Ty Warmbrodt

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Jun, 2023

Stories (115)

115 Stories

3647 karma pts

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“Day of the Underdog” by Ty Warmbrodt

Submitted to Contest #256

“Easy out! Easy out! Everyone scoot in,” Jimmy Hawkins sings to his PE classmates as Liam Dawkins steps to the plate for his turn to kick.The coach rolls the ball. To Liam it seems the ball is traveling much faster than when other kids kick. Liam believes Coach Dirks favors popular athletic kids, that he can’t stand the uncoordinated little guys like himself.Liam runs up to kick the ball and misjudges the speed, kicking too soon and falls on his back like Charlie Brown after Lucy rips away the football. The class laughs. Tears start to form ...

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“Breaking the Chrysalis ” by Ty Warmbrodt

Submitted to Contest #255

Trigger Warning: drugs, sex, abuse, gore, mental health Then: Cold metal clanks against his teeth. His hand trembles. His finger nervously twitches on the trigger. His fingers are laced tightly through his hair. His eyelids are pressed shut. Beads of sweat shimmer on his forehead. His kids are huddled in the corner. Ages four and two, they cling to each other, one holding a blanket for comfort, the other a stuffed rabbit. Jack pulls the gun from his mouth to scream and curse before taking another swig of liquid courage. The young girls jump ...

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“Autumn Rains” by Ty Warmbrodt

Submitted to Contest #255

Iris and Norman Carter lived in an updated colonial home on the corner of Lake Street and Woodsboro Lane. They bought the home as honeymooners in 1967. The robust trees threw shade clear across the front yard and ivy crawled up the side of the house. Norman added a freestanding garage and workshop in ’72, then a greenhouse for Iris in ’79. They spent their free time beautifying the home inside and out, doing their own landscaping, building their own furniture, sewing their own curtains, pillows, and seat covers. They were proud of the home a...

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“Little Lies and Big Truths” by Ty Warmbrodt

Submitted to Contest #254

It was almost the end of the school year, my senior year in 1990 at St. Andrew’s, when I walked into school and the hallway went silent. I knew it was because of me. You know how noisy high school hallways get. So, when they suddenly go quiet when you walk in, and everyone starts staring and whispering, you know something is up. It’s an eerie feeling not being in on the gossip that has everyone so tightlipped and gawking. I put my head down and made my way to my locker, occasionally stealing glances through the corners of my eyes. I get half...

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“My Life and Mushrooms” by Ty Warmbrodt

Submitted to Contest #253

Morels. If you know, you know. Those delectable little mushrooms call out to my wife Laura and I every spring from southern facing forest slopes and damp creek beds after hard rains when it is cool both day and night. The day’s high was sixty-nine degrees after a thunderstorm blew through while the previous night only dropped as low as fifty-seven, making it an ideal day for shroom hunting. Waking early, we fixed ourselves a huge breakfast consisting of French toast and sausage links with some fresh fruit and, of course, piping hot coffee. E...

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“Crash” by Ty Warmbrodt

Submitted to Contest #253

You and your family are driving home from the movies one night along the windy back roads leading home. It’s dark and wet from the storm that has just passed. Leaves and branches litter the county road. A mist rises up from the road into the path of the headlights. It was a fun movie, the latest Disney film, and you are all in high spirits. Everybody is singing along to Sweet Home Alabama by Lynard Skynyrd.“Sweet home AlabamaWhere the skies are so blue,” your three old daughter screams more than sings.“Sweet home AlabamaLord, I’m coming home...

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“The Chase” by Ty Warmbrodt

Submitted to Contest #252

Lucy had a great evening at her friend's, Stacey’s. It was an evening of sitting on pillows on the floor around the coffee table, drinking wine and eating chocolates. Celebrity gossip turned into local gossip and before they knew it, they were discussing the deeper aspects of life. Stacey had her playlist playing softly in the background. Occasionally a song would interrupt their discussions, bringing out song and dance like they were still a couple of teenagers at a sleepover. The evening began after dinner, around seven o’clock. They were ...

