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Author on Reedsy Prompts since Apr, 2024
Submitted to Contest #288
"The gates of Hell are open night and day;Smooth the descent, and easy is the way.”- VirgilThey all just sat there in the heat, and they waited.The Kid came back. He was walking down the platform with his head hung low, sweat running down his pimpled face, like always. He was sixteen but looked more like thirteen, short and skinny with longish dark hair and a black eye. The black eye was always there. It never faded. He took a seat at the end of the bench with the others and looked down at his dirty old sneakers.Roman: Same shit, little man?...
Submitted to Contest #287
Craigslist>Ann Arbor>Jobs>Household HelpHelp wanted with household chores. Retired widow living in a large home in need of help with cleaning, gardening, cooking, etc. Great part-time job for a young woman in college or otherwise. Please email if you are interested in scheduling an interview. References required.It is not okay for recruiters to contact this job poster.Oh hi, sweetheart. You must be Amber. Look at you! The boys must be tripping over themselves to stand next to you. Come on in. I have a kettle on the stove. Let’s sit ...
"I'm gonna take a freight trainDown at the station, LordI don't care where it goesGonna climb a mountainThe highest mountainI'll jump off, nobody gonna know”- The Marshall Tucker BandI'm so angry. I did my best. I really did.That road from the army base where we live now, running out west towards that looted Costo outlet near Corvallis, is littered with abandoned cars and trucks, all rusting out, tires flat, gas tank lids and caps open. I know all the places where you have to go off-road to get around them, but there are always things you ju...
Submitted to Contest #285
Hi. My name is Pete and I’m a squirrel! I’m one of those gray squirrels (we’re actually golden brown, but that’s what you idiots labeled our species for some inexplicable reason) and I live across the street from you over there in the park. You’ve probably seen me and my friends before. We are always out and about. You probably think we are cute, but trust me, we hate you. You suck.I remember when you guys had that whole beautiful, wonderful “COVID-19 Pandemic” thing a few years back. That was the best! Most brilliant idea you guys ever had....
Submitted to Contest #284
CW: This story contains themes of physical violence and suicide.Life can be messy. Complicated. Difficult. Sometimes you can just lose yourself in all of it, and in the process, you can lose sight of the things that actually matter. And then one day a storm comes out of the clear blue sky and you get blown overboard by the tempest, and all is lost in the blink of an eye.This is what happened to me. I just got caught up in all of the things that don’t really matter. Money. Career status. An address in the right part of town and elite private ...
Submitted to Contest #281
In April of 1919, shortly after the end of World War One, Colonel James Forrest Cain of the Royal West African Frontier Force was stationed in Cameroon for a period of one year, which might be extended depending on the prevailing conditions in the territory at that time. He was to serve as the commanding officer of a garrison of 200 soldiers stationed at Douala, a port city where the river Wourri pours out into the Atlantic Ocean. There was some social unrest but no major uprisings during Cain’s term there so he was able to spend much o...
Submitted to Contest #280
CW: This story contains themes of physical violence and suicide.The following is the transcript of the cockpit conversation captured by the onboard black box recorder, which was recovered following the crash of Delta 928 in Denver, Colorado on June 16, 2025. The National Transportation Safety Board will include this as a key exhibit in the incident file and it will very likely have a significant bearing on issues related to causation and legal liability. We caution you in advance that this transcript is highly disturbing in nature.Captain Da...
Submitted to Contest #279
Clay was driving west on I-270 towards Saint Louis. The radio was off. He was alone with his thoughts. His father had died two days ago and he was on his way from Chicago to the services, trying to reconcile his feelings on the road. He loved his father but the old man was very difficult at times. He didn’t really view Clay as his son. He viewed him as his private property, to do with as he wished. It was always football practice, baseball games, wrestling meets, karate lessons and more. Sometimes Clay just wanted to hang out with his friend...
When Daniel woke up on the morning after Thanksgiving Day, he did not know who he was. He knew his name, he knew his address and he knew his phone number, but that was about it. He could remember nothing about his past. Nothing at all.He wandered the house in search of clues. There were framed photos hanging on the walls, Daniel posing with various different people who were presumably friends and family, but the faces did nothing to aid his recall. He found a small stack of bills on a table, but that only told him who was supplying his insur...
Submitted to Contest #278
"Everyone, deep in their hearts, is waiting for the end of the world to come."-Haruki Murakami The chapel hall was silent.“You opened the gate after sunset. You know the penalty.”Carter looked bewildered. He held out his palms and shook his head. “No. You don’t understand…” He ran out of words.“You opened the gate after sunset. You know the penalty.”The elders seated at the long table in the front of the chapel had solemn eyes and stern faces. People seated in the pews in the rear began to mutter darkly among themselves. Daniel Granders...
Submitted to Contest #277
CW: Mentions of sexual violence and gun violence“You have to make an effort. You have to try to fit in. You just have to try harder to make some friends.” That, and things like that, are what my parents always told me, and then they would give me my daily dose of Prozac, Xanax and Adderall and whatever else, and then I would just drift off somewhere, trying to make sense of everything. Trying to escape the dark clouds. I was confused and alone. I was always alone. I wanted to get my nose or my eyebrow pierced again. I wanted more black ...
Submitted to Contest #276
Andre was my best friend in the summer of 1982. I met him at the YMCA summer camp held at White Plains High School in Westchester County, New York when I was 13 years old. He was black and I was white. We became fast friends. We rode together on the bus every day and we shared our lunch and we played dodgeball and sometimes we stood up to the bullies together. We didn't always win, and sometimes we left bloody, but we always stood together.If you fought Andre, you were definitely gonna fight me too, and vice versa. He was skinny and lanky bu...
Submitted to Contest #275
I was a dog person, not a cat person.I had always been a dog guy my whole life, so I was a little disjointed when the feral black cat sauntered out of the alley by my apartment building that morning and just glanced at me with a saucy look on her face and then began leading me towards the entrance to the downtown 6 train. I knew where I was going. I grew up here, for fuck sake. What am I, some God damned tourist? I don’t need your help. Fuck off, Cat! You’re lucky if I don’t kick you out into traffic. I know how to get to the fuckin’ subway....
Submitted to Contest #274
I saw my cousin Audrey five times after she died.The first time was at the wake. I remember looking down into her child-sized coffin and thinking that her head looked just fine. Her skin was really pale but otherwise she basically looked like she always did, her curly blonde locks flowing down her shoulders. I stood there for a minute or so, feeling awkward, and then I went and took a seat next to my mother. She was praying silently with her palms pressed together in her lap and her eyes closed, so I did the same.I mentally recited The Lord’...
Submitted to Contest #273
STEP ONE: First you have to kill the dog. If you don’t kill the dog you won’t be able to get downstairs, and the house is already going up in flames, so you really don’t have much time and the dog is always right there at the top of the staircase, growling at you.There are a few ways to do this. At first, I used the Phillps-head screwdriver from under the bathroom sink, but if you do that your hand and arm will be injured from the bites and you won’t be able to fire the pistol with any accuracy later. Then you're done.The best method is to g...
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