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Stephen McManus

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Nov, 2023

Stories (12)

Comments

Library

10 Followers

19 Following

12 Stories

228 karma pts

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The Crown

Stephen McManus

Submitted to Contest #296

Paz felt a rumble from deep inside the volcano. “Did you hear that?” he yelled. Sleege’s dark green lizard body was nearly doubled over against the blistering wind. If he heard he didn’t bother to respond. They walked in single file along a goat path. Sleege’s short legs and prehensile tail propelled him along the irregular rocky surface. He held one arm across his face, just above his broad snout and wide mouth. Thorny nettles with gray branches and sparse green leaves bordered the uphill side of the path. The two thieves crept along the ou...

2 likes

The Interview

Stephen McManus

Submitted to Contest #294

The email instructed Joe to meet Mr. Klein at the catamaran beach in Ventnor. He was asked to dress casually and, specifically, to wear swim trunks. He would find the site nine blocks south of Atlantic City, just past the lifeguard headquarters. They helpfully suggested parking in the lot next to the tennis courts.Joe was 27, tall and lanky, with dark brown hair parted to the side. It was chilly for mid-September because of the weather, which is why he wore his hiking raincoat. His Ford Escort beeped when he locked it.As he crested the ramp ...

5 likes

Merit Badge

Stephen McManus

Submitted to Contest #293

The thing about the rifle shooting merit badge is the target practice. To earn the badge a boy scout needs to hit the bullseye five out of five times in a single round. The bullseye is a black spot about the size of a quarter on a white paper target. The target is tacked to a wooden board fifty feet from the firing range. Jimmy was losing his race against time. He knew it and it bothered him as he lay on the thin nylon mat sweating in August heat. His armpits were damp with body odor. The endless buzzing of cicadas rose and fell throughout t...

8 likes

Black or White, Doesn't Matter

Stephen McManus

Submitted to Contest #292

Gary shut the door from the garage with his foot while pulling off his jacket. The door jamb rattled with a resonating boom. He threw his coat into a cubby, dropped his keys on the counter and hurried into the family room. “Hey, Babe, I won!” he exclaimed. Ellen, five months pregnant, sat curled on the sofa with a comforter over her legs and belly. A fire crackled in the hearth behind a wrought iron screen. She removed her headphones and placed her laptop on the coffee table next to a cup of tea. “I’m sorry?” she said. “I won the chess tourn...

2 likes

Father Brennan's Help

Stephen McManus

Submitted to Contest #291

The rectory attached to St. Matthew’s church was built with a thick gray limestone veneer. Two-story tall and rectangular, it was more utilitarian than beautiful. There was solidity, permanence, about the structure that comforted most people, especially the parishioner’s. But on this chilly December evening, with snow falling for the last few hours, the entire neighborhood was covered in a soft white blanket. Snow accumulating on the ledges and tops of the windowsills gave the rectory a serene gentleness. Inside, Father Joseph Brennan, “Fath...

5 likes

Last Kiss

Stephen McManus

Submitted to Contest #290

He swirled the last bit of vodka around the bottom of his glass. The ice cubes, shrunken to the size of dice, clinked pleasantly. He downed it quickly and placed the glass in the built-in holder on the left arm of his chocolate brown recliner. The television buzzed quietly, the screen filled with black and white static as it had since the last emergency response public service announcement had gone off air. Three days ago, he thought. No, Ellen was bitten three days ago, so the screen went blank four days ago. Shame washed over him as he rem...

10 likes

Laboratory #6

Stephen McManus

Submitted to Contest #287

Everything started after the dead monkey reanimated, smashed out the glass cage and attacked Dr. Pangilinan. The ear-shattering biocontainment alarm blared moments after the glass cracked. By the time Dr. Lee turned to see what was happening, the creature had exploded into the lab. It leapt onto Pang’s arm, biting deeply, breaking bone. He swung his arm wildly launching the creature across the room. It landed with a meaty thud, slid sideways on the polished floor, and swept the legs out from under a heavy table. The table tipped over, with t...

4 likes

Last Chance

Stephen McManus

Submitted to Contest #286

The mahogany canoe battled against an ebbing tide, barely making progress in the last thirty minutes. Junnu watched from atop a dune on the little island as a pelican dove headfirst into the water with a splash not far from the gunwale. The briny smell of ocean air washed over him pleasantly. Ten oars, five on either side, pulled powerfully by select hands from his father’s navy. Still, they struggled. A rogue wave crashing hard against the side nearly tipped it over. This was followed quickly by a flash of amber light and a puff of smo...

6 likes

Barry Tavern

Stephen McManus

Submitted to Contest #285

The mustard yellow sign creaked as it swung gently in the chill December air. “Barry Tavern” it read, but with space between the two words. A fluorescent bulb near the bottom flickered like it was on hospice, awaiting its last exhale. Damon leaned forward into the breeze, striding carefully across the uneven sidewalk. He paused to stare up at the sign for the third time that week, knowing what the missing words were, and hoping he’d have the courage to say something tonight. The icy cold door handle burned his fingers as he yanked it open.&n...

8 likes

The Capsule

Stephen McManus

Submitted to Contest #283

Luther watched the eight women and four men shuffle quickly into the jury box. They pointedly did not look at him, finding something interesting to stare at on the floor. The windows forming most of the wall behind the jurors rattled as a summer storm blustered fussily outside.His orange polyester jumpsuit was stifling. Sweat beaded along his scalp line and dripped down his back. “Why can’t they make these out of cotton, or some fabric that breathes?” he whispered to his attorney.Without turning her large head, almost without moving her lips...

4 likes

Hibernation for Life!

Stephen McManus

Submitted to Contest #227

Charlotte noticed the drone squirrel from the corner of her eye. Its tawny coat flashed in the sunlight as it skittered across the awning. Slowing her pace, she watched as its right ocular lens telescoped out; she could almost hear the camera click as it photographed her.Placing her index finger on her left temple she turned on the digital relay in her contact lens, simultaneously giving Command access to her visual cortex and allowing nonverbal cognitive communication. Command, this is agent Sparrow, are you seeing the security drone? Over....

9 likes

The Mirror

Stephen McManus

Submitted to Contest #225

Luther regained consciousness, his mind shocked awake by the jarring sound of a metallic door retracting. It rolled up slowly, creaking and bumbling, into the metal hood above. The salty taste of blood filled his mouth as rain washed across his scalp wound. Vague memories of a meeting at a bar followed by a crack on the head bubbled up.The men held him under each arm, dragging his limp body, toes trailing on the ground behind. Entering the building Luther noticed an oily rainbow flash off a stain on the ground. A single naked light bulb bare...

10 likes