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Andrew Putnick

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Dec, 2025

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20 Stories

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The Ghost Of Alastair Xero Part IV: A Reeves Calder Mystery

“Just give us the codes to your ship. Who the hell do you think you are?” Linus said as he tenderized my face. “Detective— ah, Reeves— jeez! Calder!” I said like a man being punched. “Linus, can you relax a little?” Kilroy yelled at him. He was beginning to look like a total babe again. “Don’t worry so much,” I spat a little blood, “I promise I won’t hurt him too bad,” I smiled at Kilroy. “We need to be sure his ship isn’t sending for backup. You saw the earwig. He’s talking to someone onboard.” “It will take days for anyone to get here...

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The Ghost Of Alastair Xero Part III: A Reeves Calder Mystery

“Absolutely not! I mean, who the hell do you think you are, Mr Calder?” Administrator Archie Sanders’s scowl is a work of art when he says it. You could feel so much deeper than the contempt. “Detective. It just makes sense. She died in the hallway. The karfuffel blah blah is right there!” Couldn’t he give it a cool name like Corpses Bane or Jessica? “Security logs show no entry to the Kartoffelsalat. It is a priceless heirloom. I have checked and the crew of the ship are accounted for before and after the incident.” “You don’t have a sec...

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The Ghost Of Alastair Xero Part II: A Reeves Calder Mystery

"Hey! Buddy! Who the hell do you think you are? Wake up!" "Ennnnmmmmfffffff," I said like a deflating tire. I had a splitting headache. In the time it took me to remember where I was, a heavy bald man had me up on my shaky feet. I flattened my palms against the wall and took deep breaths. "Jeez kid, you look like you got pushed out of an airlock," a stout man with a bald head and dark brown skin looked at me in a fatherly way. Which is really just a mix of mild concern and aggressive disappointment, "If you can't ride the comet don't get on,...

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The Ghost Of Alastair Xero Part I : A Reeves Calder Mystery

Vertz, Holland and Schwartz Employee Anonymous Complaint Chatline. *Please be assured. Your complaints are completely anonymous. If they weren’t we would be well within our legal rights to punish unwarranted complainers to the full extent of company policy. Lucky You. Thank you for being a part of feeding the galaxy!* Anonymous Employee 637201: Something freaky is going on in J7. People keep saying it’s that Xero guy. Anonymous Employee 637208: I don’t know what happened. I just passed out. They said I was gone for an hour. All I remembe...

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Aberration

Weekly Contest #372

(Contains some horror violence, reader discretion advised) (The planetary science in this piece is all confirmed or plausible. Look it up. It’s really cool!) It’s too quiet here. Even with all the machines constantly beeping. The persistent hiss of the air return. The daily klaxon that rings out until I acknowledge the signal from home. Even with all that, it’s too quiet. The noises are all manufactured. Consistent and lifeless. They become part of the scenery. All I hear is my heartbeat. The gulp as I swallow. The whistle of air as it en...

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Stop & Go

Weekly Contest #371

"Nat— I really shouldn't be on the phone. It's dark as hell out here—," Oliver leaned forward as he drove down the empty road. "I'm not running away from anything— huh? — that's not fair!" "I just need time to clear my head— I'll be back and we can talk about it." The headlights illuminated a road sign ahead: Stop & Go Gas Food Gifts Showers ¼ Mile His stomach growled a little at the thought of a greasy roadside burger. He pressed down on the gas a little and the treeline quickly gave way to a large parking lot. A dark brown stone facet...

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The Notepad

Weekly Contest #370

(some language and mention of suicide). There has to be better than this. The notepad was in a medicine cabinet behind a medicine cabinet. Drunkenmindedly I picked at a crack one night and found it. Nestled behind the current cabinet. Filled with decades old band-aid tins and bottles of mercurochrome. And those seven words. If I was sober I might not have given it a second thought. Maybe I would have told people at work about the creepy old note I found in the hidden wall. Instead I put my tequila bottle down. I grabbed the pad and remov...

