Ty Warmbrodt

“Passing Time” by Ty Warmbrodt

Submitted to Contest #206

As a child they called me hyperactive more than they called me Ben. Time just seemed better spent doing than sitting there, listening, and looking. I’d lose my recess due to talking, fidgeting, not paying attention, you name it. It truly was punishment to sit there and do nothing but watch the clock slowly tick by while the other kids were out playing; when I knew I could be doing something else, should be doing something else. The jittery feeling I got when I had to sit still, when I had to wait, having that clock in front of me telling me ...

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“Motley” by Ty Warmbrodt

Submitted to Contest #206

I’m lying on the floor right in that spot where the warm air from the vent shoots out from underneath the television stand. If I position myself just right, I can get that warm air to blow in my face and it makes me all sleepy, but if my nose serves me right, dad is back with the pizza, and I can't sleep on that. It's movie night. I'm not interested in whatever they are watching, never am. I’m just laying here listening to it, wanting some of that pizza when Leslie plops down right on top of me.My favorite girl!She’s a cute little thing, abo...

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“False Awakenings” by Ty Warmbrodt

Submitted to Contest #206

Helplessness is like having the world turn you inside out and dip you in salt. That was how Jack Simms felt as he watched a ravenous grizzly charge his lifelong friend, Cory Marx, from the brush, mauling him. Just a split second ago they were acknowledging a cute cub who had come wandering their way and were getting ready to head back to camp. Now, Jack knew he needed to do something but was frozen, shocked, his eyes bulging, his breathing short and quick, sweat pouring down his face although he himself felt cold.The bear was over eight feet...

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“The Intervention” by Ty Warmbrodt

The only way Steve can get his brother Jimmy to come around anymore is with the promise of free drinks. Since Jimmy had his car repossessed recently, Steve picked him up outside the place where he is staying until he can get back on his feet, a place where he has been for a year now. They are heading over to Kelly’s pub. Lou Kelly is an old friend of their dad’s, who passed away last year, and has the placed reserved for a special event between six and eight unbeknownst to Jimmy. It has been their regular drinking hole since coming of drinki...

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“Terra Perdita Pt. 1” by Ty Warmbrodt

Submitted to Contest #205

When moonlight and snowfall come together, and you hear snowflakes touching as light as a feather, a child’s curiosity is piked for night’s mystery. So, Lauren and Joey, with Abby and Eddy, sneaked out of their house while their parents were dreaming and ran into the forest with their smiles beaming. There, where the full moon shone, they pretended a king’s throne, and charged with slaying the dragon who tormented the city. They leapt from log and stone, rolling through the snow, battling their imaginary foe.Lauren stopped their imaginary pl...

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“Entry 16” by Ty Warmbrodt

Submitted to Contest #205

Journal Entry #16There’s nothing more frustrating to cope with than coping with yourself. Every idiosyncrasy that you have, you have to train yourself to hide from the prying eyes of the public; especially those people who “love” you, because their love is conditional on meeting their expectation of what is acceptable. It’s exhausting, and when the people who “love” you, cannot accept you, and let you know in passive aggressive fashion, then where do you go for solace? It’s a prison you’re born in, and it’s a prison you die in, because even ...

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“Rock Falls” by Ty Warmbrodt

Submitted to Contest #204

*Contains mild sexual implications and mild violence.I always try to avoid the nauseating smells and obnoxious clamor of the desert town; places long forgotten by fresh air, leaving behind the essence of tens to hundreds of sweat covered people and the deification of their animals in the streets. That dry heat on those dusty streets allowing the breeze to kick up dirt and sand into your eyes and nose, turning your throat to pumice with only hot, stagnant water to give you any relief. No wonder everyone is three sheets into the wind when I pa...

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“Mr. Abaddon” by Ty Warmbrodt

Submitted to Contest #204

The repercussions of global warming were more severe than anticipated. With the warming of the planet came the rising of the waters to staggering new heights. The east coast of the United States is now where the Mississippi River used to run, leaving the Appalachian Mountains peeking out of the water like mere islands. Across the nation 440 million Americans struggle to find habitable land, much less work, leaving those who are not exceedingly rich, impoverished, or homeless. Resettlement, intensified storms, severe droughts, uncontrollable ...

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“Boys will be Boys” by Ty Warmbrodt

Submitted to Contest #203

Charlie Summers' annual barnyard bash is the highlight of the school year. Every spring the school gathers on his parent's farm while they are on their annual Carribean cruise to get wildly intoxicated and partake in games and competitions. The defining characteristic of this high school festivity is the boxing. Anyone you had a problem with for any reason throughout the school year, you got to call out to lace up the gloves. If you were challenged, the whole school would drag you into the ring and not let you out. I just got challenged. I h...

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“The Flight of Annabelle Jennings” by Ty Warmbrodt

Submitted to Contest #203

Based on the 1866 Memphis Massacre, this story contains violence, sexual violence, and child abuse.I saw my daddy fall to the ground, his eyes staring right at me, looking like two marbles but deep like the endless night sky. I wanted to run to him, but I was frozen in terror, breathless. Fighting filled the streets, nearly trampling me as I stood there gazing into my father’s eyes. A stray bullet bounced off the ground, grazing my calf. The sting of that hot metal slicing through my delicate skin was enough to break the trance and the sound...

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