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Daniel R. Hayes

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Dec, 2020

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1107 Followers
1070 Following

71 Stories

7811 karma pts

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Pollyanna

(Content Warning: Graphic Violence, Language, Murder, and Mature Themes.) Time is a wonderful mistress. She can caress your aching bones and brighten your dark complexion with a weary smile. Then when you least expect it, the cold hard bitch can remove all hope and leave you with nothing. Ironic really, but that’s not what life is all about—it’s about changes. Roy Hastings knew all about change. Over the years, he had lost his wife to cancer, his son to a drunken driver, and his precious daughter to a violent madman who called hi...

13 likes 6 comments 6
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Maximum Pump

Weekly Contest #201

(Content Warning: Blood, Gore, Violence, Crude Humor, Language.) Tom Lawry slowly wrapped his fingers around a cold black iron bar loaded with five-hundred pounds of solid steel plates and took a deep breath. His heart was pounding, but it wasn’t from the thousands of onlookers in the arena waiting for him to make an appearance. No, it was an overwhelming fear of failing and what that would mean to his illustrious bodybuilding career. In the solemn words of his late father—failure was something only losers did, and Tom Lawry was not ...

36 likes 25 comments 25
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Oh, Joyous Day!

(Content Warning: Blood, Gore, Violence, Crude Humor, Language.) “Hey!” Alex barked, “be careful with that. You might break it.” Charlie twitched his eyes towards his friend and gingerly placed the pine tree down into the ground. It wasn’t full or bare like most trees kin to the season, but it was something, and that my friends, was better than nothing. It had taken them all day to dig the hole because the ground was half-frozen, and they had to take heed not to wake Charlie’s father who had passed out for the evening. Jack was an...

32 likes 15 comments 15
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Good Girl

(Content Warning: Graphic Violence, Blood, Language.) “Everything is changing.” Flora heard Mark’s sarcastic remark as she slid beneath the covers. After fifty-five years of marriage, she was used to his unique brand of derogatory, self-chastising humor. She could see him staring in the bathroom mirror combing through his wispy hair with a look of disdain plastered on his wrinkly face. She looked around the bedroom and took notice of the many pictures from their shared life filled with love and happiness but was reminded about...

26 likes 18 comments 18
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Something To Write About

Weekly Contest #159

(Content Warning: Language, Suicide, Abuse.) The world is too small for every dream to come true. A pretty odd thing to say when you think about it, but that’s what Kevin’s dad, Earl, told his son growing up. It’s not hard to ruin a child’s youth, all it takes is a little nudge in the wrong direction, and Earl knew all the right places to push. A light slap to the face, a belt snap to the back, or maybe some thick bruises above the shirt line just to make sure no one noticed. The worst kind of abuse is invisible. Back then, th...

60 likes 70 comments 70
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Stuey

Weekly Contest #143

On the outskirts of Diamond City, above Evergreen Campground, a bright light exploded in the glittery sky and fell to the surrounding wilderness. The white streak was unobserved, however, because most of the younger children were glued to various board games, and the older kids were huddled together sharing spooky after-dark fairy tales. Having completed a full day of outdoor activities, a little bit of fun was a welcomed reprieve for everyone at the camp. Over the years, Evergreen had experienced a rapid decline in visitors, and a final ...

43 likes 24 comments 24
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Thrive

Weekly Contest #132

(Content Warning: Fantasy Violence, Brief Language.)“Are you there, God? It’s me…” Jake said, falling to his knees.The gargoyles attacked Sapphire City without warning and left nothing but utter destruction in their wake. No one knew where the stone creatures came from or why they attacked, but one thing was certain, they didn’t come from Heaven. How could they? Heaven is supposed to be a place of peaceful tranquility and harmony, right?At least that’s what Jake thought, staring at the wreckage around him. He saw broken pictures of happy mem...

38 likes 22 comments 22
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A Christmas Fire

Weekly Contest #125

(This story was inspired by "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens.) Hearts weigh heavy worldwide as Christmas Eve springs to life. Overdue bills and too much spending tend to make most people weary with doubt, and they often forget what the holidays are all about. Wealthy people hold on to their riches and care not for the agony of others. The poor gather what they have and make the best of things despite their peril. True happiness can’t be achieved without someone else’s suffering, an undeniable fact that is often denied. Fo...

