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Daniel Rogers

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Mar, 2023

Stories (93)

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498 Followers

264 Following

93 Stories

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It Needs to be Awesome Sounding

Submitted to Contest #332

An average person has fifteen points where a Knock-Wok can poke, pinch, or karate chop to put that person to sleep. If successful, the person gets a good night's sleep or a nap, depending on the time of day. But if the Knock-Wok botches, the person could easily turn on him. And if that person is an Elite Guard, the results could be really bad, like the kind you don’t wake up from. Knock woking can be very dangerous. But knock woking is what we have to do to rescue Alora. “Why knock woking? Why not something awesome sounding, like taking out,...

22 likes

Should I Grovel at His Feet

Submitted to Contest #331

I need some guys who know how to kick butt and take names, but all I have are priests who sweep and meditate. "I'm at my wits' end. I've got to do something to free Alora from that madman." I said as Bob meditated. "Don't interrupt." I know Bob's a shaman, and he loves to meditate, but I'm too worked up to stop now. "Who knows what Targon is doing to Alora. Not that I'm too worried, she's tougher than most, well, than everyone, but it's the principle that matters." "What part of don't interrupt do you not understand?" Bob said without openi...

37 likes

Friends Don't Stick Friends In Prison

Submitted to Contest #330

What happens when a Talmarian ship gets caught with its ladder down? Fifteen years of hiding inside a chameleon shield, and a whole lot of game nights. Not to mention a few unwanted sacrifices. "And this is where we keep the sacrifices." Captain Cleeber pointed to a large reality room. "They believe they're in heaven, well, what they believe to be heaven. We based the program on local lore and sacred texts." I have to hand it to Captain Cleeber. He's done the best he could under the circumstances. His mission to study the pre-industrial cult...

48 likes

Can You Touch Your Forehead With Your Foot?

Submitted to Contest #328

Too bad they won't sacrifice women. Alora wouldn't hesitate. She's not afraid of heights. Why does it have to be so high? You'd think the Ladder God would have been more considerate and shortened the distance between heaven and the planet with a shorter ladder. I asked Alora for ideas to overcome my newly found fear. "I thought about your dilemma, and you're just going to have to get over it," Alora said. "That's your brilliant idea? Why didn't I think of that?" "Probably because you're human." Alora doesn't get sarcasm. She continued, "You'...

51 likes

It's So Fluffy

Submitted to Contest #327

The Elite Guard is waiting on the other side of the temple gate to arrest me. Which is going to make it very hard to get to the Ladder God. And if I can’t get there, there’s no way I can sacrifice myself. “You could stuff me in a saddlebag again,” I can’t believe I just said that. Not that I have anything against saddlebags, but the beast the saddlebag is attached to is a whole different ball of wax. Those tiger-like dignits and I don’t get along. Actually, it’s just me, but who can blame me. They have very sharp teeth, and their bone struct...

36 likes

Look Who's Righteous Now

Submitted to Contest #326

Oh! No, he didn’t! I reached the garden out of breath, sweating profusely. I’m supposed to do that! Curse my middle-aged legs. The young twit just finished pulling the last weed from the Shaman’s garden, giving him the lead in righteous acts – for now. I still have time to prove I’m the most righteous, assuming I don’t die first. And if we keep running like this, I might. The twit ran towards the temple to perform some other righteous act, but instead of giving chase, I moved deeper into the temple grounds – walking, not running. Bob the Sha...

38 likes

A Well-Timed Butt Pinch

Submitted to Contest #325

"Why two personalities?" Char didn't want to have this conversation, but he loved Sarcoo too much to ignore it. "You might as well ask how the stars got here." Char's dad answered. "It's just the way we are." "But my Frawn personality keeps breaking up with her, and if he keeps it up, I’m going to lose her. She’s at her breaking point." "I didn't say it's easy. Believe me, there's nothing easy about being a Binal. There isn't another species in the entire galaxy like us." "I hate him," Char spat, his fist slamming against the wall, pain shoo...