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“Ten Furry Friends” by Ty Warmbrodt

Submitted to Contest #252

Millie tries to open a jar of pickles and breaks into tears. It has been three months since Martin had passed away and little things like him opening jars for her stir memories of him that she just cannot handle. Every night for the past three months, she watches Wheel of Fortune like they always have. Only now, when she gleefully looks to him when she gets the puzzle right, all she sees is an empty chair. It depresses her every time. She asks herself how long the mourning will last, what could possibly fill the void left by her husband and ...

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“Getting to Know You” by Ty Warmbrodt

Submitted to Contest #252

(Based on the article Know the Kind of Narcissist You're Dealing With and Symptoms from psychologytoday.com, posted on March 6, 2021)Zac, now twenty-three, sits alone in his psychiatrist’s office on a couch that he feels had its legs cut short to create the illusion that the therapist was superior, since she always sat higher. The office had a dim relaxing feel to it. Even the short couch was leather and warm. You sink right into it the moment you sit down. It has a professional aura with a big desk and bookshelf filled with large volumes of...

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“Rumspringa” by Ty Warmbrodt

Submitted to Contest #251

After my father passed away, my brother and I helped mom clear away some of dad’s stuff he had accumulated over the years. Stuart Elwood Stanley, known to his readers as S. E. Stanley, was a creative nonfiction writer who traveled with environmental activists around the world and told their stories. His titles included Until We Breathe Again, Through Oily Waters, and Unwelcomed in the Jungle. His passions for writing, traveling, and the environment led to a fulfilling life for my father, and there was always a memento lying around the house ...

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“Library 51 and the Alien Conspiracy ” by Ty Warmbrodt

Submitted to Contest #251

To: Frank DelaneyEditor@thewashingtonpost.comSubject: anthropological finds linking past to the futureI, Dr. J. Emmit Hardy, Professor of Archeology at the University of Montana, former navy seal and marine sniper, stumbled upon something I should not have and in the excitement of the moment, I took it. Now they are after me. I don’t know who they are, other than the keepers of secrets, the guardians of mysteries. Could be the Vatican or some other religious organization, a collaboration of world governments, or some secret society. I probab...

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“Mystery at Milhouse Mansion” by Ty Warmbrodt

Submitted to Contest #250

Milhouse Mansion had all the makings of a horror story brought to life. Built of all brick without a welcoming porch to keep its visitors dry, it was surrounded by an old, rusty wrought iron fence whose gate creaked like a banshee’s shriek. Winter bare trees with branches like an old lady’s fingers reaching out from some child’s nightmare swayed in the icy wind. Sleet pelted down on my hat and trench coat as lightning flashed and thunder rumbled. Normally I would not venture out on such a night, but I received a phone call from Mrs. Elanore ...

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“The Ripple Effect” by Ty Warmbrodt

Submitted to Contest #249

Hartman’s Diner is a busy place due to their a la carte breakfast. People fill the joint to fill their plates with as much of whatever they want in any combination they want. It keeps the servers on their toes and the cooks run ragged on normal days. Today is not a normal day. It is the first day of the county fair. Families are here to fill their bellies before a day filled with entertainment. There could not have been a worse day possible for Becky to have called in with a family emergency. Usually, Becky handles the counter while Maria an...

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“Date Night” by Ty Warmbrodt

Submitted to Contest #249

“Hey, Wayne,” I say as I take a seat at the bar.“Josh,” Wayne says spreading his hands out on the bar in front of me.“Lucy at it again,” I ask, noticing the local party girl dancing away by the juke box.“Oh yeah. All it takes is two beers and for someone to play Def Leppard’s ‘Pour Some Sugar on Me’ and she’s off.”“Well, the girl sure can dance,” I say as I watch the young lady weave her body to the floor and back up again.“She’s a provocative little thing. Guys will be on her like flies in a minute. What can I get you?”“Just a draft. Michel...

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“Desperate Remedies” by Ty Warmbrodt

Submitted to Contest #248

Trigger Warning: Violence and the mention of substance abuse. Ryan stands across the street from the Manchester Inn, taking a moment to compose himself as the rain plays a symphony on the objects that line the street like an orchestra of percussion instruments. The Inn has a more welcoming look to it than a hotel, once being the Mayor’s Victorian style mansion. Fifty years ago, it was sold and remodeled into what it is today, an inn containing ten suites and five-star restaurant. Ryan crosses the street to the expansive covered porch where h...

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