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John K Adams

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Aug, 2019

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150 Stories

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Eric’s Last Stand

Weekly Contest #191

Was this Eric’s last stand? He hoped not. But the past year made him think it might be. Eric stood before the one room cabin. It was his, a gift from Simon, his dying friend. Eric had never seen it before. Spiders had spun brocades under the eaves. He felt numb. That was an improvement over the despair he’d nurtured lately. Maybe numbness was something he could build upon, use as a springboard. Regardless, numbness would do for now. He’d heard, ‘nothing to be done,’ too often. The doctors said it about his late mother, before she passed. To ...

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Yuuna’s Ghost

Weekly Contest #191

Suggested by, ‘101 Zen Koans,’ by Secret of Zen. Riku’s young wife, Yuuna, became ill. The doctor’s tried everything but told Riku to prepare, her death was nigh. Riku loved Yuuna deeply. Seeing her suffer tortured him. He gladly tended to her smallest need until she was gone. When she became too weak to stand, she said, “I may not last the night. But I’ll always be with you. Promise me, you won’t find another woman. If you do, I’ll haunt your memories and bring you trouble all your days.” Yuuna passed away that night. Riku mourned her...

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Easy Peasy

Weekly Contest #190

“Speak now,” Kurt told his wife, Madison. She heard her brother, Lionel’s, voice through the phone. “Hello? Mad? You there?” The previous week’s events flooded Madison’s memory. So much unnecessary drama. They hadn’t seen each other since their mother’s memorial. She suggested meeting up. Big deal. She would fly to see her daughter, Wilma, in Seattle. Why couldn’t he meet in the middle? Portland’s halfway between Seattle and Los Angeles. One state each way. Travel is so difficult. And family connection, so important. On Monday, fishing for e...

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Roads Not Taken

Weekly Contest #189

“In the middle of the journey of our life I came to myself within a dark wood where the straight path was lost.”           Dante “You okay?” Driving, Anton glanced at his wife, Renee. “Sure. Thinking. Why?” “We’re not there yet. But you were slowing. You know, checking in.” “It’s nothing… Well, it’s, you know.” She nodded. “Damn road is so dark. And, to be honest, I’m dreading this ‘reunion,’ tonight.” “Why? These are your friends. High school, right?” He nodded. “You’ve known them long...

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The Catch

Weekly Contest #188

“So, what’s the catch, Mom?” Marilyn hated Adam’s incessant disputing everything she said. ‘Six years old, and such an attitude.’ Giving birth was the easy part. She gained no status from that task. Adam kept her playing catch up. Always one, no, ten steps behind. How did he get so smart? Though glad of that, his sharp tongue exhausted her. To Adam, she could do no right. Before he could talk was really hell. “It’ll be fun. You’ll see your friends. And make new ones.” She knelt beside him. “You’ll learn new things… reading, writing. Your wor...

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Playing the Odds

Weekly Contest #186

“Hey, Ryan.” “Foley! What’s up?” “You hear ‘bout the lotto?” “Of course! Bought a ticket.” “You? I thought you didn’t believe in that…” “I don’t. But with a prize of almost a billion, I figured… can’t hurt. Doing my part. Goes to the schools and all that…” “You said some politician skims...” “Same dif. They take their cut either way… I figure it’s a win-win. Brings the customers in.” “You have an edge because you’re the licensed seller…?” “Course not, Fole. How would that look? Bought an app though. Uses algorithms to shave a few points off ...

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Of Breath and Blood

Weekly Contest #185

Princess Hannah awakened in dim, cold light. Her head ached. Confined within rigid walls, she couldn’t move. Something smelled bad. Groping to consciousness, she sensed eyes upon her. Grotesque faces watched wherever she turned. But moving she realized they were reflections of herself. As bad as she felt, she hoped these hideous images were not true. ‘No princess could survive looking so wretched. Am I dead? If I look like that, this must be hell.’ Memories of last night’s palace ball came in fragments. The minstrel artfully played his lyr...

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Cape Not Included

Weekly Contest #184

“Houston, we have a problem.” It was the same, old, never changing story. Houston Feerless was no superhero. He knew that. And most of Belleville knew that. But they treated him like one. Everyone called him for almost anything at all. People have problems. Houston almost always fixed them. He couldn’t get a moment’s peace. If the phone wasn’t ringing, someone was knocking his door, or leaving a note on his windshield. He couldn’t say how it got to this point. He’d grown up in Belleville, always willing to help. But when did he become the...

