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Author on Reedsy Prompts since Mar, 2021
Submitted to Contest #292
As the metal door whooshed open and the gangplank descended, thunking down onto the dusty landscape, Briggs was met by a small Martian delegation led by Gwrkut, the Martian Minister of Interplanetary Relations. “Greetings, Earthman Briggs,” Gwrkut said, stepping forward and outstretching his arms. “We are delighted to finally make contact.” “You must be Gwrkut,” Briggs laughed in his booming baritone, bounding down the gangplank and scooping up the diminutive Martian in a giant hug. Gwrkut winced as his feet were lifted off the ground. “Welc...
Submitted to Contest #289
The following conversation occurred between June 28th and August 2nd, between Client 27, herein known as ‘Morris,’ and Client 28, herein known as ‘Foster’. The following messages are the only documented contact between the two individuals, virtual or otherwise. Names have been changed and certain identifying details have been omitted. Morris06/28 7:35am Do you ever dream about me?06/31 5:17pm I’m sitting on the back porch. The screens keep the mosquitos away. Adam is poking a stick into an anthill by the fence. Charlotte is reading next...
Submitted to Contest #287
“It’s just the weather,” John said as he affixed the ‘Grand Opening’ sign to the storefront glass. “Give it time. It’s a great location.” Thomas wiped a thin layer of morning dew off the patio chair and sat down, surveying the area. The cafe sat nestled within a strip of salons and restaurants and trendy clothes outlets, flanking the wide downtown streets. The area was normally busy but today the streets sat empty, only a few cars parked along the street corners, fenders busted and tires blown out, as if they had been abandoned. Several wind...
Submitted to Contest #286
“Do things look any different to you?” I asked Charlotte, but she ignored me. Adam, our twelve-year-old, had a diorama due the next day, and Charlotte was busy gluing plastic dinosaurs into a shoebox. I didn’t realize kids still made dioramas, I thought it was only something you see in movies. Adam for his part was busy in the family room playing video games. “Do things look any different to you?” I asked again, picking up a blue stegosaurus. It was wet. “I just painted that,” Charlotte snapped, snatching it out of my hand. “Don’t forget we ...
Winner of Contest #284 🏆
“Humphrey,” I yell, banging my fist against the observation deck door. “There’s something wrong with Jansen. Humphrey!” I try to push the door open, but it’s been barricaded from the other side. How long has Humphrey been holed up in there…three months? Three years? It’s hard to tell. “Humphrey!” I yell one last time before giving up. This whole ship is going crazy. Four years in space and I’m the only one holding it together. I make my way to the Navigation room to find Jansen in a state of mania. He sits tuck-kneed in the captain’s chair w...
I was just a child when they stole the night. At first, people were confused. Then they were angry. My father cursed the sun in rage as my mother held me close in fear. The whole world looked up at the sky, waiting for the night that never came.Jans Furman, the billionaire tech founder and unofficial spokesman of the Techno-elite, initiated a worldwide simulcast. "Fellow citizens of the world," he began in his deep baritone voice, "Our collective hubris and arrogance have brought our ecosystems to the brink of catastrophe. The effects of cli...
Submitted to Contest #98
It was five or six years ago when I first noticed the antennae growing out of my dad’s head. He assured me that they had always been there, but I was skeptical. Seems like something I would have remembered. My mom didn’t seem to think much of it, but then again, she was busy trying to cover up the thick trail of slime secreting from her pores. And my brother Allen was scurrying headfirst down his own strange hole. But I’m getting ahead of myself here. This all happened back when I was living just outside of Washington, working as a data an...
Submitted to Contest #97
Aeron watched as the amber light of the blood moon crept above the forest canopy, illuminating his shaggy crop of brown hair. He stood on his tiptoes, peering out into the wooded shadows, waiting for the Grym to appear. Father Feran was busy in the other chamber, preparing for the arrival. “Get away from that window, boy. He’ll be here soon enough and you best be asleep when he arrives,” Feran shouted over the crashing of brass kettles and clay pots as he prepared the lamb stew. Aeron ignored him like he did every year. He waited, keeping ...
Submitted to Contest #94
Ship Log; June 27th, 3095, 17:34 OST; Private H. L. Jansen, Pilot, First Class, Deep Space - Terrestrial Division; “Everybody is dead. I don’t know how I survived. Why I survived. I’ve been here 8 months, trapped. But I have to leave now. My supplies are low and I’m running out of oxygen. By my estimates, the other ship crashed 25 miles northeast of here. I don’t know if anybody there is still alive.” Jansen flipped off the console. He didn’t know what else to say. It didn’t matter anyway since the comms were down. His cries for help we...
Submitted to Contest #93
Manticore (n) - /man(t)iˌkôr/ - A legendary creature having the face of a man, the body of a lion, and the tail of a scorpion. “Hi. My name is Manti,” I say in a friendly tone of voice while slowly extending my hoof so as not to alarm you. We shake, firmly but not too firmly, while maintaining strong eye contact. You tell me your name, and I immediately repeat it back to you, and then offer up an innocuous comment about the weather, or the venue decor, or perhaps even a positive compliment about your attire, just to get the conversation roll...
Submitted to Contest #92
EVENING“There have been a lot of wild rumors surrounding your life, so I’d like to begin with just the facts,” the young woman said, fumbling with her tape recorder in the darkness.“Lead the way,” encouraged the older lady with a chuckle. “But you may find that facts and rumors look awfully similar in the dark.”“First, you were born Anna Prescott in the Eastern Demilitarized Zone. Your parents died when you were young and you were sent to the Riverside Youth Education Facility. It was there that you developed a severe form of solar urticaria...
Submitted to Contest #91
I wake up in the library. It’s the middle of the day. No. Wait. I wake up in the library. It’s the middle of the night. That’s right. The lights were off. The building was quiet. It was the middle of the night and the library was closed. That’s the last thing I remember. Then why do I hear people upstairs? Why does my phone say it’s 2:30 in the afternoon? Pause. Take a breath. I’m in the library right now. It’s the middle of the day. But where exactly am I? I’ve never been in this section of the library before. The building...
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