Steve McKenney

“Shipwreck” by Steve McKenney

Submitted to Contest #243

Whirlwind. That’s the only word I can think of to accurately describe it and I should know, I was there. I watched everything happen from the very beginning, when I unwittingly arranged their first meeting, until today. It was like the universe’s big bang except in this case, it was two normal, but very intelligent people, Kiersten Gravely and Robert Barnes.  This is the story of how they became Mr. and Mrs. Barnes; with my help, of course.  Kiersten is one smart lady, after all, she adopted me. She’s also a software engineer and o...

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“A Bruised Mind and a Man Adrift” by Steve McKenney

Light rain, barely more than a mist, fell from platinum-colored clouds filling the sky. Had the scene been a photograph, even a pair of well-trained eyes would have had difficulty discerning what season it was. Was it early spring? Could it be late fall? The toss of a coin had as much of a chance of picking the correct season as a pair of eyes. Samuel Weston was lost in thought as he plodded his way along the old abandoned railroad tracks. It was quiet here, peaceful. He often thought of this stretch of tracks as his because it was not very...

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“Answers in the Mirror” by Steve McKenney

Submitted to Contest #101

It was a crisp fall morning, signs of the storm that had pelted the town during the night were everywhere. A fallen tree branch lay in the Sullivan’s yard; puddles lined the street, water droplets, fat from feasting during the night, were on every car. Brian had heard the rain last night, saw the streams of water pouring down when the sky was lit, momentarily, by flashes of lightning jaggedly cutting through the inky darkness.Today was a new day though, and from his bed, Brian watched the color of the sky gradually lighten, eventually becomi...

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“The Land of the Gentle Forest” by Steve McKenney

Submitted to Contest #86

Long ago in another realm, a lively young girl named Simone lived with her mother, Elena. Hidden deep in the forest, at the edge of a small field and built into the hillside, was the stone house in which they lived. The house faced the small field, dozens of different types of wildflowers grew among the long, lush green grass; it was like a playground for Simone. Trees towered over their house, edging the small field like a gigantic picket fence.Simone was a mischievous girl; she was always asking her mother questions. Many times, she fired ...

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“Change is Consistent” by Steve McKenney

Submitted to Contest #85

A warm spring breeze, heavy with humidity, ushered its way down East Bay Street carrying the sounds and scents of the harbor with it. The day resembled a thousand spring days before it, yet was also unlike any previous day. It was its own original day, complete with its own sights, sounds and smells, none of them unique as individuals but on this day, they were. They were unique to this very moment of time and space. Never before and never again would these sounds and smells appear in the same way or in the same order. Cody Barnes was one ...

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“Quell the Beasts” by Steve McKenney

Submitted to Contest #83

It was still very dark in the early morning hours when Inigo awoke. He knew, like the rest of his fellow villager’s did, that soon, the dual suns would rise and bring with them both vibrant light and searing heat. But for now, it was dark and cool. This was Inigo’s favorite part of the day; he cherished the darkness, the quiet and yes, of course the coolness. This morning though, he was unable to savor the dark coolness, for he had a journey to begin. He had been chosen by his fellow villagers to make the Journey of Sacrifice in hopes of a...

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“Aiding and Abetting” by Steve McKenney

Submitted to Contest #75

Alex Watters pulled up to the house as Queen’s “Another One Bites the Dust” announced an incoming call. “Yeah?” he answered. He listened to the voice on the other end for less than a minute, then the unmistakable buzz of dial tone. Before getting out of his car, he looked at the house. The sides, painted white, were faded and peeling with what looked to be permanent mascara runs on them. The front porch seemed like it was barely standing; the half-dozen wooden stairs and hand rail that led to the porch leaned to the left and if you weren’t c...

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“Unexpected” by Steve McKenney

Submitted to Contest #72

Rain pelted the windows Tuesday morning masking the purr of his sleeping wife Kelsey next to him, as Tyler slowly drifted from a deep sleep to a semi-conscious state of awake. For reasons that she was unable to understand, Tyler loved these moments. The soft whisper of her breathing was a comfort to him. Normalcy in a life that had recently had more than its fair share of upheaval. She had become his rock and he knew that he would need her strength now more than ever.            Though t...

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“I Know What I Saw” by Steve McKenney

Submitted to Contest #67

By the time Simone pulled her head from the pillow to which it seemed magnetized to, the sun had climbed steadily through the early morning sky. It promised to be a picture-perfect early autumn weekend, the kind that she loved. Still under the warmth of the blanket, she stretched, rubbed her eyes and searched for her faithful companion, Nacho.           Long, light brown hair fell down over her shoulders and the sides of her face as she leaned over the side of her bed and saw Nacho. He w...

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“Making Memories” by Steve McKenney

Submitted to Contest #61

Frank Scott had been looking forward to tomorrow, a Saturday, for seven years now. His son, Peter, would now be old enough to continue the Scott Family Tradition; the handing down of one of his favorite childhood toys to his children. He was as excited to hand down the toy that had brought him so much joy as Peter was to turn seven.           His wife, Brandi, knew a few of the toys that Frank had enjoyed when he was a kid. Her mother-in-law had been more than generous with stories about...

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“Family Business” by Steve McKenney

Submitted to Contest #55

A few years ago, I was in college working towards degrees in history that would enable me to reach my long-term goal of teaching history at the collegiate level. As with any other degree program, there is a laundry list of required courses but there are also some elective course requirements too. Going into college I had determined that whenever possible, I would take an elective course that held some interest to me or made sense, rather than just taking the easiest class that I could get away with to meet the requirement and get the credits...

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“An Afternoon Lost” by Steve McKenney

Submitted to Contest #52

The Kinch Building was a massive structure, so tall in fact, that one could easily strain their neck trying to see the spire at the top of the building. The spire was a design based on a combination of both land and sea; waves crashing into the shoreline that then grew into a replica of the building design. The lobby held both pictures of the spire during its construction as well as a scale replica for those interested in a closer view. Home to nearly three dozen different businesses, some of which occupied multiple floors, the building of...

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“Generations in the Stars” by Steve McKenney

Submitted to Contest #51

The crisp night was clear and cloudless. A full moon provided enough ambient light for John, carrying his thermos, to climb the dirt path that would lead him to the top of the hill. This would be an ideal night for star gazing, he thought. The problem was, that wasn’t why he was here and, while the stars and distant galaxies that lit the night sky fascinated him, they were secondary to his purpose tonight.            A bout of whooping cough at a young age had left him nearly blind in h...

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“Before the Show” by Steve McKenney

Submitted to Contest #50

The beginning of the semester was always long. Students thought that professors had it easy, just pull out the same lesson plan from the previous semester. They didn’t understand the time, preparation and effort that went into getting everything ready for the start of the term, not to mention the help that first-year students needed in finding rooms and getting adjusted to college life.            Anthony certainly didn’t when he was in that position a few years ago. Even if he had known...

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“Missed Opportunity” by Steve McKenney

Submitted to Contest #44

“Goodbye Eric, see you next time.”        “Bye Dad. Yeah, see you next time. Hopefully it won’t be as long between visits now” Eric said as he climbed into his 4-Runner for the long drive home.        Arriving home early that evening, Eric found a State Police car parked in front of his house. That certainly was not the kind of welcome home present he had envisioned. Truthfully, he had expected Jennifer, his girlfriend of several years, to have let herself into h...

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