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Henry Alexander

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Jun, 2020

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20 Stories

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I Was Just Hungry

Weekly Contest #378

The creak of my front door was like an eerie tune, hummed by a bloodthirsty witch. I pulled my covers tight, closed my eyes tighter. Nothing can hurt me as long as I’m in my bed. This was a line I’d recited thousands of times. As a child, it protected me from monsters; as an adult, it warded off the anxieties du-jour. But this was different. This was real. And this was my fault. The door was opening. Exposing me. Every inch yielded was another layer of skin peeled back. This is my fault. I have to face my mistake. The bed moaned as my feet h...

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Escape to the Edge

Weekly Contest #374

I was staring up at the pastoral sky, painted in shades of blue and pink, wishing my father was beside me. He loved when the sky made pretty, when Gaia showed her artistic face. It had been a week since his disappearance. “Palan,” he’d whispered under the dark cloak of night. “I must go to investigate the flick-flicks.” Absconding from the tribe at night was a violation of Lok-Lok’s law. I should have reminded him of that; I should have tried to stop him. Shamefully, I let him leave without protest. It was late, and I needed to sleep before ...

15 likes 2 comments 2
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The Uncle Nobody Liked

Weekly Contest #369

When someone you love dies, it sucks, but at least there’s a protocol. A memorial service, a funeral, friends and loved ones swaddling you with condolences and clichés. So sorry for your loss. He lived a great life. He would hate to see us all crying here! And yet, we all just sit there and cry—because we’re sad and that’s what you do. But what about when you’re not sad? What do you do when a person dies, and there’s not a tear to be cried for them? There’s not a nice word to be said, not a friend to be found. Terrible as it sounds, those we...

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The Snake and the Shadow

Weekly Contest #325

Lauren and I were walking through the crowded park, easing into our first date. I already knew I was going to marry her. She was swaying beside me like a buoy floating in the ocean. When our hands grazed, a shiver rocketed up my spine, exploding into a blush across my face. Her head turned toward a group of children kicking a checkered soccer ball around. “What do you think?” she asked. “About soccer?” I replied. She shook her head, a strand of blonde hair sweeping across her forehead. “No, silly. Children. Would you ever want them?” “That w...

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The Announcer’s Wife: Caught Cheating at the Cowboys Game

Weekly Contest #321

Mike: And it’s third down, Dallas is about to snap the ball. Doug: Listen to this crowd, they are trying to will their Cowboys to victory. Mike: The ball is snapped, Prescott rolls out right, tosses over the middle, and it’s caught! First down, Dallas! Producer: Camera four, let's cut to some fan shots. Mike: Timeout Dallas with 2:45 to go in the third quarter. We’ll be right back, folks— Doug: WAIT, Laura?! Mike: I know we spend a lot of time together, but I’m not your wife… Doug: No! That’s Laura! Kissing a guy in a cowboy hat! Mike: A cow...

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Pity Party Tales: The $50,000 Wager

Weekly Contest #315

I had been sitting in the tiny coffee shop for hours, nervously sipping decaf while watching the door. “Anything else I can get for you, dear?” asked the shop’s owner, an elderly woman in a yellow smock with oversized glasses. “I’m fine,” I replied. She nodded and returned to her solitary duties behind the counter. It was only the two of us in the shop, and it had been that way for some time. I was starting to worry that Ian had been wrong—or worse, that he was screwing with me. Then, the doors burst open, and my senses were overwhelmed: I h...

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How My Mind Melted

Weekly Contest #314

Heatwave: Day Zero “Hey, Camp Counselor Dustin,” Jordy waved at me, sporting that way-too-wide smile. He pulled his golf cart beside me, disrupting—and therefore ruining—my half-hour break. “Hi, Jordy,” I said back with a lazy, please-leave-me-alone wave. He didn’t leave me alone. “Big heatwave coming tomorrow,” he said. If there’s anything I can’t stand more than being bothered by my boss while I’m on break, it’s having to engage in small talk with that same boss. Sadly, I lacked the gumption to tell him to screw off. “Yeah, heard it’s goi...

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Did I Get an A?