49 likes

Pleased as a Peach

Submitted to Contest #324

Why is this alien city obsessed with picking the perfect sacrifice? Wouldn't any schmoe do? I mean, all he has to do is climb a ladder to the Ladder God's abode, and die, or live happily ever after, or whatever happens up there. But, no. They have to put on an elaborate tournament to find just the right one. And now Bob is not telling me anything about the next elimination round. I didn't want to get this far in the first place, and now I'm forced to tackle the semifinal without a clue about what to expect. Alora keeps hearing whispers about...

35 likes

I'm Allergic to Death

Submitted to Contest #323

Seventy-seven. That's how many idiots are vying for the "honored" position of climbing the sacrificial ladder to god knows where. Correction. Seventy-six. I'm not an idiot. Call me a party pooper if you want, but I'm allergic to death. So, I'm a little less than whole-hearted about the contest. Although Alora continually reminds me that there is no Ladder God, it's just a ship using a chameleon shield to look like a storm cloud. "Well, at least," she says, "There's a ninety-five percent chance it's a ship." Crazy androids and their stupid pe...

29 likes

Stop Winking at Me

Submitted to Contest #322

Alora and Bob want me to volunteer, although for entirely different reasons. Heck, even Grinfo and Freena think it's a fantastic idea. Why am I the only sane person around here? Everyone knows it's a bad idea to volunteer to be a sacrifice. Alora believes it's the only way for us to obtain the dylanium inside the Ladder God's stormy abode. And I agree we need it. We're not flying off this rock without dylanium. My dispute is whether this is the only way. Bob believes I'm a god because I can say Bob - it's a long story. Anyway, he thinks I wo...

31 likes

What About Bob

Submitted to Contest #321

"We've got to make a great first impression," I said to Alora while kicking a rock off the path into a garden. A priest I hadn't seen retrieved the rock and placed it back on the path, giving me a dirty look, in a holy way, of course. "You need to stop kicking rocks. It never works out well for you." "Forget the rock. Focus. How do we impress the Shaman?" "I still don't know enough about their religion. The priests are not cooperative. Although I can understand why. None of them are happy with us for bringing the Elite Guard to their front ...

39 likes

Office for Suspicious Soldiers

Submitted to Contest #320

"I've never heard of Drocknine," the soldier didn't even try to hide his suspicion. "How far did you say you travelled?" He said as he motioned for a couple of soldiers to join him. My tongue felt too big for my mouth, and my limbs went all wobbly, like they were made of jello. It's a good thing Alora can't panic – being an android and all – because God knows I'm doing enough for the both of us, and the soldier sees it. "A month," Alora calmly answered. "That's a long way," the soldier began rifling through our sacks. "What brings you to Lit...

32 likes

Screaming Like a Little Girl

Submitted to Contest #319

The monster's hot, steamy breath smelled like decayed skunk. My stomach churned, and I almost lost my breakfast, but that would be disastrous, so I covered my mouth and forced it down. My chameleon suit can keep me from being seen, but it can't hide puke. The giant tiger-like creature sharpened its claws on the other side of the massive tree I had chosen to hide behind. Even as a kid, I was never any good at finding hiding places, and I was usually the first one found. Actually, I'm not good at doing anything on this alien planet. I should h...

48 likes

Crash Landing Sucks

Submitted to Contest #318

Crash landing sucks, but at least we're still breathing. Well, at least I am. Alora doesn't breathe, but a quick diagnostic check showed her systems functioning at optimal levels. We checked the star cruiser next, finding minor damage. If it weren't for the fact that our dylanium deteriorated when we ran into that solar storm, we would have been able to fly off this primitive planet without any trouble. But our dylanium did deteriorate, making our star cruiser as useful as a paperweight.  Dylanium is a fairly ambiguous mineral on planet...

37 likes

A Shotgun Through Fog

Submitted to Contest #317

He appeared out of nowhere, bleeding profusely. I ran to help, but he stopped me. He held a small, octagon-shaped device and motioned for me to take it. I grabbed the blood-covered object and noticed its edges contained strange, otherworldly markings. "You must stop her!" The dying man coughed up blood. "The Lion must survive!" He fell, but regained his balance. "If she succeeds. Earth will undergo a hundred-year civil war. The Earth you know will never exist." He attempted to speak again, but started convulsing, and fell face down on the co...

31 likes