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Tanya Humphreys

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Mar, 2021

Stories (95)
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81 Followers
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95 Stories

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The Dogs of Hell

Submitted to Contest #300

TW: Contains themes of death, violence, and suicide.Garrison Ermine Ford stepped out of the mirror. He ran his hands down the lapels of his silver sharkskin suit and slicked back his vampiric dark hair as he turned around to check himself out.Black crocodile boots with pointed silver tips, razor-sharp creases in his slacks, navy blue cuffs peeked from the suit sleeves, dagger pointed collar, top two buttons undone beneath the vest.“Nineteen-seventy-five. A very good year,” he said aloud. Then he turned and surveyed the living room of his sui...

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The Pirate and the Leprechaun

Submitted to Contest #299

Bruce McMurty first saw the leprechaun at age six but told no one about him. It had a long red beard and a fedora with a jaunty red feather in the band. He knew the little creature was magical, there were no birds in all of Ireland that wore feathers that bright shade. At nine he’d become very adept with his crossbow and snaring, and with his father ailing he’d become the meal catcher for the family. He had never forgotten about the leprechaun and may have sworn seeing him- just from the corners of his eyes, a small shadow whisked away behi...

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Dog Instincts

Submitted to Contest #294

As a dog my instincts were always spot on. I knew when a rat approaching my food bowl suddenly feels danger. In the form of me pouncing and eating its head. You see, the bowl was always empty. And I was always starving. And chained. Killing the rats was my job. And my only means of sustenance. The leaking tap where the garden hose connected to the tap provided a puddle of mostly fresh water. I am a breed called a Heinz 57. And I’ve been chained to this post…in this yard…since I was a young pup. I’d heard in the shelter that Hoomans...

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Jeopardy

Submitted to Contest #284

“C’mon Hon, show’s about to start.” Milton knew his wife hated missing a second of Jeopardy, she enjoyed the opening spiels, she rooted for the contestant she related to the best. Given the choice between a local from Pensacola or a black woman from Alaska, she’d choose the black woman every time.Milton’s own cousin had been on the game show eight years past and did Velma root for him? No. She cheered for the elderly black woman in the floral mu mu.He had said, “Really Vel? Have you ever seen a parade float win?”Velma had scowled and growled...

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The Bermuda Triangle of California

Submitted to Contest #276

The Grapevine is the Bermuda Triangle of California. My memory of that expanse of Highway 5 is desolation, dust and depression. Current crazy-ass boyfriend Simon and I were about to experience this marvel of soul-sucking spirits firsthand. We had been celebrating Simon’s 24th birthday in the coffee shop I worked at by day, Ground Zero. The café was closed, and the turnout was sad: just his sister and best friend, my best friend and her tweaky little brother. We drank chilled Stoli, fortified with cigarettes and methamphetamine. Best friend F...

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Friends for Life

Submitted to Contest #273

It was full dark now, but Simon didn’t want to go home. She might still be up. He got off his bike at the cemetery gates, left it propped on the old wooden fence. The low gate screeched its displeasure like an old gargoyle disturbed from its sleep. He winced involuntarily and put his hands over his mouth then winced again, the sharp pain of his bloody lip ignited fresh memories of earlier that evening when she’d thrown her half-empty Budweiser bottle at his face. He’d told her he was glad his father had left because she’d deserved it. ...

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Lucio, a Musketeer

Submitted to Contest #271

The tall dark man’s boots clocked a merry rhythm as he strode with purpose towards the town square where the harpsichord’s high wavering notes had begun wafting through the sweltering heat of late afternoon just a few seconds before. The beats from the zambomba kicked in and a smile curled the handsome man’s lips. It was an upbeat tune, and he pictured Lola’s lovely ankles flashing daringly from the twirling cascades of her flamenco dress as her castanets clacked out punctuation marks as if her hands were magical brown birds clapping wooden ...

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Pit of Adversity

Submitted to Contest #263

Because of my diminutive size I had grown up scrappier and fiercer than the other males of my pack…except for one. Jeb was the alpha. And he was huge compared to me, with thick lustrous grey fur tinged with an abundance of black that shone in the sunlight like motor oil. Being the alpha coyote, Jeb feasted on the primo parts of a kill- brains and soft organs- that made his body healthily massive and slabbed with muscle. Jeb was big. But my thin, smaller body made me faster. Running was my thing, it had become my job to scout ahead of the pac...

