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Weekly Contest #89
Aiken rose with the dawn, blinking at the whitish remains of his campfire. The sun was a half-lidded red eye observing a parched and ghostly world. Aiken turned his head and blew a gob of snot out of his nose. He was filthy and foul, a creature of hard times. Soot and grime besmirched his gray uniform, which likewise besmirched his soul. He’d been unable to shed it but planned on getting a new outfit at the first opportunity. With a croaking yawn, he sat up straight, like Lazarus emerging from some hole in the ground. The sky was purpled-ove...
He reached his sexual climax, groaning her name, his right hand clutching her breast inside her bra, the windows steamed over. Zero visibility. If a cop had pulled up, they would have never known. Outside, the 9:00 screening of the latest Bond film was letting out. Families stood around on the sidewalk or piled into cars to go home. He sat with his left hand resting atop her head, breathless, spent.Before that, they had gone to supper. A Mexican place, one of his favorites. Cindy ordered a couple of margaritas; he stuck to only one, since he...
Weekly Contest #88
Murph parked two blocks from the hotel and sat watching the street, gauging people’s faces in the fading light. Dusk had turned Post, Texas the color of rust. The occasional cowboy gave his truck a glance, but otherwise, no one paid him any mind. Murph figured he might just be safe.He swallowed what felt like a rock and popped open his door. The dome light flashed on, illuminating the satchel on the passenger seat. It was dented and dusty, the subject of many close-calls. Murph grinned, thinking the same could be said of himself.He stuck one...
“Are you going to take his call?”Daria Carver swirled her whiskey glass. Slim and strong, with an aquiline nose and chin, she projected strength, control. Her sky-blue eyes scanned the horizon for barbarians that were already at the gate.“Fuck off, Charlie,” she snapped, flicking her short-cropped blonde hair. “I’m not taking his goddamn call. You can keep on standing there with that phone in your hand or you can stick it up your ass.”She took another swig of alcohol, savoring the burn. At 33, Daria could drink a man twice her age under a ta...
Weekly Contest #87
“This is going to be huge.”That’s how the Big Star sold the Big Joke to his buddies. They were aware of his penchant for hyperbole; only a fool would take his remarks at face value. Yet the more he talked, the more they believed him. If everything lined up and they pulled this thing off, it would be the best prank of the year.No doubt the producer was asking for it. They all hated that fucking gold shirt. They knew where he’d bought it, that odious men’s store on Rodeo Drive. They also knew it wasn’t a gift from his wife, as he so loudly pro...
Prankman perched unflinchingly on a ledge above the city, his eavesdropping equipment in tune with every cell phone and social media account in use below. Clad in black, with a paraglider affixed to his back and all manner of ninja-like paraphernalia on his person, Prankman clenched his jaws, ready to act.His thoughts flitted ceaselessly to his childhood, and the terror some people -- friends, family, bullies -- had inflicted on his psyche. April Fool's Day was the worst day of the year, bar none, and Prankman had the scars to prove it.He wa...
In her human form, Theresa, Queen of the Southern Forest, stood out in a crowd. Everyone knew her as the sexy babe who waited tables at Bucky’s Barbecue (“the Best Sauce this side o’ the Mississippi!”). She had wavy black curls, a perfect bust, a scattering of freckles across her nose and cheeks, and penetrating green eyes that some men said resembled those of a cat. She never met a stranger, never got an order wrong, and sometimes gave out her phone number to men passing through town. Her life was flawless, charmed, and totally false.In rea...
Weekly Contest #86
Spring Has Sprung!Jay West chuckled, reading the sign. Yes, spring had sprung, alright. He felt it everywhere he looked. Fruit trees were blossoming, pollen drifted in thick yellow sheets, bees buzzed, and the sun felt warmer than it had in months. He could scarcely recall the foot-deep snow that had fallen four weeks ago, such was nature's transformation. He strolled into the Kroger store on Main Street feeling reborn -- or about to be.Cynthia had texted him only an hour ago, making a suggestion that caused something else to spring. He had ...
He woke just after sunup, blinking at the golden light above the curtain. How had he managed to sleep through the night? With a grunt, Lee swung his legs out of bed. They seemed to weigh a thousand pounds. He glanced at his bedside clock. 7:10 a.m. Christ, he hadn't slept this late in how long? Four months? He sat on the edge of the bed, cradling his head in his hands.After a moment, he rose unsteadily to his feet. At 65, you expect a bit of a wobble in your step, but this was ridiculous. He leaned against the wall to get his bearings. A tum...
Weekly Contest #85
Upon hearing the roar of the beast, Maximus unsheathed his mighty blade. Around him, Rome — mighty Metropolis, Light of the World! — hummed with life. Yet Maximus was, as usual, consumed with thoughts of death.He turned to his men, a dozen trained warriors skilled in the lethal arts, and gave the slightest of nods. Their leader, Thaddaeus, returned the signal, his eyes flinty and cold. Thaddaeus raised his right arm, thick as a chestnut branch, and visibly clenched his fist. The rest of the men halted, eyes front, awaiting orders. Even on su...
1985Panting, he stripped off his shirt in the alley behind the hotel and stood glistening in the moonlight. It was fascinating, how the blood looked on his skin. Anyone who happened to notice him would think he’d been doused in motor oil, or at any rate, some slick, shiny substance that didn’t look like blood. Of course, anyone who caught him back here would not live to describe what they’d seen. The only time he prayed was during these moments, when he undressed in absolute privacy.2015The first shot took off the top of Raymond Bennett’s sk...
That's the thing about this city, everybody's got a story to tell and a problem to sell. I've been in this business for six years but I was a cop for 10 years before I got my PI license, so I've seen a thing or two. This city has a sunny side and a dark side. I've never seen anything but the dark. Though it's been a financial pleasure, it has impacted me emotionally. It has cost me a wife or two. But, like any other cheater, I keep coming back to my first mistress, the city that feeds me, clothes me, keeps me warm.I operate out of a suite on...
Weekly Contest #84
The speedboat rounded a bend in the tunnel, roaring into view on a V-shaped feather of spray. Number 10 stood ready, mask in place, gun in hand. Number Three, black-clad, wind-swept, expertly piloted the Sea Hawk 285 toward the dock, using bursts of throttle to maneuver. They were about 20 feet beneath the Canal Saint-Martin in Paris; slanting shafts of sunlight cast yellow circles on the choppy waves. Number 10 had to wonder how much bat guano and other noxious material he’d inhaled since arriving here five minutes ago, barely ahead of Numb...
So, what is this place?Some anonymous room. It could be a motel room, a cheap one. There’s a bed, a dresser, a TV. Let me check … yeah, there’s even a Bible in the drawer.How did I get here? That’s hard to say. Everything was so normal. You don’t think about your life, the fragility of it all. One day you’re going about your business and the next you are in some shabby Purgatory, like this motel room.My first question has to do with time. Namely, the day and date. I have no watch, no phone. How the hell am I supposed to situate myself tempor...
Weekly Contest #83
Bobbing along in shallow water, occasionally plunging his head beneath the surface, Tom McCauley thought he remembered what it felt like being in the womb. He emerged from the churning Gulf with a gasp and a grin. Scrubbing saltwater from his eyes, he dug his toes into the sand, using the ocean’s energy to propel himself forward.At 42, it was Tom’s first trip to the beach. Becca had spent half her childhood on this same strip of sand. “Twenty years ago, it was nothing but driftwood and seaweed,” she’d remarked on the trip down. “Now it’s 100...
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