Menu

More apps built by Reedsy

Assemble a team of professionals

The writing app for authors

Writing courses, events and memberships

Get your book reviewed

Weekly writing prompts and contests

Menu
Prompts
Contests
Stories
Blog

Chris Cancilla

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Apr, 2024

Stories
Comments
Library
92 Followers
248 Following

41 Stories

837 karma pts

?

The Assignment

Weekly Contest #372

[sensitive topics - suicide attempt - PTSD - explosions - war] Robbie stood on the flight line watching some friends do their work. He had just delivered a load of munitions for an aircraft. Tom loaded the bombs and installed the fuzes, and his partner, a very pretty woman, put the last of the Luu-2 flares and chaff into the countermeasures pod. He was sipping on some water. Suddenly, everyone on the plane started screaming. The plane exploded. And Robbie’s best friend, or rather just his head, hit Robbie square in the chest. Robbie saw the...

6 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

The Rest Stop at the Edge of the Universe

Weekly Contest #371

The highway was blurring for Jack, and he was really having trouble keeping his eyes open. He passed a sign reading FREE COFFEE and decided to stop at the next exit to get some. He had another 150 miles to get to his destination. But falling asleep on the road and dying in a ditch was not in the plan. Another thirty seconds and he would hit the exit. Maybe there was a restaurant open, and he could grab some food as well. He realized it was not an exit, but a rest area. He slowed down, made the turn through the fog, and saw a small trailer, ...

12 likes 3 comments 3
Read story

The Old Man

Weekly Contest #370

Brandon walked through the woods on a normal morning hike. He does this every morning, and most mornings he passes an older man who is sitting on a carved log. The log is cut into the clean shape of a chair, and it overlooks the most perfect view of what appears to be the entire mountain range unfolding before him. The chair is large enough for two people to sit, but Brandon always stands there next to the older man. Neither of them says a word to each other, and after a few minutes, Brandon says, “Have a great day!” and walks off, continuin...

9 likes 2 comments 2
Read story

The Next Phase

Weekly Contest #369

For the past three days, Rachael has just felt a little bit off. She feels like there's an energy inside of her, and she can't figure out where it came from or what it is. In her mind, she said she feels like she had a quart of espresso and cola. With an intense amount of sugar thrown in for excitement. This afternoon is a bit different, though. She feels her skin start to vibrate. Her chest hurts like someone is beating on it, over and over. She's sitting in her favorite chair in the living room, the TV off; she is staring at it. She doesn...

3 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

Life-Wish!

Weekly Contest #368

Thomas Bartholomew was walking along the shoreline at 5:12 AM, a short time before sunrise. For the past week, he has been alone on this small island, and it has cost him a lot of money, but he really wanted some alone time. Thom is a customer support rep for a very large software company, and his time, experience, and abilities are constantly in demand. Stress is his daily reward for working, and sleeping is his commodity. The chance to reserve this island with no internet, no phone, and no people appealed to him, and he was returning rene...

12 likes 2 comments 2
Read story

The Hero Syndrome

Weekly Contest #365

The red light on the camera turned on a few seconds after the music started playing in the studio. A woman speaks, “Welcome. Today is November 29th, 2031, and I am Katie Robinson.” A second woman takes over, “I am Rhonda McMeyer. We want to thank you for joining us today. You are watching Good Morning Cleveland. The time is 7 minutes till the top of the hour, and in our last segment today, we will be speaking to a bona fide hero.” Katie continues: “Today, we are joined by Toby Armstead. We are all very familiar with this young man. During...

7 likes 6 comments 6
Read story

OOPS!! It's Magic!

Weekly Contest #363

Marcus Romainne is standing in the snow, looking around at a completely smooth, snow-covered field. He looked around, literally all the way around, and was dumbfounded. "Is that water?" he said, as he stood there, he sees police cars, or more realistically, he hears police cars, and they are getting closer. Realization and feeling are starting to set in; it is cold. He looks down and sees he is up to his ankles in snow. He also notices that he is nude. Not even underwear. The temperature is starting to take its toll on his body, and he begi...