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Golden Thread

Weekly Contest #183

Harry didn’t wait for his first art class to begin painting. He completed his first canvas before the instructor, Mr. Ambrose arrived. Several blanks leaned against the back of his chair. Mr. Ambrose described his expectations. He required but one complete canvas by semester’s end. But he would decide what ‘complete’ meant. “Paint what you like. Put your heart into it. Fill the canvas. This is Painting 101. Not cartooning. Not sketching. Explore the limits of the canvas. Use it. Whether a flower, a portrait, or a landscape, create a new uni...

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Alarming

Weekly Contest #182

Megan jerked awake to the blast of the house alarm. It didn’t stop. She turned to her husband, Cameron. She couldn’t believe he lay snoozing when she felt her head about to explode. “Cam! Wake up! Fix this!” She rolled him back and forth until he stirred. “What?” “The alarm! Burglar! I can’t stand it! Why is it shrieking?!” Uncomprehending, he peered through the gloom. “It’s three a.m.…!” “Cam! Don’t you hear it?” “What? Maybe… I don’t know… Be quiet. Let me listen.” “Are you crazy? It’s screaming. Is there a burglar?” “Oh, that… I’ll lo...

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The Tao of Loud Sue

Weekly Contest #181

The spiritual seeker named Victor climbed the rocky path up the mountain. He stopped several times, doubting the directions he’d been given. He thought he’d lost his way and doubled back more than once on the ill-marked path. ‘Is it too much to expect a sign? Or an arrow? Work with me…’ Thirst nagged at him. Hours passed, without results. Entering a clearing, a thatch roofed hut came into view. A strand of smoke rose from the chimney. ‘This must be it,’ he thought. ‘Who could live so remotely? Who else would?’ Victor sought the legendary w...

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Tilt-a-Whirl

Weekly Contest #180

CW: Wrestling with mortality. Flipping a coin in zero gravity is useless. Floating, it will spin until stopped. Classic indecision. The Commander knew that. No time to waste. Protocols demanded he bring his crew to safety. No time to think or debate. Sounding alarms roused us and all hands jumped to. Redundant systems were failing. The station was shutting down. No one knew why. Meteorite damage? Not likely. Systems flashed code-red across the board. With solutions unavailable, the Commander ordered immediate evacuation. The escape pod sea...

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Trigger Warning

Weekly Contest #178

CW: References to substance abuse, violence, child endangerment, promiscuity, racial slurs, fat shaming, candy canes and gum drops. Bob lit his cigarette while loading his pistol. He kept dropping bullets in the process. ‘Better than dropping the smoke,’ he mused. ‘No fires.’ The shells bounced and rolled. Some went over the edge. Their staccato rattling attracted Bob’s granddaughter, baby Brooklyn. She crawled under the table in search of the curious objects. “What happened to my shells?” Bob asked the universe. Despite starting with a f...

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The Tracker Tracked

Weekly Contest #177

Eager to start, I scanned the trail through the trees and up the mountain. The weather was cool, but clear. Over years, I learned to plan my hikes meticulously. Somehow, I forget the single, essential item. Everyone insists I should never travel solo. Too many things can go wrong. A misstep can be deadly. Hiking with a buddy only makes sense. But solitude draws me. I love it. A buddy is an iffy variable. Hiking with the wrong person challenges my reasons for going at all. If I wanted chit chat, I wouldn’t be scaling a mountain, by myself, ...

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Liquid Courage

Weekly Contest #176

CW: mentions of date rape“Here you go, sis. S’later.”Julian pulled over and stopped at the café where Shelby worked.“Aurora’s my friend, Jules. Get real. We could hang out. Get acquainted. See if you like her.”“I’m already in love with her, Shel.”She grinned. “So, you love her cute little mole…?”He gasped. “Wait. She has a mole? Like a pet?”Selby stared in disbelief. “No idiot. She has a whole flock of them. On a ranch up north.”“What?”“On her lip. The mole on her lip. A beauty mark. I don’t believe you.”~Julian followed Shelby in. He watche...

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