28 likes 19 comments 19
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Killer Delight

Weekly Contest #124

(Content Warning: Violence, Blood and Gore.) Legend has it that a monster emerges from the Mystic Forest once a generation to prey upon children. It does not feed on flesh but the innocence of youth. The creature has never been seen by a living soul, but the proof lies within the destruction it leaves behind and the agony of despair from grieving parents. Time is but a passage of lost memories that are quickly forgotten, and life goes on. To the east of the Mystic Forest lies a small village called Thornbrush and is home to many ...

25 likes 5 comments 5
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The Season of Grace

Weekly Contest #123

(Content Warning: Violence, Gore, Language, Crude humor.)Amongst the perils of evil, Grace Johnson stood defiantly with clenched fists ready to strike. The three-headed beast bellowed a deafening roar as it charged toward the twelve-year-old girl. A monstrosity of terror, the monster had the body of a lion, with the heads of a bear, dragon, wolf, and a serpent’s tail whipping back and forth like an animal tamer’s whip. Riding on top of this foul creature was Mrs. Claus, dressed in a black stitched battle-worn dress. Her white hair was n...

28 likes 24 comments 24
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The Season of Evil

Weekly Contest #122

(Content Warning: Violence, Language, and Holiday Frights.)Honk! Honk! ’Tis that time of year when the whole world is heart to heart, or in this case, bumper to bumper on Christmas Eve. The Johnson’s have been stuck in a traffic jam on I-89 for the past three hours, inching their way to Boulder Springs, Ohio. Spending Christmas with Uncle Drew for the past ten years had become a family tradition.Uncle Drew is not one for being polite, and over the years, he developed a Grinch-like attitude towards Christmas. So, every year his brother, Gary ...

26 likes 21 comments 21
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The Great Pumpkin Massacre

Weekly Contest #117

(Content Warning: Blood, Gore, Murder, Violence, Spooky terror.) It’s Halloween once again, and soon the kids on Dead Wood Street will be out trick-or-treating. The night will be full of imagination and wonder as sweet treats are handed out. The old can be young again as they watch the little ones stagger around in costumes of fright and glorious splendor. Indeed, All Hallows' Eve is a night of spooky pleasure and merrymaking. It is believed that ghouls, ghosts, goblins, and demons can walk among the living on this day. Others thi...

33 likes 9 comments 9
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The Bright Ones

Weekly Contest #112

In the beginning, before all things, there existed only darkness in the void. Then suddenly, as if a gift from the Gods, there was light. The light was just a flicker, no more than a candle flame. It pulsed like a beating heartbeat. For a millennium, the flame burned bright, keeping the darkness at bay, and all was well. Tranquility could not last forever, for there must be balance. The darkness fought back with a deafening silence. A cataclysmic event between the light and dark forces changed everything.  BOOM! The peaceful tra...

42 likes 2 comments 2
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The Travelers

Weekly Contest #110

(Content Warning: Blood, gore, mild language, some crude humor.) Wallowing through the darkness at sixty-five miles an hour on rural I-79, Bethany’s eyes grew heavy. She had been driving for the past three hours, and fatigue was starting to set in. In a desperate attempt to stay awake, she cranked the radio volume to the max, hoping the noise would keep her senses alert. It helped for a few miles, but Bethany needed something more. She rolled down the window and let the cool air coast over her body. Goosebumps appeared on her arm...

24 likes 7 comments 7
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Hope Rising

Weekly Contest #109

(Content Warning: Some mild violence.)She falls like a ghost lost in the endless void. Light-as-a-feather, yet heavy as a concrete brick, she falls. Her eyes point to the sky as the wind whips through her golden locks, so vast, so beautiful. The blue floral dress that she spent so much time contemplating whether or not to wear that morning flapped in the updraft of gravity.There were no tears to cry. What would be the point of sobbing anyway? Her life would soon be over with a bloody splat on the pavement below. People would glance at her li...

36 likes 30 comments 30
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