8 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

Cultural Recipe

Weekly Contest #362

In the art world, some can paint a masterpiece landscape, or perhaps an image of a person so realistic it appears to be a high-resolution photograph. Some can write perfect poetry; you cannot stop reading. Writers of fiction use their artistic ability to immerse the reader in a world created entirely in someone’s mind, and the reader can envision that reality simply by the movie playing in their mind’s eye from the words on the page. A true master chef can make a beautiful plate of food. The design of the food, laid out in intricate order an...

14 likes 9 comments 9
Read story

Mornaro

Weekly Contest #361

Mornaro. Tomorrow it slides back, again. Every nine years, Arnon catches up to Mornaro, and again, darkness falls over Arnon for months. This cycle is no different. Well, it is different in one interesting way. Tomorrow at 5:12 PM will be the first sunrise of cycle 6. It has been 54 years since the asteroids slammed into Mornaro, slightly slowing it. For eons, Mornaro flew in a perfectly matched orbit between the star and Arnon, blocking all star-light from Arnon. When the asteroid, or more exactly the series of very large rocks, struck M...

7 likes 3 comments 3
Read story

Lifandi Fiskur

Weekly Contest #356

As Kevin entered the water alone, in the dark, with no sound but the small waves crashing on the shore and the wind blowing peacefully around him, he realized the water was below freezing. His cheeks hurt as his face went underwater, but he needed to do this. He wanted to do this. He had to do this. Kevin McMasters is an Air Force Staff Sergeant stationed on a Navy base and the founder and president of the SCUBA club. He had to meet with the commanding officer of the base, Admiral Walters, to sanction his club. The admiral needed to verify ...

12 likes 5 comments 5
Read story

The Last Sunrise

Weekly Contest #352

[mild cussing] Marchella was nervous. She was about to brief the president, the cabinet, and a lot of people in the room, whom she had only seen on television. But this was her project. She looked out the window of the limo sent to pick her up from the airport on the military base when she landed in the private aircraft sent to collect her for this briefing. The rising sun was astonishing at the moment. Marchella Romano is a solar specialist; she adores the sun, our closest star, and often wonders what they call our star when viewed from ...

6 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

FLYERS

Weekly Contest #350

As morning opened its sleepy eyes and daylight crept in and physically assaulted Rabato’s brain, he quickly realized two things: first, it would be a lovely day with a clear sky and a wind in his favor. Second, he wished he could sleep a bit longer. He was exhausted from the flight during the previous four days, but his duty was necessary. He opened his eyes and stretched his wings to their full length. It was not safe to sleep during the day – if the hunters saw a sleeping Flyer lying in a tree, they could end your waking days with one sho...

5 likes 2 comments 2
Read story

THUMP-THUMP

Weekly Contest #348

[violence-gunfire-death] THUMP-THUMP. THUMP-THUMP-THUMP. THUMP-THUMP-THUMP-THUMP. “What is that thumping?” Andy said to himself. Wherever he was, it was dark. He tried to move, but it felt like his arms, legs, and even his eyelids were heavy. Too heavy to move. THUMP…. “Finally, that thumping stopped. I wonder what it was.” Andy just lay there in the dark. He heard people talking, but they sounded far away. “OH GREAT! That high-pitched whine has replaced that incessant thumping. Just what I need when I am trying to get to sleep.” A...

6 likes 3 comments 3
Read story

Diary(s)

Weekly Contest #346

Mireille Ayres enjoys going to the circus, and when she found one at the edge of the small town where she was staying, she had to walk around. A few years ago, she discovered her great-grandmother’s diary and read it; it felt like a fantasy novel to her. The realization that she was of the Romani line did not come till she read the last section. She spent the next month understanding what that meant. She had the diary with her and cherished it. It linked her to her great-grandmother in a way she could not explain. The last few words of the ...

11 likes 5 comments 5
Read story

Z19

Weekly Contest #345

Z19 left the ship and fell into the atmosphere. It is quite a way down, according to the radar altimeter. The flight down was routine. Atmospheric analysis, particulates, toxins. The base temperature was currently that of interstellar space. An infrared scan indicates a surface temperature exceeding 80°F. Which means animal life could be present. Carbon dioxide and oxygen levels indicate abundant plant life. Z19 passed through the Exosphere, and its temperature changed from absolute zero to 3,000°F in a very short time. The Thermosphere wa...

8 likes 1 comment 1
Read story