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The Servant Queen

Weekly Contest #367

I would be wed in three hours. The hall was decorated, gilded and shining. Every inch of the Imperial Palace scrubbed until fingers bled. Banners declaring the marriage of My Lord Emperor streamed throughout the City Of Echoes. A once in a lifetime moment for any woman with my background. I hate it all. I’d eat my own heart to not be here. He strides in, spilling opulence everywhere. My future husband. Already my king. The finest fabrics sewn by the most skilled craftspeople cover him head to toe. Platinum glinted from every surface that w...

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Sanitary Protocol: A Reeves Calder Mini-Mystery

Weekly Contest #364

“And just who the hell are you?” Dr. George Atilla spits when he talks. “Detective Calder,” I say calmly, smoothly. Like jazz clarinet. “This is what they send? You don’t look like a cop— or military. “Thanks for the compliment,” I started to push my way into the airlock. George acquiesced, begrudgingly. “Seriously though? Just you?” Was he relieved or disappointed? “The Trappist squadron is back at the jump gate. Their battalion is at least six— maybe seven thousand,” I grinned and extended my hand, “although I did just prove their com...

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The Wretch Of Fork Island

*contains some violence. "We got a right good wind Mr Holloway! She's almost at nine!" Crewman O'Malley yelled. First Mate Chauncey Holloway marked his book and smiled. Captain Tobias Darden noted the approving look. Holloway walked with steadfast balance. Moving with the ship. In contrast to the first year hands fighting every pitch. "How is our progress, Mr. Holloway?" "I am pleased to announce our arrival in New Hope in two days," he almost knocked his boots together like a Royal Officer. He added, "if the winds hold." Tobias let him...

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Fork Island

Bring in the tide Til’ it be o’er my head, Set sail back to New Hope, And lay there instead. I’d travel the whole seven seas, How happy I’d be, If I never stepped foot on- Fork Island again. The first thing I remember is the gentleness of the wind. It was calm and cool and not the ferocious fiend that it had been. The grinding sand that touched my lips and made my skin wear thin. Then there was the ever present, pounding of the water. On my face as I wondered of my men’s recent slaughter. Of my ship’s regarded fate and whether it had got ...

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Vidovdan

Weekly Contest #360

“You’re younger than you look,” she said with a half smile. “You’re older than you act,” he quipped back. Jovan had not expected her to meet him here. After all this time. He also didn’t expect to be so nervous. Tension was in the air anyway, this was not like other Vidovdan. Even the happy people seemed angry. Jovan was ready to leave it all behind. “It’s been a long time, Amalia.” “Has it?” “Please, I’m not here to argue—,” Jovan was interrupted by the sound of Moritz bringing their order. “Fräulein, weisser Spritzer,” he bowed sligh...

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Villainous Minds

Weekly Contest #359

He awoke wet and cold. Blankets strewn and spilling onto the floor. As he attempted to sit up, his back screamed in protest. The bed was old and full of springs that were no longer content to be like the others. Feet dangled off the side and found their slippers. Sleep was washed away as the slim beam of light protruding into the room caused his eyes to tear up. The mattress felt damp and smelled of salt. Once he stood up, everything was a blur, as usual. A shower, a shit, a shave. Out the door. Down the stairs. On the bus. “Grande double...

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How Jeremy Learned To Stop Being So Nervous

Weekly Contest #357

“Ahoy nasties! Your time has run out!” The Night Defender leapt from the roof. Landing in the alleyway in a hero’s pose. The four criminals gasped as the sound echoed across the bricks. Glass littered the ground, the former rear windows to Kane Jewelers. One of the two lead thugs raised a revolver and fired. The Night Defender dodged expertly and returned with a fist to the criminal’s face. The second thug attempted to fire as well but was met with precision movements. A second hero had entered the fray. “Aha! Fear, rapscallion! Flic-Flac...

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Visitor 1

Weekly Contest #356

“Well— that’s just great.” He said looking over the smoldering pod. “Just great.” Gentle wind was pulling the smoke toward the mountain. He was lucky the landing thrusters held up as much as they did (or he’d be part of the twisted pile of metal). The landscape was more robust than he’d imagined. Not like the planets he’d touched down on during training. Everything in the SOL System is rocks and gas. Some folks find it beautiful. He could take it or leave it. But this— this was a proper planet. He saw greens and browns. No tall trees lik...

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