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HUNTED

Submitted to Contest #252

The man was stealthy and impressively silent as he stalked me. It was not his fault the wind had changed direction and I’d caught the scent of gunpowder and freshly oiled steel. I stood still as a statue as the wind changed direction again, it howled through the treetops, and whistled through the elderberry brush, taking the stink of the man with it. He and more of his kind camped out in the cabin at the edge of the mesa. They drank whisky into the night and smoked skunky tobaccos…apparently, they never bathed either, strong was their scent...

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The Dancer

Submitted to Contest #249

From my table at the back of the tavern, I saw, and was mesmerized, by the woman dancing.When I was able to tear my eyes from her lithe and quite nearly ethereal presence, I noted that every man in the place was just as spellbound; every eye had a twinkle, every lip a twitch and tendency to rise a little on one side. Just as, I’m certain, there were many a rise in their pantaloons.The tavern was a typical West Indies affair with colorful candle glass tossing about their hues like stained glass windows in an old dim church. The air was infuse...

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A Tail of Two Cities

Submitted to Contest #248

“Well now, ya cocky Whippersnapper, what makes ya think dis ere alley ain’t good nuff for ye?” the old rat asked. He was large with angular pink limbs and greasy grey fur that stuck out in tufty tufts all over. He leaned over his fat round white belly while gnawing on a toothpick stained with barbeque sauce and was nose to nose with one of his 436 grandchildren.Whippersnapper stood defiantly, black whiskers bristling, pink paws fisted so tightly his sharp little claws drew pinpricks of blood in his palms. “Grampy, you’re down to 129 grandchi...

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The Captain's Game

Larabie’s right hand crept surreptitiously towards the hilt of his sword. Julieth, who saw all, caught his eye, and shook her head a single infinitesimal second, understanding that the man’s hatred of the captain was something that must never be revealed. Julieth placed a hand upon the captain’s shoulder when she noted his eyes narrow suspiciously at Larabie. “YAR!!!” cried the boisterous man with the gold epaulets as he slammed the table with his open palm, wooden steins rattled, the inkpot jittered, and the cup of quills fell over. “War i...

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Miss Purdy Sees

Submitted to Contest #245

Though her coat was black, Miss Purdy was predominantly Siamese. When she stretched in the patch of early morning sun, her body was a long, sleek, torpedo, her glossy fur shone like rich satin. Miss Purdy was taking it a bit easy, catering to the needs of eight three-week-old kittens was exhausting.The kittens were safely sheltered in a box tucked into a closet. The closet was in an office high on one of the top floors of a building. Miss Purdy did not know exactly how tall the building was, but from the woman’s desk she could see nothing bu...

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Dogs Rule

Submitted to Contest #243

“Heyyy Buddy, you okay?” A young man’s voice, Cali accent. It was black, ‘night’. There were stars, ‘outside.’ There was warmth and crackling, ‘a fire.’ Distant voices, inebriated, and the rumble and crash of waves, ‘a campsite by the sea.’ “He looks dead. Eyes open like that…it’s creepy.” A young woman’s voice, perhaps Hispanic. “Dude. Lorna’s right. He’s killin’ my buzz man. Check his pulse.” Cali Dude Two. I had to move before any of them came over to check my pulse, but my brain circuits were not functioning up to speed. I engaged the Li...

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El Gato de la Muerte

Submitted to Contest #242

Dominic sipped espresso as he watched the cat. The thing was all angular bones under tufted black fur, it slunk low to the ground, making Dom think of the Grinch as it stole the Whos’ Joy. Looking at this poor creature, Dom felt his own joy ebbing away. The thin dark woman selling fish tacos flapped her apron, “Sal de aqui!” she screeched as the cat did also. Dom went to the woman’s stall and pointed at the fried fish. She narrowed her eyes as she assessed his station in life. She could have been 30, she could have been 50, her skin was taut...

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