Weekly Contest #307

“Mr. Lang, a word,” Principal Russo said, wagging a chubby, come-hither finger at me from his office doorway. I sighed, adjusting my tie—a soft purple silk number splattered with little green question marks. Russo’s eyes flicked briefly toward the Riddler-inspired tie before grumpily meeting my gaze. A wry smile found its way to my face. Russo hated my outfits, but I had tenure, so there was nothing he could do about it. Still, he made little effort to hide his disdain for anything outside the old-fashioned. With his neatly pressed collared ...

40 likes 19 comments 19
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The Mystery of the Onion Dome

Weekly Contest #305

At the intersection, I could go right and head home — but turning left would take me… to the Onion Dome. The strange facility had opened a few months earlier, and I’d been tempted to visit it ever since. What the heck. I had nothing to do tonight—might as well see what the damn place is about. As I began the half-mile walk, I noticed my breathing growing heavier and my heart pounding against my chest like an eagle trapped in a little bird’s cage. Eventually, I realized I was jogging. Combined with the eighty-degree heat, that was a simple en...

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The Bagel Fiasco

Weekly Contest #278

"Jordan, what do you think you're doing?" Shoot. Randy the Rat, office snitch, has caught me red-handed stealing a bagel from the company kitchen. His skeevy lips twitch into a grin, knowing I'll be canned when he tells the boss. Just like that, the last five years of my life will disappear in a cloud of meaningless smoke. All because I wanted a bagel for tomorrow’s breakfast. "Randy, be reasonable—" But the rat scurries off before I can finish. Shoot. Alone in the white-walled kitchen, wedged between the boxy microwave and the crusty old...

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Trope's Quest for the Cube of Creation

Weekly Contest #269

Trope smirked at the bronze statue; it had the body of a donkey and the head of a weasel. “I have the answer to your riddle!” Trope declared. “Bull-noggins!” A deep voice replied. “No human person has ever outwitted me!” Trope put his hands on his hips, posing like a hero of old, then said, “Well, you have met your match! The answer is love.” A deep grumble emitted from the statue, shaking the mountain. “That is correct. You may enter…” With that, the statue swung forward like a door, revealing an opening in the mountainside. As Trope enter...

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The Origin of Mr.Riddles: The World’s Greatest Thief.

Weekly Contest #263

The Origin of Mr.Riddles: The World’s Greatest Thief. I am Ian Query, better known as Mr. Riddles. When I was eighteen years old, I was struck in the head by a bolt of lightning, and my mind was split into two parts: The Wanting and the Question. The Wanting was a kleptomaniac, it appeared on my shoulder as a green fox with a bushy tail and beady eyes, urging me to steal anything and everything. The Wanting gifted me power, "Look at anything, then picture any place and it will be taken there!” It was incredible! I could teleport anything I ...

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The Scandalous Expulsion of Jason Palmer

Weekly Contest #260

The Scandalous Expulsion of Jason Palmer Disciplinary Meeting for Jason Palmer with Principle Rebecca Reynolds. Reynolds: Good morning, Jason. Jason: Why am I here?! Reynolds: There's no need to be rude. Jason: Why don't you talk to Jenna? This is all her fault! Reynolds: Jenna is in the hospital ... Jason: Serves her right. Reynolds: That's a terrible thing to say! Jason: Whatever. Reynolds: All of this because of the embarrassment paper? Jason: Yes... Reynolds: Well, before I make any decisions, why don't you tell me your side of the sto...

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The Turnstile at the End of the Hall

Weekly Contest #225

I awoke in a hall of mirrors with the strange sensation that I'd been asleep for a long time. Moreover, I had no idea where I was, or how I'd gotten there. My head felt like a snow globe filled with dust. Conversely, the mirrors that surrounded me were so clear, that they could have been carved from slabs of crystal. Even the floors were made of brilliant glass that reflected off a glimmering mirrored ceiling. I got the sense that this was the first of many chambers. It was shaped like the inside of an igloo, leading to an archway, that wou...

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The Champion: Season Five. The First Elimination.

Weekly Contest #207

The Champion: Season Five. The First Elimination. "Cut!" We have just finished filming our four contestants arriving at the beach, for The Champion: Season Five. It's a picturesque day in the Marshall Islands. The sky is baby-blue, and the Pacific Ocean is so clear that we can film fish that are 100 feet deep. The camera crew has already snagged some amazing B-roll footage, including, a family of hammer-head sharks, a school of cotton candy colored fish, and an emerald sea snake. As one of the four writers, I'm not permitted to interact ...

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