their homes until further notice, there was a mix of elation and fear. It was true, April wouldn’t have to worry about the social intricacies of high school: from lunch tables to locker talk. The big question on everyone’s mind was what would this do to her GPA in the long run? She was one of the lucky ones with access to a personal computer, but it wasn’t clear if this would affect her sc...

5 likes