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Weekly Contest #364
His head pounded like the thunderous beat of a battering ram attempting to break down a stone wall. Above him the world was covered in haze… or a gauze. He raised his hand, but rough fingers stopped him.“Lie still.”He tried to think, to remember where he was. Everything was frosted with a thick fog. “Where?”“Shhhh.”His head would not turn.“You need to rest.”A grunt left him as he pulled his hand free then reached for his face.There was a sigh before a hand covered his eyes.“Ian.”Ian. The name caused recognition to bloom in his chest. He was ...
Weekly Contest #363
Rain. It was going to rain.He could taste the musty undercurrent that proceeded its appearance. It reminded him he was not alone, that others watched and waited, that he was being called to work.Julian placed his foot on the edge of the dock then glanced overhead. Storm clouds gathered, rising as an abrupt wind from across a lake. They appeared from nowhere, coming as he came, from a summons. With their approach plumed the sickening sweet nectar of overripe flowers that only a few on Earth could detect. It signaled that the lords wanted some...
Weekly Contest #320
Kit stomped his way through the woods. Twigs snapped beneath his feet as branches brushed his pant legs. Rain pelted the leaves overhead in a steady drip, drip, drop, plop, drip. It wasn't coming down hard yet, but if he stayed out too long he would end up soaked. His mother would not approve... nor would her husband. But that really wasn't the problem. He stopped and scanned the terrain. His stomach twisted. He didn't know where he was anymore. Kit raised a hand to his forehead, brushing aside damp bangs as he shielded his eyes from the int...
Weekly Contest #319
Light flickered into Kan’s awareness. His head pounded. His muscles ached. The pulse of his heart could be felt in his neck all the way to his knees. He pressed his eyelids together then peeled them open.The brightness of the room pervaded, crawling into the back of his eye sockets like a worm into an apple. He closed his eyelids then took a deep breath. The air that entered his lungs rattled in an unnatural way, telling him that something changed.Kan swallowed a swell of panic as he tried to recall where he was. His mind was a jumbled mess....
Weekly Contest #314
Sizzle. Pop, pop, pop. Splashhh.With a deep inhale the scent travels through my nose, up my snout, then past my eyes and ears. It ventures straight into my stomach which makes it gurgle.Grease. Mmmmmm. Meat dripping from a frying pan with the oh-so-wonderful smell of fat. It’s hot candy on a stick—or plate—as the case may be. It awakens the expectation of food that causes my nostrils to flare and my mouth to salivate.That scent—the wake-up call of deliciousness that greets me on mornings when Mom doesn’t go into work early. She’s an angel in...
Weekly Contest #311
Damen sat hunched on the cold metal bench with his elbows on his knees and hands folded in front of him. Around each wrist was a metal cuff linked together by a rod no more that six inches long. A white light flashed on the connection rod, holding his attention. Ever twenty-four seconds it flashed—not every twenty-five—every twenty-four. It was a maddening distinction that the people on this planet did not use the standard of fives and tens but instead used the twos and fours for everything. Even his capture had been ruled by the rule of fou...
Weekly Contest #310
It started out small and innocent—I started out small and innocent and without a lot of hope. I had a simple dream: I wanted to write, to be published and known. But isn’t that what we all want—to be known by someone else? Unfortunately, I wasn’t very skilled at writing—or so I was told by agents, editors, and a smattering beta readers that gave me a shrug and a wink as they passed my manuscript back with a “better luck next time” smirk.It was disheartening but I still tried. I tried until I lost the desire to write. I didn’t even want to lo...
Weekly Contest #309
The clink of the metal spoon within the tall glass was a reminder that Devin stood in the kitchen and had yet to rejoin the party. He could still hear the chatter from the living room. It echoed down the hall in waves, the tone light and soothing before a raucous laugh would erupt.He twirled the spoon between his fingers then began stirring the contents in the opposite direction. The drink was already mixed, the tasteless powder dissolved. It would be unnoticeable and seamless in its final execution.Devin tried not to shutter. Even though he...
Weekly Contest #279
"That can't be." Kan stared at the man who had been his... what? Friend? Caretaker? Keeper? Jailer would be a more accurate term today, although none of those terms seemed to really fit the six foot four tower of muscle that stood before him. O--which what how he was known--stood with his thick arms folded across his chest. His stance was rigid, his gaze piercing in a way that told Kan he was not joking--not that O ever cracked a joke. Kan was not sure the man even knew how to. But that was the thing about the Partwo--human words, traits, a...
Weekly Contest #278
CW: Themes of violence, murder, and emotional distressA deep wheeze shook the man's frame like the gales of a hurricane. His voice trembled as he tried to speak, the volume rising then falling beneath a coughing fit."Save your strength, father." Trevor leaned over the grey-haired man with a cup of water but it was waved away."I must speak to you... and your brother."Trevor returned the cup to the nightstand then glanced at the door. Conner had gone to "take care of business," which could be code for just about anything. There was no wa...
Weekly Contest #277
I was just eating. That's all. I mean, I was smelling what I was eating too. And I was thinking about how nice the evening was. It was cool but not too cold to be out. Frost was on the wind, but not on the ground. Gourds and pumpkins littered the household garden along with turnips, cabbages, and parsnips. The squash smelled so sweet and inviting, their vines still green though their leaves were starting to brown. I just couldn't stand it anymore. I had to sample the produce. So, I sneaked out there with my friend, Squeaks. I go by Squeals, ...
Weekly Contest #275
"Hindsight..." You know the way that old saying goes, well, it's so much more potent when you're dead. Seriously, you will never know how true it is until after it's too late--and I mean that on every possible scale imaginable. And, yes, I know you humans can imagine a lot. I know I could when I was still--alive. But that was... well, time doesn't matter the same now as it did while I still drew breath. It won't matter the same for you either. You see, while there's a certain appeal in the idea of an afterlife to those still alive, not many ...
Weekly Contest #274
Her heart fluttered and her cheeks flushed. A wave of dizziness swept across her forehead making her blink. It couldn't be him. There is no way it's him. The palm of her right hand settled on her chest as her left reached for the wall. She narrowed her gaze, taking in the familiar slope of his shoulders and color of his hair. Across the room was an apparition or vision--an impossible sight in the form of a man she had thought gone forever. He did not move, but stood straight and tall, silent as the cornerstone of the building they were in. H...
Weekly Contest #273
Dear Diary, I know that it's been a few days since I've opened your pages and tried to put something down on paper. Things have been a little crazy. There's a lot that gets built up over time and trying to pack up a life lived in one place for so long is a challenge. It is absolutely amazing how much one can accumulate in just a few years—let alone a decade. You just don't realize how much you have until you're forced to sort through all of it and assign it a value—keep or don't keep. And that's why I'm taking refuge in your pages right now...
Weekly Contest #272
The slant of her chin and cheeks were familiar. The way they caved in the center but were full beneath her eyes sent a spark of recognition through him. He knew what her skin felt like beneath his hands and lips--or rather--he had known... at one time. Despite the familiarity he saw in her eyes, he did not have the same reaction as she did upon seeing him. There was a shine of hope in her dark orbs that he did not share. Clouded with disbelief, her gaze held a knowledge of them together that she struggled to contain. He knew it existed but ...
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